We breakfasted and repacked ready to vacate our room. We lodged the baggage with the reception staff and set off towards Boston Common to find the outside location shots of the Cheers bar in the comedy of the same name. Julia’s research told us that the outside shots of Cheers were located on Beacon Street which runs above the common and also has the State house building on it. The extremely popular TV show Cheers was inspired by a neighborhood bar and restaurant in Boston, the former Bull & Finch Pub. The facade of the building was used in the opening sequence of the TV show. The Bull & Finch was eventually re-named Cheers Boston Beacon Hill due to the great notoriety from the TV series. A second location was opened in 2001, Cheers Boston Faneuil Hall, which is a replica of the interior of the bar in the TV show, which we had visited the day before. Inside on the ground floor there is a replica bar and a souvenir shop while in the basement there is another bar. This is as near to finding Cheers as is possible because all the interiors were shot in studio and I can rarely remember the show straying much beyond the bar.
While we had a beer in Cheers Faneuil Hall it was far too early to do the same this morning but we did hear the same “humorous” question asked of the bar staff; “What’s my name?” On the basis that Cheers is a place “Where everyone knows your name”. The long-suffering staff must have got used to a steady diet of this approach but surely they should be allowed to gun down the tenth person to ask in any given day! We took several photos outside the bar and in one of them I look exactly like my father, I blame my bad back, but sadly there are fewer and fewer people to show it to who knew us both.
Our next quest defeated us. We entered the public gardens opposite the bar expecting to find the famous statue of a duck and her ducklings. Make Way for Ducklings is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey. First published in 1941, the book tells the story of a pair of mallard ducks who decide to raise their family on an island in the lagoon in Boston Public Garden, a park in the center of Boston, Massachusetts. The book's popularity led to the construction of a statue by Nancy Schön in the Public Garden of the mother duck and her eight ducklings, which is a popular destination for children and adults alike, but we couldn’t find it! Later research has confirmed that we were looking in the right park and we walked all the way round the lake in question but no ducks!
We headed back towards the hotel and were amused by the squirrels which have no fear of humans and tolerantly pose for photos as long as required. Between the lake and the Boston Common there are sports fields of various types and here we stumbled on a set of eccentrics who were playing a ball game while riding witch’s brooms –it may have been a Harry Potter themed enterprise but they were firmly land-based – defective brooms? They were also behind quite substantial fencing I think that was for the best.
We returned to the hotel and ventured into Parker’s Bar where we had a beer and a piece of Boston Cream Pie each and enjoyed both before moving on to the airport. While we were in the bar there was a wedding party gathering for a later ceremony in one of their function rooms. On the events board the wedding was listed as being between Paul and Randy so it crossed our minds that it might be a bit liberal for Boston but when the bridegroom, I’m assuming Paul, arrived in Army Dress Uniform, based on “don’t ask, don’t tell” we concluded Randy must be a unisex name.
Meanwhile we asked for our bill in the bar and it was even higher than we had allowed for but in error four beers appeared not the two we had drunk. The mistake was cheerfully corrected.
After some confusion about where our luggage had been stored it eventually appeared. One of the bell staff whistled us up a taxi and we were quickly at the airport.
We were flying overnight and the flight would be extended by the time difference and we had no idea what food would be provided so w ate a final meal in the airport. The food was fine but we were amused by a middle-aged man who sat at the table next to us and ordered a bottle of wine with his meal. The waitress told him she couldn’t serve him with a bottle for one person. At this he pushed the chair opposite him back and said that he was waiting for someone. She stuck to her guns and he had to make do with a glass of wine. Nobody joined him while we were there.
Our flight as smooth and uneventful and we got ourselves back to Derbyshire in time to be involved in a basketball match – normal life was resumed.
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Thursday, 9 December 2010
New England – Fall 2010 – Day 19: Boston (Fenway Park).
We have enjoyed all our visits to sporting venues in the states but Madison Square Garden stands out amongst our memories because of the knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. We set off to Fenway Park hoping for the same sort of experience – we were not to be disappointed. We took the subway and after some negotiation we agreed on the station to get off as I recall it was not as obvious as Fenway although we passed through a station of that name. Julia researches our visits in advance and using the lap top she can further check up while we are in place. I recall that we got off the train and followed pedestrian signs to Baseball. However, just as we reached a position where there were four options for us to take, there were no signs at all to help us. We may have looked a bit helpless, or perhaps this was not a new situation, a passing delivery truck stopped by us and the driver gave us directions. His first words were “Are you looking for Fenway Park?”
Our directions took us there in about five minutes, we signed up for a tour that was leaving in about ten minutes and off we went.
Our guide was Morrie, I’ve no idea if that’s how he spells it, he is a rabid Red Sox fan and he gives the impression that he works for free just to be allowed in his idols’ home. On our first stairway he stopped and demanded to know if we had any Yankee fans with us – one family admitted their allegiance to the enemy – but Morrie just said he needed to know in order to speak more slowly for their benefit!
He was an entertaining host. We learnt lots from him but two stories will have to suffice.
From our vantage point he made us look across the ballpark to the opposite bleachers all the seats are green except for one single red seat. To quote Wikipedia:
The lone red seat in the right field bleachers (Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21) signifies the longest home run ever hit at Fenway. The Ted Williams hit was officially measured at 502 feet, the ball, if unobstructed, would have flown 520 to 535 feet.
The ball landed on Joseph A. Boucher, penetrating his large straw hat and hitting him in the head. A confounded Boucher was later quoted as saying, “How far away must one sit to be safe in this park? I didn't even get the ball. They say it bounced a dozen rows higher, but after it hit my head, I was no longer interested. I couldn't see the ball. Nobody could. The sun was right in our eyes. All we could do was duck. I'm glad I did not stand up”.
Morrie’s story is much better he claimed that although Boucher was a Yankees’ fan he was in Boston on business and took in the game, he was dosing in his seat when the ball punched through his straw boater and put him to sleep more fully! When a Boston newspaper reporter got onto the story he interviewed Boucher and discovered that he was now a converted Red Sox fan – the headline read: “Williams hit knocks sense into Yankee fan!”. On a recent anniversary of the event Boucher and his family were invited to attend a match at Fenway Park and they were allocated seats in the red seat area they got into the spirit of the event by all wearing straw boaters!
When we were on the “Green Monster “ he drew our attention to the number 42 in blue alongside several numbers in red. Along with the seven Red Sox who have been honoured by having their number retired there is the 42 representing Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was the first black Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. As the first black man to play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues for six decades. The example of his character and unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life, and contributed significantly, to the Civil Rights Movement. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams.
When this happened the number 42 became unavailable to all players except those already wearing it while they stayed at their current club. Wikipedia puts it like this:
A grandfather clause allowed a handful of players who wore number 42 as a salute to Robinson, such as the Mets' Butch Huskey and Boston's Mo Vaughn, were allowed to continue wearing the number for as long as they stayed with their current team and did not change their number. The Yankees' Mariano Rivera is the last player in the major leagues to wear jersey number 42 on a regular basis.
I felt it was a classy thing for a sport to do and very touchingly explained by our guide.
He also pointed out the scoreboard under the Green Monster which is manually operated. Even though there has been an electronic scoreboard above the bleacher seats in center field at Fenway Park for many years, people still look to the base of the Green Monster at the manual scoreboard to keep track of the action on the field and at other parks around the league. This feature was installed in 1934 and it is one of the few remaining manually-operated scoreboards in baseball. During every home game, there are three operators to keep the scoreboard as up-to-date as possible. Green and red lights signal the number of balls, strikes, and outs, 16-inch-square numbers are used to indicate runs and hits, and 12-by-16 inch square numbers are used to show errors, innings, and the number of the current pitcher. In the mid-1970s, when the wall was remodeled, the scoreboard was changed only to show out-of-town American League scores; however, in 2003, the scoreboard was revised to show National League scores as well. Another update in 2005 added a reference to the current standings in the American League East. Also, if you look closely, you will find the initials of former owners Thomas A Yawkey and his wife Jean R. Yawkey written in Morse code. I was amused to learn that some of the National league scores cannot be changed from inside and thus between innings, an operator emerges from a hidden door and using a ladder changes those scores from outside. Morrie claims that you will never see this on televised matches as showing it is banned.
