{"id":1109,"date":"2018-12-29T16:46:41","date_gmt":"2018-12-30T00:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hovorka.org\/?page_id=1109"},"modified":"2018-12-29T17:04:19","modified_gmt":"2018-12-30T01:04:19","slug":"boston-2001","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hovorka.org\/index.php\/trips\/boston-2001\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston 2001"},"content":{"rendered":"
Day 1 - August 30, 2001\r\nLast updated: 8\/30\/01 7:00pm EDT<\/pre>\n
We considered going to Maine this year, but that would be a mostly nature type trip. Since we did Alaska last year, we decided to get some history this year and go to Boston.<\/p>\n
Today, our day started out a little on the bad side, but not too bad. Had to get up at about 5am to get to the airport on time. I woke up with a nasty stiffness in my shoulder. The pool where we go swimming regularly, at the high school, is closed for two weeks every year right before school begins. They do this to do any repair work needed. This year they painted the inside of the pool and it took longer than expected to dry. So we went three weeks without swimming. Boy did my muscles ache after three weeks off. Yesterday my shoulders were sore. Today, they were really stiff. But enough about me.<\/p>\n
After everyone boarded the plane at O’Hare, and at the time the plane was suppose to depart, they told us all to get off the plane. There was some problem with the electrical system, battery charger or something. Luckily, we only had to walk one gate over to a different plane which was ready to go. They had to transfer people’s luggage from the broken plane to our new one and we left only 40 minutes late. Not bad I guess. The flight was uneventful, which is how you want a flight to be. “Breakfast” on the plane was a hot bagel, not a warm one, but a hot one. Wasn’t toasted either. I probably don’t want to know how they made it hot. Total flight time was a little over two hours.<\/p>\n
After arrival at about 12:30, we headed to the “T”, Boston’s subway system. We didn’t want to rent a car because everything we want to see is within waking distance, or a short train ride away. After seeing the streets of Boston, it was a wise move. The streets are usually curved, one way, and loaded with traffic. It would have been a nightmare. (We are renting a car for one day on Sunday, more details when we get to that point). Our hotel is in the heart of the city. About a block from Boston Common and the start of the Freedom Trail. The Omni Parker House is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the US. It opened in 1856. The rooms are small, and the king bed takes up most of the space, but the room is very nice and clean.<\/p>\n
Lunch was at Finagle A Bagel. Everything on the menu somehow came with a bagel or part of a bagel. My sandwich came on a bagel, Denise’s salad had bagel croutons. The place was very much like Panera Bread, except with bagels. We did some walking around to try and get the lay of the land. We walked though Boston Common, the country’s oldest public park, 50 acres where the freemen of Boston could graze their cattle. Of course cows where banned in 1830, but the park itself came into existence in 1634! We walked through the Granary Burying Ground (note that they don’t seem to call it a cemetery here). This is where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Ben Franklin’s parents, Mother Goose (Elizabeth Goose, children’s author) and John Hancock, and a bunch of other old dead people are buried. A lot of gravestones are impossible to read. Most were dated in the late 1700’s. I’ll have pictures tomorrow, although I’m sure they’ll be hard to read, since they were hard to read in person.<\/p>\n
The buildings here are a mismatched collection of old, not so old, and new; small, medium and large. It’s quite interested to see a really old building next to a modern skyscraper.<\/p>\n
Dinner was at the Purple Shamrock, an Irish pub. There are a lot of Irish pubs here. We had the 1 pound lobster special, you get the whole thing, legs and all. But boy was it tasty.<\/p>\n
Don’t know how accurate the pedometer is, but it said we walked 5.5 miles today. Tomorrow we will do more as we head down the Freedom Trail, a trail that passes by many historically significant buildings and sites.<\/p>\n
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Day 2 - August 31, 2001\r\nLast updated: 8\/31\/01 10:00pm EDT<\/pre>\n
Today was a walking day. We did the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile trail (one way) past many historical sites spanning over three centuries of American history. Somehow we managed to walk 7.1 miles today. Maybe my cheapo pedometer isn’t too accurate. Here are the highlights. We saw more than this, but you need to come to Boston to absorb the history for yourselves.<\/p>\n
The day started at the Boston Common, where the trail begins. The trail is marked by either red bricks, or a red painted stripe on the sidewalk. We stopped at the Granary Burying Ground again to snap some pictures. Here’s the sign on the gate.<\/p>\n