Roadboys Travels: Roadboy's Day in Boston

Too Little Time
Too Much To See

I have traveled through Boston on numerous trips. In every case I either changed planes or was just in the city long enough for a client meeting.

This summer while planning a bicycle trip to Maine's Acadia National Park I decided to fly into Boston and spend a day sightseeing before driving north to Maine. Knowing full well I'd just be scratching the surface, at least it would be a scratch.

The day began with an inspirational visit to the JFK Library. From there we took the MTA to The Public Garden and enjoyed a great Vietnamese food truck lunch (which I finished off with a super desert - lime panna cotta with coconut ginger on top).

Then it was a visit to the Old Massachusetts State House and a walk through some of the nearby "burying grounds". We finished off with a visit to the AMAZING Museum of Fine Art and a wonderful dinner at Aquitaine.

Here are a few photographs taken along the way.

The John F. Kennedy Library

The library was built completely from donated funds. It was designed by I.M. Pei and opened in 1979. It receives about 6,000,000 visitors a year while serving as the repository for the papers of John and Robert Kennedy as well as about 90% of the manuscripts of Ernest Hemingway.

The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library

(I hadn't noticed the little butterfly in the photo until now)

"But an Idea Lives On"

The Pavilion

The Library's Columbia Point site rewards visitors with stunning views of the sea he loved and the city that launched his career.

The exhibits portray a president that felt that with programs such as the Peace Corps every single person could make a difference. He counseled that American's must "celebrate the past and awaken the future". I'd suggest his advice that we as a nation should never shrink from our global responsibility (by looking inward instead of outward) is more important that ever.

The Massachusetts State House and the King's Chapel Burying Ground

The golden domed Massachusetts State house (dome was clad in copper from Paul Revere's foundry) was designed by Charles Bullfinch and completed in 1789.

Viewing into the Hall of Flags of the State House

The Ceiling of Nurses Hall

About a block from the State House we visited the King's Chapel Burying Ground on Tremont St. Begun in 1630 it is the oldest cemetery in Boston. Today there are 505 headstones remaining of the more that 1000 buried there.

The Headstone Carvings Here Were Amazing

Headstone Detail

(Death Snuffing out the Candle of Life)

Boston's Museum of Fine Art

Our last stop before dinner was probably my favorite. The Museum of Fine Art (the MFA) joins the list of "Bests" for many reasons. If you cannot find something that brings you joy here, your heart has stopped.

My favorite area gallery was its superb Art of the America's collection (with numerous works by Winslow Homer, Mary Cassett and John Singer Sargent) all embraced by Foster + Partner's luminous Shapiro Family Courtyard with its enormous glass piece by Dale Chihuly.