Boston, Part 2

Glad to have you back!

Let's continue exploring Boston, shall we?

After the Great Tea Tossing I took advantage of my included Trolley Ticket and managed to see a good chunk of the Freedom Trail with a combination of the Trolley stops and my own two feet.

I had intended to just ride the Trolley around a full circuit before hopping off (it is a hop-on/hop-off situation), but one of the first stops was at the USS Constitution. Given my weakness for boats of any kind, I hopped off to check out this historic ship. There is a security station to get through before you can enter, so be aware of that if you decide to visit.

It's big! Definitely the largest sailing ship I'd been on up till now. Once aboard, you are allowed to explore the lower decks.

I asked one of the military guides how many crew it took to run a ship this large. He told me that when it was in historic operation, it took about 200 sailors in just the rigging alone. Now, it would only take about 80. Mind boggling!

Near the ship was Bunker Hill. I followed the red line embedded in the sidewalks marking the Freedom Trail to get to it, passing the Training Field along the way.

The Federal style architecture is everywhere.

Back on the Trolley, I saw more of the town than I could have simply 

walking (at least at a slightly faster pace). 

Off the Trolley, and back on foot on the Freedom Trail, I made a few stops at some of the more interesting (to me) stops.

King's Chapel. I'm not religious, in any way, really, but I do enjoy 

looking around the inside of such places. 

With my Boston Tea Party, All-inclusive ticket package that I had opted for,

the Trolley ticket included free admission to the Old State House.

So, I continued along the Freedom Trail and made a stop. 

Visitors are given identities of Bostonians. At the end of one of the tours,

we were told that after the revolution only a small percentage of 

people were still allowed to vote for their leaders.

I was a woman of the "better sort". Being a woman, however, I was not allowed to vote.

Interestingly, no one's alter identities in the group along for the tour was granted the right to vote.

Only a small percentage of the population, at the time, was given voting rights. 

Food for thought.

This made me think about one of the books I am currently reading, A People's History

of the United States, by Howard Zinn. Incidentally, I had just read through the 

chapter about the Colonial period, which did mention some Boston history. Appropriate, as

the Tea Party was basically a catalyst for the entire revolution. 

The move from British rule to local rule was only better to the people in the sense that 

they could now see their elected officials walking around the town. Before, 

they were separated by an ocean. So, while it wasn't really any better for most

 people, it was better in their minds. The country still had a long way to go, though, before it actually

started making changes that positively impacted average citizens.

(There is a subway station built directly below this building and it's an

interesting juxtaposition of this historic building sat in the middle of so

many modern looking buildings.)

There was still a lot of problems.

 

Which led to this problem.

That's enough history for now. Let's eat! I enjoyed a very tasty

fish sandwich and a Sam Adams lager (when in Boston...)

So foggy. Like a cloud fell down.

And here is where Part Two comes to an end.

Please advance to Part Three.