Going East Part 5: Boston

     We spent two days in Boston. The first day we visited the birthplace and home (Peace Field) of the Adams'. It absolutely amazes me to see how simply they lived back then. The house that John Adams was born in was only three rooms on the first floor, all very small. We weren't able to go upstairs.
     Peace Field was my favorite. It was lovely. There is a garden outside, and we were informed that the lilacs were Abigail's Lilacs, in that she actually planted them. Imagine plants lasting that long! The entire outdoor area smelled amazing and reminded me just how much I love gardens. The story goes that they bought the house while in Europe, remembering it to be bigger than it was. When Abigail saw the tiny house, she cried. Then she went to work improving it. Three generations of Adams' lived in the house and continued to improve it. My favorite part was the library. It was built separate from the house out of brick, so that it would be fire proof. It's a small, rectangular building and is lined with books. They put the books in helter-skelter, and then put in a decimal system according to how they fit in. It smelled of books and was quiet and bright inside. I wished I could have spent some time there alone. We also heard a great deal about Louisa Adams. I am quite intrigued by her now, and if you enjoy history, you should read up on her. She was the only first lady to be born outside of the US, and was quite charming.
     The second day of Boston travels was spent on the Freedom Trail. We started at the end, for fear we would miss the Constitution otherwise. It is the oldest commissioned battle ship in the world. They still take it out several times a year. Also, I learned something interesting. You know the phrase "whistle while you work"? Well, Disney didn't come up with it. Boys were used to take food from the kitchen to the crew, and they had to whistle while they worked; to prove they weren't eating the food! I thought that was so interesting.
     It was a very cold day, and the Freedom Trail is long. After a while of being outside, one forgot how cold it was. We decided to stop for lunch at a clam chowder place. Mom had looked up options, and discovered that there was a restaurant just off the trail. It was rather further than we anticipated though. The trail is marked by red bricks laid into the sidewalk, and different places pop up along the way. We saw Paul Revere's home, as well as the famous church where the lanterns were hung.

     We were getting very hungry, and hadn't come to the restaurant yet, "Ye Olde Union Oyster House". Deciding that it was high time we found it, we left the trail and went in search of it aided by our iPhones. As it was late in the afternoon and none of us had eaten, nerves where rather on edge. Mom's phone was nearly dead, and I put the directions into mine. After going the wrong way once or twice (the sun was not out and it was therefore difficult to judge direction) we finally spotted the gigantic billboard like sign for the restaurant. On coming to the front we discovered that the Freedom Trail ran directly in front of it. Oh well, we had made it. It was somewhere around four by this time, but we were still able to get lunch instead of dinner. Our group was split up into two booths across the aisle from each other. I sat with my parents, and the couples sat together. 

     I had clam chowder (which came with cornbread) and then we ordered a Boston Creme Pie for dessert. Mom said she didn't want any, but that resolution quickly faded; it was very good! When we finished eating, we started on our way again, only to discover that it was much colder after eating warm food. And we soon discovered that we would not be able to finish the trail, since everything was closed. We walked back a shorter way and made our way home.
     I really enjoyed Boston, and would like to have the chance to go back again. One of my favorite parts of this trip was enjoying all of the beautiful architecture. Most of the homes are old, and so much more lovely than newer homes are. I have decided that a house ought to be white, yellow, green, or blue, with shutters in corresponding colors (with red being fine as well). That makes for the loveliest house. This will be the last post in my vacation series, though I said six originally. I found that it could be done quite nicely in five posts, and it is time to move on and enjoy new things. Thank you for reading and enjoying my trip along with me!
Lots of love!