We also learned that Babe Ruth started his career at Boston as a pitcher using the old soft ball and, in fact, that there had been an old soft ball. Also that the Cy Young award is named after the Boston pitcher.
As a side note while on our tour we had watched a documentary on the Red Sox and it said poignantly that when they broke their long barren spell, since 1918, by winning the World Series in 2004 graves in all Boston cemeteries were decorated with Red Sox clothing and score sheets from the series as a tribute to fans that had lived and died without seeing such success.
We followed Morrie’s directions to walk from the ball park to the Prudential Building to take in the view of the city from the Skywalk Observatory. On our way we passed the one of the most impressive locations for a tennis club ever. At 939 Boyleston Street, I have close friends who live in a tiny village called Boylestone in Derbyshire, the club looks like the frontage of an office block or department store. We bravely entered but the Club seems to be in the basement and accessible by a “members only” elevator. Had there been a reception area available to us I would have asked to have a look round using my English accent and tennis background as a passport. Returning to England and looking the place up I discovered that their tennis is Court or Real tennis not my version and perhaps it would all have been too posh for simple Derbyshire folk.
The Prudential Skywalk was excellent, the free auto commentary is brilliant the only down side is that you are always shooting your photos through glass which at times could do with cleaning. I was easy to put the Freedom Trail into context from above and we could also see Fenway Park and our route from there.
We returned to the hotel by subway and enjoyed tea and cookies in our room. We then took a walk out to the Cheers bar close to the Faneuiel Hall, by chance we were both wearing basketball hoodies, Julia’s was Derby Trailblazers, British National Champions of Mens Division One and mine was East Midlands, Under 15 Boys National Champions, coached by Dave Harris a veteran of British Basketball and assisted by Sarah Booth our daughter. We were soon in conversation over a beer with a guy, a river pilot from Washington State, who was visiting Boston. Amusingly he took us to be New Englanders not English, apparently our accents seem similar to the locals. Having overcome this misunderstanding he was very interested in our basketball development and we have his address and email on the basis we must visit in the future.
We returned to the hotel and Julia continued her research into Boston Comedy clubs, thus it was that we set out later to find the Mottleys Comedy Club with a remembered address and no map. Despite poor preparation and a cold drizzle we were still quite upbeat when we located the club in the basement of a bar quite close to Cheers. We then found a cheap but brilliant Mexican restaurant nearby and had a great meal before returning to the bar. The session was not due to start for another half hour so we sat at the bar for another beer, this is very heavy consumption for us, and chatted to a couple who turned out to be baseball fans.
When we saw the show, under the title “Quarter Life Crisis”, we were only mildly amused. Three guys and a girl took their turns at telling us that they were confused about life in general. I took their point because life still confuses me but strangely I’m not confident enough that my confusion equips me to amuse strangers who are paying for the experience!
We returned to the hotel by 10.00pm and everywhere was pretty dead, it seemed much later by the amount, or lack, of activity.
Our directions took us there in about five minutes, we signed up for a tour that was leaving in about ten minutes and off we went.
Our guide was Morrie, I’ve no idea if that’s how he spells it, he is a rabid Red Sox fan and he gives the impression that he works for free just to be allowed in his idols’ home. On our first stairway he stopped and demanded to know if we had any Yankee fans with us – one family admitted their allegiance to the enemy – but Morrie just said he needed to know in order to speak more slowly for their benefit!
He was an entertaining host. We learnt lots from him but two stories will have to suffice.
From our vantage point he made us look across the ballpark to the opposite bleachers all the seats are green except for one single red seat. To quote Wikipedia:
The lone red seat in the right field bleachers (Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21) signifies the longest home run ever hit at Fenway. The Ted Williams hit was officially measured at 502 feet, the ball, if unobstructed, would have flown 520 to 535 feet.
The ball landed on Joseph A. Boucher, penetrating his large straw hat and hitting him in the head. A confounded Boucher was later quoted as saying, “How far away must one sit to be safe in this park? I didn't even get the ball. They say it bounced a dozen rows higher, but after it hit my head, I was no longer interested. I couldn't see the ball. Nobody could. The sun was right in our eyes. All we could do was duck. I'm glad I did not stand up”.
Morrie’s story is much better he claimed that although Boucher was a Yankees’ fan he was in Boston on business and took in the game, he was dosing in his seat when the ball punched through his straw boater and put him to sleep more fully! When a Boston newspaper reporter got onto the story he interviewed Boucher and discovered that he was now a converted Red Sox fan – the headline read: “Williams hit knocks sense into Yankee fan!”. On a recent anniversary of the event Boucher and his family were invited to attend a match at Fenway Park and they were allocated seats in the red seat area they got into the spirit of the event by all wearing straw boaters!
When we were on the “Green Monster “ he drew our attention to the number 42 in blue alongside several numbers in red. Along with the seven Red Sox who have been honoured by having their number retired there is the 42 representing Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was the first black Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. As the first black man to play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues for six decades. The example of his character and unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life, and contributed significantly, to the Civil Rights Movement. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams.
When this happened the number 42 became unavailable to all players except those already wearing it while they stayed at their current club. Wikipedia puts it like this:
A grandfather clause allowed a handful of players who wore number 42 as a salute to Robinson, such as the Mets' Butch Huskey and Boston's Mo Vaughn, were allowed to continue wearing the number for as long as they stayed with their current team and did not change their number. The Yankees' Mariano Rivera is the last player in the major leagues to wear jersey number 42 on a regular basis.
I felt it was a classy thing for a sport to do and very touchingly explained by our guide.
He also pointed out the scoreboard under the Green Monster which is manually operated. Even though there has been an electronic scoreboard above the bleacher seats in center field at Fenway Park for many years, people still look to the base of the Green Monster at the manual scoreboard to keep track of the action on the field and at other parks around the league. This feature was installed in 1934 and it is one of the few remaining manually-operated scoreboards in baseball. During every home game, there are three operators to keep the scoreboard as up-to-date as possible. Green and red lights signal the number of balls, strikes, and outs, 16-inch-square numbers are used to indicate runs and hits, and 12-by-16 inch square numbers are used to show errors, innings, and the number of the current pitcher. In the mid-1970s, when the wall was remodeled, the scoreboard was changed only to show out-of-town American League scores; however, in 2003, the scoreboard was revised to show National League scores as well. Another update in 2005 added a reference to the current standings in the American League East. Also, if you look closely, you will find the initials of former owners Thomas A Yawkey and his wife Jean R. Yawkey written in Morse code. I was amused to learn that some of the National league scores cannot be changed from inside and thus between innings, an operator emerges from a hidden door and using a ladder changes those scores from outside. Morrie claims that you will never see this on televised matches as showing it is banned.
We also learned that Babe Ruth started his career at Boston as a pitcher using the old soft ball and, in fact, that there had been an old soft ball. Also that the Cy Young award is named after the Boston pitcher.
As a side note while on our tour we had watched a documentary on the Red Sox and it said poignantly that when they broke their long barren spell, since 1918, by winning the World Series in 2004 graves in all Boston cemeteries were decorated with Red Sox clothing and score sheets from the series as a tribute to fans that had lived and died without seeing such success.
We followed Morrie’s directions to walk from the ball park to the Prudential Building to take in the view of the city from the Skywalk Observatory. On our way we passed the one of the most impressive locations for a tennis club ever. At 939 Boyleston Street, I have close friends who live in a tiny village called Boylestone in Derbyshire, the club looks like the frontage of an office block or department store. We bravely entered but the Club seems to be in the basement and accessible by a “members only” elevator. Had there been a reception area available to us I would have asked to have a look round using my English accent and tennis background as a passport. Returning to England and looking the place up I discovered that their tennis is Court or Real tennis not my version and perhaps it would all have been too posh for simple Derbyshire folk.
The Prudential Skywalk was excellent, the free auto commentary is brilliant the only down side is that you are always shooting your photos through glass which at times could do with cleaning. I was easy to put the Freedom Trail into context from above and we could also see Fenway Park and our route from there.
We returned to the hotel by subway and enjoyed tea and cookies in our room. We then took a walk out to the Cheers bar close to the Faneuiel Hall, by chance we were both wearing basketball hoodies, Julia’s was Derby Trailblazers, British National Champions of Mens Division One and mine was East Midlands, Under 15 Boys National Champions, coached by Dave Harris a veteran of British Basketball and assisted by Sarah Booth our daughter. We were soon in conversation over a beer with a guy, a river pilot from Washington State, who was visiting Boston. Amusingly he took us to be New Englanders not English, apparently our accents seem similar to the locals. Having overcome this misunderstanding he was very interested in our basketball development and we have his address and email on the basis we must visit in the future.
