Historic Massachusetts

• Tour of Freedom Trail including a picture stop of Paul Revere's house, The Old North Church, and the USS Constitution.
• Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall
• Other select stops along the Freedom Trail
• Top of the Prudential Building
• Stop at Harvard University
• Lexington Green and Concord - The Old North Bridge, Orchard House, and Walden Pond.
• A visit to Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower II in Plymouth, Massachusetts

The weather in Boston, like much of New England, changes rapidly. It is not uncommon for the city to experience temperature swings of 30°F or more over the course of several days. The summers are usually warm and humid, while the winters are cold and windy. It has been known to snow in October and get quite warm in February. The hottest month is August, with an average high of 80°F and the coldest month is January with an average high of 35°. The city averages 42 inches of rain and also 42 inches of snow a year.

A "City on a Hill," actually three hills, was one of Boston's early names - taken from the Bible and applied by the early Puritans.  The early city of Boston looked almost more like an island.  Now much of Boston's Back Bay and South End are built on reclaimed land.  Two and a half of Boston's three original hills were used as a source of material for the landfill. Only Beacon Hill, the smallest of the three original hills, remains partially intact.
 

The Charles River separates Boston from Cambridge and Charlestown. To the east lies Boston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.
 

• Touring Boston's Freedom Trail.  This 2.5 mile trail from Beacon Hill to Bunker Hill is a red painted or red brick line that takes a person through Boston and along its very historic sites.  The Old North Church, Paul Revere's House, The USS Constitution, and the site of the Boston Massacre are favorites.
• Seeing the Old North Church and hearing the story of Paul Revere.
• Looking down at Plymouth Rock and hearing its story then looking up at the soaring 150 foot tall National Monument to the Forefathers - the tallest granite monument in the world honoring the faith and ideals of the Pigrims.

• Johnny Tremain, 1957, Walt Disney (VHS released 2003)
• Monumental: In Search of America's National Treasure, 2012, Kirk Cameron
   

• The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1860 - a classic American poem.
• Of Plymouth Plantation: 1620-1647 by William Bradford
   

• Dropping  "R"s after "A"s, like the infamous "Pawhk the Cawh." (park the car)
  The "R"s also can get lost after other vowels as well, especially "ee" sounds, as in "He stee-id the cawh into the ditch." (he steered the car into the ditch)
  These missing "R"s do get used eventually, usually by adding them to places like onto the end of "uh" sounds. A good example of this would be, "I was driving in my cawh when I got a wicked idea-r.
  Also, one-syllable words with long "I" sounds, such as "fine," often turn into two-syllable words like, "I feel f-eye-in today so I think I'll go to the pawhk!"

• Tea! - in Boston.
• And, of course, water.  Keep hydrated!

• Boston - Freedom!
• Lexington/Concord - Revolution.
• Plymouth - Thankful.

• The tea that was thrown over by the mob at the Boston tea party, could have made over 24 million cups of tea and was worth $1.7 million in today's standards.
• In the Boston Massacre, 5 Bostonians were killed by British soldiers.
• The first winter of Plymouth Colony was rough and many of the colonists died of disease and conditions.  The Mayflower sailed with 102 emigrants and of the 102, only 57 survived. Close to fifty percent of the original colonists died the first year.
• The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military conflicts of the American Revolution. After the battles were over the Colonists had 49 killed, 39 wounded, and five were missing. The British had 73 killed, 174 wounded, and 26 were missing. It was considered a major military victory for the Americans. 

• Boston
• Lexington – Concord
• Plymouth