Road Trip Day 17 Boston

We all slept in today - I slept in my clothes last night since we got in so late, but it made it quite easy to just pop out of my sleeping bag/air mattress bed and be ready to go to the Y for showers. It was a beautiful morning and I sat out on a bench under a tree (that rained little green silkworms on me) and listened to the amazing variety of birds. I had a wonderful time talking to Jesus and praying for each of the kids and reading the Word. When the kids all awoke, the older groups fixed some pretty amazing strawberry crepes for breakfast.
We arrived at Boston Common and Kevin split us into groups by grade level - Christy and I got the 8th Graders. Our mission was to walk the Freedom Trail: a series of historic landmarks and buildings along a two and a half mile trail marked by red bricks in the sidewalk. This group of kids really did not want to be doing this and were pretty bored with everything. I bought a guidebook for J.J. and I so we'd know a little about each place we went, and the kids had a more in-depth version. I tried to point out stuff along the way and some of them listened, but they were also just clumping in a group sort of oblivious of the world around them. They lost the trail a couple times, but found their way back on it.
Even with the frustration of my group, it was thrilling to see some of the oldest architecture and graveyards in U. S. History. We saw the Old South Meeting House where Sam Adams and his men gathered on the night of the Boston Tea Party. We went by the site of the Boston Massacre and Paul Revere's house (and learned that he had 16 children). We went in the marketplace at Feneuil Hall but couldn't go upstairs because of an ROTC graduation ceremony. We saw Old North Church where the lanterns were hung to signal the British troops attacking, and walked to the site of the the Battle of Bunker Hill where a monument much like the Washington Monument stands. Many places were closed because it was late in the day, but it was still neat to walk the narrow streets and imagine the history that had taken place here.

Along the way, J.J. and I had several interesting conversations with people. Everyone here seems to be very friendly, and J.J. loves talking with different people. We met a kindly older security guard in Feneuil Hall who showed us where we could mail our postcards. A toothless old woman in her housecoat popped her head out her apartment door as we were passing by and said something about my "precious little deary." J.J. heard a group speaking French and went right over and told them he could speak French, too. They were excited and started rattling off sentences, to which J.J. just kept answering, "Oui!" They were quite confused because J.J. had said he was from France, as they were, but they couldn't figure out where Portland was in their mother country. When I mentioned Oregon, they looked confused, but they did know where California was, and that was close enough. We also had a lovely conversation with a mom and her son Antonio on the T(subway). Most all of the locals have a heavy Boston accent, and it was sometimes easy to slip into it ourselves.

J.J. and I also passed by Engine 50 Fire Station and stopped in for some water (they had a sign advertising their drink machine). J.J. asked if he could look around and they said, "OK." They were fixing dinner, so we didn't stay long, but it was fun to see the trucks up close and their boots and heavy clothing all sitting out ready for action.