Day 2 -- Boston

We devoted the day to the Freedom Trail, the 2.5-mile route that winds through Boston from Charlestown to Boston Common and includes some of the city’s most famous historical sites.

After a quick breakfast, we took the subway to the city’s north side, then transferred to a bus that took us across the Charles River and dropped us off at the base of Bunker Hill in Charlestown. There we kicked off our Freedom Trail trek by climbing 294 steps (that’s 20 stories) to the top of the monument commemorating the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775. 

The view from the top of the Bunker Hill monument

The next stop was the Charlestown Navy Yard, where we toured the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, and the USS Cassin Young, a WWII destroyer.

From there, we crossed back over the Charles River to the North End, also known as Boston’s Little Italy. We peeked inside in the Old North Church, the oldest church in the city and the site where, on the night of Paul Revere’s famous ride, two lanterns hung in the steeple to warn the patriots that the British were coming. 

The Freedom Trail is marked with an actual trail of bricks that we followed for 2.5 miles through the city.

We took a break for lunch at an Italian bistro, then crossed the street to Mike’s Pastry — a neighborhood landmark, apparently —  for dessert. The place is famous for its cannoli, and the shop was packed — packed — with people who hastily placed orders at the counter, then watched as their treats were carefully packed into little blue boxes and tied up neatly with twine. In addition to cannoli — in at least a dozen flavors — there were cupcakes and brownies, whoopie pies and slabs of cheesecake as big as my head. And more, too … I just couldn’t see it all through the throngs of people crowding the counter. The girls each got cupcakes and Charlie got a brownie dripping with peanut butter.  Keith chose a classic ricotta cannoli and I got one with chocolate ricotta; and I swear to you, those things were the size of my forearm.

After lunch we hit Paul Revere’s house, Boston’s oldest residence, built in 1680, and Faneuil Hall where town meetings were held between 1764 and 1774, and where people like Samuel Adams and John Adams and others spoke out against the imposition of taxes against the colonies. 

Paul Revere's house

Just as we arrived, costumed interpreters were starting a mock meeting, and the kids and I got to role-play with scripts that were handed out at the door. I got to be John Adams, and rile up the crowd with an impassioned speech in support of a boycott of British imports. Nat’s character was on my side, but Charlie’s character thought the taxes on British goods were fair and that we should continue to pay them. It was kind of a fun exercise, and the other visitors got pretty into it, too. We found out as we left that this kind of interactive event happens only twice every Sunday. So it was pretty serendipitous that we walked right in on it.

Faneuil Hall

We ended our walk in the Public Garden, where we saw the Make Way For Ducklings sculpture — a tribute to Robert McCloskey's beloved children’s book, which takes place in Boston. 

While the Freedom Trail itself is just 2.5 miles, our iPhones logged about 7.5 miles of total activity today. So, from the Public Garden, this weary group took the T back to the hotel, lounged around the pool for an hour or two, then grabbed a couple of wood-fired pizzas from the trendy place across the street. 

A great day in Boston! Tomorrow we’ll move on to the Cape.