Boston

Bean Town, Tea Party, Red Sox, Harvard, and history and more history. I was back in school today relearning about the American Revolution and early colonial times. I am late in posting this because I was on an all day tour and I came back exhausted. I was ready for bed by 7:30 pm. Port intensive cruises are very tiring, especially when you go on excursions every day.


So, here is your history lesson. The Pilgrims and Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Within a few years, 50% of the native people had died because the white man’s diseases spread across the region and they had no natural immunity. In 1629, the British came to Salem but didn’t stay very long (it was icky); then they went to Charleston but left there because of bad water. They moved to the Boston area and were happy (although I can’t figure out why they liked it here as the winters are HORRIBLE). Boston means the Patriot Saint of Fishermen. See, history isn’t that bad!

We toured Cambridge and Hah-vid (Harvard), located across the Charles River. The weather was just perfect. How lucky again we have been. Driving down Brattle Street, we were treated to see beautifully restored Georgian style “cottages” (really mansions) that were built before the revolution. Then our journey took us to the countryside of suburban Lexington and then onto Concord. At Lexington, we stood on the greens where 77 minutemen faced 700 British troops. On the way to Concord, we passed by the homes of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Louisa May Alcott. At Concord, we continued on to the historic North Bridge where “embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard around the world,” signaling the start of the American Revolution. After a lunch stop, we visited the “Constitution,” (old iron sides – she got the name because the British shells couldn’t penetrate the side of the hull because of the iron sides) and the Old North Church (built in 1723) where Paul Revere hung lanterns to signal the countryside that the British were coming – “listen and you will hear about the midnight ride of Paul Revere: one if by land, two if by sea.” This church is still in use today. The pews were quite unique in that they were partitioned into private family boxes and decorated according to the owners particular tastes. The more money you donated, the closer you got to the pulpit.

Half the people on this tour were not Americans and it was interesting to get their viewpoint about what they learned about the Revolution. One British lady told me that they learned about the Revolutionary War in school and our guide had it pretty close! One of the excursion staff from the ship is from South Africa and this was her first time in a real American city. She was so excited to eat New England clam chowder and asked questions about our history that actually made me think before answering because it had been so long since I learned all this stuff.

There were so many sights we did not get to see on this trip. I remember our last trip to Boston – it was minus 18* and freezing. We walked around Harvard Square and walked the Freedom Trail until we could no longer stand the cold. We ducked into Faneuil Hall for hot cocoa. With 400 years of history, there is so much to see and do that another trip back to visit is in order.

Again, here is some trivia. You will thank me if you ever go on Jeopardy (the quiz show for you youngsters). There are many, many brick buildings in Boston. Brick is not native to the city. Bricks were used as ballast in ships coming from England; the ship returned filled with lumber. They had to do something with all the bricks, so they used them for building. By law, the old homes, factories, and Victorian mansions have to keep their facades, so the insides are gutted and remodeled and are now very expensive condos and lofts. Dunkin’ Donuts has their world headquarters here; there is $1 million worth of gold leaf on the state house dome; there is a nuclear reactor right in the heart of Cambridge at MIT; and Boston boasts having the oldest restaurant in the country (the Union Oyster House).

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Michael’s Turn:

Today, I got to go to where it all began – Plymouth Rock! I escorted a particularly memorable tour through America’s colonial past. We began with a visit to the Forefather’s Monument, an 80 foot high granite tribute to the original 103 pilgrims who arrived in America in 1620 aboard the Mayflower, a voyage of 66 days. We next visited Plymouth Rock itself, the actual landing point of the Mayflower. I have to say it was much smaller than I had imagined, about 7 feet long by 4 feet wide, but it was thrilling to see nonetheless. Next, we boarded the Mayflower II, a faithful reproduction of the original. It too was built in England and sailed to Plymouth in 1957. It was a present to America for its help during WWII. How 103 people could have lived in those conditions is truly amazing.

We next traveled a short distance to the “Village at Plimoth Plantation,” a living museum that truly brought colonial times to life. This is an authentic reproduction of circa 1627 homes complete with furniture and kitchen appliances. Costumed actors role-played the colonial settlers, with both depth and humor. A third of a mile away was an authentic Indian village. It too was peopled with Indians portraying their ancestors. Their costumes were original too, and some of the women on our tour were rather startled to see the men nearly naked.