We returned to the hotel and Julia continued her research into Boston Comedy clubs, thus it was that we set out later to find the Mottleys Comedy Club with a remembered address and no map. Despite poor preparation and a cold drizzle we were still quite upbeat when we located the club in the basement of a bar quite close to Cheers. We then found a cheap but brilliant Mexican restaurant nearby and had a great meal before returning to the bar. The session was not due to start for another half hour so we sat at the bar for another beer, this is very heavy consumption for us, and chatted to a couple who turned out to be baseball fans.
When we saw the show, under the title “Quarter Life Crisis”, we were only mildly amused. Three guys and a girl took their turns at telling us that they were confused about life in general. I took their point because life still confuses me but strangely I’m not confident enough that my confusion equips me to amuse strangers who are paying for the experience!
We returned to the hotel by 10.00pm and everywhere was pretty dead, it seemed much later by the amount, or lack, of activity.
Friday, 3 December 2010
New England – Fall 2010 – Day 18: Boston (Freedom Trail).
In my innocence I did not realise that Omni was a trade name of a set of hotels so I wondered at first what that part of our most expensive hotel’s name meant. Having worked that out by reading in our room I turned my attention to the Parker House Hotel. We had picked it to be one of the most central and historic hotels in Boston – it easily lived up to both. The lobby is immense and furnished to a high standard but giving the impression that nothing has changed in recent times. Research reveals that the PHH has a rich history for which I will quote Wikipedia:
Opened in 1855 by Harvey D. Parker and located on School Street near the corner of Tremont, not far from the seat of the Massachusetts state government, it has long been a rendezvous for politicians. The hotel was home to the Saturday Club, also referred to as the Saturday Night Club, which consisted of literary dignitaries such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. John Wilkes Booth was also once a guest at the hotel.
The Parker House invented American foods such as Boston cream pie and the Parker House roll, and coined the term "scrod".
The original Parker House and later additions were demolished in the 1920s and replaced with an entirely new building. One wing of the original hotel remained open until the new building was completed in 1927.
As the longest continuously operating hotel in the United States, many well-known people have worked at the Parker House, including Hô Chí Minh who was a baker in the bakeshop from 1911 to 1913, Malcolm X who was a busboy in the early 1940s, and Emeril Lagasse.
John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for Congress in the hotel's Press Room, proposed to Jackie Kennedy, as well as held his bachelor party here.
We enjoyed the whole experience of the hotel and found the staff at every level most obliging and friendly. Julia bumped into a porter while she was wearing her Brazilian soccer shirt and he was fascinated to discover that although she was not Brazilian but she had been given the shirt by Brazilian friends. He seemed to make a point of looking out for her from then on.
We set off from the hotel to get breakfast, Dunkin Donut again, and then to walk the freedom trail. At the Boston Common we checked out the price of a guided tour with a costumed guide but they were very expensive and only covered the first two thirds of the trail. We felt that our tracking skills, honed by visiting Texas, would see us through as we were merely following a thick red line on the sidewalk.
As our first point of interest we visited the Massachusetts State House, which is the state capitol and seat of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The building houses the Massachusetts General Court and the offices of the Governor of Massachusetts. The most notable feature of the building is the large dome. The original wood dome, which leaked, was covered with copper in 1802 by Paul Revere's company. (Paul Revere, who stars later in this account, was the first American to successfully roll copper into sheets in a commercially viable manner.)
The dome was first painted gray and then light yellow before being gilded with gold leaf in 1874. During WWII, the dome was once again painted, this time black, to prevent reflections during blackouts and to protect the city and building from bombing attacks. In 1997, at a cost of more than $300,000, the dome was re-gilded, in 23k gold. The gold dome means that a president, JFK, came from the state.
The dome is topped with a pine cone, symbolizing the importance of Boston's lumber industry in the early colonial days not, as we thought, a pineapple which could only symbolize our stupidity.
From here we walked towards our hotel to visit Park Street Church, a historic stop on the Freedom Trail. It was founded on February 27, 1809. The church became known as "Brimstone Corner", in part because of the missionary character of its preaching, and in part because of the storage of gunpowder during the War of 1812. Next to the church is the Granary Burying Ground which is the city of Boston's third-oldest cemetery. Located on Tremont Street, it is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere and the five victims of the Boston Massacre.
We were of course dealing with some mixed feelings about all the glorification of this rebellion against our lawful control of the colonies but we tried to go with the flow.
Next we reached the Benjamin Franklin statue and former site of the first public school, Boston Latin School which was opposite the side door of our hotel. Several times in the hotel we noticed people breaking their walk on the freedom trail for a drink in the hotel bar, it was either late on the walk and they only had a couple of stops left but if they were travelling in our direction we could see little prospect of them finishing the walk.
On a corner near to the hotel we arrived at The Old South Meeting House (built 1729), in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston, Massachusetts, which gained fame as the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. 5,000 colonists gathered at the Meeting House, the largest building in Boston at the time. Around here we were supposed to observe the old bookshop but it escaped us, there was a huge modern bookshop at this crossroads and we also noted the sculptures there as a monument to the suffering of the Irish in the Potato famine.
The Freedom trail next took us to The Old State House, a historic government building located at the intersection of Washington and State Streets in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Built in 1713, it is the oldest surviving public building in Boston, and the seat of the first elected legislature in the New World. It is now a history museum operated by the Bostonian Society, a nonprofit whose primary focus is the museum. We moved past but later it was a great evening photograph as it was brilliantly lit against a strong night sky.
Next we came upon the site of the Boston Massacre, also known as the Boston riot, an incident that led to the deaths of five civilians at the hands of British redcoats on March 5, 1770, the legal aftermath of which helped spark the rebellion in some of the British American colonies, which culminated in the American Revolutionary War. A heavy British military presence in Boston led to a tense situation that boiled over into incitement of brawls between soldiers and civilians and eventually led to troops discharging their muskets after being threatened by a rioting crowd. Three civilians were killed at the scene of the shooting, eleven were injured, and two died after the incident. They say history is written by the victors but surely five deaths struggles to be described as a massacre? It hardly ranks with Wounded Knee. The site itself is marked by a metal plaque inset into the middle of a busy road junction.
We then reached Faneuil Hall, located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain, and is now part of Boston National Historical Park and a well known stop on the Freedom Trail. It is sometimes referred to as "the Cradle of Liberty". It is an impressive building and we ventured off the Freedom Trail here to seek out one of the Cheers bars, this one had nothing to do with the TV series in terms of production but was a reasonable facsimile of the bar although it is in what amounts to a conservatory. We pressed on without stopping for a drink but we penciled it in for later.
We were now in Boston’s North End district at The Paul Revere House which was the colonial home of American patriot Paul Revere during the time of the American Revolution. Paul Revere was the man selected to ride through the night to raise the colonists in defense of their new just before the battles of Lexington and Concord. His famous "Midnight Ride" occurred on the night of April 18/April 19, 1775, when he and William Dawes were instructed by Dr. Joseph Warren to ride from Boston to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the movements of the British Army, which was beginning a march from Boston to Lexington, ostensibly to arrest Hancock and Adams and seize the weapons stores in Concord. Incidentally the idea that he cried “The British are coming!” cannot be correct as the colonists thought of themselves as the British. My recent reading tells me Revere was a silver smith and he is credited with having made a carving knife passed down through Bartlett family in the “West Wing” TV series but perhaps as fictional as that is my belief that he was a dentist who made George Washington’s wooden false teeth?
Close to Revere’s house we came to Old North Church which is the location from which the famous lantern "One if by land, and two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent, again this is incorrect as the British soldiers were coming from the river not the sea. From here we quickly reached the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. It is the second oldest cemetery in Boston It contains the remains of various notable Bostonians from the colonial era.
On the Snow Hill Street side are the many unmarked graves of the African Americans who lived in the "New Guinea" community at the foot of the hill. In addition to the graves there are 272 tombs, most of which bear inscriptions that are still legible. Amongst these well marked headstones there is one of an activist who died before the War of Independence and this is chipped and pitted by musket balls from the Red Coats practising their aim on him.
