Events of Monday, October 18, 2010

          Heaven. That was the thought that entered my mind when I awoke this morning. I was in heaven. I lay blissfully taking in each heavenly aspect:  the large queen size bed with the comfy thick mattress, the quiet – a thick closed door kept out the noise of my kids getting ready for the day and the stillness. That is what struck me the most, how still everything was. I turned over to check the time and noticed that my world didn’t rock. In the RV, every movement, regardless how minute, is felt by everyone. Especially at night, I am aware of every toss and turn of my family in the RV. It was almost eerie how still and grounded a hotel can be in comparison. Then we each got to experience a heavenly shower – clean (no dirt, leaves or bugs), warm (no drafts of wind gusting through), and private (a full door with a lock) and all the hot water we wanted to use.

          Then it was downstairs for our continental breakfast. The kids were thrilled to see the option of “make your own waffles”, as I think I have mentioned before how much they miss our waffle maker. This was one of those good continental breakfasts. Not the kind with the mini muffin and OJ that they try to pass off as breakfast, but the real deal –  a variety of cereals, muffins, English muffins, bagels, waffles, hard boiled eggs, oatmeal mixes, two different juices, milk,  fresh fruit and hot chocolate and all the condiments necessary to build yourself a breakfast feast. After breakfast, (and the easiest clean up in months – everything went in the trash) we returned to our room and got ready for the day. Packing up layers of sweatshirts and jackets and going to the RV and packing up lunch we were finally prepared for our day in Boston. The plan was to walk the Freedom Trail and do all the activities associated with it.

          Then the ugly face of logistics showed up. The description of the hotel listed it as kitty-corner from the MBTA – Boston’s transportation system. So we thought we’d just hop on the “T” and head into town. Well the transportation the hotel is near is a bus stop and for $5 each we could catch a ride to the “T” which for more money would take us into Boston. So we asked about parking at a “T” station and found it would cost $5.50 and the hotel clerk was sure we’d find a place to park our RV. So off we went, driving Harvey through Boston and its crazy drivers. When we arrived at the parking lot for the “T” station we found that Harvey was too wide to pass through the gate. We had to back the RV out of the entrance and the line of cars that had to back up as well was full of unhappy looking people. We asked several different attendants and people in authority for help with this parking problem, but no one was very helpful. Finally, a parking attendant for monthly parking told us that if we drove over a bridge we could park for free at the mall. So Jim and Ben went off to find parking and after a mile walk back to the “T” station, rejoined us and we were on our way.

          Next came negotiating the “T” system. Online we had found out that Abby could travel for free and there was a student rate for the older kids and another rate for the adults. However, now everything is automated and you purchase a number of one-way trips and there is no way to differentiate a student one-way trip from an adult, so we had to pay the adult price for all of us. Not a big deal, but it was frustrating that the system didn’t allow our students to be students. As we arrived on the platform, I was looking at the map trying to figure out where to get off when a very nice woman asked if she could help; I just about fell off the platform. Our “angel in the subway” (as the kids started to refer to her) not only showed us where to go, when to get off, how to change trains and how to read all the signage, she also was going our way and walked us through our first train transfer. The “T” is actually very much like Muni in San Francisco, but if you don’t recognize the stops (and they don’t correlate to streets, only to places) which platform to wait on and which train to take can get a little confusing. However, thanks to the help, we ended up at the start of the Freedom Trail on the Boston Commons.

          After picking up a booklet with a map and descriptions of the sites, we set off to explore the first site, the Boston Commons. We passed several statues and a graveyard and then found the lake where the Swan Boats operate in summer. (They are taken out of the water when the first leaf falls as leaves clog their motors.) It was a beautiful day to wander through the park – crisp, clear and comfortably cool. As we walked, Jim and I reminisced about our time in Boston and the kids asked questions about our romance. We decided to have our picnic lunch on a leaf-strewn hill overlooking the park. Abby was amused to find leaves printed on the back with “Today’s Special”. These were regular leaves, but each was printed with those words. It was odd enough to warrant a picture. Then it was off to the Freedom Trail.

          The Freedom Trail is an actual bricked or painted red line that covers 2.5-3 miles (depending on who you ask) linking historically significant sites related to events of the Revolutionary era. As we followed the trail, we were reminded of familiar stories from our history books, but were also intrigued by the numerous “untold stories” of that time. The pew “boxes” of Kings Chapel were new to us. A family would purchase a pew box and then furnish it and decorate it to reflect their tastes. The walls of these boxes were fairly high, significantly separating the church body from each other. The purpose was warmth. As the churches had no central heating, each family brought a coal foot warmer and blankets to church and huddled together for warmth. Children sat on benches facing their parents so their parents could listen to the sermon while keeping an eye on the children.

