Wednesday October 7, 2020. Boston - The Freedom Trail

               We are so tired!  We spent the whole day walking around Boston following the Freedom Trail. I think the trail is only about 2 1/2 miles long but we stopped at every stop and everything in between. We learned much more walking and seeing then we would have reading it in a book. If you are ever in Boston, make sure to take a day to explore the Freedom Trail.                                                                                                                                           Scotty and I decided that we wanted the kids to get the experience of riding the subway.  We drove the truck to the end of the orange line and parked it.  From there we rode the orange line into Boston Commons which is the "Central Park " of Boston.                                                    First we gathered in a circle to say family prayer.                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Here is Doug parked for the day at Forest Hills Station.                                                                                              

                     Pepper and Taj were free so I had to buy 4 tickets for   the subway. I'm not sure why only 3 tickets are here in the picture?                                                                            

                                    This is the map of the subway. We basically stayed on the orange line all day.                                                                            

                                                         Welcome to Boston Commons. I love this place because it is the end of the Boston Marathon. I actually don’t like the Boston Marathon 😂😂. Everyone does, but I’ve hated it every time I’ve done it. It was still cool to see this place without the stress of the marathon. We got lucky and had an absolute beautiful day.                                                                      

                                               Before we started on the Freedom Trail, we stopped at the park to play and to eat lunch.                                                                                                  

                                                             When we were all ready, we set sail on the Freedom Trail.  As we walked to all the spots, we used this app to explain the history of each location. We understood so much more having the app tell us the story of each spot. It was almost as if we paid for the expensive tour. The app is called Freedom Trail.  If you want to follow us on our journey, then download the app.  Make sure to pay the $1.99 to get the full tour.  It is totally worth it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             BOSTON COMMON                                                                                                                                                 Do you see the red brick line that Graham and Taj are standing on?  That is the brick trail that leads you the entire way of the Freedom Trail. It literally goes through the town and helped us to go the right way.  It started here in the Boston Common.  Listen to the app for other history and stories for each place.                                                                                                                          

                                     MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                         PARK STREET CHURCH                                                                             

                                           GRANARY BURING GROUND                                                                                                                  This was one of my favorite stops.  Listen to the app to see who was buried here. We were particularly excited about finding John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and the Boston Massacre victims. When we were looking at the head stones, we noticed that there were pennies on the stones.  Scotty looked up what it meant to leave a penny on the tomb stone of someone.  We learned that if you leave a penny then that is your way of showing that you were there, visiting the person at their grave, paying your respects.   I happened to have pennies in my pocket, so we all left pennies on the stones of our choice.                                                                                                                                     

                                               KING CHAPEL - This chapel was under construction so I didn't take a picture of it.                                                            

                                             BENJAMIN FRANKLIN STATUE AND THE ITALIAN DONKEY - Taj was tired so we stopped here for a break and a snack. hahahha.  Taj picked the best place for a rest.                                                               

                                         This donkey represents facing opposition.                                                 

                                                             IRISH FAMINE MEMORIAL - The statue on the right represents the colonists who were poor and starving.  The family on the left represents the future colonists who are rich and prosperous.                                                                                 

                                             OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE.   - This place has great history.  Here is where the Boston Tea Party was thought up and executed.  How cool was that, to be standing right where the whole thing initiated.                                                             

                                          OLD STATE HOUSE AND BOSTON MASSACRE SITE  - This was the exact site that the Boston Massacre happened.  It was overwhelming to be standing on the site and to listen to the story of what and how it happened.                                                           

                                                                              FANEUIL HALL                                                                                                     

                                                      HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL - This memorial isn't actually on the Freedom Trail but we had to stop and see it.  We were overcome with emotion as we read the accounts of those who had been in the Nazi concentration camps.                                                               

                                                                                                                                                      

                  PAUL REVERE  HOUSE - This is the house that Paul Revere left from for his famous midnight ride.  He had 16 kids.  I didn't know that                                                                                        

                                             PAUL REVERE STATUE AND THE OLD NORTH CHURCH                                                                

                                                                 COPP'S HILL BURYING GROUND                                                                                   

                                                Scotty had to take a call so we stopped at Paul Revere Park for some play and a short rain storm.                                                                          

                                USS CONSTITUTION AND MUSEUM                                                        

                                                         BUNKER HILL MONUMENT                                                                                         

                                                 By the time we had reached Bunker Hill, we were all tired and hungry for real food, not back pack snacks.  We found this Italian pizza place close to us and ate the best pizza ever.  While we were inside eating, a horrible storm raged in fast.  The wind was amazingly strong and the rain started pouring without hesitation.  All the outdoor furniture blew over.  I counted it a blessing that we were inside for the storm.                                                                      

                                        When our stomachs were full, we ran as fast as we could, through the rain,  to the nearest subway station.  We got to our truck and then drove home safely.  We had a full day and are so grateful for everything we experienced and learned.