We now crossed the river over a bridge next to the new home of the Boston Celtics, Julia did not enjoy the crossing as the path was metal mesh and the river moved clearly below it, I was struggling to walk upright due to my back but we were determined to finish the trail. Many times since my nephews did their 65 miles in a day charity walk we have drawn inspiration from their effort and we refused to give in.
Over the river are two final stages of the trail. First we followed the line to the naval dockyards housing USS Constitution. She is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel. Launched in 1797, Constitution was one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. Constitution is most famous for her actions during the War of 1812 against Great Britain, when she captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane and Levant. The battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of "Old Ironsides" and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. As a fully commissioned US Navy ship, her crew of 60 officers and sailors participate in ceremonies, and we were given a free guided tour by a Naval Aviator. He was at pains to point out that her unique claim to fame lay in her being both commissioned and afloat as there are older vessels but none that fulfill both these conditions. He also pointed out that with a something and zero record the Constitution had easily the best record in Boston versus any of the sporting franchises. We were shown below decks and it was pointed out to us that the entire gun-deck was cleared for action including dismantling the captain’s cabin to allow the ship to fight effectively. Although much bigger than the Mayflower it still seemed small to cope with oceans and the thought of fighting other ships of similar sizes using gunpowder and steel make anyone think it must have been hellish. Incidentally I remember strange snippets of information at times and the one I recall is that the ships youngest crew members were between 12 and 15 but they had two of the most dangerous jobs in battle. The powder magazines had small hatches to minimize the fire risk so these boys carried gunpowder to the gunners and those who were not doing that carried messages between the ship’s officers and were therefore preferred targets for the enemy snipers. We also enjoyed the “Old Ironsides” museum on the base but then we set off for our final landmark.
We found our way to the Bunker Hill Monument was built to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill. The 221 foot granite obelisk was erected between 1827 and 1843 in Charlestown, Massachusetts with granite from Quincy, Massachusetts, conveyed to the site via the Granite Railway, built specially for that purpose, followed by a trip by barge. There are 294 steps to the top. The Bunker Hill Monument is not on Bunker Hill but instead on Breed's Hill, where most of the fighting in the misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill actually took place. The Monument Association, which had purchased the battlefield site, was forced to sell off all but the hill's summit in order to complete the monument. Like many notable battles the winning side didn’t get the glory, although the British troops drove the colonists under William Prescott, who is credited with the “Don’t fire until you can see the whites of their eyes” line, from their positions on Breeds Hill they suffered such casualties that it was remarked by the colonists that they were happy to sell hills at that price to the enemy.
We found our way back to the hotel by underground and later after icing my back we walked round the block to another pub and had another excellent bar meal. There was American football on the TV and I fear I made a fool of myself trying to explain the game to Julia when I have only the most rudimentary grasp of its rules but we enjoyed the spectacle.
Opened in 1855 by Harvey D. Parker and located on School Street near the corner of Tremont, not far from the seat of the Massachusetts state government, it has long been a rendezvous for politicians. The hotel was home to the Saturday Club, also referred to as the Saturday Night Club, which consisted of literary dignitaries such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. John Wilkes Booth was also once a guest at the hotel.
The Parker House invented American foods such as Boston cream pie and the Parker House roll, and coined the term "scrod".
The original Parker House and later additions were demolished in the 1920s and replaced with an entirely new building. One wing of the original hotel remained open until the new building was completed in 1927.
As the longest continuously operating hotel in the United States, many well-known people have worked at the Parker House, including Hô Chí Minh who was a baker in the bakeshop from 1911 to 1913, Malcolm X who was a busboy in the early 1940s, and Emeril Lagasse.
John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for Congress in the hotel's Press Room, proposed to Jackie Kennedy, as well as held his bachelor party here.
We enjoyed the whole experience of the hotel and found the staff at every level most obliging and friendly. Julia bumped into a porter while she was wearing her Brazilian soccer shirt and he was fascinated to discover that although she was not Brazilian but she had been given the shirt by Brazilian friends. He seemed to make a point of looking out for her from then on.
We set off from the hotel to get breakfast, Dunkin Donut again, and then to walk the freedom trail. At the Boston Common we checked out the price of a guided tour with a costumed guide but they were very expensive and only covered the first two thirds of the trail. We felt that our tracking skills, honed by visiting Texas, would see us through as we were merely following a thick red line on the sidewalk.
As our first point of interest we visited the Massachusetts State House, which is the state capitol and seat of government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The building houses the Massachusetts General Court and the offices of the Governor of Massachusetts. The most notable feature of the building is the large dome. The original wood dome, which leaked, was covered with copper in 1802 by Paul Revere's company. (Paul Revere, who stars later in this account, was the first American to successfully roll copper into sheets in a commercially viable manner.)
The dome was first painted gray and then light yellow before being gilded with gold leaf in 1874. During WWII, the dome was once again painted, this time black, to prevent reflections during blackouts and to protect the city and building from bombing attacks. In 1997, at a cost of more than $300,000, the dome was re-gilded, in 23k gold. The gold dome means that a president, JFK, came from the state.
The dome is topped with a pine cone, symbolizing the importance of Boston's lumber industry in the early colonial days not, as we thought, a pineapple which could only symbolize our stupidity.
From here we walked towards our hotel to visit Park Street Church, a historic stop on the Freedom Trail. It was founded on February 27, 1809. The church became known as "Brimstone Corner", in part because of the missionary character of its preaching, and in part because of the storage of gunpowder during the War of 1812. Next to the church is the Granary Burying Ground which is the city of Boston's third-oldest cemetery. Located on Tremont Street, it is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere and the five victims of the Boston Massacre.
We were of course dealing with some mixed feelings about all the glorification of this rebellion against our lawful control of the colonies but we tried to go with the flow.
Next we reached the Benjamin Franklin statue and former site of the first public school, Boston Latin School which was opposite the side door of our hotel. Several times in the hotel we noticed people breaking their walk on the freedom trail for a drink in the hotel bar, it was either late on the walk and they only had a couple of stops left but if they were travelling in our direction we could see little prospect of them finishing the walk.
On a corner near to the hotel we arrived at The Old South Meeting House (built 1729), in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston, Massachusetts, which gained fame as the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. 5,000 colonists gathered at the Meeting House, the largest building in Boston at the time. Around here we were supposed to observe the old bookshop but it escaped us, there was a huge modern bookshop at this crossroads and we also noted the sculptures there as a monument to the suffering of the Irish in the Potato famine.
The Freedom trail next took us to The Old State House, a historic government building located at the intersection of Washington and State Streets in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Built in 1713, it is the oldest surviving public building in Boston, and the seat of the first elected legislature in the New World. It is now a history museum operated by the Bostonian Society, a nonprofit whose primary focus is the museum. We moved past but later it was a great evening photograph as it was brilliantly lit against a strong night sky.
Next we came upon the site of the Boston Massacre, also known as the Boston riot, an incident that led to the deaths of five civilians at the hands of British redcoats on March 5, 1770, the legal aftermath of which helped spark the rebellion in some of the British American colonies, which culminated in the American Revolutionary War. A heavy British military presence in Boston led to a tense situation that boiled over into incitement of brawls between soldiers and civilians and eventually led to troops discharging their muskets after being threatened by a rioting crowd. Three civilians were killed at the scene of the shooting, eleven were injured, and two died after the incident. They say history is written by the victors but surely five deaths struggles to be described as a massacre? It hardly ranks with Wounded Knee. The site itself is marked by a metal plaque inset into the middle of a busy road junction.
We then reached Faneuil Hall, located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain, and is now part of Boston National Historical Park and a well known stop on the Freedom Trail. It is sometimes referred to as "the Cradle of Liberty". It is an impressive building and we ventured off the Freedom Trail here to seek out one of the Cheers bars, this one had nothing to do with the TV series in terms of production but was a reasonable facsimile of the bar although it is in what amounts to a conservatory. We pressed on without stopping for a drink but we penciled it in for later.
