Boston Trip Day 1

Boston Faneuil Hall

Over the past couple of years, I have read some books about the creation of our country including the Revolutionary War and the patriots in Boston. I quickly added Boston to my bucket list and recently crossed it off with a visit to Beantown. 

I flew from Jacksonville on Delta and was very happy with the service. Over the past couple of years, there has been a noticeable improvement with Delta. My connection through Atlanta was smooth as it normally is, but I know some are intimidated by that airport. A little tip, Atlanta Hartsfield has great signage so follow those and you will be fine. 
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When I left Jax it was sunny but arrived in Boston to rain and cool weather. After this past summer, I was not terribly disappointed. When you arrive into Boston Logan and want to take an Uber or Lyft, follow the signs to the Ride App area. It is quite a walk so be prepared. 

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Staying downtown, I only had about a 15-minute ride to my hotel. Omni Parker House. Fortunately, even though I arrived about 1:15 pm, the hotel was able to check me in allowing me to drop my bags in the room. I will do a separate article reviewing Parker House.

Since I was able to drop my bags, I could freshen up, grab my rain jacket and hit the ground running. The hotel was located right on the Freedom Trail so I started there, kind of. I walked the wrong way that I wanted to walk but eventually found my way to some food. There were lots of options but after seeing a Shake Shack, I decided that was the call since we do not have those in Jacksonville. It was pretty good, good enough I went back another time during my stay.

Start of the Freedom Trail in Boston Common

I mentioned the Freedom Trail, so what is that? Well, it’s a red brick line that starts in Boston Common and ends at the Bunker Hill monument traversing around 2.5 miles each way. It passes through neighborhoods, past eateries, shops and most importantly, historical sites. One of the best ways to see Boston is along this trail.

Old South State House

The first day I wanted to get a feel for things, so I just took off walking. My first stop was the Old South State House. Normally the cost to enter is $6 but they were providing free entrance that day because of an event in town. The Old South State House is located on Washington St close to Congress St. The State House was built in 1713 and used for official meetings of the towns politicians and colony business. It was also on this spot in March 1770 where the Boston Massacre took place. The people of the town were protesting due to the recent occupation by British forces. According the trolley tour guide, it was church bells ringing that built up the crowd as they came out of their houses. It was not Sunday so church bells usually would signal a fire. As the crowd started throwing rocks and other things at te soldiers, some fired killing five men. Four of the soldiers were acquitted and two were convicted of manslaughter. 

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Quincy Market

After that, I headed over to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market to get out of the rain for a little while. Faneuil Hall is located around Congress Street just a short walk from the State House and behind it is Quincy Market. Faneuil Hall is a market place of shops for mostly souvenirs like t-shirts, mugs and more. But at one time, it was a real market place used by the people of Boston for every day goods like food.  Right behind Faneuil Hall is Quincy Market, a slew of food options ranging from Seafood, to pizza to hot dogs to dessert. That day I just grabbed a hot dog from The Dog House and it was pretty good and an easy price on the wallet. I will tell you the prices in there are high. I wanted a Lobster Roll but could not convince myself to spend $30 on it but do regret that. The entire complex has food vendors and shops so plenty to see. 

Later I headed over to Cheers Bar to see the replica bar from the 80s TV show. I walked down Beacon St hoping it would be a short walk but turned out to be quite a hike, probably made worse by the rain. I still had a few days there so not sure why I was so determined to see it that night. It was getting dark so after checking in there for a few minutes, I headed back and grabbed dinner at Chipotle. After dinner, I had to try the Boston Cream Pie as the Parker House Hotel is the place where it was first created. To answer the quest, yes it was very good. 

The first day in Boston was pretty good and so glad I got there early in the day. I had to dodge a few rain drops but to be honest, it was not bad since I had a raincoat. Here in Florida, when it rains, it rains hard and with big drops so a little drizzle was easy. Be sure to check back for Day 2. 

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Michael Miller
⁠⁠Freedom to Roam Travel⁠⁠
​[email protected]