Seconds With Steff

Friday, July 14

Leave work at 11:00 … 4-5 hour Drive

Boston by 5:00…fingers crossed

The Bostonian Boston – 26 North Street

Dinner and Drinks

Wink And Nod   6:45 Reservation  https://winkandnod.com/

Never write if you can speak;Never speak if you can nod;Never nod if you can wink.— MARTIN LOMASNEY

After hibernating through most of the pandemic, Wink & Nod — a handsomely turned-out South Boston basement speakeasy — is back in full force, featuring an amazing Scotch collection (among other potables) and a pop-up culinary program featuring food by an array of top local chefs.

TWO MINUTE WALK

Trophy Room https://trophyroomboston.com/

The Trophy Room has been a South End favourite for almost a decade, complete with a colourful atmosphere, superb food and drink options, and a lively brunch on Sundays.

FRIDAY 4:00pm – 12:00am

THREE MINUTE WALK BUT IT LOOKS EH…MAYBE LYFT

Club Café

Despite recent gay bar closures in Boston, Club Café remains one of the best all-around gay bars to visit in the city.  However, visitors to Club Café will tell you its survival has been no accident. That’s because this place is primed for entertainment every night of the week, with everything from trivia to karaoke, dance parties through to bingo.

Located in Boston’s historic South End/Back Bay area, Club Café has been serving excellent American Cuisine since 1983. Enjoy live cabaret style entertainment in a relaxing and inviting atmosphere and some of Boston’s best dining values.

FRIDAY 4:00pm – 2:00am

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

THE JIM & VAL SHOW in Napoleon Room at Club Café

8:00 pm – 9:30 pm

DRAG RACE FRIDAYS in Club Café Boston

10:00 pm – 2:00 am

CLUB CAFÉ FRIDAYS in Moonshine at Club Café

Saturday, July 15

Reserve Trolley Tours $49.83

Boston Tours

Good Morning –

Grab a Lyft to 32-2 Otis St, Boston, MA 02110

Boston Bricks – IN A SMALL ALLEYWAY A few steps away from Boston’s Freedom Trail is a hidden, whimsical (and quite funny) treasure.  Take a few minutes between Kings Chapel and the Old South Meeting House and detour to Winthrop Lane between Otis and Arch. There, you will find the Boston Bricks.  The project, which is funded by the Browne Fund in Boston and A. W. Perry and Ryan Associates, consists of roughly 100 brick-sized bronze reliefs installed in the paving between the other bricks of Winthrop Lane.  Each installation commemorates a key event within Boston’s past and present. The stones are slightly raised, so they are polished by passersby. On their shiny surfaces, you’ll spot anything from scenes depicting Boston’s notoriously aggressive drivers to a 19th-century baseball glove.

• Walk to seven minutes to 9 West St, Boston, MA 02111
• Left on Arch
• Right on Sumner
  • Boston Downtown Mural (attached to Primark)
    • Grab coffee and food at Café Nero
• Left on Washington
• Right on West

Brattle Bookshop

WEDGED BETWEEN RED BRICK BUILDINGS and hidden from the hustle and bustle of Downtown Boston is an antiquarian bookshop that has been selling used books since 1825.

Located a couple of steps away from the Boston Common is the family-owned Brattle Book Shop. It offers more than 250,000 books, postcards, maps, and prints spanning across multiple genres and decades. It attracts an eclectic crowd, ranging from JD Salinger to a patron with a penchant for eating Bibles.

The first two floors of the store are packed with general used books. Space is limited as its shelves, all stuffed with titles, are crammed close together, making it nearly impossible to navigate the store without bumping into someone. Small step stools are scattered around the space, allowing visitors to reach books on the highest shelves.

The third floor houses collectible and first-edition antiquarian books spanning a range of genres. If you’re lucky, you might find notes and dedications scribbled on pages from decades ago.

Outside the store, sandwiched between two industrial brick buildings, is an open-air sale lot. Racks and bookshelves fill the outdoor space, selling books for as little as $3. Small, compact Russian short stories or thick and heavy Encyclopedias are just some of the treasures that can be found lining the outdoor area. Splashed on one wall is a patchwork mural of famous authors such as Toni Morrison and Italo Calvino who look down on you as you sift through thousands of titles.

