A Weekend In Boston

History should always be remembered, even the not-so-great parts. One of the most historic cities that was influential in the American Revolution was Boston, Massachusetts. Having a love for history, I just knew I had to visit!

I had no idea just how incredible a weekend in Boston would be. Maybe I got lucky and things just worked out great for me or maybe I was just so hungry for adventure not much could make me think otherwise. Not that there wasn’t a few hiccups along the way, like turning down a one way street in Washington, D.C. (where we caught the Amtrak) coming close to wrecking head on, or paying $200 more for our hotel room in Boston than what it was originally booked for, but it could’ve been worse. I could’ve let those two things make me have a horrible time but you just got to roll with the punches and deal with life as best you can!

After our incident with the one way street and finding the Union Station in D.C., we safely and easily boarded the Amtrak to head towards Boston. I can’t say enough about riding the Amtrak. It was better than I expected. The seats were fairly comfortable and roomy, it was easy to get to a rest room and to walk from car to car. The dining car had plenty of seating (although we ate at our seats in coach) and had a nice selection of food and drink.

Our journey on the train started in the wee hours of the morning before dawn. We got to see the sun rise on New York City from afar, catch the sun sparkling on the waters of the Connecticut coast, and breeze through the beautiful fall foliage Rhode Island offered.

We arrived at the South Station in Boston and it was a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Luck was with us for the first of several times on our trip, as a share ride happen to be available and waiting just as we came out of the station. Maybe that’s a normal happening, but it seemed too good to be true. Being a small town girl I want to believe all people are good and helpful; and in this instance that was true, but that is not always the case so please be aware and cautious of someone possibly posing as a ride share who has a darker agenda. You can’t be too careful!

The rest of our evening consisted of getting settled in, getting some grub at Wahlburger’s, and wondering around the neighbourhood by our hotel. We had a packed day planned for the following day so we called it an early night.

We woke to another gorgeous fall day in Boston. As you can see in the picture above, the sky was clear and fall was giving us a taste of her beauty with the subtle change of colours in the leaves. If you’re going to visit Boston in the fall; and I think you should, plan on wearing layers. The mornings may start off a little cool but as the day warms up to a more comfortable temperature, you’ll want to shred that jacket or sweatshirt especially if you’re going to be doing a lot of walking. And Boston is the place to do lots of walking! It truly is a beautiful city with its old world charm, friendly faces and effortless navigation through its streets.

Our main objective to visiting Boston was the history so we were excited to walk the ever popular Freedom Trail. Start the trail wherever you like, just follow the red brick line to the next site. Because we wanted to end our walk in the downtown Boston towards the evening, we decided to walk the Freedom Trail backwards. Taking the metro to the Community College stop, we gradually climbed our way (getting some major cardio in) to Bunker Hill; our first historical landmark in Boston.

What a beautiful sight! Bunker Hill is where the first pitched battle between New England Soldiers and the British Army took place. Although the British won this battle, the colony soldiers took out almost half of the British Army they were up against. As you stand by Colonel William Prescott’s statue, be sure to take a glimpse at the magnificent view “he” has of Boston.
The Bunker Hill Museum is across the street with some interesting artifacts and illustrations of the events that took place that day. The museum is open Wednesday-Sunday from 10am to 4:30pm, with a break from 1-2pm so plan accordingly. It is free but donations are appreciated. There is also a gift shop within the museum.

Continuing our trail walk, we followed the red brick line to USS Constitution and museum. Again, this was free admission, however they suggest a donation of $5-$15 per person. A very kid-friendly museum, having lots of hands on activities for the kids to do. I found this refreshing as so many museums we’ve been to have a strict ‘no touching’ policy (which is understandable), but this museum found a way to make history interesting and hands on. The boys loved it!
We were also able to tour the USS Constitution itself. The USS Constitution is still commissioned by the US Navy so you will need to go through a brief and simple TSA-like security.

Across the dock from the USS Constitution rests the USS Cassin Young, a World War II destroyer that engaged in several battles and served well beyond what she was expected to. Anything to do with the Navy during World War II peaks my interest as my grandfather was a Navy sailor during that time aboard the repair ship, the USS Jason. Knowing that the two ships were in the same area at the same time, and Cassin was likely repaired by the Jason, I felt close to my grandfather. I wished he was still here so I could have asked him if he had repaired her.
I captured this beautiful picture of the sun behind the American flag on the ship.

The sun was high and we were getting hungry so, after getting recommendations from locals, we stopped at a local restaurant called Brewer’s Fork. The food was very good and if you like craft beers, it would be a nice place for you.

After eating, we trekked across Charlestown Bridge, continuing to follow the red brick line, to our next Freedom Trail stop; Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. Boston has A LOT of cemeteries and three are included in the Freedom Trail. Although there isn’t a lot of well known historical names in this cemetery, there are a few interesting ones I didn’t know about. Robert Newman, the man who hung the lanterns on the night of Paul Revere’s ride and a builder of the USS Constitution, Edmund Hartt are a few more “famous” ones as well many artisans, merchants, and free African Americans. I find the tombstones interesting as they are nothing like what we see today. Almost all of them say ‘Here lies…’ and the person’s name and has skeleton pictures and cryptic designs.

