Boston

Today is the day I’ve been waiting for! I’ve been wanting to bring my family to Boston to show them where I once lived. Since we are staying one hour outside of Boston we would have to drive in and park but I had another idea. I knew that the kids would love to ride on a real train. Since we were only a few minutes from a train station, I decided that we would take the commuter rail into the city. The kids loved it. 

Once we made it into the city, we changed over to the subway and rode to the Back Bay/South Boston station. This is the station closest to my old Boston apartment. On the way to show the family where I once lived, we stopped for breakfast. Charlie’s is a little diner in South Boston. It was a favorite for me back in my Boston days, especially when my sister came to visit.

It did not disappoint today! I can see why it is a favorite in South Boston.

After breakfast, we walked a little further to 44 Concord Square. At 21 years old, I arrived in this big city all alone. This is the apartment my employer set up for me to live in. It was my first time living outside of my parents’ house. I was a travel x-ray tech. The apartment was only half a mile from Boston Medical Center where my assignment was. I ended up working there for two assignments, which was from July 2002-January 2003. I wasn’t in Boston long but it has a special place in my heart. 

Before today we read “Make way for Ducklings” again. It is a classic children’s book based in Boston. It talks about different landmarks around the city. Since it had the Swan Boats in the book, I decided that we would take a ride on one. The Swan Boats have been a tradition in Boston’s Public Garden since the 1800s. I think I enjoyed it more than the kids. They were upset that we wouldn’t buy them balloons. But later today, they were talking about how much they liked riding on it. Then we had to find the statue from the book. They are in the Public Garden.

These are some pictures from the Public Garden and the Boston Common.

Here is Park Street Church. In 2002 I searched for a church home for weeks, and then I found this one. At the time (and hopefully still) their beliefs aligned with my core beliefs as a Christian. I grew to love this church so much. I loved their Sunday evening student services. There was a girl who played the violin in the band. I think that’s where God stirred a desire in me to use my violin to help in worship.

Park Street Church is at the beginning of the Freedom Trail. We followed the trail through the city.

We had recently studied about Paul Revere in school. So, we decided to visit his home.

It was a step back into the 1700s.

After this, we were so exhausted by all the walking. But the kids really wanted to see the USS Constitution. So we continued on over the river to the ship. I’m glad we didn’t miss it.

We were only a couple of blocks from the Commuter Rail station. So, we hopped on a train and headed back to Newburyport. It was a good but very exhausting day.