Walk two minutes to 147 Tremont Street for the Boston Visitor’s center and get a Freedom Trail Map

Self-guided Freedom Trail Tour

For the average Bostonian, life in the New England colonies during the 17th century was, as you might’ve guessed, not exactly one of ease and leisure. Before they were built by stone or brick masonry, homes were small, dank, drafty and made entirely of wood. This building practice was abolished toward the advent of the 1700s due to the susceptibility of fire. Most of the population subsisted as farmers, the drinking water was unsafe, medicine was still in the Dark Ages, and the average lifespan was just shy of 40 years. These were arduous and challenging times and living under the yoke of an oppressive foreign monarchy would eventually prove too much to bear and, thus, a revolution was born.

Comprised of 16 places of interest, each one a milestone in the evolution of Boston from English colony to independence, the Freedom Trail is an essential component of any trip to Boston. This historic attraction literally lays out Boston’s colonial history before you on the very streets where the city’s most transformative events unfolded several hundred years ago.

The thinking behind the design of the Freedom Trail is attributed to William Schofield, a former travel writer for the Boston Herald. He noticed that visitors eager to immerse themselves in the city’s historic past were having trouble finding the landmarks they were looking for. Schofield proposed a solution – Link the most important sites in a numbered sequence along a clearly marked, easy to follow trail that could be walked from end to end without the chance of getting rerouted or lost. There was also the idea that the Freedom Trail would’ve been a typical path to walk for the average colonist back in the day, further enhancing the sensation of traveling back in time.

• Begin your journey at the Boston Common Visitor Information Center located at 139 Tremont Street and conclude at the USS Constitution in Charlestown.
  • Boston Common
    • Boston Common was established in 1634 and is on the List of National Historic Landmarks. Today, this expansive green space is the starting point of the Freedom Trail and the anchor of the Emerald Necklace, a system of connected parks that winds through various Boston neighborhoods. Its long history includes being used as  campgrounds for British Troops, the site of public executions and the place where several notable visionaries and leaders gave legendary speeches including Martin Luther King Jr., Pope John Paul II, and Gloria Steinem. Today, Boston Common is still a place for many public gatherings, festivals, events, concerts, and sports as well as a pleasant place to jog, bike and walk while enjoying the pretty scenery. Located at the foot of Beacon Hill.
  • Massachusetts State House RESTROOMS
    • In the distinctive gold-domed building atop Beacon Hill, the past meets the present. On weekdays, you can discover Massachusetts’ history on a free tour of the center of the state government. The building, completed in 1798, was designed by Charles Bulfinch to replace the Old State House.

In addition to housing the state government, the State House also displays various portraits of governors, murals depicting the state’s heritage, and statues inside and on its grounds. The building is recognizable because of its dome sheathed in copper and covered by 23 karat gold, as seen in the film The Departed.

