Boston---revisited

We are staying at the Hanscom AFB FamCamp at the end of the flight line....we see jets, single engine, props and helicopters taking off all day long, very busy and noisy....but the location is great and the price is very good, so we get used to it.  We are in a shady spot, with full hook ups for just $18 a day!  We decide to stay here for a bit longer as we hope to meet up with grandson Woody while we are in Maine. 

We were stationed here 25 years ago and have not been back but once in all that time, so the changes are big, but what remains the same is just as big!

Above is a photo of Scott Circle as it looks today....years ago it was ugly rectangle brick stairwells housing 3 families in each stairwell....we hated it, but we were glad to have it as housing "off-base" in the area was extremely expensive.  This housing is just beautiful

Here's Paul standing outside of Orchard House, the home of the Alcott's.  I had visited  years ago, but Paul had not, so we took the tour, which was, again, very good.  Louisa wrote Little Women while living in this house.  She  finished the book in three months!!!  I loved reading the book as a young person, and have re-read it as an adult finding it to be a true classic in every sense of the word.  Please read Little Women, if you haven't, or re-read it, you won't be sorry.

We attended Sunday services at historic Park Street Church.  We were there on a very hot morning and the airconditioning system in the church had completely failed, it was quite warm, but not totally unbearable....I did find myself drifting off abit and I am sure it was because I was warm.....

The church sits right across from Boston Common and down the hill from the capitol building(below)

We decided to visit the Kennedy Library since we had not done that when we lived here.  The building, grounds and location were quite impressive.  The first thing you do is view a 15 min. movie with JFK speaking about himself, his life, his family and it was very very good. 

After the movie you leave the theatre and enter the museum where you can walk at your own pace and view displays.  It was ok, but not that impressive.  There was a large exhibit on Jackie and that was very interesting including some of her clothing and then photos and videos of when she wore the item.  Also Jackie talking about her life in the White House, again, very interesting.  At the end was a bank of old black and white tv monitors with Walter Cronkite announcing the President died.  What an awful moment that was....so emotional.  That was the end of the museum.

When you exited the museum exhibits you entered this amazing area and all along the windows are quotes from Profiles in Courage, his Pulitzer PrizeWinning book.  They were all such good quotes.

Below is my favorite quote and so appropriate for today as well.

Outside the Museum, the view of Boston and the harbor is beautiful.  We spent quite a bit of time just watching, the water was very clear and clean.  That is JFK's sailboat.
Well....while we were in the Boston area we also......

Saw a very tall Red Coat officer who was very informative

This guy was 6'7" and made me look like a Hobbit!

  

We visited the North Bridge...site of the famous "Smallwood Tea Party" where certain "patriots" took a tumble in their canoe and ended up hanging onto said canoe for dear life, while their loving children paddled off in the opposite direction totally embarrassed.....

We took a drive on the Mass Pike to Old Sturbridge Village and spent half a day walking around.

 We had ice cream

We re-visited the Freedom trail on 2A between Lexington and Concord.  We also went into Lexington, much has changed there, they even have a Panera Bread!

We took tons of photos, but I won't wear you out with all we saw, just know, it was a wonderful re-visit and we had a great time.  We left Hanscom headed north to Maine, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park!!!

Tally-ho,

Cathy