A "Touristy" Weekend

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone had a fun, relaxing weekend! We had a blast up in Boston being tourists this weekend with my family! 

Friday 

Around noon on Friday, Ryan called it quits on work for the day and we headed into the city, stopping at Castle Island first. 

On the way into the city- squeezed in the backseat! 

Crazy windy day + long hair = a nice little mustache for Ryan! 

After walking around Fort Independence on Castle Island, we had planned on eating coneys at Sullivan's, but it was in the mid-90's outside and there was no indoor seating so we chose to get back into the air-conditioned car and try out a new (to us) place, Boston Beer Garden! 

After lunch, we drove out to Charlestown to check out Bunker Hill and the USS Constitution. 

We went to the top of Bunker Hill, the USS Constitution museum, and even took a tour of the ship's top two floors! 

Great photo bomb Jake! 

Before dinner, we took a little tour of Fenway park, which was hoppin'! The Yankee's were in town so we walked around a bit to get a feel for the atmosphere before the game started! We parked the car on Newbury street for the rest of the evening and walked to Lir, an irish pub on Boylston for dinner. 

 Saturday

Saturday morning, we started our day out by drinking! We woke up, got dressed, and drove to Jamaica Plain for a visit to the Sam Adams brewery! Kristen met us there and the wait was about an hour and a half, so we walked across the street to a sandwich place for lunch. Our tour began at 1:45, but we were really surprised when the first place they took us was the bar. The last time Ryan and I went to the brewery, we toured the entire property and learned about the beer-making process before heading to the bar for some sampling. This time, however, the brewery was under construction so the only room open to the public was the bar! This time around we sampled Boston Lager, Sam Summer, and their Independence IPA.

After the tastings, Kristen went home and we headed to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market to continue being tourists. We walked around the Faneuil Hall museum and toured the meeting hall on the 2nd floor of the building. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that our founding father's stood in this very room over 200 years ago. 

The heat got the best of us after a while, so we stopped in at the Union Oyster House (the oldest restaurant in the country) for a break!

Later that evening, Kristen met back up with us, as well as Dan and Lynette, my mom's friend from high school and his girlfriend, and we had dinner and drinks in the North End.

We were a very brightly colored bunch! 

We closed the night out with some sort of Lemoncello Liqueur shot before going home. 

Sunday 

This morning, after church, we had big plans in the city! For Father's Day, Ryan and I got my dad 5 tickets to the Freedom Trail tour (I told you it was a SUPER touristy weekend)!! The tour started in Boston Common and finished at Faneuil Hall, stopping at Park Street Church, Granary burying ground, the Old South meeting house, the site of the Boston Massacre, and the Old State House. The weather today was much cooler, in the high 70's, perfect for a nice walk around the city!

The grave site of Samuel Adams, as well as the 5 people killed during the Boston Massacre.  

 We learned some really cool historical facts on the tour! On the balcony at the Old State House, pictured below, the Declaration of Independence was read to a rowdy Boston crowd for the very first time in 1776. How cool is that?!

 We walked back to the car after the tour, but detoured to Acorn Street and the current State House for a quick photo op!

Overall, we had an amazing, yet exhausting, weekend touring our new city with my family! It was so fun to explore the history Boston has to offer with my parents, brother, and husband! 

-Sarah