Day 6: Walking our way to freedom

Our first full day in Boston dawned slowly and surprisingly...the surprise was due to the overcast sky and rare raindrops that greeted us when we opened the curtains. (Not only has it not precipitated much this summer, but the past few days have seen record heat up and down the East Coast. So count us as major fans of the sprinkles that ushered in a dramatic temperature dip. Again: are we lucky on this trip, or what?) The sluggish start could be attributed to the fact that we all seemed to have contracted a mild case of mid-trip-fatigue. In particular, my own condition was exacerbated by the overgrown frat boys who unfortunately resided in several rooms near us last night. I knew they were trouble from the early afternoon, when they slammed in and out of each other's doors, laughing loud enough to echo off the hallways, and distinctly NOT using their inside voices. Then they had the gall to rowdily stumble in at 3:45 a.m...really, morons? This is not a dorm! I really hoped that they were painfully hungover in the morning...and more importantly, checking out!

Therefore, the jump-start process required extra coffee, but we managed to get ourselves mobile by 10. We aspired to stroll the Freedom Trail today, a 2.5 mile path from beginning to end, with 16 historically-significant stops along the way. But first, we had to locate the nearest T-stop. Armed with pre-printed directions from the front desk (albeit rife with grammatical errors and misspellings--that really should have been a Red Flag), we set out...in the absolutely wrong direction. Now, Husband and I nonchalantly shrugged it off with a collective "Eh, we'll figure it out." However, Derek is the one who tends to get stressed and nervous when he doesn't know precisely what's going on and where we're headed. So I believe this was a valuable Life Lesson for him: "Stuff happens, deal with it." Of course we eventually found another T-stop and got back on track, arriving at Boston Common to commence following the Freedom Trail (literally, a painted or brick line down the sidewalk, leading you in the right direction...which explains why a large number of people in Boston walk around looking at their feet!)

And we stuck faithfully to that red line through all of the awesome historical sights: the Granary Burial Ground (final resting place of Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams), the Old North Church (famed for the "one if by land, two if by sea" signal), various statues of important Founding Fathers (best "yes, I'm paying attention" comment of the day goes to Derek: "Hey, is that B-Frank?" That's Mr. Franklin, SIR to you, History Homeboy), Faneuil Hall (where citizens held Town Meetings to discuss...well, I don't really know, but "grave colonial matters", I'm sure. Related side note: in Faneuil Hall a helpful sign informs you that when participants heard something they agreed with during a debate, they would yell "Huzzah!" in support. So naturally, what do you think Derek's response was when I suggested we take a break and find some lunch?) In the interest of pleasing our empty bellies, we took an exploratory journey through Quincy Market, where tantalizing smells of all kinds (pizza, chocolate chip cookies, chow-dah) tickled our noses. This turned out to be one of Riley's all-time-favorite places, as it also houses many, many stores offering a veritable smorgasbord of Boston mementos. (If Riley had been a patriot in America's early days, his revolutionary rallying cry would surely have been: "Ooh look, a gift shop!" The boy is a souvenir hound, I tell you.) Anyway, after we pried him away from the Colonial Commerce, we made our way to the waterfront to see the U.S.S. Constitution and a three-masted Coast Guard ship that just happened to be docked as well.

From there, we had to cover only a few more blocks to Bunker Hill, and the end of the line. By this time it was late afternoon and the boys were fading a little, as evidenced by Derek's cheerfully-delivered motivational speech, "C'mon, people, let's get to Bunker Hill and get this over with!" (I'm convinced that's the technique General George Washington utilized to encourage the Continental Army in times of despair...) The monument itself looks exactly like the Washington Monument, only shorter. But unlike the one dedicated to George, you can climb this one without arranging for a timed ticket and waiting in line. Huzzah! Of course, it's 294 steps to the top...and our quads and calves may never be the same...but onward and upward we go! The view from the top was...nice...not entirely sure if it was worth it...however, the true reward came when we arrived back down at the bottom just in time for an authentically-dressed Redcoat portrayer to demonstrate loading and firing a musket. That was cool.

Finally, having satisfied our historical Boston agenda, we sought another T-stop to return us to hotel-land. (And this time I'm ecstatic to report that we succeeded like seasoned pros...we might not have even looked like Stupid Tourists any more!) With a deeper, richer appreciation for our nation's heritage and the hard work and sacrifice tendered by our Founding Fathers to achieve it, we felt it appropriate to exercise our own freedom...to order a pizza and watch SportsCenter. Huzzah!