Day 3: First Stop, Boston, Massachusetts

Bean Town

After a sea day (complete with whistling winds as heard from our cabin), we pulled in to beautiful Boston, Massachusetts.  Grant had picked a bus tour of the city via the cruise lines, so we boarded our bus and headed from the pier.

Here's the thing about bus tours: You're loaded onto a bus with 65 of your closest friends that you've never met before, driven to various locations wherein you're unloaded, chatted at for a bit, herded here and there for a bit, then loaded back on the bus. I know we saw buildings of interest.  They each had a story, which was recited by the guide, and they were important in their own way.  I have some pictures of these buildings, but I don't remember the story.  So, here are some pictures of buildings.  If I remember the story behind the pictures, I'll let you know.

 Our first stop was to Copley Square where we took in the John Hancock Building and Trinity Church.  Trinity Church was undergoing renovations, so photo opportunities were marred by scaffolding.  

Note the lousy weather.  Being from the desert, Grant and I didn't mind the clouds, cold and rain one bit.  We dressed for it and had an umbrella in our back pack at the ready.

 Trinity Church as reflected in the John Hancock building.

Faneuil Hall, an original marketplace from the 1700s and still in use today.

We were loaded back onto the bus and made our way to Paul Revere Mall for a few photos. This statue is a portrayal of Paul Revere's midnight ride, one of most photographed memorials in the city.

I usually see buskers playing guitar.  This guy played a mean classical violin. I placed a fiver in his case.

Walking through the Mall, we made our way to the Old North Church, famous for "One if by, two if by sea."

The church is in beautiful shape, well maintained by donations, as collected in the original church collections box. Services are still held here after a couple of centuries of continued use. Although it's now called The Old North Church, its original name was Christ Church.

This church's tower was used for placing lanterns as a code indicating from which direction the British would come.  Paul Revere then mounted a borrowed horse and road to Cambridge to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock of the impending invasion.

 Back in the day, families would purchase their own box and decorate it with furniture, coal heaters and blankets. 

The organ and a chandelier which still uses actual candles.

If you want to learn more about the history of Paul Revere and his midnight ride, this is a good read: Paul Revere-The Midnight Ride.

Walking back to the bus, we passed some interesting graveyards.  'Tis the season...

From here we once again boarded the bus and road to Cambridge to visit the hallowed grounds of Harvard University. I don't much remember what all was said about it, so I'll just slap in some photos and let you, dear reader, Google questions you might have about the campus.

Once again we boarded the bus, this time to find our way to Lexington, Massachusetts and a famous marker, The Line of the Minute Men. Capt. John Parker was in charge of the Lexington minutemen.  Hearing that a complement of some 700 British soldiers were about to march through Lexington on their way to Concord, Capt. Parker summoned his minutemen, who congregated on the Lexington Common in the dark of night.  

In time the British soldiers reached the town.  Although no order was given to fire, shots were heard and in the ensuing skirmish, 1 British soldier and 10 minutemen were dead.

Not only was this area historically significant, but I found it fascinating in that the original homes were still standing.

It was at this home that one of the militiamen died at his front door, in the arms of his wife.

Our final destination prior to our return to Boston was the Old North Bridge, site of the first real skirmish between the British and the militia prior to the Battle of Concord. There is a lot of information on the internet about the Old North Bridge, most of which differs from one site to the next.

As I stood at the bridge, saw the memorials for both British and American soldiers, I was left with a sense of pride, loss and wonder at how our nation managed to secede from British control on guts and determination.

Site of two British soldiers and a re-enactor in period costume

The Concord River from the Old North Bridge

Believe it or not, I never actually got a photo of either the bridge or the hill where the battle took place.  The sun was angled in such a way that photo attempts in that direction were dashed.

Boarding the bus we made our way back to Boston for lunch at the Union Oyster House. As we were a part of a tour, we had reserved seating where Grant, myself, and 65 of our closest friends had a nice bowl of chowder and some SCROD, which has a few definitions, but I like Seaman's Catch Received on the Dock. Turned out to be some of the best fish I've had.

And so ends day three of our cruise, a most interesting, if tiring, day.