Cape Cod, the Freedom Trail . . . and Cheers!

We had three goals in mind as we drove into Massachusetts by way of Connecticut.  The first was to walk the Freedom Trail in Boston.  The second was to see the Atlantic Ocean for the first time and the third was to dip my toes in the Atlantic Ocean at the tip of Cape Cod.

Yummy clam chowder

View from our table

Our first full day in Massachusetts was spent touring Cape Cod.  We wanted to have lunch at the tip which is Provincetown or P-town as the locals call it.  We found a nice little cafe on the harbor where we were able to sit outside in the sunshine and enjoy a lunch of New England clam chowder.  After lunch we wandered around town and then drove out to the Cape Cod National Seashore where I saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time!  It was warmer than the Pacific Ocean and the waves weren't nearly as big.  The air didn't have the same ocean smell.  It was beautiful though.

Toe dipping in the Atlantic

We drove along the coast and came to a lighthouse called Cape Cod Two Light Lighthouse.  It was commissioned by George Washington because of all the shipwrecks in that area.  This is the lighthouse that was moved further back on land due to erosion of the cliffs.  What a job that must have been!

Cape Cod Lighthouse

We drove to Hyannis and hoped to see Hyannisport and the Kennedy compound, but we ran out of time, because we needed to have dinner in Rhode Island before heading back to Tumbleweed. (Our rule for claiming a new state on our wall map is that we must walk on the ground and also eat a meal in that particular state). Our server at dinner gave us valuable information about using the subway system in Boston and we left Rhode Island feeling more confident about our visit to Boston the next day.

Paul Revere's tomb

Boston is a busy city with many important historical sites to visit.  Our intent was to walk the Freedom Trail which is a 2 1/2 mile walk along a red brick path which meanders through the heart of Boston.  The historical places that we learned about in school are now surrounded by modern day buildings.  The Freedom Trail is a unique collection of museums, churches, meeting houses, burying grounds, homes of important key figures, parks, a ship and historic markers that tell the story of the American Revolution.  It begins in the Boston Common and ends at the USS Constitution and Bunker Hill monument across the harbor.  We particularly enjoyed seeing the Old North Church where Paul Revere's lanterns were displayed in the steeple warning the city that the British were coming. One lantern if they were coming by land and two lanterns if they were coming by sea.

The Old North Church

Sign from the old school

Statue of Benjamin Franklin at old school site

Old South Meeting House

Other sites that we saw were the Old South Meeting House where the decision to dump the tea was made, the first public school in America where Benjamin Franklin attended as a boy, the Massachusetts State House, the USS Constitution, commissioned by George Washington and a World War II destroyer, the USS Cassin Young.

Pete and the USS Cassin Young

After completing the Freedom Trail, we took a ferry from the Harbor back to mainland Boston.  We had a beautiful view of the Boston skyline.  We walked back to the Boston Common and had dinner at Cheers, the site of the 80's comedy show.  The burgers were great, and . . . nobody knew our name.  Cheers!

Cheers!