Where else do you go to find out about our original history of the country other than…Boston! I think very few places (such as Philadelphia) are as great to learn about American history as Boston! It’s a very fortunate experience.

I woke up early to make sure I wouldn’t be late for my Freedom Trail walk through the city. I was looking forward to seeing some of the most famous sites of American history. I wanted to beat the Masshole drivers as well. I was lucky, arrived early, and found parking easily. I walked to the Boston Common and just fell in love immediately. So many trails, hills, colors of trees, active people walking and running, and more. It looked like it was right out of a movie!

As I sat and waited for the tour to begin, I called my mom to let her know things were okay. In the midst of the phone call, the squirrels were coming closer. They had no fear of human people. At one point, a squirrel started up my leg, but took off. I started giggling. In Central Texas, the squirrels are terrified of people!

I started making noises to call the squirrels over and snapping my fingers. Twice! Twice a squirrel jumped in my lap. It was such an amazing experience. I’ve never seen one so close before in my life. As cheesy as it sounds, it literally made my entire morning. I didn’t care if everything went wrong past that point. I was cheesing like a kid on Halloween that just lucked out discovering the house that serves full pieces of candy!

The tour guide called us over to start. We walked around and listened to the tour guide spew historical facts about each location and the general history of Boston. I never realized how much I listened to my history teachers until he was talking, and I could basically recite word-for-word his tour. It was odd, but also funny!

We toured John Hancock’s grave, Paul Revere’s grave, Samuel Adam’s grave, other graves you couldn’t see the names on it due to the oldness of it, and the Boston Massacre victims grave. We were able to visit the school and church Benjamin Franklin went to when he was a younger child. We saw where the Declaration of Independence was first read off, the Boston Massacre site, and some other lesser known sites. I didn’t get to every historical site, but I am extremely grateful for what I did see. The cobblestone alleyways and brick pavements made me feel like I was back in the 1700s. With a few dirt roads still, I could imagine horses and carriages throughout the roads.

I didn’t spend too much time in Boston, only because I was tired. I’ve walked more in the last 2.5 days than I have in the last month combined. My legs were sore, my upper body was sore, and I was just tired. I did find Boston easy to navigate though.

I stopped by Chicken & Rice Guys for dinner. It was amazing! Similar to a gyro without the wrap, it was seasoned chicken thigh, seasoned rice, lettuce, two pita slices, and creamy garlic sauce. The seasoning of the food was, as Bostonians would say, wicked good and so fulfilling. It was so much food, I was unable to eat it all. I was thoroughly impressed! I did notice there were a ton of pizza places, delis, and seafood spots in both Boston and Salem. It makes sense, but I wanted something different.