It had been closed for renovation the last time I was in town, so I was interested to see it. There are 294 steps to the top, which was pretty exhausting considering how little sleep I'd had. On second thought, I think that would be exhausting even if I'd had a full night's sleep! It's a spiral staircase, round and round with cold, sometimes drippy gray stone. 
There were two pigeons who'd made a nest in one of the tiny slit windows, at about step 75, I think. The view from the top was worth it, though. Lovely! There was Boston, spread out beneath us. There is a grate in the floor where one can see all the way down. A light was at the bottom of the shaft. This was where the elevator was, back when it was built in 1843, used to carry building materials up to the top. They removed it later. Drat!
The walk down was easier until I got to step 100, when my legs started to feel shaky. It was about 2 pm. and it had been a l-o-n-g time since breakfast! The rubbery leg feeling went away after we stopped for nourishment at a Friendly's restaurant.
Did you know that the Bunker Hill monument isn't even built on Bunker Hill? No, it is on Breed's Hill, where the battle was fought, but apparently so many of the people fighting, thought it was Bunker Hill (which is north of there), that they kept the name. The Battle was fought on 17 June 1775. The colonists repulsed two assaults before retreating. The British won, but lost more than 1,000 of their 2200 men. This battle is considered to have been pivotal--and meant there was little chance of a reconciliationbetween the British and us. Too many colonists were ticked off!
At 3 pm., Liz had an appointment with H & R Block to get her taxes straightened out. By the time we were done there, the weather had turned bad again. We walked fast to get home before the rain started. Later there was thunder and lightening. We were in bed by 7 pm. It was a fun, but exhausting, day.
1 comment:
I am so glad you are back - looking forward to hearing all about your trip.
Post a Comment