Boston Continued

Sept 3rd

I drove into Hingham, Mass., to pick up a book Bridget needed to read for class. The Barnes & Noble in downtown Boston didn’t have any more copies. Kathy worked most of the day. Mia and I went for a long bike ride in the park. We rode all the way to the visitor’s center, approximately 2 miles away, where they have a mountain bike course. Mia and I both rode around the course a couple of times. There were jumps and banked turns. We did it very cautiously, as we are newbies. The Park is so big, that we got lost on our way back. I found our position on the map and navigated a route back. Mia enjoyed being lost. Tim and Melinda showed up this evening. We all had dinner together and shared the tales of our separate adventures.

Sept 4th

After a leisurely morning, all of us took the train to Boston, to have lunch with Bridget. We ate at a little pub named Cusser’s, which had good fish tacos and roast beef sandwiches. I gave Bridget her book, and we said our goodbyes again. She has made some new friends, and they are planning to explore the campus and city together. The rest of us walked the Freedom Trail. The City has marked the trail with a line of red bricks and at each of the key sites there is a placard in the ground. It was very easy to follow. There are so many sites along the trail that were integral to the independence of this country, meeting halls, churches and pubs where the revolutionists met. We stopped all Paul Revere’s house and grave. In the graveyards, you can find tombstones dating back to the 1600’s. Paul Revere’s house is in North Boston, which is “Little Italy”. The streets are lined with Italian restaurants and delis. We had to stop for dessert. We found a smaller place named Pellino’s Ristorante, on a side street and ordered tiramisu and cannoli. It was fantastic! So good, in fact, that we made dinner reservations for tomorrow night. Sweet tooth satisfied, we continued the trail, which led us to Boston Harbor and the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides). As we tried to get to the ship, we had to pass through metal detectors, and empty our pockets. Little did I know, she is still an active US Navy ship. The worlds oldest ship still afloat too. There are Navy personnel on board to tell you all about the ship and how things work. This was Mia’s favorite part of the day. She explored every part of the ship. I, on the other hand, had a difficult time walking around because the ceiling got lower on each deck. At one point it was only 5 feet high. I had to get out before I hit my head. We saw the Bunker Hill Memorial in the distance, but Mia was done by this point. We found the closest subway station, and made our way back to our campsite.

Sept 5th

Tim and I have made plans to see a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. It’s the oldest MLB park, built in 1912. I bought tickets online and we took the subway to the game. As we were traveling, more and more Red Sox fans were piling onto the train. By the time we reached the stadium, the train was packed. Fenway is pretty cool, and the “Green Monster” (giant left field wall), did not disappoint. This is the spot where I finally got to hear the “Boston” accent in full use. We met some nice people sitting around us and had a great time. Tim and I left the game an inning early, to try and avoid to mass of people on the subway. Other people were doing the same thing and we were crammed into the cars. We took the train toward North Boston, where we are meeting Melinda, Kathy and Mia for dinner at Pellino’s. We were a little early, so we got off the train before our destination, and walked around. We found and Irish pub, Hennessey’s Bar, and ordered a pint. Everyone else was at Pellino’s when we arrived. The food was amazing. Homemade pastas and sauces, Italian wine, and of course tiramisu again. We were even serenaded by a man with an accordion. We took the train home exhausted and full.