Now that we had settled on a plan, we needed to get going! It was almost 1:30 or so and we had five places to hit and with children! All the places we needed to go to were located in downtown Boston and were all within walking distance. They were also all connected by the Freedom Trail. This was a huge red line or red bricks that connected 16 historical places in Boston. The trail was 2-3 miles long, but we were going to stick to the five places on the trail that were located in the downtown area.
Our first stop was the Old South Meeting House. During the revolutionary times, it was the biggest building in Boston and on Sundays people went to church here and at other times, they met here to disucss public matters. This was about the best picture I could get because of the sun glare and because there were many other buildings in the way!
Here is what it looks like inside. You have the place upfront where the preacher stands and all the pews on the floor. There were also pews in the balacony- this was a huge place! Can you imagine it full of people during pre-revolutionary days?? What a crowd that must have been!!
It was here on December 16, 1773 that the patriots met and decided to throw tea into the Boston Harbor, in what we know as the Boston Tea Party!!
In addition to doing their packets, the girls were also working on scavenger hunt they picked up from the staff at the Old South Meeting House. They were really engaged! Here they are working on their packets as they sat in the pews. Such good homeschoolers. :)
After the Old South Meeting House, we were off to the Old State House. This building was the oldest public building in Boston and was built in 1713. The first floor was a place for merchants to sell their goods and the second floor was where the government for the whole Massachusetts colony met. It was from the balcony of this building in July 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was read to the people for the first time! Do you see the balacony on the picture??
Stop #3 was Faneuil Hall. This is the National Parks has its headquarters for the tours around Boston and where we were already once that day. :) Again, the first floor was used as a market and the second floor was used for meetings. Today, the first floor is used as a gift shop and the second floor is still used for meetings. Here is a picture from across the street, I wish that black bulding wasn't in the way!
As we got there and ascended to the second floor, there was a tour going on inside, so we sat down and listened to the tour guide talk about Faneuil Hall during the time of the revvolution. At that time, the hall was only half the size it was now, so that is why they met at the Old South Meeting House. Today they have expanded it and it was a very nice room! There were huge portraits on the front wall of many important people from Boston's past and a nice stage. The tour guide said they still use this room for weddings, speeches, debates, etc. Notice there are also huge balconies where people can sit.
After relaxing for a little bit, we were off to our next stop- Paul Revere's house. If you don't know, he is the man that had the famous midnight ride when the British were moving out of Boston in 1775. He bought this houe in 1770 and lived in it until 1800 and raised 11 children there! The house was already 90 years old when he bought it! We went on a short tour through the house, but were not allowed to take any pictures.
When Megan and Courtney went to fill out their packets for this house, we realized that Courtney had left hers back at Faneuil Hall. I called them up and they had it. I asked them if they could just hold onto it and we would be back there before they closed at 6.
Our last and final stop of the day was at Old North Church. It was here tha the sexton had hung two lanterns on the night of April 18, 1775 to let the colonists know the British were coming. (This was also the night of Revere's famous midnight ride!) This church is still used as a church today and we were unable to go into it because there was a wedding going on at the moment.
See the one opening above the two windows- that is where the sexton hung the lanterns!
And with the completion of these five stops, we were ready to head back to Faneuil Hall, pick up Courtney's packet, let her finish it, and show the park rangers that the girls had finished thier packets.
With everything complete, they were given their badges and they had to say a pledge to take care of the national parks and promise to keep them nice! What an accomplishment!! We were pretty proud of them!!
With their packets completed, that portion of our day was complete. We started heading back to Boston Common where our car was and saw some more sights along the Freedom Trail as we went. We passed a few cemetaries, the site of the first public school, some more statues, and walked by many old Boston buildings! I was unable to go into the cemetary where many revolutionaries are buried because it was 6 pm and they were closing.
We eventually got back to Boston Common and I got my camra back out. I can't believe that these kids were still smiling after walking around Boston the ENTIRE afternoon!
We got in the truck and headed home! Since we didn't cover everything on Saturday, we were going to come back on Sunday and finish our tour!!
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