We were now in Boston’s North End district at The Paul Revere House which was the colonial home of American patriot Paul Revere during the time of the American Revolution. Paul Revere was the man selected to ride through the night to raise the colonists in defense of their new just before the battles of Lexington and Concord. His famous "Midnight Ride" occurred on the night of April 18/April 19, 1775, when he and William Dawes were instructed by Dr. Joseph Warren to ride from Boston to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the movements of the British Army, which was beginning a march from Boston to Lexington, ostensibly to arrest Hancock and Adams and seize the weapons stores in Concord. Incidentally the idea that he cried “The British are coming!” cannot be correct as the colonists thought of themselves as the British. My recent reading tells me Revere was a silver smith and he is credited with having made a carving knife passed down through Bartlett family in the “West Wing” TV series but perhaps as fictional as that is my belief that he was a dentist who made George Washington’s wooden false teeth?
Close to Revere’s house we came to Old North Church which is the location from which the famous lantern "One if by land, and two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent, again this is incorrect as the British soldiers were coming from the river not the sea. From here we quickly reached the Copp's Hill Burying Ground. It is the second oldest cemetery in Boston It contains the remains of various notable Bostonians from the colonial era.
On the Snow Hill Street side are the many unmarked graves of the African Americans who lived in the "New Guinea" community at the foot of the hill. In addition to the graves there are 272 tombs, most of which bear inscriptions that are still legible. Amongst these well marked headstones there is one of an activist who died before the War of Independence and this is chipped and pitted by musket balls from the Red Coats practising their aim on him.
We now crossed the river over a bridge next to the new home of the Boston Celtics, Julia did not enjoy the crossing as the path was metal mesh and the river moved clearly below it, I was struggling to walk upright due to my back but we were determined to finish the trail. Many times since my nephews did their 65 miles in a day charity walk we have drawn inspiration from their effort and we refused to give in.
Over the river are two final stages of the trail. First we followed the line to the naval dockyards housing USS Constitution. She is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. Named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America, she is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel. Launched in 1797, Constitution was one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. Constitution is most famous for her actions during the War of 1812 against Great Britain, when she captured numerous merchant ships and defeated five British warships: HMS Guerriere, Java, Pictou, Cyane and Levant. The battle with Guerriere earned her the nickname of "Old Ironsides" and public adoration that has repeatedly saved her from scrapping. As a fully commissioned US Navy ship, her crew of 60 officers and sailors participate in ceremonies, and we were given a free guided tour by a Naval Aviator. He was at pains to point out that her unique claim to fame lay in her being both commissioned and afloat as there are older vessels but none that fulfill both these conditions. He also pointed out that with a something and zero record the Constitution had easily the best record in Boston versus any of the sporting franchises. We were shown below decks and it was pointed out to us that the entire gun-deck was cleared for action including dismantling the captain’s cabin to allow the ship to fight effectively. Although much bigger than the Mayflower it still seemed small to cope with oceans and the thought of fighting other ships of similar sizes using gunpowder and steel make anyone think it must have been hellish. Incidentally I remember strange snippets of information at times and the one I recall is that the ships youngest crew members were between 12 and 15 but they had two of the most dangerous jobs in battle. The powder magazines had small hatches to minimize the fire risk so these boys carried gunpowder to the gunners and those who were not doing that carried messages between the ship’s officers and were therefore preferred targets for the enemy snipers. We also enjoyed the “Old Ironsides” museum on the base but then we set off for our final landmark.
We found our way to the Bunker Hill Monument was built to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill. The 221 foot granite obelisk was erected between 1827 and 1843 in Charlestown, Massachusetts with granite from Quincy, Massachusetts, conveyed to the site via the Granite Railway, built specially for that purpose, followed by a trip by barge. There are 294 steps to the top. The Bunker Hill Monument is not on Bunker Hill but instead on Breed's Hill, where most of the fighting in the misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill actually took place. The Monument Association, which had purchased the battlefield site, was forced to sell off all but the hill's summit in order to complete the monument. Like many notable battles the winning side didn’t get the glory, although the British troops drove the colonists under William Prescott, who is credited with the “Don’t fire until you can see the whites of their eyes” line, from their positions on Breeds Hill they suffered such casualties that it was remarked by the colonists that they were happy to sell hills at that price to the enemy.
We found our way back to the hotel by underground and later after icing my back we walked round the block to another pub and had another excellent bar meal. There was American football on the TV and I fear I made a fool of myself trying to explain the game to Julia when I have only the most rudimentary grasp of its rules but we enjoyed the spectacle.
Thursday, 2 December 2010
New England – Fall 2010 – Day 17: Hyannis to Boston via Plymouth.
We set off early intending to pick up breakfast on the way out of Hyannis, after two false starts at local delis we were again at a Dunkin Donuts but this time they got the order correct. We needed an early start because we wanted to use our last day with the car to visit the Plimouth Plantation and Plymouth Rock.
We arrived at the Plimouth plantation, which is a replica of the first settlement which has been overtaken by the development of the town of Plymouth. The spelling Plimouth is to recognise the original spelling and to distinguish between the two places.
We arrived at the plantation and paid for tickets which gave us access to the plantation and Mayflower II which is docked in Plymouth.
We watched a short video before setting off into the plantation, partly to get our historic bearings but also to avoid the party of school kids who arrived at about the same time as us. The video told us that there were two major parts to the plantation. The first we would come to was the Native American, Wampanoag, village, which represented the traditional ways and life-style of the Wampanoag. It is staffed by modern Native People from a variety of nations (not in period character, but in traditional dress) who explain and demonstrate how the Wampanoag's ancestors lived and interacted with the settlers but also answer questions regarding their modern lives. We would then progress to the largest open-air section of the museum which is called the 1627 English Village, and it approximates the assumed layout of the original settlement, which is generally accepted to have been built 2.5 miles to the northwest, along today's Leyden Street and Burial Hill. This area is staffed by actors who have the characters and vocabulary of the original settlers.
The video and notices on the way to the Wampanoag village urged us to be respectful of the Native American heritage and suggesting that we did not greet them with “How” or call anyone “Chief”, it struck us as significant but depressing that these warnings were needed.
At the village we saw Native Americans making canoes, drying pelts of animals and cooking food. It was incongruous to get modern answers from them, and the school children asked some very interesting questions. While we were in this area it was also strange to see a party of Amish visitors doing exactly what we were doing. We also wondered how they had travelled there as there were no horse-drawn carriages in the car park.
We moved on through brilliant scenery alongside a lake and then up a hill to arrive at the plantation. Here it really felt like a step back in time despite the appallingly behaved school kids. If you asked one of the inhabitants a question they answered in old English dialect but, more impressively, they only answered within the limits of the understanding of the times they represented.
Someone asked, “Did you come over on the original Mayflower?”
He replied, “Aye, that was the name of the ship but I warrant there have been many ships of that name.”
We saw men thatching a building and others tending to animals but the most impressive character was a gentlewoman who told us that she had come to the New World because she had four daughters and in the normal course of events there was no prospect of producing a dowry for all four thus leaving two or three unmarried. The voyage to America had been a calculated gamble and she was aggrieved that having landed in New England rather than Virginia where they held title to lands, they were being charged extra money for every improvement they brought to the village. She also replied that the furniture in her house was English brought from her home but she had sold four times as much to raise the money for the voyage and provisions. She was upset that an entire bedroom’s furnishings had been spent on a musket and ammunition which they would have had no use for in England.
All through the village the school children ran wild, it must have annoyed the actors but in their characters they would have found it impossible to believe! Then we reached the church/strongpoint which doubled as a place of worship and the redoubt where the villagers would have retreated to in the event of being overrun by the Native Americans. On the upper storey of the building canons from the ship had been run out through gaps in the walls, here I watched a kid climb along the barrel to hang outside. He returned in his own time and nobody seemed concerned.
We decided to move on to Plymouth Rock. We parked on the sea front and walked back towards the Rock and Mayflower II. One was much more impressive than the other. To quote the web:
Visiting Mayflower II is an extraordinary experience. The details of the ship, from the solid oak timbers and tarred hemp rigging, to the wood and horn lanterns and hand-colored maps, have all been carefully recreated to give you a sense of what the original 17th-century vessel was like. Come aboard and learn about the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower, the perils of maritime travel, and the tools of 17th-century navigation. Explore the cramped quarters of the ship's passengers. Peer down into the lower level "hold," where the food, clothing, furniture, tools and other items necessary to start a colony were stored. Admire the "spacious" Master's cabin, and compare it to the wet and windy accommodations of the common sailors. You will also hear the tale of a modern Englishman's dream to build and sail Mayflower II as a symbol of American and British unity after WWII.