Across from the burying grounds, you will see the ‘Skinny House’. Although it hasn’t anything to do with the Freedom Trail, it is an interesting site with an interesting tale. Some legends say it was built out of spite by two brothers who inherited the land from their father while others say it was built by an unnamed person who had a dispute with a neighbour and wanted to cut off air and light to the larger home. Who knows what the story is behind it but it is fascinating.

Just a block or two from Copp’s is the Old North Church, famous for holding the lanterns that alerted Bostonians that the British were coming…”One if by land, two if by sea.” The church still holds services every Sunday and you are able to tour the church Wednesday thru Saturday 10am-4pm for $5 per person. There is a crypt underneath the church you can tour as well.

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Behind the church is the Paul Revere Mall which is a nice little common area to relax in the shade. The Paul Revere statue stands here as well.

Just a few more steps down the street is Paul Revere’s home. We didn’t tour it because there was a long line and frankly the boys were starting to get a little antsy. Luckily after this point, most of the rest of the historic sites are bunched together.

After our very brief stop at Paul Revere’s house, we headed toward Faneuil Hall. Making a stop at the Boston Holocaust Memorial along the way was a lugubrious experience but something the kids didn’t know much about and a good teaching moment.
After making it to Faneuil Hall, the boys took a break and participated in a little event going on in front of the hall while the adults enjoyed a pint from the Sam Adam’s Tap Room.

Walking through Faneuil Hall will stimulate your olfactory nerve and get your mouth watering! Although this building originally served as the town hall and hosted America’s first town meeting; it now has lots of shops and amazing food! Sweet scents of delicious desserts filled the air, prompting us to get a little snack before continuing on our way. Next, we visited the site of the Boston Massacre and the Old State House. The Boston Massacre was a riot that broke out between colonists and redcoats which led to five casualties and fed the idea of the American Revolution. The Old State House is the ‘oldest surviving public building’ in Boston.

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Our next few stops were brief at the Old South Meeting House, the Old Corner Bookstore, Ben Franklin statue, and the King’s Chapel and its burial ground. Most of these places we couldn’t go in and see due to COVID but it still was amazing to see these historic sites!

Next, we went to the Granary Burying Ground which has some very notable early Americans buried there. For example, three of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Robert Treat Paine are buried here. The parents of Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s founding fathers, are also buried here. James Otis, the American lawyer who helped colonist express their complaints against the British government and coined the phrase “taxation without representation” also was laid to rest here.

Right beside the burial ground, is the Park Street Church. It has some interesting history, one being the site where William Lloyd Garrison delivered his Address to the Colonisation Society, making a statement against slavery. “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” was debuted here by Samuel Francis Smith. It still honors its trinity theology today that it was founded upon almost 220 years ago and works for various social issues.

Just a small walk up the hill on Park Street brought us to the Massachusetts State House. With its gold dome and cast iron gates, the architecture was beautiful. I’m unsure if it is available for tours but we were all getting pretty tired and ready for some dinner and not up for a tour anyhow. Looks like she was having some work done on her too.

And finally, right across from the Massachusetts State House, we arrived at the Boston Commons. Beautifully green and open areas with trees for shade and shelter right in the heart of Boston. After letting the boys play a few games of TAG on the spacious lawn, we walked the grounds and saw the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, met several dogs at a dog meet and greet, and took in the beautiful atmosphere as dusk fell on Boston.

The next day we had some more “fun” things planned for the boys. First up, the Boston Tea Party Museum! Still in line with our historical weekend; this was another interactive museum, making its guests a part of the story. Reliving the events of that historical night, starting at the Meeting House with rallying words from Samuel Adams. Stepping onto the Brig Beaver and Eleanor ships that held the tea, you get the opportunity to toss the tea overboard and into the Boston Harbour. Enter the museum and see a re-enactment of discussions between patriots and loyalists following the Boston Tea Party, as well as see and learn the generational history of the only known surviving tea chest from the Boston Tea Party. Watch a short film about the events after the Boston Tea Party, involving some of the first battles of the American Revolution and Paul Revere’s ‘Midnight Ride’. After this, you can go to Abigail’s Tea Room and sample some teas from this era and/or make your way to the gift shop for a souvenir of history. This was a fun and educational experience!

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After some yummy seafood for lunch at ‘The Barking Crab’, we headed over to the New England Aquarium. This aquarium has a beautiful view of the harbour and an amazing selection of sea life to see and learn about. The four story, 200,000 gallon sea tank filled with all kinds of sea life, including seat turtles and eels, in a vibrant and natural environment of coral reef is a magnificent site to see and is at the center of the aquarium. At its base, penguins play on rocks and in a pool made to mimic their natural environment. Safely pet a shark or ray in their supervised Shark and Ray Touch Tank. These are just a few of the amazing things you can see and do at the New England Aquarium. You can easily spend several hours there.

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We spent most of our day at these two attractions and had a 9:00pm train to catch back home so we spent the rest of evening relaxing and eating.

Even though we only had two full days in Boston, we packed in as much as possible and had a great time! If you love history, seafood, old world charm with modern day luxuries, and meeting all kinds of people from all over the U.S. and world, plan a trip one of America’s oldest and historic cities!