Today we headed into Boston to walk the Freedom Trail. I am very excited as I'm sort of a History junkie. Especially anything that has to do with our country. I know we won't go into many of the buildings because Garrett just isn't a good age for that yet, but just thinking that I am walking where some of the first people here in the United States walked is pretty cool!!
First things first though. Riding the Transit system called the MBTA into Boston. Here we are waiting for the train to arrive.
First things first though. Riding the Transit system called the MBTA into Boston. Here we are waiting for the train to arrive.
Well we made it on the train, except we boarded the one wrong one....the quiet train. Yep, we got on the quiet train with a 2 year old YIKES!! Needless to say on the next stop we transferred trains and a lady that had a seat moved so we could all sit together. I've heard lots of people say that East Coast people are rude but we have yet to encounter that. We love the people here!! Garrett was pretty much glued to the window the whole 30 minute ride, LOL!!
We made it South Station Depot with no other hiccups, and Garrett and I walked around and bought our tickets for the intra transit system while Tim conducted some business with some of his clients for Take Shape For Life. He finished up and we headed down to get on the Subway. Once again (because none of us had been on a Subway before) we asked a local and they were super nice and pointed us to the right direction. Here we are waiting for the Subway Train :)
This is a map of the Subway system and what you have to figure out. It actually wasn't too bad once we figured it out!!
Here comes the train!!
Well, we got off on the wrong stop and had to get back on.....guess we aren't so good at this after all ;)- We finally figured it out though.
Heading back up.....
Heading towards the visitors center!!
Tim had to make a couple more calls, so we stopped here and Garrett was able to play in the grass.
But Mom, why can't I go in the fountain to play.....yes folks he did try to get in the fountain with 3 police officers watching, gulp!!
Next he tried to go under the rope, which in reality was fine.
Had he not gone under the rope I wouldn't have seen this marker. They actually had several of them but this one was the one picture I took :(
I don't know why but he loves to walk on this kind of stuff. I think he's pretending it's a tightrope.
Oops, guess the cobblestone isn't so level after all.....
Next up.....chasing pigeons. This ought to be good, sigh!
Getting ready to have our snack before we head to the Visitor Center.
Visitor Center, here we come.....
Heading into the Visitor Center. The people were extremely friendly and helpful and gave lots of suggestions for what to do with a Toddler.
One of the statues out front of the Visitor Center.
And we are off!!
Heading towards Massachusetts State House.
A couple of statues we saw before heading in.
Heading inside the state house. So beautiful!!
The first room we went into was amazing!! These pictures honestly don't do a good job of how awesome this room was.
Thanking an Army Nurse!!
Garrett had fun going up and down the Grand Staircase.
Heading into the flag room!!
Garrett trying to decide if he wants to go in the bathroom with me.
Sad little boy :(
Who became even sadder....right after we left the bathroom he fell and smacked his head good on the marble floor. Tim who was walking a little ahead of us said it echoed down the hall. Poor guy. We felt so bad for him :( Needless to say he recovered quickly and we were on our way again. We didn't go through much more because we wanted to continue on the Trail.
Back outside!! They had a Firemen's Memorial, some of these statues are really nice!!
Boston is so cool!!
Park Street Church: The church was founded in 1809, the 217 ft. steeple of Park Street Church was once the first landmark travelers saw when approaching Boston.
"My Country ‘Tis of Thee" was sung on the steps of Park Street Church for the first time on July 4, 1831.
"My Country ‘Tis of Thee" was sung on the steps of Park Street Church for the first time on July 4, 1831.
Granary Burying Ground: We didn't really get to appreciate this as much as I would have liked. There was a group of schoolkids about 100 of them that were also walking around which made it difficult. I'm sure we will walk this path again when Garrett is a little older and hopefully there won't be as many people. Here is some information about the cemetery. Established in 1660, the historic cemetery has 2,300 markers. Alongside the far wall, an elaborately embellished obelisk marks John Hancock’s tomb. Paul Revere is buried near the back of the Granary. Matching stones in the two front corners of the burial ground commemorate James Otis and Samuel Adams. Next to the stone for Adams is the grave marker for the victims of the Boston Massacre. On the right hand wall is a plaque marking the tomb of Robert Treat Paine, the third signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Somehow we missed all of these locations while walking Boston's city streets. Don't ask me how, I have no idea: King's Chapel, King's Chapel Burying Ground, Benjamin Franklin Statue and Boston Latin School and Old Corner Bookstore. I blame it on the fact that Tim had the camera at the time ;)
Old South Meeting House: Built in 1729, Old South Meeting House was not a church, but rather a meeting house for the Puritans to worship. Old South Meeting House was the biggest building in all of colonial Boston and the stage for some of the most dramatic events leading up to the American Revolution, including the meeting that occurred on December 16, 1773. Over 30 tons of taxable tea sat in the holds of three ships moored at Griffin's Wharf, the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver. If the tea was unloaded, a tax would have to be paid to England - and people did not want to pay the tea tax when they had no representative in British government. Five thousand colonists crowded into Old South Meeting House to decide what was to be done with the tea. After the failure of a final attempt to have the tea sent back to England, Samuel Adams addressed the crowd, saying, "This meeting can do nothing more to save the country." These words were rumored to be a secret signal to the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians to march down to Griffin’s Wharf and destroy 340 crates of tea, dumping them into the harbor. This event became known as the Boston Tea Party.