Mayflower II has many stories to tell and many people to tell them. You will meet staff in modern-day clothing who speak from a present-day perspective. They can talk with you about the original Mayflower as well as the reproduction vessel Mayflower II. Along side are reproductions of a 17th-century shallop and a ship's boat. On board, you may also meet role players in period costume who will share their personal accounts of shipboard life, playing the part of Mayflower passengers (popularly known as the “Pilgrims”) or sailors.
We have to agree with the above it was remarkable. Before we got onboard we learned about the Mayflower II, which is a replica of the 17th century Mayflower, celebrated for transporting the Pilgrims to the New World. The replica was built in Devon, England, during 1955–1956, in a collaboration between Englishman Warwick Charlton and Plimouth Plantation, combining the American museum's ship blueprints with construction by old traditional methods of English shipbuilders. On April 20, 1957, recreating the original voyage, Mayflower II was sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, under the command of Alan Villiers. The ship is seaworthy and sailed to Providence, Rhode Island in 2002. We noted that within a few details (electric lights added and ladder replaced with a lower-deck staircase), the ship is considered a faithful replica, with solid oak timbers, tarred hemp rigging, and hand-coloured maps, but the British Coast Guard insisted on a wheel being fitted to steer the ship rather than the arrangement which had served well for the first Mayflower.
Onboard we met the only in-character actor; he played the part of one of two master mariners employed on the voyage. He was bitter about the poor decisions taken by the company. Having set off twice at suitable times the Mayflower had turned back due to problems with the ship, they set off for the third time too late in the year. If they had set sail in summer it would have taken about six weeks to cross the Atlantic but travelling later meant a rougher voyage which took nine and a half weeks. Having arrived so late, it was harder to build a settlement and the during the winter the passengers remained on board the Mayflower, suffering an outbreak of a contagious disease described as a mixture of scurvy, pneumonia and tuberculosis. When it ended, there were only 53 passengers, just more than half, still alive. Likewise, half of the crew died as well. In spring, they built huts ashore, and in March 1621, the surviving passengers left the Mayflower. On April 15, 1621, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth to return to England, where she arrived in May 1621.
Ironically there was nothing special to recognise about the Mayflower so it was not preserved, in fact in 1623, a year after the death of Captain Christopher Jones, the Mayflower was most likely dismantled for scrap lumber in Rotherhithe, London.
We enjoyed the Mayflower II but I had always assumed that Plymouth Rock referred to an area or a significant rocky outcrop used for navigation, instead we found it to be, well, a rock and putting it in a temple-like setting still made it a rock!
We made tracks towards Boston, the SatNav got confused when we were very close to our hotel but the Mark One Eyeball spotted our route and we were soon parked outside the Omni Parker House. We were very impressed by the OPH but I will leave that for the next chapter. We were able to check in and take our baggage to our room before setting off to return the car to the Hertz Rental Centre.
I am always impressed by the slickness of car hire and return these days, a quick scan of the car and a signature on our paperwork and we were free to go. We took the shuttle towards the airport and alighted at the underground station and were quickly back to the hotel.
We found ourselves very comfortable in the hotel and only ventured out later to eat, the hotel prices were such that we couldn’t even consider eating there. Within two blocks we found the Beantown Pub and we enjoyed a reasonable and filling meal.
We arrived at the Plimouth plantation, which is a replica of the first settlement which has been overtaken by the development of the town of Plymouth. The spelling Plimouth is to recognise the original spelling and to distinguish between the two places.
We arrived at the plantation and paid for tickets which gave us access to the plantation and Mayflower II which is docked in Plymouth.
We watched a short video before setting off into the plantation, partly to get our historic bearings but also to avoid the party of school kids who arrived at about the same time as us. The video told us that there were two major parts to the plantation. The first we would come to was the Native American, Wampanoag, village, which represented the traditional ways and life-style of the Wampanoag. It is staffed by modern Native People from a variety of nations (not in period character, but in traditional dress) who explain and demonstrate how the Wampanoag's ancestors lived and interacted with the settlers but also answer questions regarding their modern lives. We would then progress to the largest open-air section of the museum which is called the 1627 English Village, and it approximates the assumed layout of the original settlement, which is generally accepted to have been built 2.5 miles to the northwest, along today's Leyden Street and Burial Hill. This area is staffed by actors who have the characters and vocabulary of the original settlers.
The video and notices on the way to the Wampanoag village urged us to be respectful of the Native American heritage and suggesting that we did not greet them with “How” or call anyone “Chief”, it struck us as significant but depressing that these warnings were needed.
At the village we saw Native Americans making canoes, drying pelts of animals and cooking food. It was incongruous to get modern answers from them, and the school children asked some very interesting questions. While we were in this area it was also strange to see a party of Amish visitors doing exactly what we were doing. We also wondered how they had travelled there as there were no horse-drawn carriages in the car park.
We moved on through brilliant scenery alongside a lake and then up a hill to arrive at the plantation. Here it really felt like a step back in time despite the appallingly behaved school kids. If you asked one of the inhabitants a question they answered in old English dialect but, more impressively, they only answered within the limits of the understanding of the times they represented.
Someone asked, “Did you come over on the original Mayflower?”
He replied, “Aye, that was the name of the ship but I warrant there have been many ships of that name.”
We saw men thatching a building and others tending to animals but the most impressive character was a gentlewoman who told us that she had come to the New World because she had four daughters and in the normal course of events there was no prospect of producing a dowry for all four thus leaving two or three unmarried. The voyage to America had been a calculated gamble and she was aggrieved that having landed in New England rather than Virginia where they held title to lands, they were being charged extra money for every improvement they brought to the village. She also replied that the furniture in her house was English brought from her home but she had sold four times as much to raise the money for the voyage and provisions. She was upset that an entire bedroom’s furnishings had been spent on a musket and ammunition which they would have had no use for in England.
All through the village the school children ran wild, it must have annoyed the actors but in their characters they would have found it impossible to believe! Then we reached the church/strongpoint which doubled as a place of worship and the redoubt where the villagers would have retreated to in the event of being overrun by the Native Americans. On the upper storey of the building canons from the ship had been run out through gaps in the walls, here I watched a kid climb along the barrel to hang outside. He returned in his own time and nobody seemed concerned.
We decided to move on to Plymouth Rock. We parked on the sea front and walked back towards the Rock and Mayflower II. One was much more impressive than the other. To quote the web:
Visiting Mayflower II is an extraordinary experience. The details of the ship, from the solid oak timbers and tarred hemp rigging, to the wood and horn lanterns and hand-colored maps, have all been carefully recreated to give you a sense of what the original 17th-century vessel was like. Come aboard and learn about the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower, the perils of maritime travel, and the tools of 17th-century navigation. Explore the cramped quarters of the ship's passengers. Peer down into the lower level "hold," where the food, clothing, furniture, tools and other items necessary to start a colony were stored. Admire the "spacious" Master's cabin, and compare it to the wet and windy accommodations of the common sailors. You will also hear the tale of a modern Englishman's dream to build and sail Mayflower II as a symbol of American and British unity after WWII.
Mayflower II has many stories to tell and many people to tell them. You will meet staff in modern-day clothing who speak from a present-day perspective. They can talk with you about the original Mayflower as well as the reproduction vessel Mayflower II. Along side are reproductions of a 17th-century shallop and a ship's boat. On board, you may also meet role players in period costume who will share their personal accounts of shipboard life, playing the part of Mayflower passengers (popularly known as the “Pilgrims”) or sailors.
We have to agree with the above it was remarkable. Before we got onboard we learned about the Mayflower II, which is a replica of the 17th century Mayflower, celebrated for transporting the Pilgrims to the New World. The replica was built in Devon, England, during 1955–1956, in a collaboration between Englishman Warwick Charlton and Plimouth Plantation, combining the American museum's ship blueprints with construction by old traditional methods of English shipbuilders. On April 20, 1957, recreating the original voyage, Mayflower II was sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, under the command of Alan Villiers. The ship is seaworthy and sailed to Providence, Rhode Island in 2002. We noted that within a few details (electric lights added and ladder replaced with a lower-deck staircase), the ship is considered a faithful replica, with solid oak timbers, tarred hemp rigging, and hand-coloured maps, but the British Coast Guard insisted on a wheel being fitted to steer the ship rather than the arrangement which had served well for the first Mayflower.
