Massachusetts: Waterfronts, Witch Hunts, and Political Stunts

People in the Boston/Salem area really like to honk their horns and flip people off. Pretty sure a cop gave me the bird at one of those terrible "round abouts" New England is so found of. At first I thought it was me, but after I parked and got out of my car, I realized people were still honking. A lot. When Eden asked me why people "stick their finger up to you," I said it means, "Have a nice trip." Let me apologize now if one of my kids gives you the bird; just smile and say, "You too!" They mean it in the nicest way possible. ;-)

Salem was actually a spontaneous, piggyback trip on the way back from Rhode Island. We passed the sign and saw how close it was and thought it would be interesting to visit the site of the Salem Witch Trials. It was already late when we got there; the museum was closed. We decided to go to the Salem Witch Trial Memorial. Being October, there was a lot going on in Salem: Candlelight guided tours to the memorial and adjacent cemetery, where many of the accused witches are buried, a carnival, and typical Halloween shenanigans. We aren't Halloween haters. My kids enjoy trick or treating as much as the next guy.

 But I wanted to focus on the somber side of the Salem Witch Trials tragedy. We read the names on the memorial benches, when and how they were executed. I tried to talk to the littles as gently as possible about fear mongering and false accusations. We talked about what people mean now when they say "witch hunt." I hope it left an impression. I would have loved to find some good books on the subject--even some historical fiction, but we do not have a library card in our temporary NH home, so we are limited to kindle and what we can get digitally from our library in KY. We did watch a history channel documentary on line; although, some of it was pretty intense for younger children, and we had to fast forward through some spots.

Sorry for the terrible quality of these. It was very dark.

We knew we wanted to come back to see Boston. The Freedom Trail seemed like the perfect way to do it.

We parked in Charlestown and paid $5 for the whole day. There is a subway station right across the street. You can ride to the Visitor's Center in Boston Common to start the tour there. It's $2.65/adult one way; kids 11 and under are free. It's only about a mile from Charlestown to the Bunker Hill Monument, which is traditionally the end of the tour, but the order isn't that important as long as you see all 16 sites, so we decided to do it backwards and just walk the extra mile to the monument, then take the train back to our car when we got to Boston Common. The trail is about 2.6 miles, plus the added mile from where we parked. (There is closer parking, but there was an event, and it was even more crowded and expensive than usual, $30 for 4 hours.) I do wish I had borrowed a stroller. It was a little too much for 3-year-old Eden, and we wound up carrying her a lot, and Boston is hilly. You can do the Freedom Trail a few different ways. There are actual guided tours where you buy a ticket and someone walks you through all the sites, giving the history behind each one. I had little kids who would have a hard time keeping up with a group, and my brood is kind of loud. I felt like that would just be a waste of our time and tick other people off, so I downloaded an app (there are several, some free) that guided us through the tour via GPS and gave us all the background info on each site as well. The trail is clearly marked by a red brick line on the streets and sidewalks, so we never got lost. We were able to take our time and enjoy each site at our leisure. Among our favorites was the Old North Church, where Paul Revere hung his lanterns. We were surprised to see private pew boxes that would seat 6-10 people. They are enclosed on all four sides. Prayer closet? Not sure what purpose they served.

Also the pulpit was amazing.

The Bunker Hill Monument (We climbed all 298 stairs to the top.),

View from the top

Colonel William Presott

The Old South Meeting House

The cemeteries. We saw Paul Revere's grave, Cotton and Increase Mather, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and many others.

Most colonial graves are decorated with a skull with wings. The cherub is unusual. It is referred to as a soul effigy.

Other notable stuff included the statues along the trail--Paul Revere on his horse was our fav, a key-tar playing bear, the skyline as dark fell,

and the subway ride back, a first for all of us. If you've never done it, let me say that just figuring out what train to take and when to get off was an accomplishment. Public transportation is not for sissies, y'all. It's complicated. I wanted to cry looking at the map trying to figure out what color line I needed to take, but we did it, and we made it safely back to our car, by the grace of God. One of my favorite trips so far.

We followed up the next day at the library with a rereading of Paul Revere's Ride, and some books on colonial life and the Revolutionary War, all of which was suddenly way more interesting. ;-)

Be looking for Connecticut's post this weekend. Two more days in beautiful NH.

Rhode Island

     It was about three hours from our home base in NH to Rhode Island. The drive was made even longer by dark clouds, rain, and melancholy moods. We had just heard terrible news that some friends of ours had lost their son while he was serving our country.
     We arrived at Easton Beach in Newport around one. Even though it was cold and rainy, the ocean view didn't disappoint; in fact, I think winter on the East Coast has a special beauty all its own. There's something fierce about it: Angry waves crashing against the rocks and cliffs, the wind and cold. It seems so scary and uncontrollable. Dangerous. I thought of the song, Master the Tempest is Raging.

"The wind and the waves obey Thy will. Peace be still. Peace be still."

 Surely the God who can calm the sea can comfort our friends' hearts.