• Park Street Church
  • The Park Street Church was founded in 1809 by 26 locals who were mainly former members of the Old South Meeting House. The church became known as Brimstone Corner, possibly because the area was used for the storage of gunpowder during the War of 1812. In 1816, the Park Street Church joined the Old South Church and formed the City Mission Society, which served Boston’s poor. The church was the site of many firsts, including the nation’s first Sunday School in 1818, first prison aid in 1824, and William Lloyd Garrison’s first public statement against slavery in 1829. Park Street Church can be seen from the various surrounding neighborhoods because of its steeple, rising 217 ft. high. Open to visitors summer time only.
  • Granary Burying Ground
    • Founded in 1660, the Granary Burying Ground is the third oldest burying ground in Boston. During the Revolution, the area where the Park Street Church now stands had been used to hold grain, which is the reason for the burying ground’s name. Located on Tremont Street, the following famous individuals are buried in the Granary Burying Grounds: Peter Faneuil, Sam Adams, Crispus Attacks, John Hancock, James Otis, Robert Treat Paine, Paul Revere, and members of Ben Franklin’s family.
  • King’s Chapel & Burying Ground
    • Kings Chapel is a Christian Unitarian church located on Tremont and School Streets. The church was organized in 1686 as an Anglican Church. In 1785 it became the oldest member of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the first Anglican Church. Beside the church is the Kings Chapel Burying Ground, which was Boston’s only burial ground for 30 years. Many historical figures are buried here, including John Winthrop, the colony governor, William Dawes, who rode with Paul Revere on the Midnight Ride, Mary Chilton, the first woman off the Mayflower, and William Emerson, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s father. The original building was a wooden church built in 1688 and it was replaced by the current stone building in 1754. The bell was hung in 1772 and was recast by Paul Revere in 1814; it still rings at services today.
  • Boston Latin School Site/Benjamin Franklin Statue
    • Established in 1635, the Boston Latin School was the first public school in America. By inviting boys of any social class to enter, the school set a precedent for tax-supported public education. The Boston Latin School’s curriculum is inspired by the 18th century latin-school movement, which centered on the idea that study of the classics was the basis of an educated mind. Some of the school’s most famous students were Ben Franklin, Samuel Adams, Henry Ward Beecher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Hancock, and Leonard Bernstein. A statue of Benjamin Franklin keeps a watchful eye on the site and a mosaic on the sidewalk behind King’s Chapel marks the spot as well.
  • Old Corner Bookstore
    • The Old Corner Bookstore, located on the corner of School and Washington Streets, was built in 1718 as an apothecary shop and residence. During the 19th century, it housed the Ticknor and Fields Publishing House and later became the literary center of Boston. Authors such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau brought manuscripts here to be published. It is now known as the Globe Corner Bookstore and specializes in New England travel books and maps. Before the Old Corner Bookstore was built, the original building was the home of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, who was condemned for her dissent from Puritan orthodoxy.
  • Old South Meeting House RESTROOMS
    • The Old South Meeting House was the largest building in colonial Boston and stands today as a symbol of the right to free speech and free assembly. The most well known meeting that took place here was held by the Sons of Liberty on December 16, 1773. The discussion in protest of the British tax on tea led directly to the Boston Tea Party, which took place later that very evening. 5,000 colonists gathered in the Old South Meeting House that day, an example of one of the larger crowds that could not have been accommodated by Faneuil Hall.
  • Old State House Museum RESTROOMS
    • The Old State House, built in 1713 on the site of the first Town House, is the oldest surviving public building in Boston. The building served as a meeting place for the exchange of economic and local news and was said to be the center of politics in the colonies. The Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony on the east side of the building, and just below it is the spot where the Boston Massacre took place. The Old State House is one of the most important public buildings in the U.S.
  • Boston Massacre Site
    • On March 5, 1770, the tension from the British military occupation of Boston escalated into the event now referred to as the Boston Massacre. There was heavy military presence in downtown Boston in order to maintain control over civilians and to enforce the Townshend Act. Various brawls between soldiers and civilians had taken place; but the evening of March 5th was the first to result in civilian deaths. Today the site of the massacre is marked by a cobblestone ring on the traffic island at the intersection of Devonshire and State Streets.
  • Faneuil Hall
    • One of Boston’s most well known historic sites, Faneuil Hall Marketplace was constructed in 1742 and served as a marketplace and meeting hall since it first opened its doors. Named after the wealthy merchant who provided funding for the hall, Peter Faneuil, this significant structure has been the site of many important and inspirational speeches by famed Americans, including Samuel Adams. When visiting Boston, a stop here is definitely a must do.
  • Paul Revere House
    • Built in 1680, the unimposing wooden house at 19 North Square is the oldest house in downtown Boston. The 3-story building was the home of silversmith and Boston Patriot Paul Revere from 1770-1800, previously housing the parsonage of the Second Church of Boston. Revere sold the house in 1800 and it became a tenement with the ground floor used for shops and various businesses over the years. In 1902, Revere’s great-grandson purchased the property and restored it so that it could be opened to the public. In 1908, after restoration by architects and preservationists, the Paul Revere House opened to the public as one of the earliest historic house museums in Boston and the U.S.
      • Paul Revere Mall
      • Clough House at Old North Quaint shop for 18th century-style candy
      • NORTH END
        • Mike’s
        • Modern

• Old North Church (RESTROOMS)
  • Officially called Christ Church, the Old North Church is the oldest church building in Boston, a National Historic Landmark, and a stop on the Freedom Trail. Built in 1723, the Old North Church was inspired by the works of Christopher Wren, a British architect. It is most commonly known as the first stop on Paul Revere’s “Midnight Ride,” where he instructed three Boston Patriots to hang two lanterns in the church’s steeple. The lanterns were used to inform Charlestown Patriots that the British were approaching by sea and not by land.

THE OLD NORTH CHURCH IS a national historic landmark. Constructed in 1723, it is the oldest standing church building in Boston. Officially known as Christ Church in the City of Boston, it’s an active Episcopal Church.

High-Walled Box Pews were privately sold and ornately decorated by their wealthy owners from 1723 until 1912.

