Concluding The Freedom Trail – Day 3 at Boston

The ground had a light dusting of snow this morning, but the sky was a clear blue when I finally left the hotel for the North End Church. I had breakfast at a cafe across from the old church, then continued the sightseeing, stopping again at another old cemetery before walking the bridge over to visit the U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides).

Statue of Paul Revere with the North End Church in the background.

The ship was now owned and maintained by the navy, so when I walked in, I had to go through a security checkpoint and basically strip myself half-naked. Apparently I carried a lot more metal objects than I thought. The guard waited patiently as I emptied my pockets, pulled my belt buckle, took out my phone, my iPod, my old camera, dumped my backpack, my work ID and badge before I could finally walk through. I can’t even imagine what TIA would do to me if they saw me coming.

I finally got in, went inside the main entrance where I saw a group of other tourists waiting. A park ranger saw me and asked me if I wanted to join the tour to board the ship.

“You mean it’s still open?” I was surprised.

The old ranger didn’t respond, instead he just looked away as if I had just asked the most monumentally stupidest question he had ever heard, then went back to continuing a conversation he was previously having with another tourist.

I decided I didn’t want to board the ship if this douche nozzle was going to be giving the tour, so instead I went outside to see it for myself. Tours are for girlie boys and little children anyway. :-D

*sniff* so beautiful... *sniff*

After spending some time admiring the ship and giving it a hug on the front end until the navy seamen shooed me away, I continued to the museum nearby. A sweet girl at the front desk greeted me, but then got a little uncomfortable when I asked her to be my love snuggles, so I continued onward, reading about the history of the ship, the war with Tripoli, and enjoying the model ship exhibits they were having in the conference room.

I had only one stop left in the Freedom Trail now: Bunker Hill! I followed the line back, then hoofed it up to where a monument now marked the spot of the famous battle.

There is NO way I'm going up that.

pant… pant… wow… it really IS a hill.. pant… pant…

By the time I finally reached the top I decided I was not going to kill myself by climbing 20 flights of stairs just so I could get a bird’s eye view of Boston, no thank you, I’m good here, really. Ugh. I really wanted to, but I’ll save it for next time, hopefully when I have a girl then willing to travel with me and carry me up the stairs.

Don't fire until you see the whi- hey you! Yeah you with the Yankees hat! You're blocking my view here!

After relaxing inside the monument for a while, I decided it was time to go to Griffins Wharf, the site of the famous Boston Tea Party so I could do my own tea dumping. On the way I stopped by the Bunker Hill museum to see some of the fascinating exhibits that had been excavated from the hill, including a British drum and several swords and cannonballs. Amazing.

Cannonballs excavated from Bunker Hill

I found another T line from there and got out again at Downtown Crossing, enjoying the walk and the booths there until I reached the harbor. I bought a Snapple bottle from one of the hot dog wagons nearby, then walked over the bridge until I reached the middle. I had to wait out some of the pedestrians though, who might not understand why I would want to dump perfectly good Snapple tea in the middle of the harbor, or in case they were eco-algore loving crazypants thinking I was littering mother nature.

Where it all began!

But I pulled it off, and I had to admit the feeling was awesome. I think every proud member of this great country should do this once in their lifetimes, (just make sure you dump only the TEA, and not the bottle it was in too, lest I should slap you one.)

The dumping of Snapple tea into the Boston harbor concluded my journey into the past, and it was now time to get back to the present again. Whatever I missed would have to wait for another time. I went back to the hotel and wracked my brain over and over on where to dine tonight, considering that dining out was going to be far cheaper than ordering in.

Where to go, where to go… where could I go, where I could take a break from all my worries? That sure would help a lot… Sometimes I just want to get away… maybe go, where everybody knows my name? And they’re always glad I came?

NoOoOoOOoorrrmm!!!

Well ok, no, Norm wasn’t there. But the food sure was! :-D I stopped by the replica in Faneuil Hall, found a quiet spot inside and a outlet to plug my laptop in, and I was happy as a clam. I ordered a Norm Burger and Carla’s Boston cream pie, all while enjoying the twinkling lights of the marketplace inside the windowed dining room. Somewhere in the background, a radio was playing Boston’s “More than a Feeling.” I knew right then and there the city was welcoming me home.

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