One If by Land Two If by Sea

Today is the day, heading into Boston for INK. I don't dread the ride in or around Boston. What I do dread is having to walk from where I park to Faneuil Hall, where the biggest cache of National Park Stamps are. It would be great if I could park on Union Street and it would be only be a short hop to the Hall. When I say hop, the way I walk with this bad ankle it looks like a hop, no skipping or jumping, that would hurt to much.

With all of that in mind I head out right around 8:15, its Sunday morning so traffic should be nil. Hit the Mass Pike, no traffic, pass thru the Allston are toll booths, no traffic, come down Congress St, turn right on North, left on Union and viola there is a parking place right in front of the Union Oyster House. Man, I wonder if I hit the lottery last night.

Since I was right in front of the Union Oyster House, it is a National Historic Landmark and a soft target for the day, I crank off a couple of captures.

Ye Olde Union Oyster House, open to diners since 1826, is amongst the oldest operating restaurants in the United States of America, and the oldest that has been continuously operating since being opened. Wikiepedia





Right down the street in Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, both National Historic Landmarks and Faneuil Hall has the INK I need and the main purpose of todays ride.









It would appear someone pissed on her cornflakes this morning.

Since I am in the area, I head over to the Pierce-Hichborn and Paul Revere House, both of which are NHL's. The Pierce house was built around 1711 and a rather odd shaped home. Note quite an flat-iron building but trying to be one. This place was built by the same person who built the Paul Revere house, Moses Pierce. The Paul Revere house was built in 1680 was Paul's house during the time of the American Revolution. Both places are owned by the Paul Revere Memorial Association and are open as a museum.





Since I was in the North End, a visit to the Old North Church seemed like a fit for the theme of the day. This is the spot for the "One if by Land Two if by Sea" was said, that preceded the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The church is the oldest standing church building in Boston, built in 1723. The doors were open, however there was someone standing right outside the door and told me there was a service going on, however I was more than welcome to come back at 12:30 for pics of the inside.



I have to say here that riding the narrow streets of Boston on the Spyder is pure pleasure. Easy to maneuver, easy to pull over and take a picture, and part of the environment, just like the FJR. While I have wonderful memories of the FJR and where we went on them, I am sure glad I have the Spyder now.

Right across the Mystic River is the Charlestown Naval Yard, a National Park. This is where the USS Constitution is moored. I parked in a lot right next to the yard, that only had a few cars in it. Since I was only heading to the VC for INK and would be right back I took a chance.

Getting into the Visitor Center was like going to the airport. You had to empty your pockets and walk thru a metal detector, which of course my knees set off the alarm. This was just to get into the VC, I was already in the ship yard, so I don't understand the extra security. Didn't ask, didn't care. The USS Constitution seemed to be undergoing some repair since the masts seemed to be only partially up. Well I just looked it up and it is in drydock going thru some work until 2017.



Not too far away is Bunker Hill. Figured while I was here I would get the INK here. Also fits with the theme. Hard not to fit the theme in Boston. The monument was built to commemorate one of the first battles of the American Revolution. It is 221 feet tall and was built between 1827 and 1843.



Next stop is The Wayside in Concord. The house was built in multiple stages, with the first in 1717. It was the home to Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne and then Margaret Sidney, all writers.



The last stop of the day was at the Old North Bridge Visitor Center for INK. No pics of the bridge but did get this neat shop of at Trabant car in the parking lot, which was made in East Germany up until 1990. The INK was a disappointment, since it did not say North Bridge and will not count to the INK count for the National Park Tour. No biggie I was in the neighborhood anyways.



From there I headed back thru Concord, passing The Old Manse, Wright's Tavern (where the Patriots gathered to fight the Battle of Concord and Lexington), and Ralph Waldo Emerson's House.

Route for the day, right around 120 miles.

Bunking and Ironning in Boston

By mileage standards, today’s ride will be a snap. When all said and done we will have traveled 125 miles, but most of them were urban riding, so I give that 3:1 for country riding. I love riding in the city not for the roads, but the sites. I love seeing Greek Revival details on building, Art Deco and Beaux Arts. No place better to see than Boston.

This will be the first time MeAsWe is on the bike this season. She needs to get in shape for our up coming 5000+ mile tour coming up in May. Today’s agenda is mainly National Park sites, but if we comes across some BBQ places we will stop, and of course some of the towns will start with U S or A for the USA Tour.

First stop was the Auburndale Public Library. This definitely has a gothic overtone. The entranceway is especially neat. Picked this up as the A for the USA Tour.





Our travels took us thru Waltham and MeAsWe spotted a place to have breakfast. The place, In A Pickle, has to be good; there was a 20 minute wait for a place to sit. While we had to wait, it gave me a chance to snap off some pictures. Definetly a good place to stop for breakfast if you are not in a rush, which we were not.



The Wait





The Prep



Next 2 stops were an A and S





Grabbed the Powder House Massachusetts marker. I have the original book as a PDF file and will eventually track all of these down. This one we just happened to come across and I pulled over.



Finally got to Bunker Hill, which is really Breeds Hill, where the battle on June 17, 1775 took place. The monument was erected between 1823 and 1843. The granite came from Quincy, MA and the first commercial railroad was built to haul the granite from Quincy to Charlestown. There are 2 parts of the National Park, the actual obelisk and the museum across the street.





The next stop was to see the USS Constitution. We drove round and round and couldn’t find a convenient parking spot. This is a place we will have to come back to. So off to Saugus Iron Works. This could have been the beginning of capitalism in the United States, It was the first commercially built ironworks erected by the Puritans. Now everyone might think this country was founded for religious freedom. The Puritans left England so that they could practice their religion as they saw fit and expected everyone to kowtow to them. The Scots who they brought over to work in the mills had other ideas how society should be. Let's just say the Scots knew how to party. This was the first National Park I visited for my first IBA Tour in 2008. Still at it and going strong. The movie and exhibits at the Iron Works are really worthwhile to spend a couple of hours at.





The Billows



The Furnance



The Water Wheel that turned the gear that pumped the Billows



Our intent was to head for Nemick’s in Dover, NH to have lunch with other NER’s but time got away from us. The sky went from blue skies and partly cloudy to mostly cloudy we headed home to call it a day. We grabbed one more USA stop ( a train depot to boot), coffee at Dunkin Donuts and headed for the highway.