On April 18th, 1775, the city of Boston was under the military occupation of over 4,500 British troops under the direction of General Thomas Gage, the military governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. The colonists were unhappy with General Gage because he had recently sent troops into the Massachusetts countryside to search for, and capture, arms and ammunitions stockpiled by colonists One particularly large stockpile was hidden 20 miles away in Concord. Gage decided to send 700 troops out to capture it.

The city of Boston was only about 780 acres at the time so word traveled fast, and soon enough the Son’s of Liberty caught on and took action. They identified their two fastest riders, William Dawes and Paul Revere, and ordered them to get to Lexington by separate routes to warn John Hancock and Sam Adams.

Since the city was under siege and colonists were under a strict curfew of 10:00 pm, a backup plan was devised just in case neither of the two men were able to sneak out. Revere enlisted the help of over 30 additional trusted patriots and asked them to wait across the Charles River in Charlestown to watch the steeple of The Old North Church every night. They did this until they saw signal lanterns shining from it, the number of which indicated which route the British would take.

One signal lantern meant that the British were leaving by land, two meant they’d take a water route, leaving their base in the Boston Common. Revere arranged for his contacts at the Old North Church to send the signal lanterns out to the men across the river. When the men received the signals, they immediately took off for Lexington and Concord in separate directions alerting friends and family along the way.

By the time the British troops arrived in Lexington and Concord, the message had spread far and wide. The colonists were armed and ready to ambush them igniting the famous “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” The Battles of Lexington and Concord, and thus the American Revolutionary War.

• Know Before You Go

A self-guided tour of the church is $5, with Old North’s knowledgeable educators on hand to answer questions.

• Visitors to Old North can walk through box pews, admire the 17th-century angels flanking the church’s 1759 organ, and see a bust of George Washington that the Marquis de Lafayette praised for its accuracy. Guests can also take a guided tour of the church’s crypt, where over 1,100 bodies are interred, for an additional $5. For more information, visit www.oldnorth.com
  • Copp’s Hill Burying Ground
    • The gravestones in Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, Boston’s second oldest burying ground, tell the story of the population of the North End in colonial times. Originally known as Windmill Hill, the hill took the name of William Copp, a shoemaker who donated the land for a burying ground in 1659. It is the place of rest for thousands of artisans, craftspeople, and merchants. Some of the well-known individuals are Increase and Cotton Mather, of the family of ministers, Robert Newman, sexton of the Old North Church at the time of Paul Revere’s ride, Edmund Hart, shipyard owner and builder of the USS Constitution, and Shem Drowne, the artist who made the weathervane for Faneuil Hall, among others.
      • Skinny House (Spite House) – The uncontested skinniest house in Boston was built as part of its neighboring structure. Not out of “spite” as a popular but apocryphal story goes.  Originally, 48 and 46 Hull Street encompassed the present-day footprint of 44 Hull Street too. Eventually, those two structures were split into three – with 46 and 48 Hull being converted to brick. Only 44 Hull Street (aka the “Skinny House”) remains as part of the original wooden structure.
• Hop On Trolley at Stop 2 Historic North End
• Stop 3 – USS Constitution/Charlestown Navy Yard

• USS Constitution – Old Ironsides
  • Bunker Hill Monument
  • USS Cassin Young
  • National Park Service Visitor Center

• Stop 4 – North Station/TD Garden

• Amtrak
  • Boston Bruins Pro Shop
  • Commuter Rail
  • Sports Museum

• Stop 5 – Downtown Crossing/Historic District

• Old State House Museum
  • Old South Meeting House
  • Historic Faneuil Hall
  • Macy’s
  • Samuel Adams Taproom

