At the end of August, I took a short trip to Boston and it was incredible. The trip was a long time coming. Last year, I wanted to travel, but felt overwhelmed at the prospect of planning a trip: who would go with me, where would we go, what would we do, etc. Decision-making is a challenge for me at the best of times and the sheer number of decisions to be made and unknowns to be confronted in planning a trip ended in no trip being planned.
About March of this year, I was once again wistfully contemplating travel and my friend Erin came to mind. Erin and I served together at our local Bible Study Fellowship class and share a homeschool education experience and a love of literature and costume dramas. She’s outgoing and adventurous, too! I decided to text her and ask if she would be interested in taking a trip with me sometime this year. I didn’t specify where, since I hadn’t decided myself. I was amazed and so encouraged when she immediately said yes. If it had been me, I would have asked questions and needed more information before committing to anything. Erin’s enthusiasm and boldness gave me confidence and alleviated much of the stress I felt about planning a trip.
Up until this trip, I had never been north or east out of Texas, nor had I ever taken a trip without my family and purely for fun. While the southwest is home, I deeply wanted to travel somewhere that wasn’t the southwest. Destinations on the list were: Boston (obviously), Acadia National Park, Portland (Oregon), Savannah, and Charleston. Erin had been to Boston two years ago, but she was keen to return, so our destination was settled pretty quickly.
Through the spring, we had a few phone calls to plan our trip. We found that we wanted to visit many of the same sights (yay!) such as the Boston Public Library, the Freedom Trail, and the picturesque neighborhoods of Boston.
We set off on Friday evening and didn’t arrive until almost 1 am EST. Stepping out of the airport was heaven - the air was so cool. A blessed relief from a central Texas August. Our whole visit, the temperature in Boston didn’t rise above 75°F.
The North End and Theo’s Cozy Corner
We rented an Airbnb in the Roxbury area, south of downtown Boston. It was a wonderful place and took about 40 min via public transit to reach the heart of Boston.
Train station near the Northeastern University campus.
When faced with the unfamiliar, research and a good list are power. So prior to leaving Austin, I looked up restaurants in Boston and found Theo’s Cozy Corner recommended as a great breakfast stop. We had breakfast there our first day in Boston. Below are two views from our place in line outside the restaurant. Theo’s is down the street from Old North Church and I was flabbergasted at the casual proximity to so much history.
While at Theo’s we met a man I am convinced is the most charming man in all of Boston, and possibly the most charming man I have ever met in my life.
I assumed he was Theo of Theo’s Cozy Corner, but apparently not. Whoever he might be, he did it all: seated customers, chatted with and amused those waiting in line, brought us our juice, and bussed tables.
Theo’s Cozy Corner is certainly that - the whole restaurant is about 20’x20’ and it was packed. I didn’t actually pull my camera out while inside it was so cramped.
And this gentleman was so hospitable. He made you feel like a guest in his home. He brought us our bill, but said there was no hurry, despite the line of customers waiting outside to be seated.
I’m usually too timid to ask strangers if I can take their photo, but he was just so wonderful that I had to ask. I was so pleased when he said, “Sure!”
The Freedom Trail
Our next order of business was walking the Freedom Trail, which we completed the majority of that day.
Above is a view of the Charles River from Copp’s Hill Burial Ground. The USS Constitution is docked on the other side of the Charles and her masts can be seen from Copp’s Hill. Edmund Hartt, who owned the shipyard where the Constitution was built, is buried at Copp’s Hill.
The top-most image is a row of houses on Charter Street that caught my fancy. Below are the Massachusetts State House as seen from the Boston Common and the steeple of Park Street Church.
Another view of the Massachusetts State House.
The Granary Burying Ground is right next to Park Street Church. I was struck by the beauty of a number of enormous trees throughout the cemetery. It took more hunting than I expected to find Paul Revere’s monument. There was a large stone that I expected to be his and it turned out to be John Hancock’s (pictured below).
Built in 1809, Park Street Church is still active today. For me, the most thought-provoking element of Granary Burying Ground was glimpsing children’s ministry materials in the window Park Street while standing in the middle of a graveyard dating back 200 years.
The middle image is of Tremont Temple. I photographed it because I loved the architecture, but I’ve since come to find out it’s a Baptist Church! The last image is the organ at King’s Chapel, a church established in 1686. George Washington attended a concert at King’s Chapel in 1789. Erin and I were able to sit in a pew at this church and read a psalm together.
In the top photo, another building that caught my fancy: the Boston Five Cents Savings Bank Building. The second photo is of the Old South Meeting House and the final image is the Old State House, in front of which is the site of the Boston Massacre.
We ended our day where we had started: Boston’s Little Italy in the North End. I was so delighted by all the window boxes. Every Italian restaurant we passed had blooming flowers in the windows and windows wide open! The whole North End exuded cheerfulness.
Erin’s parents were actually in Boston the week before us and before we met them for dinner, they recommended we take a tour of the Old North Church; I’m so, so glad we did! We did the “behind the scenes” tour and were taken up into the bell-ringing chamber of the steeple and into the crypt below the church.
The view out the window of Old North is one of my favorite images from our first day.
The first captain of the Constitution is buried in the crypt beneath Old North Church. His marker is new and the only marker of its kind; most were chiseled in stone. Our guide informed us the Navy provided and maintains the marker and that sailors come and leave coins atop it.
While we didn’t actually get to see the bells (they were another two or three stories up), we were able to go to the ringing floor. The stairs were incredibly steep and narrow - more like a ladder than stairs. The bells are the oldest change ringing bells in North America. I was fascinated to learn Paul Revere was a change ringer at Old North Church when he was 15 years old!
And after admiring those Italian restaurants all day, we had the enormous treat of eating at one, and right by the window, too!
We ended the day with cannoli from Mike’s Pastry, where we were served by a woman who only spoke Italian. Mike’s Pastry is the Franklin Barbecue of cannoli. The shop was crammed with customers; five lines and at least six people in each line. A bouncer-like figure guarded the door, complete with leather vest.
We enjoyed our cannoli at the Paul Revere Mall and then began heading back south toward our Airbnb, but not before we were caught up in a parade for the 100th anniversary of Saint Anthony’s Feast, which stopped traffic. An incredible way to end an incredible first day in Boston.