Plymouth

We walked over to PF Chang’s from our hotel. This was the meeting point for our bus to Plymouth. My mom and I boarded the bus and sat in the front. The driver seemed nice and told us about a great Cupcake place called Cupcake Charlie’s. We couldn’t wait to try it.

Our first stop was Plimoth Plantation. The first area was about the Native Americans. There were hollowed out canoes and wigwams. They had actors inside that were making blankets and other items. We walked further and came to the wall and entrance to the settlement. It was like immediately stepping back in time. There were all the hatched houses. There were men and women walking around in costume. There were animals wandering around. Some homes you could look around and some had actors completing chores in them. Some of the actors were building a roof for a house. Some were taking care of the animals. Others were farming. The homes were in a long row. It was informative and a lot of fun. You could even see the spot where they originally landed all the way out in the distance. We saw the meeting house and the canons on top of the meeting house. We went into a workshop where the actors were making furniture.

There’s a cafeteria and two gift shops. I did a press a penny and bought several things at the gift stores. We even bought fudge. I enjoyed the stores they were a step above many I have been to. We boarded the bus and were headed to see the Mayflower. The bus driver took us to the town of Plymouth which has the famous Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II, and a bunch of shops.

We did Cupcake Charlie’s first. Turns out they were about to be on an episode of Cupcake Wars with Duff as the guest judge. I got a cookies n cream one or something similar to that. My mom got a red velvet one. They were amazing! Some of the best cupcakes we’ve ever had. So we bought more to bring back with us. Next we headed to Plymouth Rock. We took pictures and heard a local tell us that the local teen males like to try to pee on the rock at night. Lovely. After that I bought a ticket to go on the Mayflower II. Why II? The first one disappeared and no one knows where it is. So they built a replica of it. I was able to walk around on deck and below deck. Such a tiny space for so many passengers! Glad I wasn’t a Pilgrim. After that we found first street, which is the first street in America. We also found the creek that the pilgrims used to use. We went into several tourist shops and I bought a black and white Mayflower shirt that was on super sale. There were statues commemorating the pilgrims and the Native Americans. We used the public restroom near the Mayflower and got back on the bus.

We then were brought to the National Monument to the Forefathers. It’s 81 ft tall and has the names of the pilgrims on it. It also shows an image of the Mayflower Compact. There’s a section for liberty, morality, law, and education. It was pretty interesting to look at. Once the photo opportunity was over it was back on the bus. The bus driver asked where he could drop everyone back in Boston. We told him we wanted to get off right where he picked us up since we were going to go to Maggiano’s for dinner.

The tour was great and so was dinner. We got fried zucchini and pasta to share. The restaurant wasn’t busy and the waiter offered us a free meal to go. We declined because we didn’t have a fridge at our hotel. We then went to see Make Way for Ducklings and Cheers.

Boston, Lexington, and Concord Trip Plan

Please click below to view my trip plan for Boston, Lexington, and Concord. We were away from April 25th-April 29th 2013.

Trip Plan

To learn more about the sites I visited:

–Boston Tea Party Museum

–Park Street Church

–Granary Burying Ground

–Museum of Fine Arts

–Hancock-Clarke House

–Buckman Tavern

–Old North Bridge

–Old South Meeting House

–Old State House

–Faneuil Hall

–Quincy Market

–Bunker Hill

–Old North Church

–Paul Revere’s House

–Boston Common

–Make Way for Ducklings

 

Boston for my Birthday

April 28 2013

Today is my birthday! So I decided I wanted to stay local and do a bunch of historical sites. I picked many of the sites on the Freedom Trail.

Our first stop was an army store where we bought my dad a Boston shirt. Then we took pictures outside the Old South Meeting House. We passed the location of the old Borders that has a soft spot in my heart because they revived my friend Kathleen and I years ago when we were beyond cold, tired, and hungry. We passed the 7-11 we frequented during my Boston trip with my college. We went into Potbelly Sandwiches looking for the chocolate brownie cookie a friend recommended to me, but they didn’t have it.

We continued on to the Old State House. I’ve always wanted to go inside. We caught a tour of the museum. The tour was informative and it was interesting to hear about the many uses of the building. We then caught the Boston Massacre tour. I learned a couple new things on the tour. I gave all the right answers to the tour guide’s questions so I couldn’t help but be proud of my memory. 🙂 My mom and I went into the gift shop. I bought some postcards. I really wanted to a join or die snake shirt, but didn’t feel like spending $16.

