Saturday, May 17, 2008

Down to the Back Bay

Today's plan was to take the bus and the subway on a practice run to get to the NEHGS where I am going to be working. I was a little apprehensive about doing it all on my own but I had over-studied the maps and routes and decided to give it a shot. The bus that takes me to the subway station passes by the end of my street. It is not a very long walk. I would be surprised if it was more than a quarter of a mile. (I wished I had remembered to wear my pedometer after I had walked around all day. By the end of the day I am sure I walked several miles. My feet are so sore!)

The bus I take to get to the subway ends at the Harvard Square subway station. That went smoothly. Harvard Square is on the red line and so I would need to change lines to the green line to get down to Copley Square, my ultimate destination. Changing lines was no big deal. You just have to remember that there are multi-levels to the Boston subway and so you might need to go upstairs or downstairs to get to the right station.

Copley Square is a beautiful park. The Boston Public Library is at one end and the Trinity Church is on the other end. The best news is that it is only one block down and one block over to get to the NEHGS. After roaming a bit, I got out my map and figured exactly where it was. I should be able to go right there next time. (The next practice run will be on Monday morning to make sure I can get there on time)

While downtown, I took a ton of pictures. I think the total count was 80 but I ended up deleted some because I had the camera settings wrong.

I walked around and followed the Freedom Trail to see many of the sights in and around the Back Bay and in the North End. The North End is a Little Italy. There are many Italian restaurants and stores. I kept expecting to see old men sitting on the sidewalk talking. I had a strawberry gelato down there. Yum!!

Among the sights I got to see were the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house. I just love all the history that's here. I was going to take a Duck tour which goes on land and water but they were sold out today. Maybe I'll do that on Monday after I complete my practice run to the NEHGS.

There were lots of people wandering around today. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised since it was Saturday. Apparently there are a lot of people in town for graduations. Several of the colleges and universities in the area are having graduations this weekend.

I met the cutest little squirrel in Boston Common. He was so friendly. He came right up to me. I think if I had food he would have eaten it out of my hand. I think I will go back and visit him again because that was where the camera was set wrong and so I don't have any pictures of him. He was so cute!!

I finally heard the famous Boston accent today too. Most people don't have it but if you talk to a subway cop or some other confirmed local, there it is. I met a crazy lady while waiting for the bus to come back home. She is Italian but has always lived in Boston. She talked about a mile a minute about anything and everything. She was about my age. She told me all about shopping and her life and her extended family and the grandson of her godparents who was graduating from Suffolk University. She just went on and on. When she found out I was from Utah, she asked me if I knew the Osmonds. Ha Ha Ha!! She also talked to a young couple from Turkey and agreed to show them how to get to the Arsenal Mall. (It's not far from my house!!). I talked to the couple as well. They are at Boston University for three months to learn English but their English is already pretty good.

One thing that I found very interesting was the number of people who went to see the many graveyards. They are all over the place down in the Back Bay and the North End. I find them fascinating but I wouldn't have thought that non-family historians/genealogists would share that fascination. There were lots of people in some of them. The old headstones were very interesting. I took several pictures. Some of the headstones date back to the 1700s.

I had a very enjoyable day despite the fact that my feet are so sore tonight. Hopefully they will feel fine tomorrow. The soreness reminds me of vacations where we would walk around all day. I was reminded of last summer when Amy and I went to Monticello and Colonial Williamsburg.

Stay tuned tomorrow to find out if I can make it the chapel without any extra detours!!

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