Oh, What A Ride!!!!!!!

We were finally ready to catch the Trolley to take a tour of Boston! Our time was running out for the day and we thought this might be the quickest way to at least see some of the places .  Having only pleasant encounters with Bostonians I was shocked when I asked the driver where was the best place to sit. Thinking one side might be better than the other. He gave me a very rude answer. Then asked where I was from and after telling him, he said, "You probably thought I was rude (and I am nodding my head in shock), but really we just like to play around in Boston".  If we would not have had to wait another 30 minutes for the next trolley, I would have gotten off. Unfortunately, it only got more....'interesting' to put it nicely!

Our driver did not stick to the path, and took us by some beautiful places, but I cannot tell you what the name of the buildings are.

At one point our driver became argumentative with one of the other passengers. We thought about getting off but we would have to wait 1/2 hour for our next ride. So we ride on!

Our Trolley Ride began with the driver saying, "When you go to a play how do you act when actors enter the stage?" Someone said be quiet. He said, "exactly, it is my stage!"

We did get to see Fenway Park which was a treat!

Our driver then apparently had a schedule to follow and he was a little ahead, so he pulls over across from a Hilton and allows people to get off and go get a Starbucks or go to the restroom.

We finally got closer to the hotel, and thank goodness for that! As he turned a corner, a truck was on the side of the road, unloading items. As we inched by him, and I do mean 'inched"! We ended up catching the other trucks mirror with the back of the trolley! What a mess!!

Holocaust Memorial

A must see if you are in Boston! There are glass columns that represent the different camps.

As you walk through the columns there is steam coming up representing the gas chambers.

Etched into the glass of the columns are the numbers assigned to the prisoners in the camps, representing those who died. There are some great quotes in glass as well. It was  a beautiful, moving memorial. My pictures and description cannot do it justice!

Lunch at Union Oyster House

Anytime I travel, I like to try foods from the region we are in and today was no exception. I asked some locals where was a good place to eat and they told me Union Oyster House. As luck would have it, we were very close to there when our tour of the Freedom Trail ended!

We had heard that John F. Kennedy had a booth there that was reserved for him. We were hoping to get a picture of this, but we were even luckier. They sat us in this particular booth because there were 5 of us.

Well, sitting at this table came with some responsibility! You had to host and greet everyone else who came over to take the picture also!

I had the clam chowder and crab cakes. Some of the best I have ever had. It was a really nice experience and the atmosphere was great!

Faneuil Hall

At Faneuil Hall is where Americans first protested against the Sugar Act in 1764. This inspired the doctrine that became known as 'no taxation without presentation'.  Following this protest were more protests including the Stamp Act, the Townshend Act, and the Redcoat occupation followed.

A statue of Samuel Adams appropriately sits in front of Faneuil Hall. Here is where he was considered to do his greatest work, dominating town meetings and holding a funeral for the victims of the Boston Massacre. 

Boston's most famous weathervane sits atop of the Hall. It is a Golden Grasshopper. Stories have it that this was used to spot spies during the war of 1812. Anyone who did not know "What is on top of Faneuil Hall?" was considered suspicious!

Old State House & Site of the Boston Massacre

This was the center where ideas were born and events that later sparked the American Revolution were born!  This is the oldest, and one of the most beautiful buildings still standing from the original 13 colonies.

• On the town square outside of the Old State House is where the Boston Massacre took place in 1770, which resulted in the death of 5 men and began public opposition to British authority. 
• The Declaration of Independence was read from the buildings balcony in July of 1776.
• John Adams claimed it was here that "the child independence was born".

Old South Meeting House

We did not get to go into this building, only passed it on our tour. Nonetheless beautiful structure!

The Old South Meeting House sets the stage for some very dramatic events that lead to the American Revolution. One of the most notorious being the meeting on December 16, 1773. Thousands of Boston residents protested what they felt was an unfair, burdensome duty on tea that was sitting in the harbor. After an attempt to send the tea back, Samuel Adams stated, "Gentlemen, this meeting can do nothing more to save the country." Men disguised as Indians later marched down and destroyed the 342 crates of tea. This act later became known as the Boston Tea Party.