We left and then went to Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall. I went looking for the restaurant my college friends and I ate at. However, it was no longer there. I wanted to go to get the name. We walked through the food area. My mom and I got some free samples. The Greek food looked so good but it was expensive. I really wanted some Mac n cheese from the mac n cheese vendor. There was an entire store for One Direction, which I thought was hilarious. So many of the girls were walking around with life size one direction cut outs. I took a picture in the center of the market to commemorate the stranger that came up to Kathleen and I and said beam me up Scotty. We stopped at the gift shop, but I didn’t buy anything. We left the gift shop and caught the bus to Bunker Hill.

I was really excited to finally do the Bunker Hill Monument (even though it’s really Breed’s Hill). I’ve done the real Bunker Hill before. We got off the bus and walked through a cute quiet neighborhood. The monument looks exactly like the Washington Monument. Unfortunately, the bottom is graffitied. We decided not to walk up. We crossed the street and went to the museum. The museum is two floors and the better part is on the 2nd floor. They have artifacts from the Battle of Bunker Hill and from the Boston Massacre. There’s a button in the back that tells you about the Battle of Bunker Hill. We used the restroom in the basement, bought a postcard, and left.

We decided we were going to walk to Paul Revere’s House. We were going to make sure that on our way we passed the Old North Church. As we crossed the bridge you could see the church sticking out. If the modern buildings weren’t around you easily could have seen lanterns hanging in the church on that famous night. On our way to the sites we passed a bakery that’s open 24/7 everything looked absolutely amazing, but we didn’t have a fridge in our hotel. So we bought cookies. I got chocolate rugelach and it was incredible. We walked down the street to the church. There was a gift shop across the street that was cheap so we got some things in there. We took pictures of the outside of the church. I didn’t pay to go in because I’ve done it before. We went to the official gift shop where I got a pillbox to add to my collection.

We took what was supposed to be a connecting alleyway to Paul Revere’s House. It wasn’t direct. We passed a printer’s press shop. I took a free postcard from there. We finally found Revere’s house. We paid and went right in since there’s no official tour. You only see 4 rooms: the kitchen, living room, and two bedrooms. You have to read the signs to feel like you are on a tour. It was just ok, but my mom liked it. The admission price was super cheap so it was worth seeing.

After that we headed back to the bakery we were at before. I got more rugelach but the woman gave me pieces without much chocolate and were very small. The bag wound up ripping outside of the bakery and they all fell all the floor. The bakery was nice enough to replace them free of charge. We walked down Hanover St. And saw all the famous bakeries with their lines out the door. We walked back to Quincy Market and I bought one oft bosses a pen. We continued on and walked to the Omni Parker Hotel.

The Omni Parker is beautiful and immediately transports you to another time. We went to Parker’s bar. We took a lovely table for two that faced Old City Hall. We ordered the plain pizza and shared it. It was enough for the two of us. It was pricey, but hey it was my birthday and it was good. However, the main reason we came here was for the famous Boston Cream Pie. It was small, but beautiful. It tasted great! The bathroom was huge!!!! 20 stalls. The floor with the bathroom felt haunted. Overall, it was a beautiful yummy historic birthday dinner.

I convince my mom to go with me to Make Way for Ducklings. I loved it when I was a little girl and wanted a picture there on my birthday. Someone had made hats for the ducks. They were so cute!!! We picked up some whoopie pies from 7-11 and went back to our hotel. I don’t want to leave!!!

Massachusetts Postcards

Added new postcards to Postcards from Massachusetts album

Boston Memories

I took a day off of blog posting yesterday in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon Explosions. It was my version of a moment of silence for them. My heart and prayers go out to the victims, families of the victims, and everyone who witnessed the horrific events first hand. As a girl I watched from my classroom window (located across the street from the World Trade Center) the atrocities of 9/11. I know what it is like to wish you could take the images and sounds out of your memory. I know what it is like to run for your life. I know what it is like to wish that you were safe at home watching on TV instead of being in the middle of it. So I know how you feel. The pain, sadness, and the memories start to fade and blur over time. Though each horrific event or anniversary will temporarily bring them back.

I’m headed to Boston next week. This is a trip I have had planned for months and am not going to change it. I’ve been to Boston several times before and thought I was use this post to show off my favorite Boston memories. I will post pictures from my times in Boston with my college friends and with my family. I will go back to writing about Philly tomorrow.

Did I mention it was St. Patrick’s Day weekend?

This was right after a guy came up to us and said “beam me up Scotty!”

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

No idea why Star Wars people were at the parade

At the parade

After freezing our butts off for hours this Borders was our savior

Paul Revere’s Pew

At Harvard

Loved Make Way for Ducklings when I was little

Where everybody knows your name…

Always have to find the Masonic Lodge

Yummy! From Flour Bakery