We started the day with a low key morning exploring our neighborhood. There is a really fun park just steps from our apartment. I imagine many an evening will be spent playing here.
We then took a scooter ride along the Charles River Bike path. This gets a big “meh.” It wasn’t nearly as cool as I had imagined in my mind. But, it did tire the kids out quite a bit.
After some lunch and a little rest, we hit the freedom trail. The kids were tired of walking, so to boost their spirits, I told them we’d take a taxi to the Visitors Center to pick up our Freedom Trail maps. I told the taxi driver where to drop us and we set off. He was either an incompetent driver, or could tell we were from out of town because he dropped us NOWHERE NEAR where we wanted to go. I paid $20 and we ended up walking ever further than we would have if we would have taken the T. Ugh. Josh says he’ll remind me of this next time I want to take a taxi. First stop: Massachusetts State House. It was a beautiful building. My favorite part was the Hall of Flags where they have some very old and very special flags displayed from both the United States and from Massachusetts.
This flag is said to be the first one used by the Continental Army. They tore the Union Jack and sewed their own red and white stripes representing the colonies.
Next up, the Granary Burying Ground. This cemetery holds famous residents such as Ben Franklin’s parents, Paul Revere, and the victims of the Boston Massacre. There is a tradition of leaving pennies on Paul Revere’s grave, but no one is exactly sure why. Maybe for luck. Maybe because he was a coppersmith.
By this time we were ready for dinner so we skipped a few stops (don’t worry, we’ll come back) and headed to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. The kids got a kick out of the grasshopper weather vane on top of Faneuil Hall, and I felt like I’d entered Tara’s special heaven when we walked into Quincy Market. Food for days!! Although if I’m being perfectly honest, the offerings were pretty mediocre. I had my first bowl of authentic Boston chowda, and a pretty delicious smoothie. Halle chose chinese food and the boys were very adventurous in their choice—a corn dog.
After a fairly complicated subway transfer during rush hour, this is what happened on the walk from the station to the apartment. Although I haven’t been running, I am most definitely getting a workout.
No comments:
Post a Comment