And yet today was the very first time she has ever entered a subway station. Here is everyone descending down the long escaltor into the center of the earth...
Okay, maybe it's not that dramatic, but it's still way down below ground.
Here are Cari, my mom, and Alyssa posing on the platform withOUT the subway train...
Notice how much the cling to the wall when the subway train actually arrived...
Of course, if you're going to ride a subway for the first time, what better place to begin than in the place where it all began.
It was from the Park Street Station, at 6 a.m. in 1897 that 100 people crowded onto the first train to travel through a tunnel under downtown Boston...
It's really amazing to think of the history in of this place until you realize that the tunnel you are standing in was excavated over a century ago.
Then you pretty much want to get out of it as soon as humanly possible.
You emerge from the Park Street Station in the middle of the famous Boston Common. The Common is one of the oldest parks in America, comprising some 50 acres in the middle of downtown.
And so begins the famous Freedom Trail - the walking tour of many of our nation's greatest historic sites. It begins with the Massachusetts State House...
...which is across the street from the Shaw Monument.
Colonel Robert Gould Shaw led the Massachusetts 54th Regiment. You probably know it from the movie with Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman - "Glory." The Massachusetts 54th was the first regiment comprised completely of free black men. One of its soldiers was the first African American to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Here is the back of my mom's head as she looks up at the monument (and sun)...
And here is the back of my mom's head looking at a headstone (how's that for a weird twist of fate)...
The Freedom Trail takes you into two different churches and cementaries which now rest in the middle of towering skyscrapers.
The King's Chapel and Burying Ground was the first cemetary in Boston.
The Park Street Church is home to what some still refer to the "New Burying Ground."
Here's one of the headstones (see, another head reference)...
The "New Burying Ground" is home to the remains of Samuel Adams (died 1803), Paul Revere (1818), and John Hancock (1793). Okay, maybe it's not so "new" anymore. Eventually, it came to be known as the Granary Burying Ground.
It is also the final resting place of "Frank."
Yes, just Frank.
That's how you were buried when you were just a servant to someone important like John Hancock...
The Freedom Trail takes you past the Old City Hall, which is also the site of our nation's first public school -- Boston Latin. It is no longer at this site, but Boston Latin still operates after its founding in 1635. (Yes, that is SIXTEEN thirty five).
Here's a surprising fact. Everyone thinks of Philadelphia when hearing the name Benjamin Franklin. But old Benny boy was born in the Boston area and attended Bostin Latin. His parents are even buried at the previously mentioned Granary. Hence, Benny's statue in front of the site of the original Boston Latin School...
Another interesting historical fact. Everyone knows that the symbol of the Democratic Party is a donkey or jackass.
In 1828, Andrew Jackson came up with a radical idea. Maybe our country shouldn't be run solely by a handful of wealthy elite men. He based his populist campaign under the slogan, "Let the people rule."
His Republican opponents thought that was a stupid idea. So they used the donkey to portray him in cartoons, labeling Jackson a "jackass" for his populist ideas.
Rather than reject the label, Jackson usurped the donkey and incorporated it into his own campaign materials as a sign of defiance. Of course, Andrew Jackson was elected President in 1828.
And Cari stands next to a monument to that campaign...
Speaking of monuments, here is the famous (or infamous) James Michael Curley...
James Michael Curley, another Democrat, served as Mayor, served as Governor, served in Congress, and served time in prison -- not necessarily in that order. He is also the inspiration for the greatest political novel in American literature -- the Pulitzer Prize winning The Last Hurrah by Edwin O'Connor. I have read that book probably 20 times and still enjoy reading it!
Further along is the Old State House...
Immediately to Cari's right (in the middle of the interesection not shown in the picture) is the sight of the Boston Massacre -- the incident which inflamed American passions and many point to as the spark which truly launched the American revolution. The Old State House was the seat of colonial government prior to the revolution and housed the offices of the Colonial Govenor appointed by the King of England.
Perhaps you've seen this famous print by Paul Revere of the Boston Massacre that was created shortly after the event in 1770...
Of course, in what might be a bit of foreshadowing for our current political climate, the print was far more propaganda than fact. In any case, Paul Revere holds a special place in Boston's heart for many reasons, and here on the Freedom Trail you can find his home...
The house was constructed about 1680 -- about 90 years BEFORE Paul Revere purchased it for his family. And you thought your house was a fixer upper.
Paul Revere, of course, is best known for his midnight ride. On April 18, 1775, Robert Newman, the church's sexton, hung two lanterns in its steeple to warn that the British troops were arriving "by sea" thereby sending Paul Revere on his famous "midnight ride" to Lexington and Concord to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British are coming...
The Freedom Trail continues on into Charlestown, but we did that yesterday.
I should disclose that this is not my first trek on the Freedom Trail.
For college students in Boston, there is the right of passage called the Drunken Freedom Trail.
The idea is to walk along the path of the Freedom Trail, competely ignore the historic sites, and opt instead to visit every pub along the way and sample a mug of their finest lager. Here is Alyssa standing in front of one of the oldest bars in America...
Of course, my first trek along the Freedom Trail involved no such thing. I just thought you might be interested in what some college students do for historical perspective.
Then again, my wife's version of the Freedom Trail has us ending the day at Filene's Basement.
Filene's Basement was originally beneath Filene's -- a very high end department store in Boston. When an item wasn't selling, it was sent down to the basement. For the first two weeks on the racks of the basement, the item was offered at 25% off. If it passed that milestone, it was marked down 50%. Then 75%. And finally it would be given to charity.
Filene's is gone -- and Filene's Basement hasn't been affiliated with Filene's for many years, but the markdown concept still is alive and well...
Needless to say, our suitcases are going to return to Las Vegas tomorrow just a wee bit heavier than how they arrived.
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