          Midway through the trail we happened upon the National Park Service Visitor Center and went inside to learn more. There wasn’t much there, but we were advised as to how to make the most of our time on the Freedom Trail. Next we went to Faneuil Hall, the sight of town meetings and speeches that continue to this day. There we attended a ranger presentation and then walked on. As we walked down Hanover Street we started to look for Mike’s Pastry Shop. We had been told that our visit to Boston would not be complete without a visit there. As we neared Paul Revere’s house, we noticed a couple with a Mike’s Pastry Shop box and they were eating the most delicious looking treats. But we were committed to our path….until we turned a corner and saw kitty-corner - Mike Pastry Shop! Crossing the street we found it packed with people even though it was the middle of the afternoon. After taking a bit of time to make our decision we finally settled on a variety of cannolis – chocolate crème for Abby, chocolate chip for Lindsey, chocolate dipped ricotta for Ben, chocolate covered ricotta for Caitlin, and chocolate mousse for me. Only Jim broke the cannoli trend by ordering a rum square. We retreated back to Paul Revere’s house to a small urban park across the street, took pictures and settled down to enjoy our treats. YUMMY‼ (Thanks Patti Shijo for the recommendation!)

          Then it was on to the final stops on the Freedom Trail. We made it to the Old North Church just before 5pm. There we learned that it was two men who lit the lanterns that fateful night to warn “one if by land, two if by sea”. Sexton Robert Newman and Captain Pulling climbed eight stories to the steeple to light the two lanterns to warn Charlestown that the British were traveling the quicker sea route and would be at Lexington and Concord before the night was through. Then it was on to the final stop for the day, Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. The kids were actually relieved to see that it was all closed up for the night. They had had their full of walking through cemeteries.

          Now it was time for dinner. We had planned to have dinner at Durgin Park in Quincy Market near Faneuil Hall. That meant retracing our steps on the Freedom Trail. By now my ankle was simple throbbing. A word of advice – don’t try walking the Freedom Trail with a fairly newly sprained ankle‼ Luckily Jim was able to find us a more direct route back and in the process we were able to see some unique Bostonian architecture – triangular houses, narrow streets, and funky uneven cobblestone alleys. Arriving at Quincy Market we first checked out Durgin Park and were sorely disappointed. Back in the day, Durgin Park was known for its Bostonian fare and surly, rude waitresses. The tables were long picnic tables and your party was expected to squeeze in between two other parties, eating elbow to elbow. However, time seems to have mellowed the place and now it looks like any other Boston eatery – expensive and everyday. So after describing its historically attractive features to the kids – Boston baked beans with cut up hotdogs as a meal, and a prime rib that is an inch thick and hangs off the edges of the plate, we decided to find dinner within the food stalls of Quincy Market.

          We roamed the length of Quincy Market checking out the wide variety of food available there. We found the Brown Derby Deli where Jim had worked his second job to support us when I was in PT school. In a burst of generosity, I offered to “hold” a table upstairs in the dome portion while the rest of the family chose their dinners. We all trooped upstairs, rearranged some tables and chairs, put down backpacks, and the rest of the family went foraging for food. I quickly built a minor tower of backpacks to elevate my aching ankle and settled back to wait. First to return was Lindsey with her orange chicken. She was quite flustered and it seems a major communication/cultural breach had occurred in the ordering of her and Ben’s meal. (He had spicy chicken and chicken and broccoli.) Ben soon appeared carrying my meal of bacon wrapped scallops. Shortly thereafter Caitlin, Jim and Abby appeared carrying their meals. Jim had found a Pastrami Reuben sandwich, Abby an Italian sausage sandwich, and Caitlin was pleased with her bacon covered chicken kebob with rice and veggies. We supplemented all this with water, apples and other snacks left over from our picnic lunch and soon everyone was pleasantly stuffed. Then it was time to waddle home to our hotel.

          Before leaving we consulted a variety of maps. The “T” map tells what lines to take, but the stops don’t correlate with street names. Our walking map shows where the “T” stations are located but not the stop names. So we headed off to the closest station, “State” which is NOT located on State Street, but rather near the Old State Building. Not finding it, Jim asked a non-tourist for help. He said we had passed it and turned us around. We headed back, still nothing. We asked a street vendor and she turned us around and headed us back the way we had come. We probably walked the same block three times before noticing people streaming in and out of a glass door with an orange stripe painted on it. (We were looking for the Orange line.) Other than that orange line there was no other indication that it was a “T” station until you entered through the door and noticed the turnstiles. Jim thinks because the station is located in/under a historic building the signage was as it was.

          Upon arriving back at our starting place, we walked the mile to the mall to pick up Harvey and headed back to the hotel. Exhaustion was apparent in the silence under which the last hour of our day unfolded. Back at the hotel the kids quickly got ready for bed while I took advantage of unlimited amounts of ice and ice wrapped and elevated my poor ankle. Soon gentle snores filled the hotel room and our fun filled day on the Freedom Trail came to its finale.