Boston

dIt is Boston history time, which we've really crammed into one day.  

We spent most of the day on a trolley bus.  It helped the aching knees.

The Old North Church was one of our first stops.  This is where Paul Revere watched for the lanterns, you know "one if by land, two if by sea."  So how many did he see?

Two exactly, well not these two.  This is Paul Revere's pew or room at the Old North Church.

Walking the grounds

Lunch was at the Union Oyster House where we met up with an old roommate of Marissa's with her husband.

We were also right next to John F. Kenndy's favorite booth.

Next was Faneuil Hall.  I loved the beauty of the building.

We then went to the State House.  We didn't pay the extra admission to go into it.  When I tried to take a picture of a picture outside the familiar head had to claim its place.

Another stop was the USS Constitution, Old Ironsides

It took a lot to drag these two to his side for a picture.

We got on an old destroyer before I figured out that this couldn't be from the time period we had been visiting for the past week, but Marissa was willing to deface the ship for a picture.

A theme is born.  The USS Constitution is a beautiful ship.  Ninety-five percent of it has been restored or redone, but it is a great looking ship.

We waited for a family with little kids to get their picture.  The girls were not to be outdone.

Our game at Fenway didn't exactly go as planned but we did see the ball field.

A little night vision.  I realized there was still so much to see, but after 10 days of walking and visiting we were a little tired.  I did go back the next day, thanks to Dale's patience, and visited the State House with the required money for admission.  

This is the picture I took the day before with Marissa's head.  Whitni and I took the Boston Massacre tour, well worth the admission.  It will help my lesson greatly.  Can you see what doesn't belong in the picture above?  It is outside and is a reflection.  The old and the new.  I thought it was cool.

Cape Cod/Plymouth

We drove from Philadelphia to Cape Cod.  I did not realize how close we came to New York until we hit the traffic.  We turned and there was the big city.  

We decided with the horrific traffic we were already a part of that New York would remain a skyline.

We finally made it to Cape Cod, a very touristy place.  We enjoyed visiting the Brewster Branch with some familiar faces - at least the first Mrs. Granny Smith, not from Washington but from Cape Cod.

It is green everywhere.  We enjoyed the ocean and the dramatic skies.

On our Sunday drive we did happen upon a lighthouse that is still being used.

Beautiful girls, wonderful ocean waves and those dramatic skies

Monday was our Plymouth day, but the dramatic skies got the best of us.  It rained.  It poured.  We did get a glance at Plymouth Rock.  So it is not as big as some of us thought, we can say we saw it.

We were pretty soaked by this point and decided to do Plymouth Plantation the next day.  

We ended up at an indoor museum with many tourists with the same idea.  Whitni and I gave up on this glassblowing demonstration, being too short and in the back.  I'm sure it was fabulous.

It was a beautiful day for Plymouth.  We did see a lot of places, however, where the previous day's rain washed parts of the trail away.

We started at the craft house.  This gentleman was making a chair that he sells for $4000. They also make them for the displays and houses on the plantation.  There was also a young man making cups out of clay. It was interesting to see how fast he could make a cup.  The one we saw was the ninth.

The girls tried to made friends with this young family.

The village.

Dale volunteered to man the cannons against enemy fire, usually that means his daughters.

We aren't dressed properly for this time, but with our simple minds and honest hearts I think we will fit in.

Whitni got some long awaited revenge in this humble home.  I think she's enjoying the 17th century.

I decided to try out one of the woodworker's chairs.  I do appreciate carpet, electricity, and plumbing.

From the pilgrim village we then went to the Wampanoag village.  Marissa had a battle with a worker at Jamestown who belittled her question about using only shells to scrape out the canoe.  She felt redeemed here watching these young natives scraping it out with sticks and tomahawks.

This young man needed to go back to wherever he came from because he did not seem to be enjoying his summer, but he did allow the picture.

This young man, however, loves his job.  This was where all the fun was.  They are playing a game here where the fun comes in distracting your opponent.  The tourist won this game, much to the surprise of the native.

We do need to get this poor girl out to a farm more often.

We enjoyed a visit with the gentleman in the center.  They stay completely in character with their great English accents.

The Mayflower II is a small ship.  Imagining the 102 passengers below deck most of the time is hard to imagine. These two would not have survived!

We were excited to see our deckhand on board the Mayflower in this cutout, but here as a pilgrim.

A beautiful day with lots of history seen.   

Philadelphia

We drove to Philadelphia from Washington D.C.  Traffic is something Garmin and I don't like.  So when we ended up right next to the sports complex just as a game was ending traffic was everywhere.  Eventually about 11:30 at night we pull into our hotel in downtown Philly.  The girls were excited to see how high up we were.

The next morning we headed to the Independence Hall center.  Our first visit was the Liberty Bell.

It was very interesting to read the history of all those who call it their Liberty Bell.  It is a hope for many who don't share in the same rights as others.

This view was a little disappointing.  The top floors of Independence Hall are being remodeled due to a proper drain never being installed causing some rot.  They did put up a mesh hanging at least that gives you an image of what it might look like.

Our tour of the inside of Independence Hall was full of great history.  The chair at the top to the right of Marissa's head is the actual chair George Washington used during the writing of the constitution.  It was so exciting to be where so much of our history took place.

 We took in the gallery of portraits.  These were amazing to see of pictures I've used in my lessons.  Above is Martha Washington.

Marissa conned the park rangers to do a portrait of her to add to the gallery.  

She will add a whole new dimension to the gallery.

Next to Independence Hall is the old Congress building.  This room housed the first meetings of the House of Representatives.  Where the ranger is standing is close to where John Adams took the oath for president.  History!!!!

Upstairs is where the Senate held their meetings, decorated much nicer.  Most of these chairs were the originals.

Our next stop was a true Philadelpia steak sandwich.  We were told to go to Jim's Steaks.  Quite colorful, busy and loud.

The girls had theirs with Whiz, Dale and I stuck with Provolone.  Both were pretty good.  (I'm sorry Philadelphia, but I'm an Italian Place girl through and through.)

A very popular place.

The girls had some places they wanted to see.  They took their dad, I took my tired feet to the hotel.

The girls went out by themselves to a cafe, but worried a little since there was a curfew at nine for teens due to the flash mob problems.  One cop did look long and hard at them but they got back okay.

Goodbye Philly.