Moved
on into Rhode Island and it felt a little pine-ier. Arrived at the Roger Williams monument just
before closing but the kind ranger offered to let me stay and see the film and
then talk about the history of Rhode Island.
Roger arrived with the Puritans as one of their ministers and quickly
became disenchanted with their heavy-handed dealing of other religions. Seems they came to the US for the freedom to
practice theirs but that freedom didn’t include any others,. So Roger went in search of a new colony that
would be more accepting. Rhode Island has continued that tradition by just
passing the marriage equality act.
My
first stop in Boston area was the birthplace of JFK in Brookline. A lovely home
on a tree-lined street that was re-purchased by the Kennedy family and restored
to its 1917 appearance with family possessions.
Most of the information was about Rose Kennedy; her influence on the
lives of her children and her work with children with special needs (to honor
daughter, Rosemary). She felt a mother’s influence was felt not only by her
child but all her child came in contact with - A heavy responsibility. She and daughter, Eunice were the founders of
the Special Olympics. I met JFK during the Wisconsin Primaries in Racine. He stopped to speak with us in our hotel room
and three 16 year-olds from Vernon County put campaign material on everything
that didn’t move when we returned home.
Was
going to head down to the Adams National Historic Park but the traffic was so
beastly, I turned around and followed Gaby’s (my GPS) lead and headed west.
Took all local streets, drove by the Charles River and finally on a wooded roadway that ended up
near Concord. Took the train the
following morning into Boston and conversed with a man who gave me some advice
on what to see. When we got off the train he pointed me in the direction of the
Old
North Church. Boston, especially
North End, is a maze of streets & alleys.
Preparations were being made for the weekend feast of St. Agrippina with
street and building decorations. Also came across a building with windows beautifully painted on the blank brick wall. Each was different view of the supposed apartment inside the building. Very striking and colorful .
There’s
a Freedom Trail (a red line either painted or made of bricks) to follow to the
various historic sights. Began at the Old North Church and moved on to Paul
Revere’s House. Paul is famous for sneaking out of locked-down Boston to warn
the rest of the area about the British movements. The lantern signals from the
church told him how they would be coming so the militia could prepare.
The trolley tour included a boat ride over to the Charlestown Navy Yard,
home to the USS Constitution - called Old Ironsides because shelling couldn’t
penetrate the “steel” hull. Turns out it was very tough oak. It’s the oldest
member of the Naval fleet and is taken out once a year to keep it on the active
list. Beautiful views of Boston from the boat. Didn’t know that Boston is
almost 75% landfill. Was also told about a molasses plant explosion back in the
1800’s that produced a 20’ tidal wave of molasses. Sounds funny until you hear about the 22
people who were killed in addition to the animals. Imagine the clean-up.
Was
feeling pretty smug about my decision to take the train until I got off at the
wrong stop. Stepped off at Concord and Patience was parked in West
Concord so had to wait an hour for another train. Soothed my bruised ego with a double chocolate
fudge brownie ice cream cone.
Took
the road thru Minuteman Park beginning at the North Bridge. This is where the
militia made its stand against the British, driving them back along the trail
to Boston. My next stop was the Hartwell
Tavern where a young intern gave presentation on the Minutemen. The militia were more like our National Guard. They trained a couple times a year as protection
from Indian raids and French from Quebec. The Minuteman had regular training
and they AND their equipment had to be ready to go (in a minute). Drop the plow, grab your gun and knapsack and
report. She also gave a demonstration on
the procedure for loading a gun and firing it.
Always wondered why the soldiers were always lined up smartly in
rows. It’s because the guns weren’t very
accurate. It was hoped lots of firings would produce some hits.
The
main Visitor’s Center had a wonderful film that gave you the feeling you were
in the home of a Minuteman standing in his doorway relating the events of the
battle on April 18-19, 1775.. Lots of ill will between the people of Mass and
Parliament because of unfair taxes and laws.
British General Gage decided it would probably be smart to remove the Colonial
arms and ammunition and began a secret plan to carry it out. The secret was
leaked and thus began the famous ride of Paul and the equally famous “shot heard round
the world” in Lexington. Wasn’t supposed
to be a real battle but sure got things started.
Massachusetts
has some lovely driving areas and lots more to see. The Wayside Inn was closed for repairs so
decided I’ll brush up on my reading and come back at another time and do the
author/poet tour of Lexington/Concord area.
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