     We ate our lunch in the car and watched the seagulls a while. They are very different than the Texas Gulf Coast gulls we have seen. These guys are huge. And bold. This guy stayed on the hood of our car, two feet from my face the whole time we were eating.

     The Save the Bay Aquarium and Exploration Center packs a lot of fun and learning into a small space. I think the best thing about the aquarium is the people who work there. These guys not only know their stuff, they also had great rapport with the kids. They asked excellent leading questions, and knew just how to pique the kids' interest. I was super impressed and pleased. AND it was just $18 for all of us to get in. I was sad we won't be there when the seal-watching boat tours begin in November. We saw all kinds of things we've never seen in real life: Horseshoe crabs (which are more closely related to scorpions than crabs.

Smooth dogfish sharks. We touched sharks, people!

The aquarium also had eels, starfish, crabs, anemones, assorted interesting-looking fish, and even a tiny octopus! I couldn't tell you everything we saw and learned about. 

We had fun playing interactive learning games, like investigating the contents if a beached dead seal (She was stuffed, but had all her stuffed innerds for the kids to explore, including a zippered stomach that you can empty the contents of.)

The littles made a paper sailboat and pirate hat. So fun.

   
It had warmed up enough by the time we were done to spend a few minutes combing the beach, where we found shells, mermaids' purses (horseshoe crabs' eggs--we had just learned about these in the aquarium and were very excited to find some.)

And some jelly-creature that we were not sure about. It didn't have tentacles like a jellyfish would, plus it was a perfectly round disk. Any guesses?   

The houses along Narraganset Bay are amazing. Who gets to wake up to this view everyday?

      As I watched my oldest son run and chase his brothers and sisters on the beach, my thoughts returned to our heartbroken friends. I was painfully reminded of how little time I have left with my sixteen-year-old baby, of how my days of protecting him will soon be over. I know he'll be ready to face whatever God's will is for his life. And I know God's will is best. The same God who calms the sea can keep my son safe and well--but if not, He is still my God.

     In loving memory of Brenton Dodgen. We are so thankful for his sacrifice and that of his family.

Vermont

     The drive through the Green Mountains of Vermont reminded me of Germany, green rolling hills dotted with steepled churches and cottages. Again, the pictures don't do it justice, because there is something about being surrounded by it, the evergreen backdrop broken up by flaming autumn color, and the clouds swirling all around us as we ascended. The spruce smell is strong. The whole thing is intoxicating. I felt a little giddy.

Touching clouds

     We had planned to see a dairy and maple farm, but it was cold and rainy Tuesday, so we changed plans. I know Vermont cheese and maple syrup is a big deal, but we can easily get that stuff at shops near our homebase in NH.  New Hampshire's nickname is The Granite State, but Vermont has its fair share of granite as well, and there is a famous quarry near Barre, VT that is open to the public and offers tours for a nominal fee. When we got to Rock of Ages Quarry, we watched a short film that explained the history and the process of cutting the blocks of stone out of the earth, as well as the process the artists' use to sculpt and design beautiful monuments. Gravestones, crypts, mausoleums, and other tributes to life are the primary business of ROA. Plus there's some interesting stuff on the side like using the quarry to film a scene from the 2010 film Star Track.

     After the film, we went to the quarry itself. We got to watch the workers cut rock while the guide gave us a deeper explanation of how the quarry operates. Since it's beginnings, ROA has employed new technology that speeds up the process, but much has remained unchanged for a century. For example, they still rely on hand signals rather than cell phones or radio. They just found the hand signals more reliable. There are huge piles of discarded granite surrounding the site. Someone on the tour raised the question of waste. Our guide told us that if they continued digging at the current rate, they would not run out of rock in that quarry for 40,000 years. We wondered about the green water, too. We learned the quarry was dry four years ago; the water was deposited by hurricane Irene, which did a lot of damage to the area. The green tint was a result of algae growth and dust from the quarry.

 

 

     The manufacturing plant where the artists and sculptors work was my favorite part. We saw statues, ornately carved designs, and etchings. Some pieces take years to finish. It was interesting to watch the artists do their thing. I never thought about the work that goes into these amazing monuments.  I guess I thought machines made them. We certainly have a new appreciation for granite.

     We wrapped up our day with a tour of the Ben and Jerry's factory, which was just about 20 minutes away. Ben and Jerry's was founded in Vermont, and these guys are all about their community. It seems like a fun place to work.  There are silly safety posters and slogans everywhere. We learned how ice cream is made, watched a film on the history of the company, and even got a decent sized free scoop at the end. We also got to see the top 10 best selling flavors and visited the flavor graveyard, where old flavors are retired to pasture. Everyone we came across from ticket guy to tour guide was friendly and fun. Can't beat that for a fabulous day; even the rain couldn't put a damper on our fun!

     Next up, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, not necessarily in that order. Only a week and a half left in New England before we drop down to eastern Pennsylvania to tour the Mid-Atlantic region.  I will miss NH. Hope NYC is ready for us!