Boston

I think our day in downtown Boston was one of our busiest days on this trip.  We took our time getting ready and driving downtown.  That turned out to be somewhat of a mistake.  We missed out on all the cheap early bird parking deals.  Instead we forked over $40 to a parking garage for 6 hours!  Sadly, that was the cheapest rate we found while driving around for 30 minutes.

Once we parked and walked out of the building we saw a historical building and decided that we should head there first.  It was the site of the Boston massacre.



[caption id="attachment_2272" align="aligncenter" width="225"] List of those killed at Boston Massacre site[/caption]

We decided to pay for the building tour and listened to information about the actual fight.  While outside I got over heated and needed a bit of water before I could continue on.  After checking out the history we decided that I needed more water and went to Starbucks (saw way more of them than we thought we would in Boston).  After that we decided to start walking the Freedom Trail.  While on the trail we found a few graveyards, first was King's Chapel Burying Ground.





We finally made it to the State Capital Building of Massachusetts.  We arrived just in time to catch up with a tour group.  We also just missed a press conference that was wrapping up as we entered the main entry way.  It is the oldest state capital building still in use today.  Also, the land that it sits on was once owned by John Hancock.





When we left the capital we walked across the street to Boston Common, a nice park that had tons of activity.





We then continued on the Freedom Trail to Park Street Church.  A church where "My Country tis of Thee" was first sung and the Boston division of the NAACP meets.



Just up the block is the Granary Burying Grounds, this is where many famous Americans are buried.  For example, Samuel Adams, Ben Franklin's family, John Hancock, and Paul Revere.  We found Boston's old City Hall and then walked down to the harbor to relax a bit before heading back to the car.







[caption id="attachment_2296" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Boston Harbor[/caption]

On our walk back to the car we walked over a block and found Quincy Market and did a little shopping.  What a great market to walk through.  On the other side of the Market was Faneuil Hall.

[caption id="attachment_2298" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Inside Faneuil Hall[/caption]

This was the place of many speeches in our nation's history from Samuel Adams and James Otis to state why we should be free from Great Britain.  The guide from the Parks Department gave a wonderful speech about the Great Hall and why we should vote based on what our forefathers fought for.



After that, we found our car and headed back to the hotel for naps and dinner.