I took Mom to Boston.

July 2009 -- Boston or Memphis?  I gave Mom a choice. She chose Boston. It was a lot closer. Only an 8-hour drive. Memphis is still on my bucket list. Graceland. We stayed a day or two in Boston, then went to Salem. On the way home, we stopped at Battleship Cove, also in Massachusetts.

We took a Duck.

We stayed on the outskirts of Boston and used the public transportation system to go into the city. We took a Duck ride. Ducks and open-air buses are always my favorite way to see a city.  As I recall, Mom and I both won t-shirts for answering historic questions quickly and accurately. We walked around Boston Commons, then visited the historic district. Boston is full of history. We ate in the bar that inspired the TV series Cheers. We each bought Cheers mugs. A few years later, Mom broke hers. I gave her mine.

YAK:  street performers

YAK was funny and amazing.

Boston Commons is a public park in downtown Boston. It is the oldest city park in the US. It consists of 50 acres. We enjoyed walking around it. Doubtful we covered all 50 acres.

Boston Commons

Mom with the frog statues in Boston Commons

The main reason to visit Boston (in my opinion) is for its history and role in the American Resolution.  Boston is sometimes called the "Cradle of Liberty." We saw Faneuil Hall, the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams and others encouraging independence from Great Britain. It hosted America's first town hall meeting. It is sometimes refer to as the "Cradle of Liberty." Of course, now they want to change the name of it, since it was named after a man who owned slaves.

Faneuil Hall

Statue of Samuel Adams

In Quincy Square, we saw the plaque honoring Larry Bird. Larry Bird was an NBA and Boston Celtic legend. I had to get a picture. I was a big basketball fan during the Bird-Magic era. Speaking of sports, I was disappointed that I didn't get to tour the iconic Fenway Park when we were in Boston.