Oh the Places We've Been...or OTPWB for short.

After graduation, we got to play with our visiting family for a whole week.  It was a great chance for us to very QUICKLY cover some of our favorite ground we've managed to tread over the last 3 years here in New England.  Some of these pics are from this year, and some I'm stealing from previous years because I was probably wrestling with one Ben and one Olivia this year and didn't have time to take a pic. BUT, that's ok, because I haven't posted any of these pictures before, I checked.  This week of sightseeing was so fun and a great way to remember all the fun places we've been able to visit. We just love all the living history here!

OTPWB: Day 1, Part 1: Boston: Bunker Hill, USS Constitution

These are pictures of Bunker Hill Monument and from the top of the Monument.  They are repairing the monument this year, so our visitors didn't get to hike the 294 steps to the top like we did last year (I included a pic of us to prove it!) - the view from the top is worth it.  The monument commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first major conflict between British and Patriot forces in the Revolutionary War, fought there June 17, 1775.

Next, we hit USS Constitution, or Old Ironsides.  It was closed for tours this year, but Brandon and I toured it last year and it was one of our favorite Boston stops.  She was named by George Washington and is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel, first launched in 1797. In the war of 1812, she defeated five British war ships, earning her nickname "Old Ironsides" because many of the British shots rebounded off her, as if her sides were made of iron.

We walked through the very cool USS Constitution Museum  as a break for the kids, but the adults probably had even more fun.  We relaxed in hammock beds, balanced on ropes to practice "rigging the sails" and used rope pulleys to tow a goat back and forth...it is a definate must if you're in the area for kids and adults alike.

For lunch we ate at the historic Warren Tavern  in lovely Charlestown.  It is the oldest tavern in Massachusetts, (over 225 years old) and the only one still standing in its original location, visited by such famous guests as George Washington and Paul Revere.  The inside is very rustic - (the ceiling beams were salvaged from old boats at nearby Charlestown Navy Yard - making the beams even older than the rest of the Tavern).  It was pretty cool to think that we might be sitting in the same corner as George Washington did!