Freedom Trail

 Following our visit to Minute Man National Historic Park, we continued to learn about Paul Revere and the foundations of the country in Boston. 

On Monday we took the train into Boston and first went to the Quincy Market. 

 Had some yummy clam chowder and explored the market while we enjoyed some street performers. 

 
 

Next we went on to visit the Paul Revere house and the oldest church in Boston. We got a taste of how people lived prior to the American Revolution. Lots of walking brought us to the historic sites in Boston including the Old North Church and the cemetery which includes the graves of many famous individuals including, John Hancock, Paul Revere, Mother Goose and Sam Adams. 

We had some delicious cannoli from Mike's Pastry to hold us over until dinner. 

The final stop in Boston on Monday was Boston Common. Once we got back to the hotel, we took a sunset walk on the beach and had dinner at Kelly's. One of the best roast beef sandwiches and THE best clam strips i have ever had! Best part is the beach is right on the flight path for the airport so we got to see lots of planes coming and going. 

We spent most of the day on Tuesday at the Science Museum. This took us on a nice walk through Boston. Great museum with lots to do including the original (and largest) Van De Graph generator in existence. 

After the Science Museum we walked over to the USS Constitution. The oldest ship in the Navy and it is still commissioned! We learned about life as a revolutionary sailor. 

Afterword we walked to a brewery for a quick bite to eat went back to the hotel. Another walk on the beach and some ice cream to end the vacation. 

Overall a great trip! It is always tough to identify the favorites, but we all loved the Tuna fishing, seafood, visiting Mimi and Grampy, seeing Grammy Jeanne, the hikes in Acadia and the history around Boston. LOTS! 

Boston was a neat city and very clean. while it had all of the "Big City" things, we felt very safe and comfortable. Seeing and learning about the foundations of the country were great. It really puts into perspective all of the text of the constitution and Bill of Rights. Seeing how patriotic the colonies were without even having their own identity at the time; Great stuff. 

My favorite quote was from the Mark Twain house. 

My hope is that through our travels our children will learn about our own culture as well as the culture of others. In today's world, it is too easy to formulate opinions through other's eyes. After seeing firsthand all that is out there, though we may not all agree, but we can understand different ideas in the world.