Our second day in Boston started off checking out of our Airbnb, and then heading to a parking garage in the North End of Boston. We started our day with walking to Bova’s bakery, about which we had heard about from our Duck Tour Guide.  It did not disappoint.  Arthur and I shared a chocolate croissant, Kevin and I shared a Boston Cream Pie donut, as well as a canoli.  Yum!

We tried to find a place where we could enjoy our delicious pastries, but were struggling. As we wandered, I couldn’t help but be awed by cool architecture.

The street were so narrow, there really wasn’t anywhere to go.  Eventually, we headed to the old North Church, and discovered a beautiful park, Revere Mall right behind it.  Definitely much smaller than the National Mall or Independence Mall, but I loved it.  It was small, and tucked inside an area surrounded by buildings, with a fabulous statue, a fountain, greenery, and cool reminders of Paul Revere and the part he played in the Revolution.

Eventually, it was our turn to tour the church, including going up and the bell tower to learn about the history of the church as well as the bells.

The church itself was so cool, and very different than what I was used to, where the wealthy patrons would rent their boxes.   And of course, there was a lantern like would have been displayed after Paul Revere’s midnight ride.

 There was a fun scavenger hunt that Arthur was able to do, finding cool things to learn about along the way.  He was especially excited to see his name on one of the boxes – a Captain Arthur Savage (1725).

After that, we had our tour the belltower.  It was interesting to hear that because hurricanes and other terrible storms, the steeple of the the church was its fourth iteration.  Wow!  Luckily, the latest one was built in the 1950’s, and so it is reinforced with steel.

The bell tower portion never blew off, and so they are still the original bells.  We couldn’t go up any further than the bellringers area (for safety reasons), but it sure was cool.  And Arthur may not have gotten to ring the actual bells, but he got to ring a little miniature one 😉.  Also, it was crazy to thing when Robert Newman went up all the way up, the rickety staircases didn’t exist, and so her had to climb past were we were in pitch dark on ladders, knowing that by the time he got down, British soldiers would be waiting. 

There is actually a cool monument in the church courtyard to Robert Newman.

Then we wandered around doing some of the other freedom trail sites, including finding Paul Revere’s home, although we didn’t want to to pay to tour it.

By then, we were ready to eat lunch, but we had to find a place that was open for lunch. We had been told by many people from Boston, that all you have to do is wander into any Italian restaurant in the North End and it will be wonderful. They were right 😋.  Arthur and I shared the fettuccini Alfredo, and we still couldn’t finish it – ha ha!  And Kevin “took one for the team” and gave me all the broccoli off of his pasta – it was so good!!

After eating, we walked across the bridge so that we could see the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Memorial.  As we were crossing, we a perfect view of The Garden on our way.  And we loved how all the stops on the Freedom Trail had a cool brick path connecting them all!  It definitely made our way much easier – like following the yellow brick road 😉.

The USS Constitution – “Old Iron Sides” – was so cool!  (And free, since it is a national monument.). It was never defeated, and actually still have a Navy contingent assigned to it.  Arthur loved all the cannons.

As we got deeper into the boat, and Kevin couldn’t stand up, he made a break for the top deck.  Truthfully, I couldn’t even stand up in the crew quarters (hammock area).  

Then, it was shortish was to the Bunker Hill memorial.  I guess, the day before was the 250th anniversary of Bunker Hill. Pretty crazy!  They had a big celebration/commemoration the day before.  Arthur was very sad that we didn’t have the time (or energy) for the 294 steps to go to the top.  Good times.

On our way back to the parking garage, we stopped at another Italian bakery, Mike’s, whom a lot of people had told us about, and it was only okay.  (I wasn’t a fan of their cream/custard).  Then it was time to head off to our friends, the Badten’s, in western Massachusetts. It was so great to see them!! It had been four years.  After a delicious dinner, Arthur, Kevin and I were back in the car and headed down south to Hartford, CT.  Poor Arthur could not stay awake in the car, no matter what I did.

Eventually we arrived at the gorgeous Hartford Connecticut Temple. With our temple in San Antonio closed for renovation for the next 5 months, we are trying to be extra intentional about visiting temples.  

Arthur has a goal is to visit at least 5 new temples this summer, and this was number one. He had such a wonderful time doing baptisms, and before his appointment, Kevin and I were able to perform innitiaries and go to the Celestial room.

As we came, the sun was setting and it was spectacular. It was the perfect way to finish off a wonderful day.