Day 3 in Boston

Our second day in Boston we decided to use the trolley.  We started our days tour with a harbor cruise.

 

A tour of the USS Constitution which is the oldest commissioned naval warship.  (This boat is nice and all, but I sure am glad we have stepped it up a little.)  

 Kids by a cannon on board the ship.

 

Dad patiently waiting as kids asked questions and touched and examined everything in the museum.   (Poor guy.  This was the most activity he had had since his surgery in September.  I think he was happy to have a few moments to rest his tired legs.)

 

Paul Revere's house is the little brown cedar shingled house in the middle of the other buildings.

A nice picture of the freedom trail.

Trying to lift one of the heavy chains that were constructed in the naval shipyard  in Boston.  The shipyard is no longer in operation, but to see how these chains were made, and just how HUGE the could make them was very fascinating.

Statue of Paul Revere's ride.

We finished the Freedom Trail and headed on to Plymouth, MA that afternoon.  

New England Tour Day 2 - Boston, MA

I LOVE Boston!  It was totally unexpected, and I just couldn't help myself.  I wanna go back....soon!  We enjoyed ourselves so much.

I can't figure out if Boston was as cool as we thought it was, or was the timing just perfect...we went the week following months of planning and practicing for Easter.  I was a hankerin' fer a good long break...well sort of a break...we were fitting it all into our homeschool curriculum, but isn't that what homeschool is supposed to be all about?  (Was that a run-on sentence?)

The first day in Boston we took a walking tour along the Freedom Trail with a costumed guide.  In the picture below you will see a thin red brick path.  If you follow the path it will lead you along the entire historical trail.  The walking tour covered only a portion of the trail and lasted about two hours.

Below is our guide.  I am not sure who or what he was pretending to be.  Ha!  He would have been entertaining and enjoyable had he not continually inserted his own political views.  Perhaps I would not have minded so much had they been more in line with my own personal views.  This picture was taken in front of James Otis' burial site at the Granary Burying Ground.  John Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, the parents of Benjamin Franklin, Mother Goose (yes...she was a real person), and other patriots were buried here. 

 This is a photo of the Old State House.  It was in front of this building where the famous riot, the Boston Massacre, took place. 

Along this walking tour we visited the following sites:

Boston Common, Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground, King's Chapel and Burying Ground,  Old South Meeting House, Old State House, New State House, Boston Massacre Site, and then ending at Faneuil Hall. 

(We finished the Freedom Trail on our second day in Boston.  I'll post pictures of that later.)

This is a delicious bowl of local clam chowder.

 After our walking tour we decided to take a taxi out to visit Fenway Park.

Fenway Park was a nice way to end the day.

New England Tour Day 1 - Providence, Rhode Island

We took a partial New England tour the last week of April as part of our American History studies this year.  Over the next several days I will try to upload photos with a few words outlining our activities.

On the first day of our trip we had the honor of visiting with the Mayor of Providence, RI, Mayor Angel Taveras.  We were very appreciative that he took time away from his busy schedule to give us a personal tour of his office along with answering our questions and chatting a bit.

 Sean and Mayor Taveras
(The mayor is holding a gift from my husband.  Yes, I know...a chicken for the mayor?  Perhaps I will explain later.)

J.R. Pagliarini (Chief of Staff), Sean (my husband), Mayor Taveras, Martin, Rayne, and lastly...their teacher...Mrs. Monique.

Martin, Mayor Taveras and Rayne

Sean and Mayor Taveras

It was a treat to visit the mayor...check out his office...see where all of the hard planning takes place, and for my kids...it may as well have been the president.  It was that special.  My family and I pray for Mayor Taveras along with the other leaders in our country.