Boston Harbors Family Fun

Travel America, Nov, 2000 by Randy Mink

Young patriots' revere this Revolutionary city

For being so old, Boston offers more for young sightseers than almost any American city.

Parents and kids come here already knowing about the Boston Tea Party and Revolutionary War events--a headstart on getting oriented. Family-friendly historical attractions bring colonial times alive, and loads of other diversions keep junior patriots entertained.

Easy to navigate by foot, ferry, and subway, the tourist's Boston is compact and not intimidating. In a day "America's Walking City" feels as comfortable as an old shoe, even with kids in tow.

In this bustling seaport bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Charles River, my 11-year-old son Jeremy and I never were far from the water. From our hotel, the riverfront Hyatt Regency Cambridge, we could see rowing teams and lone kayakers skimming the Charles against the backdrop of Boston's skyline.

Besides waterfront scenes, Greater Boston, with 50-some colleges and universities, abounds with students, giving the centuries-old city a young-at-heart ambience. Just blocks from our Cambridge hotel was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Harvard University was a shuttle ride away. Several times we got off the "T" (the subway system) at Boston University, on the opposite bank, and hiked over the bridge to the Hyatt.

To get your bearings--and plenty of laughs--book a rollicking, 80-minute ride on Boston Duck Tours' World War II amphibious vehicles that rumble down the streets and cruise the Charles. Painted in bright red or purple, blue or green, yellow or turquoise, the "Ducks" invite stares from pedestrians, especially when the driver tells passengers to "quack." Everyone, you see, gets a duck bill noisemaker to toot. (Trouble is, parents may have to put up with it the rest of the day.)

Our wacky "conDUCKtor" was Major Groovy, an aging hippie with a fake ponytail, tie-dyed shirt and shorts, and Stars-and-Stripes canvas shoes. He spiced his narration with anecdotes, jokes, and trivia. Following his uncanny impersonation of John F. Kennedy, he said, "The Kennedys don't have a Boston accent. They have their own accent."

The tour's high point was our splashdown in the Charles. Once we were afloat, Major Groovy gave turns at the wheel to kids and adults.

After the Duck tour, I had a real feel for the city and a good idea of how to find places we wanted to see.

Many first-time visitors make a beeline to the Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile-long route marked by a redbrick or painted red line on the sidewalks. Along the winding trail are some of Boston's--and America's-most noteworthy historical sites, including the Paul Revere House, downtown's oldest building (circa 1680); Old North Church, best known for the lanterns hung in its steeple to warn of a British attack ("one if by land, two if by sea"); and Old South Meeting House, where rebellious colonists plotted the Boston Tea Party in 1773.

Faneuil Hall, the "Cradle of Liberty" also was the site of fiery town meetings and tirades against the British. Today its historical significance is overshadowed by the indoor/outdoor festivity at adjacent Quincy Market, another colonial landmark. Families like the street entertainers, pushcart vendors, fastfood eateries, and sidewalk cafes.

The Freedom Trail, which snakes from the Boston Common (a centrally located park) to Charlestown Navy Yard, can be walked nonstop in one hour, but most people want to spend time at some of the 16 sites along the way. Costumed characters at various points shed light on colonial life. Rangers give free 90-minute Freedom Trail tours that depart the National Park Service Visitors Center hourly from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., April through September.

Charting our own course along the Freedom Trail, Jeremy and I especially enjoyed the breezy open area at Charlestown Navy Yard, where the star attraction is the USS Constitution, or Old Ironsides. Known for her victories against the British in the War of 1812, the wooden-hulled vessel was launched in Boston in 1797 and is the oldest commissioned warship afloat.

Kids like exploring the ship and the many hands-on stations at the nearby USS Constitution Museum. They learn about the "powder monkeys," boys as young as eight who carried gunpowder and did other shipboard chores. Video games let kids blast the British with cannons. Also at the Navy Yard is the USS Cassin Young, a battleship-gray World War II destroyer open for self-guided tours.

From the Navy Yard, the Freedom Trail leads to Bunker Hill Monument, a granite obelisk that commemorates the first formal battle of the American Revolution on June 17, 1775. Kids and in-shape parents who climb the 294 steps to the top are rewarded with panoramic views of Boston. The Bunker Hill Pavilion, just 200 yards from Old Ironsides, presents the multimedia show "Whites of Their Eyes."

Another hotspot tinged with Revolutionary fervor is the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum at Griffins Wharf. A visit includes a rabble-rousing "town meeting" and a chance to throw a bale of tea (actually a canvas-covered bundle attached to ropes) into the harbor. The ship, a restored 1908 Danish schooner, is an authentic replica of the Beaver II, one of the three brigs boarded by angry patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians. Exhibits and a film explain how and why the colonists dumped 342 chests of English tea into the harbor to protest Britain's taxes on tea and other goods.