Boston

It's a rare opportunity for me to travel solo to a historical city far from home. Thanks to my wonderful family, I was able to escape my daily life and meet up with my husband for a few days of exploring and holding hands and no children. I loved it. So much. 

Driving in Boston felt like a near death experience. Honking, brake slamming, swerving and 'where did our lane just go' kind of a thing. Jon thoroughly enjoyed being an aggressive driver. I white knuckled it the entire time I was in a vehicle.

Jon booked us a room in the oldest, continuous use hotel in the U.S. The Omni Parker House. JFK, Hemingway, and Babe Ruth have all stayed there.






The first day, we walked the freedom trail. It's a little brick path laid into the side walk that you follow and it takes you past some of the most historically significant locations in Boston. Our hotel was in the perfect location for historical touring. Just across the street was Kings Chapel. A beautiful church built in 1689 and still in use. I would have liked to go to a service but time just wouldn't allow. Paul Revere was the silversmith that made the church bell. 

 

My camera took horrible pictures unless the stars were all aligned, so here is a blurry peek inside Kings Church

That table was a gift from the king of England nearly 400 years ago.

The cemeteries were fascinating. The skulls didn't strike me as very puritan...but they were very common. And the freedom to spell however one pleased! Talk about liberty. This was the oldest cemetery in Boston, just next to the church. The first woman to step off the Mayflower is buried here, along with a Knight and his poisoned lover. And speculatively the woman who inspired the novel The Scarlet Letter. 



Also right across the street from our hotel is the site of the first public school. Ben Franklin, John Hancock and Samuel Adams attended. It is now a Ruths Chris if you want a stake in the old Latin School.

And the oldest building in Boston...is now a Chipotle.

I loved walking on these old cobble stone streets. This was a rare section that wasn't littered with cigarette butts.

I tried to capture that warped road, this was just outside of Paul Revere's front door.

That's Paul's place. It is the only house left standing from the 17th century in Boston.It was nearly 100 years old when the Revere's purchased it. 

Jon's sheepish grin makes me smile. His shirt kept blowing open and the ladies next to me were giggling at him.

I'm leaving those small cause every time I enlarge them they go to the top of my page and I'm mad about that. The first picture is one of the hearths in the  Revere's home. And the lower picture is looking at the home from up the street a ways. 

In another life, this was my apartment complex. I was a well loved singer at the nearby opera house.

After miles of walking, we did what any self respecting adults would do, we went home and took a nap. 

Later we went to dinner at the hotel restaurant where I wasted our money on a very fishy cesar salad. It was a warm but rainy evening. We decided to go for a walk. As we took in the city lights and listened to the random conversations of passerby's,  we saw the old opera house and noticed a play was about to start. We bought tickets and watched a very clever rendition of Cinderella. I was so impressed with the singing, I loved it more than I was expecting to.

The first day in Boston was unbeatable. But we tried the next day anyway.

We drove ( heaven help me) to the Prudential building and did the sky tour. I loved looking out at the river, the harbor, the sailboats and getting a little more in depth history of Boston. We then walked to the Fine Art Museum. I was ready for some culture and education!





The museum was unbelievably huge, there was no way to do it all in a day. I loved what I did get to see though.Especially the Egypt section. Those sarcophagus are 3,000 B.C. There were mummies and statues and jewelry. All with such incredible detail. Morgan called in the silence of this room and yelled in to the phone about blue hair and hobby lobby...I may have hung up on her once I was sure it wasn't an emergency.  

That evening we drove to Harvard and had a disgusting dinner. It was a hip little place that was having fun playing jokes on yuppies. Pancakes topped with pop corn and pickles...drizzled with maple syrup. That will be 16$. I got the burger.  Harvard was not as impressive a campus as I would have thought. So we drove around aimlessly then headed home to get some sleep cause unbeknownst to me, we would be waking up by 5 am ( 3 am to my body) to get to the airport with lots and lots of time to spare. 

When I got home, I expected to be so renewed that my daughters could not possibly annoy me...not for days. But...shhhh! I can't hear, don't just drop that on the floor, keep your hands to yourself, SHHHHH! I guess I got used to some peace and quiet and freedom from the daily stressors of the Mom life. I'm not gonna lie...today was rough. I put them all to bed by 7pm, it was in their best interest believe me.  

Boston, you are beautiful and historical and you better not fall into the ocean. I could never live with you Boston...because of the death driving and the nearly 5 million people. But to visit was a gift and the memories made will never be forgotten.