Memorial Day

For Memorial Day I had several stops planned before I headed back home. I didn't have the time to ferry out to the Boston Harbor Islands so I had to settle for visiting the islands that are accessible by car. Deer Island that I stopped at on Saturday was one of those. I headed out to Worlds End first. It is managed by the Trustees of Reservations which means there is a fee. At least I got a map but I did not find it very helpful. I ended up walking a huge loop back to the parking lot before I got re-oriented and set off to find the view of Boston. This site was also planned by the legendary Frederick Law Olmsted so it was gorgeous. I can just picture a horse and carriage meandering through there.

Carriage roads

I did finally end up in the right place to check out a gorgeous view of the Boston Skyline. It was a bit overcast but by the time I walked back to my car the sun was out.

Just down the road is Webb Memorial State Park:  It is a more urban park and there are great walking trails that go around and through the island. There were plenty of people out enjoying the day.

My next destination was Adams National Historic Park. On the way, I passed by a  cute little down that had red, white, and blue stripes on the road. How patriotic!

I also swung by the Abigail Adams Birthplace which is just on the roadside. 

 

In Quincy, the John Adams and John Quincy Adams Birthplaces are the oldest presidential birthplaces in the United States (and only 75 feet apart!)  

 

 

I headed into downtown Quincy to the Visitor Center to inquire about a tour but decided not to take one. The next one didn’t start for over an hour and the tours last 2 hours because they have to trolley you around between the different locations and I didn’t have time. 

While I was checking out the church where the Adams’ are buried the Memorial Day parade started so I sat and enjoyed it for a bit. There were no vintage cars or tractors though which was weird (must be a Scottsville thing).  I walked over to the Old House at Peace Field which was the residence of the Adams family for four generations from 1788 to 1927.

My final stop was Nut Island. There really was just a fishing pier there but it allowed me one last look at Boston before hopping back in my car and cruising back home. 

I was really daunted by this trip because there was so many stops I had to see but because none of the sites are too expansive, it was quite manageable. You'll notice that my pictures are much darker and that's because my camera battery died and when I reached into my bag to replace it, I realized I had left my spare battery at home, charging in the wall. Luckily I had my underwater camera as a backup. All in all, it was a great trip and I really enjoyed soaking up all the NPS sites in Boston.