4.My Daily Bucket List Travelogue-October 7, 2009

From the far North West I am now moving over to the East Coast of the U.S. We are going to make this fun and interesting and bounce all over the place!

Today, we’re going to be in Boston, Massachusetts –

One of the most beautiful and interesting ports that we have sailed to on a Canada/New England cruise is Boston, Massachusetts. Not only is the city filled with history, but it also is the home of several prominent art museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. In addition, you can visit the Institute of Contemporary Art now located in the Seaport District and the incredible John F. Kennedy Library located at the University of Massachusetts campus. The Boston Celtics basketball team and the Boston Red Sox baseball team both find their home here. Oh – and who could ever miss a chance to partake in a delicious, creamy, thick bowl of some of the best clam chowder ever with soft, warm sourdough bread and butter? Not this gal! And to have it served by someone using that “Bawston” drawl is so much fun.

Boston is the capital of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England. Because of the city's prominent role in the American Revolution, several historic sites relating to that period are preserved as part of the Boston National Historical Park. I have been lucky enough to go to Boston and follow the red bricks along The Freedom Trail. The Trail takes you to 16 historical sites in the course of two or three hours and covers two and a half centuries of America's most significant past. A red brick or painted line connects the sites on the Trail and serves as a guide. The starting point of the Freedom Trail is the Boston Common, 50 acres of land in the middle of the city where British troops camped prior to the Revolution and left there to march to Lexington and Concord in 1775.

Everything I learned back in grammar school about Paul Revere and the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World”. came back to me so vividly when I was walking along that path. “I” was standing in front of Paul Revere’s house, a museum now; and my head filled with imagination of what it was like to live in those times of using oil lamps for light and cooking over a wood burning stove.

As we walked further down the path, we came upon the Old North Church where two lanterns were hung in the steeple back in 1775 “one if by land and two if by sea” as a signal from Paul Revere that the British were coming! I could almost hear the clomping of the horses as Paul Revere rode his horse down the cobblestone road. This started the American Revolution. The Old North Church stands on a corner in Boston along the Freedom Trail and you should take advantage of one of its’ tours. Not only will you hear the famous story of the lanterns in the steeple, but the docent will explain the history of the magnificent chandeliers that were rushed and hung in time for the first Christmas season services; but you will also hear about the organ and the box pews. One of the pews is memorialized with a plaque saying “George Washington sat here”. He was the Father of our Country!

Further on along the Freedom Trail you will hear the stories of The Boston Tea Party when you pass The Old South Meeting House; and you will find yourself standing in the middle of a busy city thoroughfare now that back in 1775 was actually part of the harbor and the actual site of that famous tea party. Today, The Old South Meeting House is a museum; and if you are lucky, you will get to see a re-enactment of The Boston Tea Party.

In front of the Old State House, the seat of British colonial government from 1713 to 1776, you realize you are standing at the original site of The Boston Massacre. This event ultimately led to the end of the American Revolution.

Three signors of the Declaration of Independence were laid to rest at the Granary Burying Ground, Samuel Adams, Thomas Payne and John Hancock. Their gravestones are large and made of concrete. It is also where Paul Revere is buried. There is a memorial out front which reads “This tablet as a memorial to Paul Revere is erected by the Paul Revere Memorial Association…may the youth of today when they visit this old house be inspired with the patriotism of Paul Revere.”

Over the hill and at the far end of the Freedom Trail is The USS Constitution and the Charlestown Navy Yard. USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. It was first launched in 1797. The ships’ greatest glory came during the war of 1812 when she defeated four British frigates which earned her the nickname "Old Ironsides," because cannon balls glanced off her thick hull. The ship was restored in 1927 with contributions from the nation's school children.

The Freedom Trail is but one small part of the history that is in Boston and its’ surrounding areas. I am honored to have been able to go to this extraordinary place and walk along the path of such great men. To be there and experience this place was an experience I shall never forget. Someday I hope to go back. There is so much more to experience and see – from The John F. Kennedy Library to Lexington and Concord. I hope to see it all. I hope that you can experience what I did and walk down a little path of our American history. It was incredible! When you’re all done, then walk over to The Bull and Finch Pub where the TV sitcom Cheers was filmed and enjoy the ambience of being “where everybody knows your name”.