Saturday, December 6, 2008

Boston


    My dad and I are back from Boston....had a great time. There are so many historical sites in that city that I feel somewhat justified in taking over 800 pictures. Don't laugh. If you thought you knew me, you should have known that I'd do something like that. And no, I won't post all of them on here. Blogger would hate me for it, and the "picture" function on my toolbar would quit working after picture 299. Actually, I probably wouldn't even get that far. 

     After being shouted at by a suspicious looking local, who was probably doing illegal activities, I've realized that not all people are tolerant of photographers who just might be gathering evidence to give to a newspaper, or the police. Or who knows, suspicious looking locals just might not feel very photogenic. I wasn't even taking close-ups of anyone! I would never be that annoying. I was simply trying to shoot a stone carving on a building. The only real picture of a person I took was a person selling peanuts on the corner about thirty feet away. I used my wonderful zoom. Well, you can't expect suspicious looking locals to know that, can you? Apparently the shouter was either crazy, or didn't want photo documentation of what he was doing. (Whatever that was..)

   Among the things we saw was the church Charles Wesley preached in, Samuel Adams' grave, and John Hancock's psalm book and coat.
  Boston, however, is (unfortunately?) full of more than just historical sites. While peering out the window of the church where George Whitfield preached, I saw a Claire's store advertising a sale. Not to put Claire's down, folks, but there is just something wrong with the position of that store. Both my dad and I developed an allergic reaction to shopping malls while in Boston.

   We toured the Freedom Trail during the two and a half days we had for sightseeing. (My dad had to attend a meeting the first day.)
   We were told that it would take about two hours to visit all ten sights. It took us two and a half days, and we barely finished in time. The Freedom Trail winds through the city, marked by a brick trail. Eventually, you don't even notice the trail because there are so many bricks in Boston.

Here are some of the pictures:






A "memorial" in front of John Hancock's grave.
Outdoor market!






Bunker Hill monument with a statue of William Prescott. Prescott was an American Colonel in the Revolutionary War. He supposedly uttered the famous command about the British to his men- "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!"

I've come to the conclusion that the Bunker Hill Monument is really only impressive when you're looking straight up at it. Or when you're looking at a picture taken from this view. I don't like the images of the column shot from two or three story buildings.

The tombstone of Daniel Malcom. In 1768, Malcom, a sea captain, smuggled wine into Boston with out paying the required tax. A short time later, after Malcom had died, the irascible British troops singled out his gravestone for target practice. Hence the bullet marks.

Here's a picture my dad took on me in front of a church on Beacon Hill.


 A statue in front of the State House.

The top figure on the Soldiers' and Sailors' monument in the Boston Common.
Ha! This picture just cracked me up. Why do I find pigeons so amusing?


Inside the Massachusetts State House.


A close up of a balcony on Tremont Temple, the country's first integrated church.

John Hancock's Coat.


This was one of my favorites.


I was informed that only "outsiders" pronounce Faneuil Hall "fan-yoo-ell hall." I pronounced it this way, until I was enlightened. The proper pronunciation is something like "funnel," or "fannel," or "fennel." But don't trust me, I'm certainly not an expert. 
Ironically, many abolitionist speeches were given inside Faneuil Hall, though Peter Faneuil himself probably built the building with profits from the slave trade.


Well, I will be back to post more. I've hardly shown you my favorite ones. See some more at
http://picasaweb.google.com/nbrookep/Bostonpli=1&gsessionid=URT3H4qIjT_O0w3DoULbtg#

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful city! Looks as if you had a wonderful time! C U tomorrow!

Anonymous said...

I like your outfit! You look just like how I have always imagined people in Boston look:)

Jessica said...

I really like your new layout!! The white, with a splash of pink- very nice!

Anonymous said...

Very pretty photos.... and I love your outfit too!!

SuperAngel said...

How cool! those are great shots and I love your outfit! :)
Miss Amanda
The Daily Planet

Kathryn said...

love the pictures!!!!!!!!!!! :)