On August 10th Becky and I headed out to Boston for our vacation without the kids. It started off a little rough in that our flight from Fargo to Minneapolis got delayed. Then, as luck would have it, when we got on our flight we had a 2 year old scream for about 20 minutes straight right behind our seats. This was also the same day they enacted the liquids ban on flights, so we faced long lines and confused flyers at the airport.
We took the T (Boston subway) to the hotel – which was great – Boston Park Place Hotel – use Priceline, and got there in time to catch some sea food at Legal Sea Foods.
On Friday we got up and planned for a big day of walking. We walked over to the start of the Freedom Trail and made the trek down the entire trail. We started at the Massachussetts State House and stopped at the Granary Burying Grounds where we saw the graves of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. We stopped at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market for some lunch and headed across the Big Dig to the North End where we saw Paul Revere’s house and the Old North Church. We crossed the Charles River over to the Naval Base where Old Ironsides (USS Constitution) sits – it’s pretty impressive for a boat built in 1797. We hoofed it up to Bunker Hill only to find that the grounds there were under construction.
Friday night we went to a play called "Shear Madness". It was in a very small theatre under a larger theater and probably only seated about 150 people. It was very interesting because the play actually started 7-8 minutes before the slated starting time with some acting and music in the background. I was confused at first, but it was part of setting the scene for the story. The story is the mystery of who killed a famous pianist who lived above the hair salon where all the action takes place. One thing that was interesting is during the intermission, the actors stayed on stage and continued to act while we all got up and walked around. When we came back from intermission, the audience asked clarifying questions to try to find out more information about who committed the crime. After the question period, the lead investigator asks the audience who they think killed the pianist. Whoever the audience votes for – that’s the way the rest of the play is acted out. There are four possible suspects, so it could have gone 4 different ways. The play was actually fairly short – about 1:45, but it was fun throughout and I’d recommend it to anyone who can see it.
Saturday we decided to make the long trek to Concord to see the Minuteman Battlefield National Park. It was interesting learing more about something I’d forgotten since history class back in school. When we arrived in Concord pn the train, we had to hike about a mile to the center of town where they had some kitchy stores and a visitor’s center. From then on we decided to walk to the Park which was about 1.5 miles further away. When we got there we found a modest park, but it was a beautiful day and a beautiful setting. On the Concord River which runs under the North Bridge where the first shots were exchanged a number of people were canoeing. The canoeing looked like a lot of fun, but unfortunately, we found out that you had to rent the canoes over at the South Bridge which was only a couple of blocks from the train station. After all that walking (5 miles or more), I still can’t wair my sandals a week later.
With sobbing feet and a crazy mind, I talked Becky into going up to Harvard Saturday night. We walked around the campus and saw the gigantic library. We stopped for some cheap and good burritos and some shopping before heading back via Charles Street and walking past the original Cheers and the Shakespeare in the Park – Taming of the Shrew.
Sunday we headed to Fenway Park for the ballpark tour. Take a look at our pictures in the Fenway picture gallery. We, and 250 of our closest friends, took the 10am tour in front of a 2pm game. Becky couldn’t believe all the people around 4 hours before the game. The tour was good – we got to sit on top of the Green Monster – and we were able to make it around most of the stadium and hear the history behind it all. I didn’t realize Fenway Green was a trademarked color that can only be used by the Red Sox.
Sunday afternoon we headed to the waterfront area and stopped for some Italian food. By the way, the Boston Tea Party ship is closed this summer for renovations – we found that out the hard way. We made it over to the Hard Rock Cafe for supper, so I can now say I’ve been to somewhere around 20 Hard Rocks. Frankly, I’m not sure why I keep going, other than to keep up the pattern.
On Monday we rented a car, and after following some terrible instructions to get on the interstate, we were on our way towards Providence. We stopped in South Attleboro, MA where we found the Newell Burying Ground which was founded in 1715. After about 40 minues of searching, I found the graves of Jacob and Sarah Newell, who I believe are my ancestors. Jacob was born in 1704 and lived to be 75 years old. There were a large number of other Newell graves there, and it was an interesting stop. We headed into Providence after that and stopped downtown at the Roger Williams National Park building in downtown. The friendly lady at the desk gave us the quick run down on downtown and provided us information about the descendents of Roger Williams, of which I am one. Apparently there’s a society for Roger Williams descendents at www.rogerwilliams.org. Next, we headed over to New Bedford for some chow-dah at lunch, and then we continued on to Plymouth to see the rock. After that we headed back to town to go to the Red Sox/Tigers game later that night. The game itself was fun but pretty anticlimatic as the Tigers won 7-4.
Overall we had a great trip – we got to see lots of interesting sites; we certainly got our exercise, and we got a break from the kids, which I think was a healthy way to revive our patience and enthusiasm towards the girls. Hopefully we can do it again next year.
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