Boston Freedom Trail

Throughout the city of Boston is a red brick line (sorry it's not yellow for those Oz fans) that happy tourists like ourselves can follow and see many, many historical sites.  This line is called the Freedom Trail.  In honor of our freedom, let's walk it together....or not....you choose....it's called freedom!

A stately gentleman in front of a state house.

The Massachusetts State House to be exact.

One of the oldest burial grounds, not in the world....but in the new world.

Is it strange visiting a cemetery without a relative buried there or without a seance kit?

Can I get your John Hancock on these?  Yes, folks, that's where John Hancock is buried.

PAUL REVERE (with the sound of a horse galloping in the background)!!!!

Old City Hall, home to the city council from 1865-1969.

Follow the yellow brick road....wait a second...

The location of the Boston Massacre.

The Old State House, where British soldiers (without orders) fired upon the crowd killing 5 people.  Later labeled as the Boston Massacre.

Boston Custom House Tower, the first real skyscraper on the Boston skyline.

cop-a-squat: to have a seat (according to Urban Dictionary)

Another preeettttty view.

Not too exciting, but we did pass Paul Revere's house on the trail.

Little Italy.  Pasta? Canoli? My favorite place.

That's Fred and Albert below dearest Paul Revere.  Yes, I named them.

Old North Church, where Paul Revere's midnight ride led to the signal from this church "One if by land, and two if by sea" which more properly means "The flippin' Redcoats are coming!!!!!"

Boston.

294, that's how many steps it took to get to the top of the Bunker Hill memorial.  You would think that a person who completed (no, dominated) the Inca Trail would take this as just a small challenge.  By the time I got back down, my calves were cramping so badly that I was screaming for bananas (fact: potassium prevents muscle cramping).

The best view of Boston.

The Haw-bah (translation: harbor)

We are glistening from the beauty of the view....not the stairs we had to take to get there.

Back down the swirling staircase.

Although the British won the Battle of Bunker Hill due to the defender's loss of ammunition, they refrained from going forward due to their own massive loss.

And the end of the trail overlooking the city.

Boston Wedding

     It appears that our running theme when traveling is to attend weddings.  No friends, we do not crash these weddings; we are legally (or properly) invited....AND we even RSPV.  On our Boston trip, we happened to be invited to the wedding of some dear friends who lived in Virginia when we did.  They are originally from Boston, sporting their Red Sox and Patriots gear, but we don't hold it against them.  Their wedding was beautiful, even if it did have to be moved indoors due to the rainy weather.  Congrats you two!!

We were a bit worried as to where this bus was taking us...Thankfully we ended up at the wedding.

The beautiful couple.

Looking dapper.

We clean up well.

A true lady's man.

And this dead sexy couple.

"Strutting" into their reception.

Mi amigos.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was this first dance to the Backstreet Boys?  It's been too long to be sure.

Playing around with my camera when it literally lost its focus due to this hooligan.

So give me some chocolate.

Pdub lost his jacket, so he could bust a move better on the dance floor.

No worries.  Plates weren't shattered.

Part pyramid.

Ladies.

If I would've gotten their whole bodies, you'd see they were completing a serious kick line.

I entitle it: Holding 'em up.

This man didn't leave the dance floor.  We are talking Full-out. Hands down. Sweatiest man alive by the end.

Seeing them off!

High 5!

And one more...

And on to Camp Grossman.

A pinky-up kind of drink.

And they lived happily ever after....

JFK, Sam Adams, and a Tea Party

     Based on my title, you are probably wondering how in the world I scored a tea party with President John F. Kennedy and Revolutionary Samuel Adams.  Well, I feel that I must be completely honest with you; I didn't really share tea and crumpets with these two amigos.  I did, however, visit the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, throw fake tea cargo overboard a ship, and learn about hops and barley at the Samuel Adams Brewery tour, all of which took place in the fabulous city of Bah-ston (translation: Boston).

Here's the dirt:

     JFK was the United States' 35th president and sadly, his reign was abruptly ended by a man with a gun.  However, during his presidency, President Kennedy managed to initiate the race to space, called for new civil rights action during the African-American Civil Rights Movement, and prevented a nuclear war between Russia, Cuba and the U.S.  During his inauguration speech, Kennedy says one of my favorite quotes: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."  So stop being so selfish, and let's walk on the moon together, drink out of the same water fountains, and never smoke a Cuban cigar in the U.S. (legally).

Believe it or not, this is a selfie.  Wait, what justifies a selfie?  Selfie: A photograph that one has taken of oneself.  Well that pretty much defines this pic.  Glad we settled that.

A glass room overlooking the city of Boston.

YOU'RE A GRAND OLE FLAG!!!

*Fashion Victim* sighting near the campus of Ha-vahd (translation: Harvard).  I have the same outfit in pink.

     On the night of December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty boarded a cargo ship in the Boston Harbor and proceeded to destroy 342 chests of tea.  Fun fact: that many chests would make 24,000,000 cups of tea....kind of a big deal.  Another fun fact: the harbor water level at the time was extremely low, so some of the individuals had to stomp on the chests down in the water to ensure full destruction.  The reason for this big statement?  The British had just placed an import duty in the Tea Act.  Seeing this new tax as completely outlandish, the people retaliated; we don't need that tea!  The result: a revolutionary war and the making of a new country, our country, the United States.  Stand proud people, stand proud.
Thankfully, 300 years later, the businessmen of Boston decided to offer the tourists an adventure on a re-created cargo ship.  No worries, as a tourist and a woman of business (lies), I took this tour!  Stand proud!

We were the only ones without kids following us around....did we still have fun?  Foshizzle!

To disguise themselves, the revolutionaries placed feathers in the brims of their hats to make it appear they were Indians.  Blame it all on the Indians.

Game. Face.

HUZAAHHH!!

All work, no play.

And he scores!!!

On the deck of the cargo ship, exhausted from throwing those chests of tea overboard.  Time for drinks!

     Samuel Adams was a revolutionary; as a matter of fact, he was on that ship tossing tea crates into the harbor.  Although he had nothing to do with the actual Samuel Adams Brewing Company, the makers still chose his name to stamp on their beers.  Side note: they were one of the first craft breweries to start in the United States and have passed their recipes down for several generations.  Straight from their website: He chose that name because Samuel Adams was a Boston firebrand, a revolutionary thinker who fought for independence. Most importantly, Samuel Adams, was also a brewer who had inherited a brewing tradition from his father.  A beer-lover does not visit Boston without visiting this historical (at least for beer) place.

Samuel Adams: A revolutionary and a beer maker.  (He may not be aware of the latter).

Learning is fun!  Especially when it's about beer.

Here's a secret: The man sleeping has his wedding the very next day.

Juice glass.

Line 'em up!