Onboard we met the only in-character actor; he played the part of one of two master mariners employed on the voyage. He was bitter about the poor decisions taken by the company. Having set off twice at suitable times the Mayflower had turned back due to problems with the ship, they set off for the third time too late in the year. If they had set sail in summer it would have taken about six weeks to cross the Atlantic but travelling later meant a rougher voyage which took nine and a half weeks. Having arrived so late, it was harder to build a settlement and the during the winter the passengers remained on board the Mayflower, suffering an outbreak of a contagious disease described as a mixture of scurvy, pneumonia and tuberculosis. When it ended, there were only 53 passengers, just more than half, still alive. Likewise, half of the crew died as well. In spring, they built huts ashore, and in March 1621, the surviving passengers left the Mayflower. On April 15, 1621, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth to return to England, where she arrived in May 1621.
Ironically there was nothing special to recognise about the Mayflower so it was not preserved, in fact in 1623, a year after the death of Captain Christopher Jones, the Mayflower was most likely dismantled for scrap lumber in Rotherhithe, London.
We enjoyed the Mayflower II but I had always assumed that Plymouth Rock referred to an area or a significant rocky outcrop used for navigation, instead we found it to be, well, a rock and putting it in a temple-like setting still made it a rock!
We made tracks towards Boston, the SatNav got confused when we were very close to our hotel but the Mark One Eyeball spotted our route and we were soon parked outside the Omni Parker House. We were very impressed by the OPH but I will leave that for the next chapter. We were able to check in and take our baggage to our room before setting off to return the car to the Hertz Rental Centre.
I am always impressed by the slickness of car hire and return these days, a quick scan of the car and a signature on our paperwork and we were free to go. We took the shuttle towards the airport and alighted at the underground station and were quickly back to the hotel.
We found ourselves very comfortable in the hotel and only ventured out later to eat, the hotel prices were such that we couldn’t even consider eating there. Within two blocks we found the Beantown Pub and we enjoyed a reasonable and filling meal.
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
New England – Fall 2010 – Day 16: Hyannis & Provincetown
We breakfasted in the hotel and this was a mistake, we got up later than we had planned and went into breakfast near to the time that they would have closed. Rather than disappoint us they served us but the buffet was past its best and they were already laying out the room for an evening function.
While writing about the hotel I might as well add a few general comments, it was I feel the weakest performer in our list of hotels, the free WiFi did not extend to our room and the patio doors onto the car park were “secured” by an ad hoc piece of metal which could have been unbalanced by a determined squirrel let alone a human trying to gain entrance from outside. Neither of these things was significant as it turned out but the fact that we were often in the lobby using the WiFi there meant that we observed other failings of the hotel. On the first evening a coach party arrived. One couple placed their luggage successfully in their room and went out of the room only to find on their return that their key no longer worked and the hotel staff was unable to let them in. This meant that the same lady was sitting in the same place in the lobby when we set off for dinner as she was when we returned. Getting ahead of myself, the following evening one of two coach parties which had stayed the previous night returned as planned only to find they had been checked out rather than the other party which was not returning. The problem was not helped by the fact that the returning guests had been allowed to leave their baggage in their rooms but now couldn’t get in. It took a considerable time to get this sorted while the social event was building up in the restaurant area and some of those guests were being assigned the rooms which were already occupied.
Meanwhile back to us in the morning, we drove out of Hyannis towards Provincetown where the pilgrims had first anchored. We had decided to check out Provincetown at least in part because of this article:
Provincetown History Page
Provincetown is without a doubt the most eclectic of all Cape Cod towns.
How did it get this way? Is it because the Pilgrims who landed first in Provincetown decided the place wasn't for them so they sailed across the bay to found Plimouth?
Possibly, because as soon it was abandoned by the sober colonists it apparently became a port of call for the less upstanding of those who plied the oceans during the 1600s. According to Donald Wood's "Cape Cod - A Guide," the sand dunes of what was then called Cape Cod (what we now call Provincetown) sheltered "a wild, undisciplined and unprincipled crew of traders and fishermen from nearly all parts of Europe. Drinking, gambling and bacchanalian carousals were continued sometimes for weeks with unrestrained license." As settlers moved down the Cape from Sandwich and Barnstable and Yarmouth towards the tip, the town of Truro was incorporated in 1709 and the sandy hook known as Cape Cod and its big harbor was included. But this didn't stop the activities of the smugglers and the privateers who frequented the wild area. Finally, more English settlers arrived, the wilder elements were somewhat tamed, and Provincetown was incorporated in 1727. As a town, it then declined until the end of the French and Indian Wars when deepwater whaling became an industry. Provincetown's great harbor came alive. By the War of 1812 Provincetown had a thousand residents. During the war these residents remained neutral and after the war, as whaling activities grew, whaling captains, replenishing their crews in the Cape Verdes and Azores brought Portugese to Provincetown. As the whaling phased out, Provincetown became a center for the Portugese fishermen whose descendents are part of the backbone of Provincetown's economy today.
While fishing continues to represent a major part of life in Provincetown, today there is another side to Provincetown, which began at the turn of the 20th century when Charles Hawthorne established an art school. As an art colony Provincetown flourished and in 1915 when the Provincetown Players was established, it became a mecca for theater. Eugene O'Neill joined the players in 1916. Art, theater and fishing still exist side by side in Provincetown. As do alternative lifestyles.
As a place to visit Provincetown is popular for many reasons. Want to go whale watching? The MacMillan Wharf is the place to start. Want to people watch? The human parade up and down bustling Commercial Street is an endless opportunity to satisfy the urge. Want to climb higher than anywhere else on Cape Cod and then indulge in some history? Climb the Pilgrim Monument, rising 252 feet above the 100 foot hill it sits on. Its cornerstone was laid in 1907 as President Teddy Roosevelt looked on and President Taft attended its dedication in 1910. For all the details and more of Provincetown's history, the excellent Provincetown Museum is at the base of the monument. Exhibits range from memorabilia of Adm. Donald MacMillan's Arctic expeditions to the history of Provincetown-Boston Airlines, the first commuter airline in the country, founded in 1949 by John C. Van Arsdale.
We found parking difficult but that actually helped us as we were forced to drive through the area and from that we got our bearings quite well. We parked outside the town on the coast and took some pleasing photos, looking along the coast, back towards the town, featuring the brightly painted wooden houses on stilts to allow for high tides. We also got our first clear view of the Pilgrim Monument.
We drove back into town and parked in a large lot next to the whaling pier. We investigated the possibility of a whale watching voyage but it would have taken up too much of our visit with no guarantee of seeing whales. My whale expert niece, Kelly, told us we were heading to New England at a poor time for seeing whales and she should know having worked for the Whale Center of New England in Gloucester MA. We enjoyed the pier and the harbour area before setting off to find the Pilgrim Monument. It was hard uphill walking for me as my back was still hurting but we found the base of the monument and paid over our $7 to go up the tower.
The Pilgrim Monument commemorates the history of the Mayflower Pilgrims, their arrival and stay in Provincetown Harbor, and the signing of the Mayflower Compact. It is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States. Visitors can walk to the top on a series of stairs and ramps. During the climb, we saw many interior stones donated by cities, towns, and organizations from all over the United States. The strange thing for us is that these names are almost all English town names which probably reflected home towns of the settlers either before or after the Mayflower. The view from the top is spectacular and we watched the Whale Watching boat leave harbour from the top of the tower.
On our return from the tower we enjoyed the museum which clarified the timeline of the pilgrims including their residence in Holland and their earlier attempts to leave England in pursuit of freedom of religion which did not prevail there at the time.
On our walk back towards the car we noted a plaque on a building commemorating the Ryder Homestead which as part of the “Underground Railway” had sheltered escaping slaves on their way to freedom in Canada, I only hope they were well prepared to deal with the Canadian Immigration Officials!
We also took in the memorial to the Mayflower Compact, which incidentally bears the signatures of the major players amongst the pilgrims amongst them William Bradford who is a relative of Julia’s Headmistress at Rosliston School.
We decided to sample a Lobster Roll having seen them advertised everywhere along the coast, we agreed to share one and I opted for their plainest version, just with butter. The experience was best summed up as an anticlimax; in fact the fresh tasty bread roll was the highlight. It was a $12 disappointment.
