Sharp's Travels

Today was the first time we have traveled by Amtrak. The train station was very close to our campground, which made it very handy.
We boarded the train at 8:40am for the 2 hr ride into Boston, MA. The ride was very smooth and quiet with very comfortable seating. We brought along books to read for the journey.
We were dropped off at the North Station close to the Inner Harbor. We had purchased tickets for the trolley tour, but opted to walk to our first attraction, the USS Constitution and the USS Cassin Young, anchored at the Charlestown Navy Yard.
The USS Constitution was commissioned October 1797. It is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. The ship gained the title of “Old Ironsides” when being shot at in battle, the cannon balls made almost no impression upon the outside planks of this ship.
We boarded the ship and were given a tour by navy personnel. It was all very interesting. She was going through a restoration, so there was a lot we didn’t get to see.
Next we jumped on the trolley and stopped off at the historic Faneuil Hall. It is the oldest market building, first built in 1742. It sits at the site of the old town dock. Town meetings held here, between 1764 and 1774 it is where Samuel Adams made some of his speeches. This is a part of the freedom trail. Also there was the Old State House, built in 1713.
We continued on up to the Union Oyster House, built around 1713. It’s Boston’s oldest restaurant in continuous operation in the country. We went in to check it out. What a neat atmosphere.
We headed back towards the Boston Common and stopped at the Old Meeting House. It was here that the plans for the Boston Tea Party were launched.
We walked by the Park Street Church. It has stood on this corner since 1809. Nearby was the Granary Burying ground. John Hancock, Paul Revere and Samuel Adams are buried here.
At the center of town is Boston Common. It is the oldest public park in the U.S., established in 1634. We tried to make our way to the 1795 State House and were prevented because they were filming a movie called Zoo Keeper, with Kevin James. They had the traffic at a standstill. Horns were blowing. We were frustrated because we were on a time schedule and they weren’t letting us move! Finally we got the pictures we wanted and moved on.
Our next stop was “Cheers”. It is a tavern called Bull & Finch Pub, which inspired the TV show Cheers. We took a few pictures inside.
We hopped back on the trolley and took the tour to Copley Square, Christian Science Plaza, Fenway Park, Cambridge & Harvard and Beacon Hill. We hoped off the trolley again at the Historic North End by Paul Revere’s house that he and his family owned from 1770 to 1800. We checked out the Old North Church where Paul Revere made his midnight ride.
This completes our walk on the Freedom Trail. Our time in Boston was coming to a close. What a busy day. We will have to come back again someday and take more time to check it all out. Boston is a great city. We were surprised to find how clean and neat all the streets were. The architecture of all the old buildings in the city was fabulous.
We headed back to the Amtrak Station and grabbed a bite to eat and waited for our departure train. Our ride home on the Amtrak was good. It was much better than driving into the city!
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day. See album: Boston