Old Ironsides and the Green Monster

After a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast (you can find one on just about every block!), we caught the T to Long Wharf again this morning. But today we were on the other side of the wharf to take the transit ferry (included on our transit pass) over to Charlestown.

The steeple of the Old North Church was visible between these buildings

USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument

 

On the spar deck

Considering that a lot of people come to Boston for Independence Day festivities, we wanted to get to the Navy Yard early so that we wouldn't get stuck in a long line waiting to tour the USS Constitution. Because it is the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat, we had to show ID and pass through a security screening to enter. We only had to wait about 30 minutes to board the ship -- yay! The really cool part was that active duty Navy sailors dressed in period uniform conduct the tours!

Gun deck

"Old Ironsides"

After the tour, we watched the sailors run through some drills that the crew on the USS Constitution would have engaged in... 

Close quarters combat

Loading and "firing" the gun

...and also paid a brief visit to the USS Constitution Museum. Then we picked up the Freedom Trail again and walked up to the Bunker Hill Monument, which is actually located on Breed's Hill. We skipped the climb to the top of the monument, but listened to the ranger talk about the events of the first real battle of the Revolutionary War. While the British "won" the Battle of Bunker Hill, it was at a high cost -- nearly a third of the deployed troops in Boston were injured or killed. And the inexperienced colonists were able to hold off the first two British assaults before retreating from the third.

Instead of following the trail back to Boston across the Zakim Bridge, we decided to go back across on the ferry. And that proved to be an excellent choice because it started to rain hard while we were waiting under the shelter. At least it didn't last too long!

Our last stop on the Freedom Trail was the Old South Meeting House. From here the Sons of Liberty went down to Griffin's Wharf on December 16, 1773 to dump crates of tea into the harbor in protest of the tax. 

M in a family box pew

Since the boys had finished both the Downtown Boston and Charlestown Jr. Ranger books for Boston NHP, we went back to Faneuil Hall to turn them in for their badges and bonus pin. We would have gone to visit Boston African American National Historic Site, but it was almost 3:30PM and the site closed at 4:00PM. We'll still have time to visit there tomorrow before we have to be at the airport.

The other reason to quit sightseeing early was to get back to the hotel to rest a little before the Red Sox game. Because of the iffy weather we've been having, we didn't want to buy tickets in advance. Figured that because the game was against the Padres, we could probably just walk up and get them. We ended up buying them from a scalper who sold us seats in the centerfield bleachers (talked him down to under face value - woohoo!)

America's Most Beloved Ballpark?!  I don't think so.

The Green Monster

John Lackey's first pitch of the game

It costs a small fortune to feed these bottomless pits!

Red Sox 4, Padres 1

Their 7th inning stretch doesn't compare to Wrigley's, but "Sweet Caroline" in the 8th is pretty cool. The updates to Fenway Park are really nice, but it still keeps its "old stadium" vibe -- makes us wonder how much more awesome Wrigley Field could be if they renovated it, too.

We didn't want to fight the crowds taking the T to Copley Square, so we just walked the mile or so back to the hotel. A beautiful last night in Boston!