FROM THE DESK OF SENATOR DAVID LONG
This is the second part of two about our family’s summer vacation in the New England area.
After a thoroughly enjoyable day and a half in Chatham, we headed north to Boston. Along the way, we stopped in Plymouth certain it would be an important history lesson for the boys. Plymouth was somewhat disappointing, though it is well worth the side trip just to see Plymouth Rock. The Rock is now encased in an outdoor, protected locale immediately adjacent to where it stood at the time the Pilgrims arrived. It is a strangely stirring moment to stare at one of the most famous sites in our nation, and there is a National Park Ranger there to answer any and all questions.
One recommended tour that you wouldn’t expect to be all that great was the Plymouth National Wax Museum. The Museum is just a set of stairs up a hill from Plymouth Rock, and does a great job of explaining, through sight and sound, who the Pilgrims were, why they made the trip to America, the difficulty with the voyage, and the tremendous problems they faced, and eventually overcame, to survive and prosper. It explains all you need to know about the Pilgrim experience, and the kids will enjoy it.
There is a replica of the Mayflower in Plymouth harbor, but we skipped it, and you should too. Overall, Plymouth is a true tourist trap, but the Rock and the museum are very much worth the stop.
And so we come to Boston, which we visited just one week after the Democratic convention. Neither Melissa nor I had really ever visited the Northeast’s greatest city, so we weren’t sure what to expect. I can tell you that our family absolutely loved Boston, and Melissa and I will go back again some day on our own!
First and foremost, Boston is an expensive city, so you have to do your homework to find a reasonable, and properly located, place to stay. That is why we always recommend you make a Frommer book part of your itinerary. Frommer is consistently solid, especially in cities, in finding the best places to stay, the best places to eat, and providing ideas for family itineraries. We found a gem of a place, called the Newbury Guest House, which is located on Newbury Street just a few blocks away from Boston Commons. Newbury street also has the city’s best shopping, and is chock full of sidewalk cafes and restaurants that bring the Boston natives to this locale seven days a week. Staying near Newbury would be highly recommended, but visiting is a must.
The second thing you need to know about Boston is you should park your car at your hotel and never drive it again until its time to leave. Boston is best navigated on foot or using the excellent public transportation system. Parking is expensive, and you’ll regret ignoring this advice.
Since we had about a day and a half to spend, we first headed to Cambridge, across the river from Boston, where Harvard and MIT are both located. It was an easy, short but most worthwhile trip. We got off the bus, and immediately were confronted with a huge crowd watching the greatest, most talented group of break-dancers I’ve ever seen. Our kids couldn’t get enough. We took a great walk around Harvard University, ending up at the Harvard Book Store. Now, I understood that I was in a liberal environment, but I also understood that this was arguably America’s greatest institution of higher learning, so you expect some openness of thought and a willingness to consider all sides of an argument. Imagine my dismay to find that right at the front of the store was a display of every anti-George Bush book in print over the last couple of years. I counted at least 35 books—all of them of the attack variety, and all anti-Bush. Not ONE single book that considered the other side of the argument. And this is the official bookstore for our best university? What a complete disappointment, and a confirmation that openness of thought and a fair discussion of all sides of the issues is no longer the way they teach at Harvard, nor at many other institutions of higher learning in our country. No matter what side of the issue you fall on, nobody can want this type of narrow, one-dimensional thinking in our universities.
After a great night strolling along Newbury Street, we headed out to do what all families and visitors normally do, and should do, in Boston: follow the Freedom Trail. Beginning at the northeast end of Boston Common, this is a course that takes you to most of the major historical attractions in Boston. It is a must for anyone visiting this city, and for the most part should be done on foot. A red stripe along the sidewalk makes it easy to follow the trail, and find the sites.
One of the first great sites was coming to an old, wonderful cemetery called the Old Granary Burying Ground where Sam Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, the victims of the Boston Massacre and the parents of Ben Franklin are all buried. It was unexpected, and awe inspiring. The next great locale was an old church that was used as a key meeting place for the revolutionaries, and the precise bench where President Washington actually sat still sits there today, unchanged. In the middle of the Trail, you come across Faneuil Hall (sounds like Daniel), which has all sorts of great street entertainment (magicians, musicians, etc), lots of shopping, and most importantly for the middle of a walking tour, great places to eat and drink. The original hall itself was a key meeting place for Boston’s patriots in the days leading up to the start of the Revolutionary War.
After Faneuil Hall, the tour takes you through several different ethnic neighborhoods, including the famed Italian section. Here you find several wonderful places, beginning with Paul Revere’s house. You learn that Revere lived there with his 13 children, and that he was not only a renowned silversmith, but also dabbled in engraving, copper plating, and dentistry! This house was built around 1660, and is allegedly Boston’s oldest structure. It was from here that Revere began his famous ride warning of the British march to Concord and Lexington. Not much later, we come to the Old North Church, which is still in use, and whose high bell tower was used to place the two lanterns that told Revere the method of transportation to be used by the British (one if by land, two if by sea).
The end of the Freedom Trail takes you to the USS Constitution, as well as, the Bunker Hill Memorial. The Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) is the oldest commissioned ship in the US Navy, and still makes an annual trek around Boston Harbor. You can view a very good video show run by the national park service near the Constitution that tells all about Bunker Hill, and thereby avoid the walk up the hill to view the memorial. A cheap ferry run by the State lands nearby, and can take you back to downtown Boston, where a short walk takes you back to Boston Common.
Boston is a great city, full of history, and full of life. I highly recommend it to couples and families alike, and really to all citizens who value their nation’s history.
Next article will detail the final half of the Long’s 2004 vacation. It took us to Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Totally different from the first half of the vacation, and even better!
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