Days 34 & 35

Russ and I decided to walk the Freedom trail in Boston. We took the subway into town and then walked to the beginning of the trail. We got turned around a little and ended up walking several blocks further. It is about 3 miles long and passes most of the historical parts of Boston.


The Battle of Bunker Hill was actually fought on Breed's hill which is next to Bunker Hill. The Colonists actually lost the battle after the British advanced 3 times. But they killed over a third of the British forces, about 225 men, and wounded a lot more. This is the monument on the hill in Boston.



We enjoyed walking through the neighborhoods of Boston. We passed by a cemetary that dated back to 1630. Then we spotted the steeple of the old North Church...one if by land and two if by sea... The signal for Paul Revere was given from this church.

And he rode through the countryside alerting the colonists that the British were coming.

Paul Revere's house. It is only about 2 blocks from the church. He was a silversmith by trade, but also did some dentistry. He had 8 children with his first wife, and then she died. He remarried shortly after her death, and had 8 more children with his second wife.

This little street had the orginal cobblestone, and it looked like the businesses were also very old.

After we left Boston we drove to Lexington and Concord. There was a confrontation between the Colonists and the British in Lexington on April 18, 1775, and someone fired a shot. The colonists ran, and the British went to regroup. Concord was the biggest stockpile of weapons that the Colonists held and the British knew it. The British troops started to move toward Concord, and Paul Revere left on his famous ride to rally the Colonists.

The British met the Colonists at this bridge in Concord. There the "shot heard round the world" began the revolutionary war.

This house was next to the bridge. It was owned by William Emerson who is Ralph Waldo Emerson's father. They lived there and possible witnessed the battle at the bridge.

This cute little guy posed for me....

Tuesday we drove the Plymouth and boarded the Mayflower II. It is a replica of the original Mayflower. 102 Pilgrims and a crew of 30 made the voyage which took 66 days. We could not believe that so many people could fit on this boat.

This is the Kitchen...

The lower deck was very small. All 102 passengers stayed together on this deck, along with all of the animals, 2 dogs and some chickens, pigs and goats.

We were told that this is a "cabin" that would have accomodated a family of 6 or 8. It was about 4' by 5'.

This ship is fully functional, and sails occasionally.

We also saw the "Plymouth Rock." It looked just like a rock. We were told that it had been cracked several times and moved a few times. It sits in the water at the edge of the bay with dirty water and sea foam surrounding it....not pretty.







We then went to a Pilgrim village. The Indians or as they asked to be called "the Natives" had their village next to the Pilgrim village. In this home, the mother had turkey stew cooking on the fire and was feeding it to the baby. Everything is authentic and the actors totally stay in charactor.

This woman had been outside working with the baby on her back.

The homes were made with a wood framing and covered with bark.

The pilgrim homes were small. The average home was 15' by 20', and housed many people. This home housed a family of 8.

This village is about a third the size of the original Plymouth. It was so much fun talking to the actors...they all had stories to tell.

We left Plymouth and drove to Cape Cod. Very quaint. It was beautiful and peaceful.

There was a lighthouse across this little bay.

We love Massachusetts. It is a very friendly state, and beautiful, clean and green. I can totally understand why so many people come here to vacation.