This past week, sophomores traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, where we spent four days touring the city. Each day, we took part in different activities, allowing us to learn about Boston, one of the oldest cities in America.

On the first day, we visited Quincy Market and walked the Freedom Trail, encompassing several historical events and landmarks. We started at the Faneuil Hall and walked to the Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was written. Further down the trail is the Granary burying ground where Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and other Patriots are buried. We ended the tour at Paul Revere’s house, built around 1680, making it the oldest remaining structure in downtown Boston. 

On day two, we traveled to the historic Fenway Park, the oldest Major League Baseball stadium in the league. We saw where legends like Babe Ruth and David Ortiz played and experienced a large part of the Bostonian culture. We went to Prudential Mall where we ate lunch and shopped for a few hours. After this, we headed towards Boston Harbor for an interactive reenactment of the Boston Tea Party. We saw authentic artifacts from the historical event, and some students were even able to throw fake tea packages in the harbor. For dinner, we went to Patriot Place, home of the New England Patriots, to eat and shop. That night, it snowed for the first time, a magical moment for some students who had never seen snow.

On day three, we went to the Salem Witch Museum, which is on par with our English curriculum, since we read The Crucible this year. We were able to see the places we had previously read about and were able to immerse ourselves in the story. We visited The House of Seven Gables, a large Victorian House with a rich history. We had lunch in the quaint restaurants of Essex Street Pedestrian Mall, Salem’s main shopping strip. After lunch, we went to the Salem Witch Trial memorial dedicated to the victims of the trials. From there, we drove to the New England Aquarium and spent our late afternoon exploring the exhibits. Our final meal was at Ned Devine’s, an authentic Irish pub where we tried a Bostonian classic, clam chowder. We drove to the Citizens Bank Opera House to watch a spectacular performance of Hamilton, a perfect way to end our historic day. 

For our last day in Boston, we took a half-bus, half-walking tour of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolution. We could see colonial architecture from the era and historic buildings like the house that inspired Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, Little Women. In Lexington, we saw the battlefield where the “Shot Heard’ Round the World,” referring to the first shot of the Revolutionary War. For lunch, we ate at different restaurants on Harvard Square. We concluded the trip with a historical tour of Harvard University.

Overall, the trip was a lot of fun for us, and we hope the freshmen will enjoy it as much as we did.