On our return towards Hyannis we switched off the SatNav and tried to follow the coastal road with mixed success. We did however find the world’s most deserted beach. We parked in a rest area next to a closed bar/restaurant where we were warned to keep off the dunes and that there was no life guard on duty. We resisted the temptation to frolic on the dunes and swim!
We returned to Hyannis with the assistance of the SatNav.
After tea in our room, you should be familiar with the routine by now; we went down to the indoor pool. We discovered that a rebellious spirit prevailed, while we swam in the pool, in the hot-tub were two middle-aged men drinking beer from bottles against the rules of the establishment as displayed prominently. Then, while we took their places in the hot-tub, without a drink, a couple took our place in the pool and found each other irresistible. They may not have been aware of us tucked to one side but they must surely have noticed the viewing area from the lobby! Discretion took us out of the situation.
This was our final full day with a car so we needed to fill the tank for the final time and we did this on our way to find somewhere to eat. The attendant pointed us in the direction of a local Mall and here we found a TGI Friday and one of our best meals of the holiday. Julia chose a chicken dish which was spicier than she could handle but we swapped and the both enjoyed our meals. It was also excellent value if a little less scenic than some of the other places we had eaten.
While writing about the hotel I might as well add a few general comments, it was I feel the weakest performer in our list of hotels, the free WiFi did not extend to our room and the patio doors onto the car park were “secured” by an ad hoc piece of metal which could have been unbalanced by a determined squirrel let alone a human trying to gain entrance from outside. Neither of these things was significant as it turned out but the fact that we were often in the lobby using the WiFi there meant that we observed other failings of the hotel. On the first evening a coach party arrived. One couple placed their luggage successfully in their room and went out of the room only to find on their return that their key no longer worked and the hotel staff was unable to let them in. This meant that the same lady was sitting in the same place in the lobby when we set off for dinner as she was when we returned. Getting ahead of myself, the following evening one of two coach parties which had stayed the previous night returned as planned only to find they had been checked out rather than the other party which was not returning. The problem was not helped by the fact that the returning guests had been allowed to leave their baggage in their rooms but now couldn’t get in. It took a considerable time to get this sorted while the social event was building up in the restaurant area and some of those guests were being assigned the rooms which were already occupied.
Meanwhile back to us in the morning, we drove out of Hyannis towards Provincetown where the pilgrims had first anchored. We had decided to check out Provincetown at least in part because of this article:
Provincetown History Page
Provincetown is without a doubt the most eclectic of all Cape Cod towns.
How did it get this way? Is it because the Pilgrims who landed first in Provincetown decided the place wasn't for them so they sailed across the bay to found Plimouth?
Possibly, because as soon it was abandoned by the sober colonists it apparently became a port of call for the less upstanding of those who plied the oceans during the 1600s. According to Donald Wood's "Cape Cod - A Guide," the sand dunes of what was then called Cape Cod (what we now call Provincetown) sheltered "a wild, undisciplined and unprincipled crew of traders and fishermen from nearly all parts of Europe. Drinking, gambling and bacchanalian carousals were continued sometimes for weeks with unrestrained license." As settlers moved down the Cape from Sandwich and Barnstable and Yarmouth towards the tip, the town of Truro was incorporated in 1709 and the sandy hook known as Cape Cod and its big harbor was included. But this didn't stop the activities of the smugglers and the privateers who frequented the wild area. Finally, more English settlers arrived, the wilder elements were somewhat tamed, and Provincetown was incorporated in 1727. As a town, it then declined until the end of the French and Indian Wars when deepwater whaling became an industry. Provincetown's great harbor came alive. By the War of 1812 Provincetown had a thousand residents. During the war these residents remained neutral and after the war, as whaling activities grew, whaling captains, replenishing their crews in the Cape Verdes and Azores brought Portugese to Provincetown. As the whaling phased out, Provincetown became a center for the Portugese fishermen whose descendents are part of the backbone of Provincetown's economy today.
While fishing continues to represent a major part of life in Provincetown, today there is another side to Provincetown, which began at the turn of the 20th century when Charles Hawthorne established an art school. As an art colony Provincetown flourished and in 1915 when the Provincetown Players was established, it became a mecca for theater. Eugene O'Neill joined the players in 1916. Art, theater and fishing still exist side by side in Provincetown. As do alternative lifestyles.
As a place to visit Provincetown is popular for many reasons. Want to go whale watching? The MacMillan Wharf is the place to start. Want to people watch? The human parade up and down bustling Commercial Street is an endless opportunity to satisfy the urge. Want to climb higher than anywhere else on Cape Cod and then indulge in some history? Climb the Pilgrim Monument, rising 252 feet above the 100 foot hill it sits on. Its cornerstone was laid in 1907 as President Teddy Roosevelt looked on and President Taft attended its dedication in 1910. For all the details and more of Provincetown's history, the excellent Provincetown Museum is at the base of the monument. Exhibits range from memorabilia of Adm. Donald MacMillan's Arctic expeditions to the history of Provincetown-Boston Airlines, the first commuter airline in the country, founded in 1949 by John C. Van Arsdale.
We found parking difficult but that actually helped us as we were forced to drive through the area and from that we got our bearings quite well. We parked outside the town on the coast and took some pleasing photos, looking along the coast, back towards the town, featuring the brightly painted wooden houses on stilts to allow for high tides. We also got our first clear view of the Pilgrim Monument.
We drove back into town and parked in a large lot next to the whaling pier. We investigated the possibility of a whale watching voyage but it would have taken up too much of our visit with no guarantee of seeing whales. My whale expert niece, Kelly, told us we were heading to New England at a poor time for seeing whales and she should know having worked for the Whale Center of New England in Gloucester MA. We enjoyed the pier and the harbour area before setting off to find the Pilgrim Monument. It was hard uphill walking for me as my back was still hurting but we found the base of the monument and paid over our $7 to go up the tower.
The Pilgrim Monument commemorates the history of the Mayflower Pilgrims, their arrival and stay in Provincetown Harbor, and the signing of the Mayflower Compact. It is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States. Visitors can walk to the top on a series of stairs and ramps. During the climb, we saw many interior stones donated by cities, towns, and organizations from all over the United States. The strange thing for us is that these names are almost all English town names which probably reflected home towns of the settlers either before or after the Mayflower. The view from the top is spectacular and we watched the Whale Watching boat leave harbour from the top of the tower.
On our return from the tower we enjoyed the museum which clarified the timeline of the pilgrims including their residence in Holland and their earlier attempts to leave England in pursuit of freedom of religion which did not prevail there at the time.
On our walk back towards the car we noted a plaque on a building commemorating the Ryder Homestead which as part of the “Underground Railway” had sheltered escaping slaves on their way to freedom in Canada, I only hope they were well prepared to deal with the Canadian Immigration Officials!
We also took in the memorial to the Mayflower Compact, which incidentally bears the signatures of the major players amongst the pilgrims amongst them William Bradford who is a relative of Julia’s Headmistress at Rosliston School.
We decided to sample a Lobster Roll having seen them advertised everywhere along the coast, we agreed to share one and I opted for their plainest version, just with butter. The experience was best summed up as an anticlimax; in fact the fresh tasty bread roll was the highlight. It was a $12 disappointment.
On our return towards Hyannis we switched off the SatNav and tried to follow the coastal road with mixed success. We did however find the world’s most deserted beach. We parked in a rest area next to a closed bar/restaurant where we were warned to keep off the dunes and that there was no life guard on duty. We resisted the temptation to frolic on the dunes and swim!
We returned to Hyannis with the assistance of the SatNav.
After tea in our room, you should be familiar with the routine by now; we went down to the indoor pool. We discovered that a rebellious spirit prevailed, while we swam in the pool, in the hot-tub were two middle-aged men drinking beer from bottles against the rules of the establishment as displayed prominently. Then, while we took their places in the hot-tub, without a drink, a couple took our place in the pool and found each other irresistible. They may not have been aware of us tucked to one side but they must surely have noticed the viewing area from the lobby! Discretion took us out of the situation.
This was our final full day with a car so we needed to fill the tank for the final time and we did this on our way to find somewhere to eat. The attendant pointed us in the direction of a local Mall and here we found a TGI Friday and one of our best meals of the holiday. Julia chose a chicken dish which was spicier than she could handle but we swapped and the both enjoyed our meals. It was also excellent value if a little less scenic than some of the other places we had eaten.
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