Old State House and Site of Boston Massacre.
There were a couple of guys playing right outside, unfortunately they woke up Garrett 10 minutes into his nap :(
More of the city....
Faneuil Hall, it was where the first town meeting was hosted. Now host to a bunch of shops. We stopped there for a rest break and that was about it. Would be a great place to stop for lunch or get some souvenirs but that wasn't what we were doing today :)
We continued on the trail. Boston is so pretty!! They really care about their city. They even had water shooting up from the sidewalks in one spot, we didn't bring any towels though boo :( Garrett would have loved that!!
Paul Revere's House: Built around 1680, the Paul Revere House is the oldest remaining structure in downtown Boston and the only home on the Freedom Trail.
More Boston.....
The British Are Coming.....Paul Revere's famous ride. So cool to think this is where he actually rode through!!
Old North Church: The oldest standing church building in Boston, having first opened its doors to worshippers on December 29, 1723. Its 191 foot steeple is the tallest in Boston and, because of its prominence, would play a dramatic role in the American Revolution.
What a great memorial for our service men and women!! Very moving.
Enjoying our walk along the Freedom Trail!!
Heading over the bridge.
On our way walking across this Seagull was just staring at us, LOL. There were also hundreds of Jellyfish that you could see. None of the pictures we took were good though :( and you couldn't see them.
Right now our little guys loves to pose for the camera. I wonder how long this will last :)
Having fun with Mom!!
Heading to the USS Constitution Museum.
What a great museum!! Very hands on for the kids. Garrett loved it. His favorite part.....swinging in the hammock!!
Heading outside to the USS Constitution. It is in dry dock right now so we weren't able to ride on it. But it was neat seeing it in dry dock like this. They had several Navy men on board answering questions about the vessel.
Exploring the top deck of the ship.
Heading down to one of the below decks. The stairs were steep and close together. Garrett made me VERY nervous!!
Heading to the Pier to take the shuttle boat back.
Getting ready to board the boat. Just an FYI to anyone that is coming to Boston if you get a day pass on the Transit system make sure you keep your receipt. They wouldn't let us on with the plastic card because they didn't believe we had a day pass so we had to show them the receipt we had.
Doing the boat was an awesome experience because we got to view Boston from a different way and Garrett really enjoyed it. There were Jellyfish all the way back to the pier. Definitely a must do!!
Doing the boat was an awesome experience because we got to view Boston from a different way and Garrett really enjoyed it. There were Jellyfish all the way back to the pier. Definitely a must do!!
We were getting hungry so we decided to head over to Legal Seafood to have some Dinner. This was going to be our first time eating out since we had started the program. Garrett got the Macaroni and Cheese and loved it. Tim got the Lobster and I got the King Crab Legs. The lobster and crab are both things that we can have on our plan and we both made great choices. They even brought bread to our table and we gave some to Garrett but we didn't have any. Suprisingly it was so easy to say no. I just couldn't believe how well we did!! Kudos to us (high five).....
Who says you can't have good food and lose weight!! Plus we had a great waitress as well :) After we were done we headed back to South Station to get on our train!! Taking pictures as we go along. I think Boston is our new favorite city :)
Heading into South Station Depot!!
A lady was selling her crafts at her craft table. They were so neat!!
Getting information on where we need to go.
Garrett did awesome today!! This was his first meltdown all day and considering that he only had about a 10 minute nap was well deserved!!
Trying to figure out where we need to be :)
All aboard!! Walking to get on the train :)
On the train and ready to head home. Garrett was of course glued to the window again!! What a great day!!