Boston, Days 2 & 3

Saturday we climbed aboard the commuter rail and headed out to Concord to see the historic sites. Definitely a cute little town, and apparently they see 1,000,000 visitors a year checking out the Lexington and Concord battlefields. Before we even go to the Concord Old North Bridge, though, we were sidetracked in a colonial cemetery. I know, wierd. We found it fascinating to see how the engraving and artwork had changed over the centuries from the 1600s to the 1800s. Someday I'll write a master's thesis on it. This round symmetrical face with circular eyes we definitely decided was the strangest.




After getting our fill of gravestone art, we headed out to the Old North Bridge, where the colonial minutemen first took up arms against the British Regulars. It was a muddy mess, and I think we understand why most people go see it in the summer. However, the walk through the town out to the bridge was beautiful and seeing a park ranger dressed as a British officer made it well worth the walk. Here's a replica where the old bridge was:


And here's David standing next to a minuteman memorial:


In the museum on site, there was one of the cannon that the British had marched out to recapture (the colonials had stolen it and 3 others from them):

After checking out all the historical stuff within reasonable walking distance, we headed back to the train station and a mellow dinner in Quincy Market.

Today, we were off early to church at Park Street Congregational Church. It is one of the stops on the Freedom Trail, which made it fun to worship in, but David had done some research and discovered that it's one of the last bastions of conservative Christianity in the city, so we went! After church, I needed a nap, so David did some grading and I slept until lunch. We had intended to attend the St. Patrick's Parade being held today in South Boston, but I ended up sleeping through that. As it is, we have a bar that we can see out our hotel window, and that is giving us plenty of drunk-for-St. Patrick's-Day people watching. When I woke up, we went to the Italian section for pizza, and then got started on the Freedom Trail. Here's David at lunch:


This is a cool double-door that was right across the street for pizza. Use your imagination and try to figure out what kind of friendly giant would need the second-tier door:


This is a view of the Boston Commons, standing at the top. Park Street Church is the big steeple in the picture:


Here I am, standing in front of the State House:


And here's the flier from when Charles Finney visited the Park Street Church:


So far we're loving checking out all the history. Makes me wish I knew more about the city. But for now, we're off to find dinner and plan out tomorrow!