MA State House

The land the State House sits on was originally a grazing field for John Hancock's cow pasture. Completed in 1798, the most unique and magnificent feature is the golden dome on top. Originally made of wood, it was later overlaid with copper by Paul Revere. I

n 1874, it was covered with 23 karat gold leaf for the first time in 1874 and then later painted black during WWII to protect the city from bombing attacks. In 1997, it was recently gilded and the golden dome shines once again!

As we toured the Boston and Concord areas, I noticed there were some other gold colored domes on several buildings.

King's Chapel & Burying Grounds

Established in 1686 as an Anglican church, and known for a time during the Revolution as the "Stone Chapel". King James II ordered the building to create a Church of England in America for the Tories. In 1785, the congregation broke ties with the Episcopal Church and formed the first Unitarian Church in America.

The King's Chapel bell was originally created in England, but later cracked in 1814. Paul Revere recast the bell in his foundry. The bell, still in use, was the largest cast by the foundry and the last one cast by Revere himself. Paul Revere claims it was the 'sweetest sounding bell" he ever made.

Located next tot he church is the King's Chapel Burying Ground. It was the first and only burying grounds for 30 years. It contains such dignitaries as:

• John Winthrop, MA first Governor
• Mary Chilton, the first woman to step off the Mayflower

Old Corner Bookstore

Originally an apothecary shop, the Old Corner Bookstore was the nation's leading publisher between 1833 and 1864. The published the works of some very famous authors......

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Ralph Waldo Emerson
• John Greenleaf Whittier
• Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. 
• Charles Dickens
• Louisa May Alcott

......to name a few! During its prime, it became known as the Parnassus Corner in reference to the mountain home of the Twelve Muses of Greek mythology.

Irish Famine Memorial

Sitting across from the Old Corner Bookstore, sits a memorial to the Irish commemorating The Great Hunger. The potato blight devastated the Irish potato crop and over one million people died of famine and a million more immigrated to the United States. More of them settled in Boston than anywhere else in this country.

Bunker Hill

The monument commemorates the important Battle of Bunker Hill of June 17th, 1775. 4,000 British troops marched bravely up the hill, to almost certain death, and attacked the works hastily thrown up by the American troops the night before. The Americans numbered about 2,500.

 Just before the battle, Prescott gave the famous command "don't fire til you see the whites of their eyes," to delay firing and conserve precious gun powder.

Granary Burying Ground

Absolutely one of the coolest places I went to today! Cemeteries (as we call them in Texas) hold so many secrets, stories, and tales of family! I love exploring them! This one was no different!

Known as the resting place of Boston's most famous sons.  At least 3 of the signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here. It was established in 1660, and named after the grain storage building next door. At one time it was part of the "Common", so the grazing animals took care of the growth of the manicuring of the lawn.

Table Top Graves

There were three sections. The section with upright headstones, table top, and tombs. The upright headstones are not so neatly in rows. At one time many of the stones washed down the hill in a flooding rain and were just brought back up and placed anywhere. So the people are there, just not necessarily where their headstone is located. The table tops were crypts under the ground. The tombs were under the buildings outside the perimeter of the burying grounds.

Embellished stones with skull and wings on left; skull and cross bones on right.

Interestingly the tombstones are somewhat embellished. The Puritan churches did not believe in religious icons, so the tombstones reflected the beliefs of the afterlife. Many have what is known as the Soul Effigy, a skull with a wing on each side that represents the soul flying to heaven after death. We saw lots of these! There are elaborate scroll work, poetic epitaphs, images of the Grim Reaper and Father time on many of the stones.

 Dignitaries laid to rest here include:

• John Hancock*

John Hancock Grave Site

• Paul Revere

• James Otis

• Samuel Adams* - who had the victims of the Boston Massacre buried in his family tomb

• Crispus Attucks
• Samuel Gray
• Samuel Maverick
• James Caldwell
• Patrick Carr

• Robert Treat Paine*

*Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Park Street Church

This Congregationalist church dates back to 1809. It has a history of  'firsts':

• William Lloyd Garrison gave his first public anti-slavery speech here
• "My Country 'Tis of Thee" was sung for the first time by the children's choir
• Supported Abolitionist causes, by hosting an anti-slavery series of lectures as early as 1823
• Prison reform began in this church
• Women's suffrage was strongly supported

Built at the site of the old town granary, the 217 foot steeple was the first landmark that travelers saw when coming into Boston. Located at the corner of Brimstone, it is believed that the street got its name because the preacher preached  "hell fire and brimstone" for unrepentant sinners or because they stored brimstone or sulfur that was used in the making of gunpowder in the basement. 

