Boston Walking History Tour

Bob and Marilyn really like their drink umbrellas. Crazy kids.

Hey Jim, how's your water? Enjoy.

Jenée made historic Mojitos for Bob and Marilyn.

The admiral back home.

Hey guys, what's up? You're a little late.

Paul Revere's house is our next walk-by.

Ah, Mike's Pastry, a historical North End bakery for canolis.

Just outside the church is the Paul Revere statue.

This is the oldest American made organ and clock. Now you know.

Time for a great Italian lunch in the North End and a visit to the Old North Church. Built in 1723, it's the oldest active church in Boston. Let's see, one if by land, 2 if ... whatever. The fact is, there was no sea, it was the Charles River. The 2 lights were flashed for 1 minute and the Brits arrested the church caretaker as he was the only one with keys. He was released due to lack of evidence.

We get back to Charlestown (location for the new movie "The Town) and to Dry Dock 1. This was opened in 1833 and is used to service the USS Constitution. The current ship is the USS Cassin Young, a WWII destroyer. "The Town" - we saw it, good movie, already walked through all the movie locations. BTW, in the opening scene, there is a panoramic shot over the Bunker Hill Monument. You can see our Marina on the left side of the scene. They come back to it a few times in the movie.

We then strolled over to Boylston Street (too much walking!) and the Trinity Church. Another great example of old architecture framed by new architecture. In this case the backdrop is the Hancock Tower. Both structures are built on pilings since the Back Bay ground is basically landfill. The church, built in 1877 is on some 4500 wooden pilings. The Hancock Tower started out as an engineering nightmare when I was a kid - good news, it's still standing.

Cheers! The full tourist gig today. This is the Bullfinch Tavern made famous by the TV show. I used to go here for a burger and beer after playing basketball before it was Cheers.

A stroll through the Boston Common and Boston Public Gardens brings us to;

For a lighter experience, we visit the Granary Burying Ground on Tremont Street. Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, James Otis, Boston Massacre victims and other patriots are buried here. Also Mary Goose - debated and rumored to be Mother Goose, but I don't believe it.

Followed by a walk up State Street to the Old State House. This beautiful structure is about 300 years old and has undergone many renovations. This is also the site of the Boston Massacre in 1770 and the beginnings of the Revolutionary War. Once the Declaration of Independence was read from this site in 1776, the locals changed the name of the street from King Street to State Street - so there.

First stop is Fanueil Hall.

We had beautiful weather for our tour of Boston.

Bob had two tours of duty in Vietnam as a HUEY helicopter pilot and he and Marilyn are enjoying retirement from many years of government service. He's also a cuddly son of a gun.

What are you looking at ?!

We are back in Boston with our good friends and boat buddies from Annapolis, Bob and Marilyn Witcher. It occurs to me there is always time for another insightful, informative and highly educational history tour - it just ain't happening on this blog. All the photos in this update are compliments of Marilyn - nice work. We begin our tour in the old Charlestown Navy Yard with a shot of the USS Constitution from a distance. I could have taken Bob and Marilyn over for a closer look but I didn't feel like walking. Nice boat.