September 11, 2011 Boston, MA

Sunday we were up early  to go find the Duck Tours. The ducks were amphibious vehicles built during WWII, because a lot of the places the army needed to land didn’t have docks for a boat. These vehicles could motor over on the water and with a flip of a switch drive up on a sandy or rocky beach and keep on going.

     Our duck was named “Charlie River” and our driver was a very lively and funny guy. We started our tour at the Prudential Center and soon drove over the finish line to the Boston Marathon. The next attraction we came to was the Massachusetts State House which has a dome on top covered in gold. The original dome was wooden, but it leaked, so Paul Revere’s company covered it in copper. It was painted during the war time and later covered in gold.

The Finish line for the Boston marathon

Massachusetts State House

     Eventually we made our way to the Charles River where we got to enjoy the skyline from the water on a gorgeous day. It had been raining hard the previous week, so this gorgeous weather was a nice surprise. After exiting the water we made our way over towards Bunker Hill which is where the first main battle took place between America and England in the Revolutionary War.

Bunker Hill Monument

     We then drove by the TD Gardens, home to the Boston Bruins Hockey team which won the Stanley Cup Championship just a few months before. After 80 min of learning and fun the tour was over. Nate and I ate lunch and then drove over to the Boston Commons which is the start of the Freedom Trail.

TD Gardens

      As we were trying to find the starting point of the Freedom trail we came across the frog pond. It's only about 6 inches deep and they have frog races there. In the winter after the pond freezes it becomes a skating rink.

     The freedom trail is a 2.5 mile walk marked with a red line that goes throughout Boston connecting 17 historical sites.

Old South Meeting House

     After passing by the Massachusetts State House again we stopped at a cemetery where not only Paul Revere is buried but also John Hancock who was the first person to sign The Declaration of Independence.

One of the next interesting buildings you come to is the Old State House, which is the location where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time in public on July 18, 1776. Also the location of the Boston Massacre, where on March 5, 1770, British Soldiers fired into a crowd killing 5 people.

Paul Revers's gravestone

Jock Hancock's gravestone

The Old State House

The Old State House

How the Donkey and Elephant joined politics

A bronze donkey in the middle of Boston

     Paul Revere’s house was our next major stop. Nate and I paid a couple dollars to go inside. The house wasn’t anything special, and most of the things inside where just period pieces and didn’t actually belong to Paul, however there was a display case with several items that Paul himself made.

Paul Revere's House (but not his car)

     After that we went to the Old North Church, which is where Paul was to put one lantern in the steeple if the British were coming by land and two if they were coming by sea. Well they came by the river instead. But they got the message and were ready for them.

Old North Church

Paul Revere

Edgar Allen Poe was from Boston

Revolutionary War Memorial

     The last place we stopped we considered worth the whole trip . . . the USS Constitution. She is the oldest commissioned War ship still serving in the US Navy.  Launched in 1797 she has an undefeated record at sea. She also got the nickname “Old Ironsides” after a battle with an English frigate where the captain asked a crew member to look outside and inspect the side being hit with cannonballs. The crew member saw cannonballs bouncing off and reported back with, "Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!" It is actually made of different types of oak very thick and sandwiched. Although much of the ship has been rebuilt, the keel is still original, owing to the support system built in by the designer. It takes a crew of 200 men to get her up and sailing.
 

The kitchen on the USS Constitution

Our tour guide wearing his period navy uniform

Nate ready to go into battle

List of captains of the USS Constitution

     Even though the constitution is rated as a 44 gun ship, she usually carried over 50 guns. She had (30) 24 pounder cannons and (22) 32 pound carronades also known as “smashers.”

After we were done we had an almost 2 mile walk back to the car and then a 2 hour drive back to Connecticut.

     During the next week Nathan had to work, so we didn’t really go on any adventures. I ate breakfast with him early in the morning and then did a morning workout before he picked me up for lunch.  My afternoons were filled with anything from games to TV to laundry before he got off in the early afternoon. But at the end of the week it was vacation time for both of us.