The Day We Had A History Lesson

The next day, we set out to see more of the sights along Boston’s Freedom Trail.  In order to save time and preserve some tired kid’s legs, we drove to our first stop, the Bunker Hill Monument.  We only had to park a few blocks away and it was on the street so it was free – a rarity in Boston. 

 

It is a beautiful monument and we discovered it could also host a challenge event on “The Biggest Loser.” You can climb to the top of the monument by ascending a 294 step spiral staircase.  We all made it to the top but Kyle won the challenge because he carried Brooke on his shoulders for 3/4 of the climb while skipping two stairs at a time.  Round trip, the adventure consists of 588 stairs, which explains the defibrillator hanging on the wall and the emergency call button they have in the restroom.  I am proud to say we didn’t need either one.

Also at the top of the monument was a group of high school students, mostly seniors with their teacher.  I almost fell down when one of them said “So why did they build this monument?  What is it about?”  After picking my jaw up off the floor, we finished enjoying the view and then headed back down. 

So once we were at the bottom, I had Katelyn come with me into the museum and gave her a history lesson.  I told her about the Battle of Bunker Hill (which is a misnomer, it actually took place on Breed’s Hill), and the sacrifices that were made in order to make a difference, even though they technically didn’t “win” the battle.  It was so neat to teach her about it right in the spot where it happened.  She might have been faking, but I think she “got it” and realized we truly were on hallowed ground and that it was an honor to be there.  By the end of our history lesson I had tears in my eyes from it all but I think the people around me thought it was from the 588 stair climb.  I was actually thrilled about the workout because that helped me justify another cannoli without hesitation.

After a nice visit at the monument, we began walking a couple of blocks back to where we had parked the van… and that is when we learned about street cleaning in Boston.