Boston and New England

As we write this we are on the train to New York, a four hour trip!

The last two days in Boston have been great. On Wednesday we were picked up from a nearby hotel for an all day coach trip to New England, passing through New Hampshire and into Maine, following the Atlantic coast. We had a couple of stops on the way, one at a beach resort, Hampton with long stretches of white sandy beaches, just like home! We also stopped at the Nubble Lighthouse, a famous American icon, built in 1879 and still in use today.

Nubble Lighthouse

Our final destination was Kennebunkport, a holiday and resort town with lots of quaint boutique shops with the usual tourist trappings. However, our first stop, because it was lunchtime, was lunch where we dined on clam chowder followed by wild blueberry pie, both noted local cuisine, and truly delicious. New England is everything you have seen in pictures – houses, some dating back to the 1700s mostly wooden and in muted shades of blues, greys and browns. However, size ranged from cute cottages, to multi-storied mansions set on the points with fabulous views of the ocean. The largest of these was the one owned by George and Barbara Bush (both in their nineties now), the massive house stands on a point of land surrounded on three sides by the ocean and with four other separate large houses for security and other personnel. Security was high with a guard house where prospective visitors were vetted.

Home of the Bush family

Thursday – and we explored Boston making use of the historic hop-on/hop-off trolleys which ended up costing us nothing because of the free entries into various attractions that went with the fare. Our first stop was at the Boston Tea Party attraction. As we hadn’t eaten, the café was the first stop. We paid for tea, were given an empty mug, and then had the choice of five types of teas served in urns, representing the tea that was tossed overboard during the crisis.

Selection of Teas

The tour was fantastic with the historical perspective being provided by a group of young actors dressed in period costume and acting out the roles of various participants in the tea crisis. We, the audience, also played our part being given various roles as well! Most surprising moment – we were in a room full of portraits with George III and Samuel Adams the largest of them all and side by side. Without warning they sprung into life and started having a conversation with each other!

Two of the characters from the Boston Tea Party

It was then a short trolley trip down to the waterfront area where we picked up a harbour cruise. This explored the intricacies of the harbour and the many different wharves, all built on reclaimed land. We also saw the sailing ship USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned warship built about 1797. Needless to say she does not play an active role in the US Navy any longer but has been designated a museum ship. She is still capable of sailing under her own power, the last time in 2012. Our last stop of the day was the Old State House with its gold dome and flanked with the gold lion and unicorn from the British Coat of Arms. First built in the 1700s and noted as the place where the Declaration of Independence was read from, it soon outlived its usefulness due to its small size.

USS Constitution

Barbara

Boston and Bostonians were very welcoming and gave us a stress free intro to the “land of the free”. The trip to Maine was special. The state motto is “The way life should be”, and with its shingle roofed houses, trees, stunning coastal scenes and  general prettiness this promotion is justified. We were too early for the autumn colours, however we were told that it may not be as good this year because of last year’s drought. Boston is a city of contrasts but with a big cultural interest – we wandered along from our hotel last night to look at the Boston Opera House, home of the famed BPO (Boston Pops Orchestra) Sadly there was nothing playing but is was still grand on the outside. At the railway station this morning a vendor asked where we were from, and enquired what we had enjoyed whilst visiting – had we seen a baseball game, or been to the theatre maybe? For us, neither – but maybe next time! 

Pam