Boston - Day 3, John Adams...Cheers!

It bears repeating that Boston is one of my favorite places, and the area virtually oozes United States history. I hope you'll accompany me down memory lane for this retrospective look, from a trip in 2002. My relatively unedited travel diary is detailed in places that were of special interest to me and skimpy in places that might be of more interest to you. I've added links so you can easily read more, if you like. Here we go!

Monday, July 29

John Adams Birthplace
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved.

Wonderful news! My husband just had to work the morning shift and was off for the whole afternoon! We went to lunch at Bugaboo Creek (which is very much like Claim Jumper back home, with antler chandeliers and everything), and then we decided to drive to Quincy to visit John Adams National Park. Having just read John Adams, by David McCullough, this prospect was thrilling!

John Adams home
Photo by Chris.
All rights reserved.

We toured the house John Adams was born and grew up in, the house his son, John Quincy Adams, was born in, and the Old (New) House that the Adams family occupied after John's ambassadorship and presidency. We also saw the church where they're buried, which was unfortunately closed.

Home of the President
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved.

The first two houses are situated close to the street and each other, for convenience in both cases. Who knew fire engines and motorcycles would come along, making being close to the street not quite as good a thing? Both homes are modest farmhouses, an interesting contrast to the Old (New) House, which is full of wonderful antiques, paintings, china, silver, and the like, all having actually belonged to the Adams family. Even the wallpaper!

John Adams worked
at this desk. Wow.
Photo by Chris.
All rights reserved.

The Adams family occupied the home for generations, up until 1927. Then it became a historic site, with tours and everything. Most historic homes I've visited were filled with period things “perhaps having belonged to the family,” and it created quite an impression on me to realize that these were their actual belongings. The home is quite large, equipped with every modern convenience (including servant bells), and surrounded by beautiful grounds.

The Library. Ahhhh...
Photo by Chris.
All rights reserved.

There's a separate building for the thousands of books kept there. The aroma of the library is fabulous! There's nothing like the smell of old books, except maybe the smell of very old books.

The Library building
and garden.
Photo by Chris.
All rights reserved.

United First Parish Church
Burial place - John Adams
Photo by Chris.
All rights reserved.

Once I was able to tear myself away from the Adams property, we went for a drive down Adams Street, which is lined with gorgeous homes. It seems that at least half of the homes around here have date plaques on them. Back home, these plaques would say “1890” or something, and we'd all think that's awesome. Which it is, until you see these plaques, which say something more like “1670” or earlier! A house built in the 1800's is “new.” The houses have settled a bit, necessitating some shaving off of the tops and bottoms of the doors so they don't stick. But, for the most part, these homes appear to have been lovingly maintained.

Cheers!
Photo by Harry.
All rights reserved.

Since it was rush hour time, we decided to go into Boston proper to hang out for a while to let traffic die down before heading back. We thought we would go to Cheers, just because. With my husband driving and me navigating, we made quite a good team and were able to find the place with minimum effort and no aggravation. Hooray!

So, we enjoyed a pint of Sam Adams, walked around Boston Common, and ate at Olive Garden on the way back to the hotel. We arrived quite late, and neither one of us had a problem getting to sleep!

John Adams National Park
Imagine yourself back then, sitting there, in front of the window...
Photo by Chris. All rights reserved.