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Published: September 2nd 2007
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We decided to rent a car with the "Never Lost" GPS system, and I'm very glad we did. After we left the airport we headed to Lexington/Concord area. "Little Miss Never-Lost" took us through the Ted Williams Tunnel to the MIT and Harvard area. it probably wasn't the quickest way to get to where we were going, but we did get to Harvard which was not on our list of things to do.
We made it to Lexington. The first thing I noticed is it wasn't really what I was expecting at all. I don't know why, but I thought it would be un-altered battlefield even though it really makes no sense that it would be. Anyway, we took a tour of Buckman Tavern and walked through a grave yard near the Lexington Green. After that we headed to Concord. We drove through down before heading to the Old North Bridge. We then headed back to Concord and walked through Sleepy Hollow Cemetary. We tried to find "Author's Ridge", but never did. It probalby would have helped if we would have driven though instead of walked.
We then set "Little Miss Never Lost" for Gloucester, Mass. We wanted to
see the "Man at the Wheel" statue and eat some very fresh seafood. We made it there just before dusk. We took some pictures and video of the statue and the seawall, before trying to find a restaurant. Suprisingly, we didn't see that many restaurants. We did find the Gloucester House Restaurant. It was a more upscale and pricy than we were looking for, but pretty good anyway. After dinner we headed to our hotel near the airport.
We got to the Four Points in Revere, checked in and then immediately went accross the street to Big Lou's Bar and Grill for a few beers.
DeleteEditDay Two
We took the 'T' into the city and got out around the Old State House. We found out that we were right in the middle of the Freedom Trail, so we headed down toward Boston Common. The Old South Church was not open for tours, but it never said why. We went through the Granary Burying Ground. This is Paul Revere, John Handcock, and Samuel Adams's final resting place among many others.
When we got to Boston Common, we grabbed a quick bite to eat before quickly walking throught he park.
We then headed back on the trail the way we came. By the time we got to the Old State House, the museum was open to the public. We spent some time going through the rooms and even peeked out the window where the "Boston Massacre" took place.
We started back down the trail toward Faneuil Hall to get our pictures with Samuel Adams. I wish we would have actually walked through the market because I read they actually have a Cheers bar/restaurant like the TV show. Anyway, we did end up stoping by the Union Oyster House. My friend was really craving some oysters and a beer. After that we headed down to Paul Revere's house and went through that.
We headed down toward the Old North Church and went in there for the little informational speaches that one for the tour guides gave. It seemed from here the real walking began. The trail leads you accross the bridge to the U.S.S. Constitution. There was quite a line at the front of the ship, so we didn't even consider a tour, but did go through the museum at the Ship Yards. We then walked a few more
Fenway Park
Fenway Park during a rainout. blocks to Bunker Hill. I would have thought that the museum at the base of the monument would have more about the battle, but it just has a few pictures and a statue in it. We then decided to head up the 294 steps it took to get to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument. I almost died at about step 150 and again at step 225. When I finally crawled up the last couple of steps, I'm really suprised I didn't pass out. Once I caught my breath and looked out the window the first thing I noticed is that it was about to rain and rain hard. We looked out for a few minutes before heading back down the almost 300 steps. That wasn't as painful, but since my legs were still numb, it wasn't fun either. By the time we got down to the bottom, it had started to downpour. Apparently there is no 'T' stop anywhere near there, so we had to call a taxi. About 20 minutes later we finally were picked up and headed back to the hotel.
We had plans to go to the Sox game at Fenway, in fact, we
did go. We headed back to the 'T' and that's when things started to go down hill. I realized that as soon as I got off of the train, that my camera had fallen out of my pocket. I raced back but the doors closed before I got there and then started down the tracks. I could still see my camera on the seat as it left the stop. I really could have cared less about the camera, but I really wanted the 75 pictures that I had taken to that point.
Once we got to our stop, it was still raining very hard. We walked in the rain to the ballpark. We ate a sausage outside before entering the stadium. We decided to walk around the park before trying to find our seats. I peaked my head down one of the aisles to catch a glimps of the field for the first time when I heard over the intercom that the game had been postponed. My first game at Fenway wouldn't be.
It was still raining when we left the stadium. For whatever reason Jim Leyland, the Detroit Tiger's manager was at the end of one of the ramps while we were leaving.
Since the night started off so great we did what anyone would have done on a night like this. We hit the bar!
DeleteEditDay Three
We started our last day by driving to Quincy to tour the birth place of John Adams.
Since we didn't have a lot of time we had to make a decision to either see the Adams stuff, Salem, or the JFK Library. We ended up chosing the Adams National Park tour and I'm glad we did. We bought our tickets for the tour, and had a little time before it started. We headed down to the United First Parish Church where John and Abigail Adams along with John Quincy and Louisa Catherine Adams are interred. There a tour guide gives you a brief history of the church and then takes you down to the crypt.
We then boarded the trolly to head out to the Adams birthplace. The house that Adams was born in and the one where John Quincy was born in stand side by side no more than 50 yards apart. They won't let you take any pictures or video in either house. But you do get an ok tour of the first floor of each. I'm not sure why they don't let people upstairs.
From there the trolley took us to the house that they are most known for. This was the best part of the tour by far. The paintings in this house are unbelievable. Famous original portriats of John and Abigail, John Quincy and Louisa Catherine, George and Martha Washington among others. The tour is excellent. Both the upstairs library and the library around the back of the house was used in the movie Amistad. The house is almost in the exact condition it was when Adams lived there with the exception of electricity and indoor plumbing.
When this headed back to Boston, but had a little time to kill. We decided to eat at Cheers. Although, I knew the inside did not look like the TV Show, I was still suprised how small it was. They really packed us in there. The food was nothing bar food, nothing special.
Of course with only 3 days in Boston, there's no way we could have seen everything, but I can say that I will be back.
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