Webb Family Vacation, Day 7

Wednesday July 27th

Our ride for the day!

We spent Grandma's birthday 

touring the entire city of 

Boston and Cambridge.

All aboard and ready to go!

The double decker trolley bus tour took us all around the city of Boston.  We had a hop-on/hop-off option to use as well.  We enjoyed the cool bus ride and got to see lots of sights of the city that we would have missed otherwise.  

When I say the bus took us all around the city, I mean ALL AROUND the city.  We followed the red line above and hopped off for lunch in Cambridge.  From Cambridge, we used another bus to take us along the orange line which traveled through Harvard and MIT.

Here are a few of the noteworthy sights we saw along the way:

Boston Garden - home of the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins

We passed by the USS Constitution, the old Navy Yard and saw the Bunker Hill Monument in the distance.   The USS Constitution was made of a certain type of oak, only found in SC and Georgia. History tells that shells use to bounce off of her sides and she was never damaged in battle.  We saw the boat from the water the following day - as far and navy ships go, the USS Constitution is beautiful!

The Custom House
The Custom House was built in 1849 and was used for shipping taxes and fees; the Boston Massacre was the result of a misunderstanding that started at the Custom House - lucky for us, it was turned into a hotel in the late 1990's and is now a timeshare with Marriott.  

We also passed by the Swan Boats and the Make Way for Ducklings statues in the Boston Public Gardens.  We didn't get off here and unfortunately my pictures didn't turn out.  The Swan Boats have been in operation for over 100 years.  

State House
The Massachusetts State House - per the tour guide, this gold is real 14 carat gold leaf.  If the price of gold keeps rising, they might have to increase security! 

Carson and Payton taking in the sights!

Cheers!
This restaurant on Beacon Street was used as the setting for the 1980's sitcom Cheers.  I used to watch Cheers...a lot...so I enjoyed this "tourist trap"!

We did make a stop at the Trinity Church and the Old State Church.  Magnificent churches - both in architecture and with amazing stained glass windows.  

 

A statue of George Washington at one entrance of the Public Gardens.

Calyn, Payton and Carson enjoying a statue of the Tortoise and the Hare.

We saw lots of sights on the Freedom Trail and will revisit several of those on Thursday.  The Harvard Loop was great and I really enjoyed seeing several of the campus buildings and hearing tales of the pranks MIT students pull each year at graduation.  I'm guessing a few of the people walking around on the streets surrounding the campus might have a slightly higher IQ than most of the people on our tour bus (obviously, not including myself....I could've gone to Harvard, I just never finished my application.  Our friend CJ has a MBA from Harvard so, clearly, that raises my IQ just by knowing him!).  The campus buildings for Harvard were all beautiful, old buildings. The most interesting sight for me was the former all women's school - Helen Keller, one of my favorite women of history, attended the Cambridge School for Young Ladies prior to entering Radcliffe College.  Radcliffe was the coordinate college for Harvard.  We were able to see Radcliffe College and the Cambridge School for Young Ladies. 

After a day full of touring, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at the Chart House.  The restaurant had been highly recommended by several people including our hotel.  Our group of 10 was taken to a semi-private area on the 3rd floor - and despite the white tablecloths and preset wine glasses on the tables, our kids did great in this not necessarily kid friendly restaurant.  I can't speak for everyone, but my food was delicious!  I had crab cakes which consisted of more lump meat than the crab cakes I'm accustomed to in the lowcountry.  Everyone seemed to enjoy their dinner and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that we were being treated to a complimentary dessert thanks to our hotel!  

After dinner, we enjoyed a quick stroll down by the water - the area we were in is known as Long Wharf.  Across the water, planes were landing at Logan.  Great spot for people, boat and plane watching!

After dinner, the family joined us on the observation deck.  Just a little fun with my camera!

Looking straight down is the Long Wharf area; far left, midline is the Chart House restaurant.  

Another great day in Boston had come to a close!

We had another busy day in store for Thursday....including a return trip to Fenway!  We loved it so much the first time that we made a last minute decision to buy tickets for Thursday's afternoon game.