Boston, MA

October 15-22:

We got into Boston just as the sun was going down.  Our apartment was in the Beacon Hill neighborhood and it was so neat to see all the gas street lamps coming on.  I fell in love with the "old world" feel of Boston right away!

The next day we took a 4 hour train ride to New York City.  Here we are in Time Square.  Crowded and crazy...just like I expected

We had tickets to go see "Book of Mormon" on Broadway.  The show was fantastic.  We were laughing the whole time:)

Relaxing in Central Park

Crazy pink lady with her crazy pink chicken...had to be in New York City!

I have wanted to come to this John Lennon memorial in Central Park for so long and I finally got to...check off my bucket list

Our friends from Germany, Jared and Jody Dean, just happened to be in New York for the weekend so we caught up with them for some yummy sushi and a great chat before we had to run and catch our train back to Boston.  It was a super quick but really awesome trip to New York City.  I'm definitely going back when I have more time:)

Hyrum had CME classes all morning but took the afternoon off so we could walk the "Freedom Trail" in Boston.  Here we are outside our cute apartment building.  We were on the 3rd floor...lots of winding stairs:)

Me with Paul Revere statue and Old North Church in the back ground

Really cool old cemetery.  Copp's Hill Burying Ground

The Bunker Hill Monument.  It was amazing how much of Boston's history is pre-Revolutionary war

The USS Constitution.  The oldest commissioned war ship in the whole world.  Unfortunately we got there too late to walk around the ship but we wandered around the great museum and learned lots of fun facts and history about the ship.

The next afternoon we went to the Boston Public Garden and walked around a bit.  I had to get a photo in front of the famous "Make Way for Ducklings" statue.

After the gardens we took the bus out to Harvard Square.  This was such a beautiful campus and we had fantastic weather to explore around

We watched some rowers along the Charles River Esplanade.  We had a wonderful walk around the beautiful neighborhoods near Harvard.

The following day was also amazing weather.  Hyrum took the day off of classes so we could enjoy being outside.  We rented some bikes and had fun exploring parts of the "Minuteman" bike path as well as part of the Minute Man National Historic Park

We lucked out because one of the historic homes was open and had people dressed up in period clothing talking about the time right before the Revolutionary War

We were so lucky with the weather, it was a beautiful day to ride around Boston

That night we took the "haunted tour" of Boston

It was fun and a bit spooky exploring the old graveyards at night and hearing stories about the people that settled in Boston.

My favorite day in Boston was the day we went out on a boat to explore Boston Harbor and see all the small little islands nearby.  The weather was a bit more cold than I would have preferred but it was still really nice to be out on the water.  This is us with Boston in the background

There were a total of only 6 passengers on this huge boat so it was really fun to get to know them and we all enjoyed a chance to go up to the Captains perch and see how she drives the boat around.  

After our boat ride we went and visited a few other cemeteries.  This old tombstone was in the Granary Burying Ground.  I liked the little quote on the bottom: 

Stop here my friend and cast and eye

as you are now so once was I

as I am now so you must be

prepare for death and follow me

This was also the final resting place of Paul Revere.  The big monument on the left was placed years after his burial.  His original tombstone is just that tiny little stone with the American flag next to it.  Crazy!

Our final day in Boston we went and explored Copley Square.  We explored the church behind us, Trinity Church, as well as many others in the vicinity.  It reminded me so much of Europe.  We even lucked out and got to listen to a free organ concert that was going on.  The biggest disappointment about Copley Square is that we walked around so much thinking that we had until 9:00 PM for the Boston public library to close.  We got there around 5 only to find out they close at 5:00 on Friday's.  I was super disappointed because I really wanted to see it.  I will be back to Boston one day and the first thing I will do is go to the library!!

I searched the internet and couldn't fine any pictures that show the amazing beauty of Trinity Church stained glass windows.  You have to go and see for yourself, simply amazing!

Now I can say I've been to Boston in the fall:)

Our little apartment as we were packing up to leave.  It was such a cozy place to come back to each night after a long day of walking around and exploring Boston.

Goodbye cute little Beacon Hill, see you again sometime!