We're in the second year of "Story of the World", which doesn't quite make it to the Revolutionary War, so awhile ago I purchased the cds for the third year and we listened to it in the car so we'd have an idea of what had happened back then. When we discuss it more in-depth next year, we'll be able to look back at the pictures we took when we visited the locations of so many historical events. I think that makes things so much more interesting and real.
The Boston area is swimming in historical sites. Even with a week and a half we didn't have time to see everything, though we had fun trying :) This is a long post with lots of pictures that covers most of the historical sites we visited in and around Boston. I have several more posts planned around some of the other things we did while there.
Our first stop was Minute Man National Park, which covers the Lexington and Concord areas. Think Paul Revere's ride. Did you know he wasn't the only one riding, and he actually got captured at one point, though was let go when the British soldiers decided to turn back?
Monument at one end of North Bridge
North Bridge- the British were on one side and the colonists on the other when they exchanged shots
LMS playing dress up
LMS "cooking"
We went to the town of Salem, which is known for the witch trials, but also has a significant shipping history.
Since we went in the off-season, the Friendship (a replica tall-ship) was closed. Check out the size of that rope behind LMS
The dinky lighthouse at the end of the pier
Having fun with an anchor behind the Old Custom House
We walked most of the Freedom Trail in Boston, starting at the Old North Church (one if by land, two if by sea), Paul Revere's house, Faneuil Hall, the Old State House, Old South Meeting House, the Irish Famine Memorial (ok, so it's more recent than the Revolutionary War, but still represents a significant event in history), Boston Common, and the Public Garden.
Old North Church in the background, statue of Paul Revere in the foreground
Paul Revere's house (the dark wood sided building).
Feneuil Hall, a market and meeting place. Samuel Adams and others gave speeches protesting the tax acts and encouraging separation from Britain.
The Old State House, dwarfed by the modern buildings around it. This was the site of the Boston Massacre, when British soldiers fired on a group of colonists and killed 5 of them.
Old South Meeting House. Colonists gathered here to protest tax acts and other actions of the British government. The Boston tea party occurred after a meeting that was held here.
Irish Famine Memorial
Crappy pic of Boston Common sign
Carousel next to the Frog Pond in Boston Common
Public Garden
The Swan boats- have you read Trumpet of the Swan? If you have, these are a larger version of the boats described in the book. They've been run by the same family for 130 years.
Riding the Swan boat; TLM slept through it all
Inspecting the Make Way for Ducklings' Easter hats and marathon bibs (we missed the marathon by a week)
Mama Duck was kind enough to give LMS a ride
Park Ranger on a horse! LMS went up and talked to her after we took the pic and got to pet the horse. She was in heaven :)
We explored the New England Aquarium (not as good as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but pretty good) and checked out Harvard.
A friendly harbor seal
Petting a ray. They're surprisingly smooth and slimy (yes, I touched them too)
Touching a starfish
TLM wanted to climb into the Giant Ocean Tank
Posing with a bronze tortoise (snapping turtle?)
"Running" from the giant snake hanging out on the balcony
Harvard
We walked more of the Freedom Trail, this time starting with Bunker Hill Monument and preceding on to the USS Constitution in Charlestown Naval Yard.
Bunker Hill Monument, which looks very similar to the Washington Monument in D.C.
Walking on the Freedom Trail- just follow the red brick line all around Boston
Freedom Trail heading down the hill, eventually angling toward the Charlestown Naval Yard
The USS Constitution, commissioned in 1797, which makes it the oldest commissioned warship in the world.
Though it hasn't been involved in a war for years, it is still taken out of its dock once or twice a year. Though apparently it's pulled by a tugboat- they don't raise the sails anymore since they're afraid of damaging the masts/rigging/ship.
Who can resist a photo on a giant anchor? There wasn't a sign, so I don't know what ship the anchor came from. You can see "Old Ironsides" in the background.
A really nice Navy crew member let LMS ring the 2:30 bell: two pulls, rest, two pulls, rest, one pull
Who knows?
Cool bridge shot
We went to Plimouth Plantation, saw Plymouth Rock, and explored the Mayflower II.
Trying out the canoe (they're working on another one in the background)
Helping saw wood
LMS insisted on sweeping the floor in each house we went into
Plimouth village, which is a re-creation of the original Plymouth settlement. It was only intended as a short term settlement till everyone could move out to their farms. The houses were an interesting juxtaposition of dirt floors, stick-and-mud walls, thatched roofs, primitive beds and tables and elaborately carved chairs, chests and dressers brought over by the colonists. Plymouth was historically spelled several ways because people tended to spell phonetically. When Plimouth Plantation was established, they chose the "i" spelling to separate it from the existing town of Plymouth.
Mayflower II, built in the 1950's and sailed across the Atlantic
Airing out some clothes in a trunk below deck :) I didn't take a picture, but the space each family had for the entire trip was about the size of a queen bed, maybe even a little smaller. The colonists weren't allowed on deck most of the time, so they spent the majority of their time in bed, in the dark, damp, smelly hold. Makes you appreciate the discomforts of modern air travel a bit more.
Impromptu "cooking" session in the captain's quarters
TLM woke up from his nap and was happy :)
Plymouth Rock- apparently quite a bit smaller than it used to be. Though there's some debate about whether the rock was actually significant or not at the time of landing.
Mr M was going to take LMS (along with some others from his class) to a Red Sox game, but they were sold out, so they took a Duck tour instead. TLM and I stayed in the hotel and rested- he wasn't happy about the irregular nap schedule and needed some quiet time. I'll post those pics later- gotta get them from whoever was taking pictures that day.
Our last stop was Cape Cod. It was a bit of a drive, but quite cool. We visited Sandy Neck Beach, Chatham light house, and drove around looking at all the cool houses.
LMS and Mr M walking on the beach
TLM and I snuggling up- it was quite windy, though not super cold
Definitely not a sandy beach
Chatham lighthouse
There's a lot more we could have seen and done, if we'd had more time and money. A lot of the historical sites are privately run and charge entrance fees, some of which are reasonable, some are not. Despite that, we had a good time and learned a lot.
Have you been to Boston?
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