The church is still active as a Congregationalist church to this day.

Boston Common

America's oldest park founded in 1634. It became known as the 'Common' grounds where townspeople could graze their animals. Each towns person would pay a 'town shepherd' per head to tend their animals as they grazed.

It was not all fun and games happening in the Common, there were whipping posts, and stocks where punishment was doled out. Hangings of Pirates, murderers, and witches took place from a tree called the Great Elm. Several Quakers who refused expulsion from Boston because their beliefs were not of the norm were hanged in the Common.

Freedom Trail

We walked most of The Freedom Trail is a trail made of red brick that leads you through Boston to 16 nationally historic sites, each considered an "authentic American treasure"! This trail tells the story of the American Revolution with a collection of museums, churches, parks, burying grounds (AKA cemeteries in Texas), a ship, historic markers, and meeting houses.

JFK LIbrary

"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." ~ John F. Kennedy

Youngest man to be elected President at the age of 43, the first Catholic, very popular, and the youngest to die!  35th President of the United States.

The library is one of 13 Presidential Libararies. Our Docent reminded us several times that we had 3 of them in our great state of Texas! Yes, we do, and we are very proud of that!

One of the more touching displays was the rerun of the news when Kennedy was shot.  Walter Conkrite tears up when reporting that the shots were fatal. 

Goodbye, Texas! Hello, Massachusetts!

Good Morning! Nothing like getting up at 2:00 am to get ready to meet the bus at 4:00!  The first day is always the longest because we leave so early and then hit the ground running.  Upon arrival in Boston, we eat our lunch on the bus enroute to our first stop. We will be visiting and touring the JFK Library and the USS Constitution this afternoon! Then we will eat at "Cheers" - you know the place "where everybody knows your name" of TV fame!

T minus 20 hours

The countdown is on! Teachers in CS/Bryan will pull out at 4 am Sunday morning (June 8, 2013) and then pick up the teachers in Navasota and be on the road again by 4:20 am headed to the airport! I am getting very excited about this trip as I research the sites we will be visiting.  I am looking forward to spending time with teachers from Bryan, College Station, and Navasota who all share a love of history as I do!

Ever notice that when you are planning a trip it seems as if you are more attuned to the name of the cities when mentioned on the news? This morning I heard them mention something about a 'craze' in New York. I gave the television my full attention at this point since I will be in NY next week. So what do you get when you cross a croissant with a donut??  As the reporter smashed them together my first thought was "a mess"! Then she proceeded to introduce the 'Cronut'! A Cronut, really? Apparently, they are such a popular treat that people stand in line to get them from a certain bakery in NY. They have been around less than a month and are already trademarked. Which means I will probably not get to partake of one of the delicacies. Sad!

Note to teachers going! I posted a tab at the top with a few apps I found that you might be interested in downloading. Some are guides to various places we will be visiting! All but one of them is free!

Preparing for the Last Trip with TAH

New York City?! I think of the Pace Picante commercial every time I hear someone say that. Of course we won't be eating picante sauce while there!  Getting excited as I prepare to blog the last Teach American History (TAH) grant trip! This trip will take us to Boston, West Point, and New York City where it will be Amazing Daze for us once again. As I have said in the past, you need running shoes to keep up with this schedule and then about a three or four day vacation to recuperate after it!

This trip resonates with new experiences for me! Having never been to any of these places makes it even more exciting and then to throw in the use of the subway/bus systems to get around adds that element of fear! Having heard so many 'stories' about what NOT to do, or how NOT to act while there has me pondering and slightly stressing, but I refuse to let these feelings overtake my feelings of pure excitement!

Since we will be on foot most of the trip, I will not have the time on the bus traveling from one place to another to post as I have in the past. I am planning on doing short posts with  pictures that I can put up quickly.....hopefully! I will tweet on Twitter as well! I will be using #tah2013 for those who want to follow us!

If you have never followed us in the past, here are the blog links for the last two Amazing Daze trips with teachers from Bryan, College Station, and Navasota, Texas:

Amazing Daze in DC

Amazing Daze in California