freedom trail

it was chilly yesterday, but the sun was shining and i've been wanting to check out the freedom trail, so i decided it was as good a time as any for the walking tour. i couldn't see being in such a historic city without taking in some of its more famous landmarks. i'm not going into too much detail for each picture; the above link has a short history of each stop and there is an abundance of information on many other websites.

the state house:

park street church and granary burying ground:

king's chapel: ben franklin statue and first public school:

old south meeting house:

old state house and site of boston massacre:

feneuil hall:

what you'll see of paul revere's house if you're taking the free version of the tour:

old north church (of the signal lantern fame) and paul revere's statue:

uss constitution (ol' ironsides):

bunker hill memorial:

inside the uss constitution museum i met dick remillard, a member of the local model shipwright guild. he was full of information about the amazing model ships on display, including one that he had built from scratch: the kohala. it took him seven years to complete, and he casually discussed alterations and repairs which took up to six months. it was easy to see why i read modeling requires three things: patience, the ability to concentrate on one thing at a time, and a colorful vocabulary. another modeler said: “real model shipwrights don’t cry, they take a shot or two of whiskey and start over.”
here's dick and his ship:


by the time i made it home, i'd been walking for 5 1/2 hours. it's been a while since i've done that - and on pavement the whole time no less. my feet were a little sore to say the least. where'd my thru-hiker legs of steel go?