U.S. Virtual Road Trip- Day 21- Massachusetts

Yesterday we where in Maryland with author Leah Scheier, you can check it out here

Today we are in Massachusetts with author Daniela Ark. Lets see what awaits us :)

Facts

Capital: Boston; Governor: Charlie Baker; Secretary of State: William F.

Galvin; Motto: Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem (By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty)

Massachusetts is the heart of the North East region of the US known as "New England” which comprises six states:  Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. This Region is known for its Colonial past, long Atlantic coastline, changing autumn foliage and forested mountains.

Boston, Massachusetts, the region’s hub, pre-dates the American Revolution, and its “Freedom Trail” passes sites that were critical to the nation’s founding (www.revolutionaryboston.org).

The “Freedom Trail” is a 2.5-mile-long red brick path through downtown Boston that passes by sixteen  locations significant to the history of the United States, from  Boston Common to the USS Constitution in Charlestown.

If you follow the “Freedom Trail” you will see simple explanatory ground markers, graveyards, historic naval frigate and notable churches and buildings, such as (www.revolutionaryboston.org)

- The Old South Meeting House
- The Paul Revere House
- The Old State House

- The old State House: In a cold wintry night in March 5, 1770 a confrontation between British soldiers and an angry mob turned deadly and sparked the American Revolution. Here you can explore exhibits and watch reenactments of what is know as the “Boston Massacre”
- Boston Revolutionary Museum filled with revolutionary treasures and characters

Along the “Freedom Trail” though not related to the American Revolution but of equal historical importance is the  Boston Holocaust Memorial Completed in 1995,the Memorial is dedicated to the memory of the 6 million Jewish men, women, and children - more than half the Jewish population of Europe - and the other 5 million people killed by the Nazis before their defeat in 1945.  With it black granite path and six glass towers that display the tattooed numbers of the concentration prisoners and gripping messages about persecution and liberty, genocide and human rights, death and survival, despair and hope.

Boston is also home of:

- The Boston Science museum (http://www.mos.org/) with the mission of “The
Museum's mission is to play a leading role in transforming the nation's
relationship with science and technology.

- The Museum of Fine Arts (www.artsboston.org)
- Fenway Park (home of the Red Sox baseball team)

- Public Garden and its swan boats.

Other places to visit;

- Salem because of its role as the location of the Salem witch trials of
1692: – where the witches were burned. I used to go there every year for
Halloween.

- Gillette stadium – Home of the New England Revolution (soccer) and super
famous football dynasty: The Patriots

Wherever you go to eat in Massachusetts make sure to order Clam Chowder
and Boston Cream Pie!

One of my favorite places to eat in Boston are:

- The Union Oyster House (Oldest restaurant in the US
http://www.unionoysterhouse.com/)
- The Green Dragon Tavern (http://www.somerspubs.com/green-dragon.html), Established in 1654 was a favorite haunt of American “rebels” like Paul
Revere and John Hancock to plan their “subversions” such as the famous Paul Revere’s.

Massachusetts-   famous people:

- Paul Revere (of course!) 
- Lucy Stone women’s right activist and journalist
- Beloved American President John F. Kennedy
-Tom Brady The gorgeous Patriots’ quarterback and his Victoria Secret top model Wife Gisele Bündchen who are considered “American Royaly”!!
- Singer Meghan Trainor
- Actor Leonard Nimoy (Spok from Star trek)

Authors:

- Master of the horror genre: Edgar Allan Poe
- Famous author and cartoonist Dr. Seuss, who wrote forty-six immortal children's books
- Famous Poet: Oliver Wendell Holmes

Books

- Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
- The Crucible, by Arthur Miller
- The Cell, by Stephen King
- Love Story, by Eric Segal
- One of my favorite fantasy/Sci-fi series:  Servants of Fate, by Sarah Fine
- Another sci-fi favorite: The After Days Trilogy, by Scott Medbury
- Jane Was Here, by Sarah Kernochan
- Bloody Bloody Apple Kindle Edition, by Howard Odentz

Quirky facts

- Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith in Springfield,
Massachusetts.
- It’s illegal to make clam chowder with tomatoes in Massachusetts.
- Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William Morgan in Holyoke, Mass.
- The first subway system in the US was actually in Boston and not NYC.
- Whirlwind I, the world’s first computer that operated in real-time, was
invented at MIT.
- There is a state law that forbids snoring unless all of your doors and
windows are locked.

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Thanks Daniela. What do you think of Massachusetts? Leave us a comment below.

Check out author Katie Van Ark's post on Michigan & Giveaway here

Follow all the road trip posts here