We got a room at long wharf so we had access to all the downtown sights and sounds. Day 1 started with breakfast and a walk over to the Nat'l Park Service HQ on Devonshire. This is the home to the Boston National Historic Park (
www.nps.gov/BOST). The Freedom Trail is about a 2.5 mile walk through the immediate area of the Park Service, Faneuil Hall, and the old North End. We were not looking forward to the response from the kids (as young as 6). They were troopers and did the entire walk without so much as a whimper.
We got shut out at The Constitution - actually, we could have gotten in, but the line was a bit longer than we had the stomach for. Bunker Hill monument was under-going renovation, but still worth the trip. The kids were able to relate the most to the cemetaries, Paul Revere's house and statue, and the Old North Church. Who hasn't heard the story of "One if by land, two if by sea..." and the ride of Paul Revere?
(In a few days, we will be visiting the site of those first shots and the objective of Mr. Revere on that fateful night many years ago......
Tonight, we visited with some childhood friends that came to meet us at Fanuiel Hall. Dinner at Durgen Park was entertaining as always. Following dinner, we walked around the market area where my son was an attraction himself with his NY Yankees hat. He was pulled into a photo with some strangers in a scavenger hunt seeking someone wearing a Yankees emblem like him.
The Freedom trail covers part of Boston's Financial district, the area around Faneuil Hall, the North End (the Italian neighborhoods and incredible restaurants) and then Charlestown. It was a bit warm out today and we had difficulty keeping the kids focused, but they did walk the entire Trail without too much whining. AND, I did not have to carry my daughter too much either.
