July 8 = Day 12

Synopsis:  132.2 miles driven; 3.75 hours on the road; Woburn, MA to Middleboro, MA; Visited Old North Bridge, Concord, Lexington Battle Green, Bunker Hill, USS Constitution, Old North Church, Paul Revere House, Faneuil Hall, Old South Meeting Hall, Boston Massacre Site, Bull & Finch Pub, Roger Williams' House

Not only a hot breakfast at the hotel (Marriott) this morning, but a GREAT hot breakfast including eggs, sausage, home fries, bagels, oatmeal, muffins and more. Breakfast makes the rest of the day go better on a vacation like our's. It gives strength for the morning and allows us to move lunch to a little later. Also, because it is at the hotel, we save time from having to find and stop some other place. And, we already paid for it with the hotel (if we had paid).

We drove from the hotel to a place that not many seem to be aware of and very few visit - the Old North Bridge. We arrived there around 8:00 am. Now the Visitor Center doesn't open until 9:00 am but if your not going to the Visitor Center, go early and no one is there. We walked the .25 mile down to the bridge and monuments around or near it. What an amazing thought that "regular" people came out to protect their community.

From the Old North Bridge we went to the Minute Man Visitor Center. It is one of the main places to get a review of the events of the first conflict of the Revolutionary War. Unfortunately for us, we got there around 8:30 am and it doesn't open until 9:00 am. We had other things to do and since there is it is not a historical site, so we got back on the road. We next stopped at the Lexington Battle Green, the site of the first conflict of the Revolutionary War. Walk around the Green and you will find some houses that were there when the battle was engaged - cool.

We then headed into to Boston, actually Charlestown. That's when we ran into Boston traffic - the worst of our trip (worse than DC or NYC or Philadelphia). With a GPS, we jumped off the planned route when it was at a standstill and allowed it to direct us another way. We finally got to Bunker Hill and found a place around the corner to park for free. The Monument was closed (normally you can go into it and climb the stairs to the top), but the Ranger station was open and we could appreciate the monument from the outside.

From there, we walked on the Freedom Trail down to the USS Constitution. It is a free adventure but there are 2 options: one is a speed tour on your own and only on the top deck, the second is a guided tour that goes to the three decks below. We were going to go on the guided tour but we couldn't get on the first tour, it was full, and so we would have to take the second tour. That would mean waiting 25 minutes for it to begin, taking 30 minutes to be on the tour, and being below decks with 40-50 other people. We "jumped ship" as it were and went on the speed tour - partly because we knew that we would visit the Mayflower II tomorrow.

After getting back to the van and driving it over into Boston and finding a parking garage to put it in, we headed out again on the Freedom Trail. I can't say enough what the Freedom Trail does and provides for tourists. You really don't need maps (although I would still take one) and you can get to all the places you want by following the bricks or red line on the sidewalks. Our first stop was the Old North Church. Jedi loved the "family" pew boxes. The kids sat in the Revere Pew.

We then went to Paul Revere's house (one of the few places to charge an admission fee but it is very reasonable). An added bonus on our day to visit, during this Heat Wave, is that the house is air-conditioned. It was cool to get to know him a little better and his house is the only 17th century house in downtown Boston. You might consider skipping it, I wouldn't.

We then walked to Faneuil Hall (Boston's original marketplace - that still serves as a marketplace), the Old South Meeting Hall and the Boston Massacre site. We then broke away from the Colonial times and walked across Boston Common to the Bull & Finch Pub (made famous in the TV show Cheers). BTW - along the way Beacon street was closed off with firetrucks, paramedics and police because of a house fire (we saw no flames but plenty of smoke and plenty of ladder trucks). We had lunch at the Bull & Finch. If you go to Boston, eat there. The food was great. My only suggestion would be to share dishes as they are large portions (and a bit pricier fro a family of 7). We got and loved the Norm Burger (see picture of Lisa) and Coach's Power Club Sandwich.

We then walked back the entire Freedom Trail, did some souvenir shopping (loved the little lobster but decided not to get him), got to the van, and tried to get out of town but got stuck in Boston traffic again with the "Low Fuel" light and bell going off. I'm sure I upset some Bostonians (Florida driver) as I cut through or in front of them to get off and to a gas station before running out of gas.

Finally, we got to Providence, RI and stopped in to see the Roger Williams' House. The House itself is not much but we felt it was an important visit for three reasons. One, to fully appreciate the US Constitution and our freedoms in this country you need to know the origins of some of our critical beliefs that come from Williams. Second, as believers there is a lot we felt we could learn from Williams' life and teachings. Third, I was born in Providence and it gave a good reason to visit my hometown.

Finally made it to our hotel for the night in Middleboro, MA - a town I spent some time growing up in as a baby/toddler. Tomorrow is Plymouth and then driving to Uncle Scott and Aunt Weezie's house.

Hotel Deal of the Day: One night at a Holiday Inn Express for $11.50 by using points accrued through previous stays and buying additional points to get to the amount needed for the stay.