Weekend in Boston

Some old friends of ours, Josh and Amy Routt, who now live in Arkansas were visiting Amy's brothers in Boston recently. We drove up there to see them and to see Boston since we'd never been there before. Amy and I grew up in the same town in TX, and we all lived in the same apartment complex in Provo as young marrieds and had our first babies there, etc. Aaah, those were the days...life seemed much simpler then. We were always dirt poor and stressed about school, work, and money but still, looking back it seems like a much simpler time. I wonder how that works? Will I one day look back to today and think the same thing? But I digress...
SO, we drove to Boston. It is less than 4 hrs. away from us so that's what, like 2-3 Disney movies, right? We had perfect weather despite a recent cold snap and some of the trees were beginning to change color, we noticed, as we drove through Connecticut. Anyway, we met Josh and Amy and their oldest girl, Taylor (whom I used to change diapers!), and they treated us (thanks!) to a delicious brunch at a bar named Deep Ellum that Amy's brother owns and just opened 9 months ago. We spent a good 3 hrs. with them and it was great to talk and get caught up, etc. We were also able to get tips on what to see and do in Boston!
We took a Duck Tour to hit the main highlights of Boston and learn a little bit about the area. A Duck tour is on a WWII amphibious vehicle. So we drove around the city and then entered the water and rode around in the Charles river. The Charles river has Boston on one side and Cambridge (MIT, Harvard) on the other. On land, we went past Bunker Hill where the revolutionary soldiers waited for the oncoming British and were told not to shoot 'til they could see "the whites of their eyes" and also past modern day sites like the Cheers bar. I loved seeing places like the Old North Church where shined the two lanterns as a signal from Paul Revere to warn the British were coming "one if by land, two if by sea" and driving through the streets where Paul Revere rode on horseback yelling, "the British are coming, the British are coming!"
Our tour guide was great...they are all comedians, I think, and he let the boys each have a turn "driving" the boat while in the river. I couldn't get over every one's accents there. To me, they all sounded like JFK...(and the New Kids on the Block). When they talked fast, I couldn't even understand what they were saying! I assumed it would be like a NYC accent but it is totally different. I've gotten used to the NYC/Jersey accent so I can at least understand them when they talk too fast!
Anyway, we walked through Boston Commons, which is like a mini Central Park and the site of the Boston Massacre in 1770. We ventured by some sights like old cemeteries (which I love to walk through) and the Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was read from a balcony to the people of Boston.
Then we made our way towards the harbor through Quincy market and ate at a seafood restaurant right on the waterfront so Dave could have some real fresh seafood. The best part about Quincy market is the street performers. They are WAY better than the street performers we see in NYC. The ones in NYC are often just freaks. In Boston, they actually have talent and this is their actual profession. Our favorite was the Yo Yo People, John and Rebecca Higby. They are a young married couple and they actually tour all over the world with their street comedy/yo yo tricks/hula hooping show. I took some video and pictures of them but I think their website is much better than what I have so you can click on it if you are curious. I can only imagine what their children will be like!
A few things I noticed in comparing Boston to NYC.
1. Boston is much cleaner.
2. Boston was much easier, believe it or not, to get lost. At least NYC is laid out on a grid. Boston is full of funky curvy streets that wind all over the place. We were lost 90% of the time.
3. Finding parking in Boston is about the same as NYC. But when you do have to pay for it, it's much cheaper than NYC.
4. As already stated above, the street performers in Boston are much much better.
5. I'm sure there's more but that's all can think of right now!
The highlight of the trip (other than seeing our friends), in my opinion, was visiting the U.S.S. Constitution, a.k.a. Old Ironsides. She is 209 yrs. old now, and although she is made of wood, I learned that she does have plenty of copper on the outer hull, below the waterline. All of the copper was produced by Paul Revere, who owned the first operational copper rolling mill in the U.S., giving us more independence from the Brititsh. Prior to 1800, our copper was all supplied by England. Anyhoo, she saw most of her first battles in the War of 1812 against Britain. During one such battle, someone reportedly sees a British shot bounce off the U.S.S. Constitution's side and shouts, "Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron!"-and so began the nickname Old Ironsides. It was really a beautiful ship and if you ever go, make sure you make the time to take the guided tour. It's the only way you're allowed to go below deck and you learn so much more about her history, etc. Her battle record was 33-0. Not bad at all! They take her out for a sail through Boston harbor once a year and we learned (too late) that each night at sunset, they fire one cannon. I wish we could've seen that!
At one point during the tour, we were headed up from a lower deck and I told Dave I was going to stay behind for a second to take a couple of pictures and he would need to keep track of the kids by himself for a few minutes. After I snapped some quick pictures, I was headed up the stairs where the tour guide was explaining the story about the cannonball bouncing off the hull and how the ship got her nickname. Then I heard a loud BOOM...OK, not like a cannon fire boom, more like a LOUD THUD. I then heard the tour guide interrupt his monologue and say, "OH! Hey there buddy, yeah, oh my, let's not play with the 24 lb. cannonballs. Here, let me put that back for you." I looked over and saw the guide scooping up a cannonball off the floor and putting it back on a rack and a very embarrassed Peter running over to me and burying his head in my hip. Then I saw Dave scrambling through the crowd to me as I made some "what the h_ll happened up here!" eyes at him and he made "I swear I thought he was right next to me!" eyes at me. I was so glad that cannonball didn't bash a hole in the floor and ruin Old Ironside's 33-0 record! I have tons of pictures from this trip if you want to see them and learn even more about Boston, click here!