Chieko's Trip to Boston

Chieko doesn't have a blog, and she doesn't want one, but she did ask me to put up pictures from her trip to Boston September 14 through 20, 2010.

This is the house John and Misa's family is living in until December, while John studies and works at the Broad Institute on the MIT campus.

Elliot and Mei on their front porch.

The porch.

The living room.

The dining room.

The guest bedroom (Caroline and Mei's room).

The view from the front yard.

Here's a quick tour of the house.

A short video tour of the surroundings.

Going to the beach. The coast next to their house is rocky. This sandy beach is up the road a short, walking distance.

The view from the point.

Mei on the beach.

Caroline and Elliot on their way to school.

John and Wells.

Wells and Mei in Wells's cage.

Wells.
On Saturday, Chieko, John and all went on the Freedom Walk in downtown Boston. This is the spot where the Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. In short, some townspeople taunted Redcoat soldiers in protest of the Townshend Acts, which gave the government additional controls over the colonists. The townspeople threw snowballs and rocks until the Redcoats fired into the crowd and killed five residents. John Adams later defended the soldiers when they were charged with murder and obtained acquittals for all but one.

This statue is of Samuel Adams, one of the main rable-rousers of the Revolution and cousin to John Adams, the great lawyer (and second president). John Adams was the voice of the Declaration of Independence in the Continental Congress, and Thomas Jefferson was the pen.

This is in front of Faneuil Hall, an important marketplace and meeting hall during the Revolution. The hall burned down in 1761 and was rebuilt in 1762. It is still a very busy marketplace today and a must stop for lunch.

Redcoats in front of Faneuil Hall.

This Yo-Yo guy is just another street entertainer.

This is the steeple to the Old North Church, where lanterns were used to notify the militia in Charlestown when the British soldiers were coming by land or across the Charles River. With the message out from the church, Paul Revere then took off on his horse to warn others along the way to Lexington and Concord. Since everyone at this time was British, he didn't say, "The British are coming," but he did say something like "The Regulars are coming out!"

A Regular.

Caroline on The USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned vessel in the United Sates Navy. Because its oak hull was never penetrated during the War of 1812, it was nicknamed Old Ironsides.

Caroline and Elliot in the USS Constitution's sleeping quarters.

Gravestone for patriot John Hancock, a merchant who used his wealth to help the colonists. He also served as the president of the Second Continental Congress.

Monument on Bunker Hill, which is the celebrated spot where General George Washington with his untrained army held off the superior British soldiers and then escaped into the night. Although Washington made a lot of tactical mistakes early in the Revolutionary War, he learned that to win he didn't need to conquer the British Regulars and hold territory. He needed only to preserve the Continental Army until the British grew tired of the war. Thus, successful retreat was an effective tactic.

Cheers. I don't know whether this bar is based on the TV show or the TV show was based on this bar.

Many patriots are buried in Granary Cemetery, including Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere.

Trinity Church was founded in 1733.

Geese on the Old Sturbridge Village river.

Old Sturbridge Village, about 60 miles west of Boston, is a recreation of a Pilgrim township.

Old Sturbridge Village is a living history museum with people in costume to show life in the United States from 1790 to 1840.

Animals are plentiful.

Elliot tries to entice a rabbit.

Mei tries her hand with the rabbit.

A boat ride at Old Sturbridge Village. Do you think that if Wells fell in the river, the life jacket would hold him up or slide over his head?

The Village has a lot of things for kids to do, including this stick and hoop game.

And a tug-of-war.

A couple of Pilgrims named Mei and Elliot.

This is back near John and Misa's house. Chieko thought it was interesting that this island (or pair of islands?) has two lighthouses.