The Bush's are coming!..to Boston.

Welcome back friends! We arrived to Boston where we reached a milestone in our trip: 2000 miles & 55 hours driving! We arrived late at night because of the delays from NY. However, I have to brag about how fast our family have gotten in setting up camp. This was the time where with all hands on deck we got it done in no time! We stayed at Circle CG Farm campground right outside of the city. We liked the place. It was family owned and rustic, but it was generally well maintained and staffed. The property was beautiful with nice trails to walk around and lots of trees. The kids enjoyed playing mini golf, basketball and visiting the petting zoo. Dave didn’t like the narrow, bumpy roads and he said all the trees around made it hard to drive around and park the rig though.

Boston has definitely has been one of our favorite destinations even though we didn’t get to do all we wanted to do. What can we say..we are history enthusiasts! We learned the hard way that many of the most popular places of interest are closed on Mondays. So take note! With that said, we were still able to cover a lot of historical spots and enjoy traveling through history as we stroll the city following the Freedom Trail.

The first day we started at the Boston Commons Park. It was nice to explore the park which is a central place for people to gather and walk about sightseeing. Among interesting characters and beautiful trees, statues and fountains there were also sculptures of cows everywhere. Apparently, this location was devoted to raising cattle during the revolution. The Freedom Trail took us to our first stop, the Massachusetts State House. We got to walk around it and admired its architecture. From there, we went on to walk by the Granary Burying ground, which is the cemetery where many of the sons of the revolution and signers of the Declaration of Independence were buried. Paul Revere, John Hancock, Samuel Adams’ remains were there among others. It was very interesting to stroll the place and sometimes tag along with tour guides who were enthusiastically sharing facts about all such characters. We took particular interest in Phillis Wheatley, a famous African-American slave and poet who bought her freedom. She even got books published. She was an advocate for the emancipation and was buried there too.

From there we went on following the picturesque trail punctuated with beautiful buildings, sculptures and all sort of interesting sights. Our next stop was the former “Latin School”, where many of the patriots were educated, the most popular being Benjamin Franklin. Latin was the language of the intellectuals back then. I am actually having fun finding all the influence of Latin in all these places, especially since Garrick and I will be diving deeper in it together next year. It’s so cool to be able to use it to translate what we see in the wild! We also stopped by the Faneuil Hall and the Old south meeting which were places where patriots used for clandestine meetings back then. The last stop of that day was the Old State House, the site where the Boston Massacre occurred.

The second day we were deflated when we found out that the tickets to get into John Adam’s house were sold out. So we decided to spend a little time in the Children’s museum making Evelyn happy. She has been such a trooper playing the “intellectual adult spectator” than we thought it was about time that she played to her heart content. Over there, we also met the daughter of our dear friends Carlos & Maria who are CRU missionaries to Colombia. It was a joy to see our kids playing together. She’s currently pursuing a major in Chemistry at Harvard. Isn’t that cool? She’s super fun and easy to hang out with. Click here if you want to learn about what Carlos & Maria are doing in Colombia. The Lord is using them mightily to make disciples in college campuses there.

Ok, from there we went to visit Paul Revere’s house. One of our favorite characters. He’s most remembered by his “Paul Revere’s ride” where he warned the American rebels about an incoming attack by British soldiers. That allowed time for them to get their arms ready for battle and it was the starting point of the actual American Revolution fight. We learned that he had 16 children! He also had a visionary, entrepreneurial spirit which led him to much success in life. He was a silversmith and the best “copper-smith” the world knew at that time. He built the copper dome of the Capitol, copper sheeting for navy vessels, famous bells, cannon balls, etc. Of course he experience lots of setbacks, but he left behind a great legacy. Lastly we strolled the Italian district where we enjoyed an overpriced Italian meal, but then cheer ourselves up by getting Italian Cannolis at Mike’s Bakery..so yummy.

The following day we went to visit the USS Constitution museum. What a fun stop! Incredibly educational and entertaining. The Constitution, AKA “Old Iron Sides” was the first vessel built for the service of the U.S Navy. It is credited with winning against a crucial naval engagement against the British in the 1812 war. It’s said that British cannonballs used to bounced off its sides, and that’s how it got its nickname. It does sounds like a life-lesson right? A little bit of thicker skin is necessary to succeed in life, or so we believe..but with a softer heart inside. Always. 

From there the Freedom trail took us to Park Street Church which is the house where the lantern was lit to warn the rebels about the upcoming regulars. It was a nice sight, even though we couldn’t get in. Remember it was Monday? Sight..From there we took our last hike. -Poor Evelyn, she kept on going on foot like a trooper. I am telling you she will be our future marathoner! We ended our quest at Bunker Hill. This is Garrick’s depiction: A “pyrrhic victory” of the British. The British were trying to get to this point on water to invade Boston. The Americans were able to repel them twice before they were able to make any advance, proving that they were able to stand up to the mightiest army known to the world at the time.

Our last day in Boston was for recovery and to get ready for our departure. I had an all day long online training to attend. It was a great day, except with the terrible incident of a sewer overflow. Well, we are here to tell the story that as a family we have overcome the worst nightmare of an RV’er, such overflow in the master’s bedroom! In the middle of my class people! I have to give most credit to my husband for tirelessly coming to the rescue and taking care of it. It was a huge undertaking. My hat goes off to him for his serving heart..it wasn’t a very happy heart; mine wasn’t either..who would have such under the circumstances? But we did it, we overcame, and we did it together and we are stronger because of it. I think the bathroom and floors hadn’t been that clean and sanitized in a while. God is good friends!

Ok, to Maine we go next time. We’ll be journaling from there then. Best to you as always! Thank you for reading!