• Stop 6 – Beacon Hill/Antique Row – Get Off Here
  • Acorn Street
    • One of the most photographed streets in the city, Acorn Street offers visitors a reminiscent ride back to colonial Boston. It was on this lovely street that 19th century artisans and trades people lived and today the row houses are considered to be a prestigious address in Beacon Hill.
    • Blackbird Donuts — 175 Cambridge St—it may be a hike?
      • Our doughnuts are made from scratch each morning. The dedicated team of bakers starts their magic at 3am to make sure you get the freshest, most delicious product every single day. Our glazes and fillings are made from scratch too. Sure, we buy a few decorations (Oreos, sprinkles, gingerbread men) but that’s pretty much it.
  • Make Way for Ducklings Statue
    • A family of nine —A mother and her eight offspring—have lived in Boston Public Garden for 30 years. They are the bronze statues of the “Mallard” family, from the 1941 classic children’s book Make Way For Ducklings, and they have been a family favorite in the park since their installation in 1987.
    • In the book, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard comes to Boston to look for a home and are excited by the beautiful Public Garden. But after seeing humans walking and cycling around fast, they deem it too dangerous for their soon-to-be-born ducklings. After the ducklings hatch, Mrs. Mallard teaches them to swim and watch out for themselves, and the family comes back to a tiny island in the garden’s lagoon.
    • The entire brood—Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack—have taken up 35 feet on old Boston cobblestone in the park. The family is quite fashionable and is dressed up in seasonal costumes, or sports jerseys if the local teams are doing well.
  • Old State House Museum
  • Historic Houses on Beacon Hill
  • Mass. General Hospital
  • Esplanade Park and Hatch Shell

WALK TO CHEERS

• Stop 7 – Cheers (The Original)
  • “Where everybody knows your name!” 
  • Gibson House Museum

Hop back on Trolley at Stop 7

• Stop 8 – Prudential Center / Skywalk Observatory

• Hynes Convention Center
  • How Do You See the World? + Mapparium Globe
  • The Shops at Prudential Center
  • Fenway Park
  • Red Sox Team Store

• Stop 9 – Christian Science Plaza/Symphony Hall

• Museum of Fine Arts (via green line subway)
  • Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
  • The Shops at Prudential Center

• Stop 10 – Copley Place Mall
  • Boston Marriott Copley Place Hotel
  • Copley Square/Trinity Church
  • Boston Public Library             
  • Newbury Street boutiques
  • Back Bay
  • Bostix
• Stop 11 – Copley Square / Back Bay
  • Trinity Church – Boston’s Trinity Church was founded in 1733 and was originally located in downtown Boston. After the Great Boston Fire of 1872, the church complex moved to its current location and construction was completed in 1877. The impressive church was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson and is the first instance of the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Trinity Church is a Boston landmark and a cultural center for the city.
  • Boston Public Library
  • Newbury Street
• Stop 12 – Old Town Trolley Welcome Center

• Edgar Allen Poe Statue –  THE HOUSE WHERE EDGAR ALLAN Poe was born on January 19, 1809, no longer exists. Neither does the street on which the house stood, since the whole area was demolished during an urban renewal project many decades ago. However, in 2009 on the 200th anniversary of Poe’s birth, Boston renamed the small plaza across the street from the southwest corner the “Common Edgar Allan Poe Square” and installed a street sign according. The plaza is near the theater district at the intersection of Boylston and Charles Streets, close to where Poe’s house once stood.

In that same square, but predating its dedication by twenty years, is a plaque affixed to the side of one of the buildings that is dedicated to Poe. The building  currently houses a burrito joint. Nearby, at 15 Fayette Street, some Bostonian has installed a teacup-saucer-sized bronze medallion with a relief of Poe on a red-brick, black-shuttered building. A hand-made list of residents dubs the building “Poe Condominium.”

• Theater District
  • Boston Public Garden/Swan Boats
  • Chinatown (short walk)
  • Boston Common Garage
  • Boch Center
  • Nusr-Et

• Stop 13 – Beacon Hill/Boston Common

• Beginning of Freedom Trail
  • Black Heritage Trail
  • Otis House Museum
  • King’s Chapel
  • Historic Burying Grounds
  • Park Street Church
  • Downtown Crossing

Stop Trolly here or continue on … IF WE CONTINUE ON, WE ARE STUCK ON TROLLEY UNTIL STOP 5

• Stop 14 – Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
• Stop 15 – Boston Convention Center
• Stop 16 – Cruise Ship Terminal
• Stop 17 – Boston Fish Pier

Boston Old Town Trolley Tours — https://www.trolleytours.com/boston

Union Oyster House

41 Union St, Boston, MA 02108

Located in a 1740s building near Faneuil Market on one of the first lanes laid out by the Puritans in 1636, Union Oyster House dates back to 1826 and claims to be the oldest restaurant in Boston.

IN 1826, A RESTAURANT KNOWN AS the Atwood and Bacon Oyster House opened on Boston’s Union Street. It’s been serving up grub ever since. Now known as the Union Oyster House, it ranks among the oldest restaurants in the United States and claims to be the oldest continuously-operated eatery in the country.

The restaurant’s historical connections stretch back before it even opened, thanks to the building in which it is located (which was listed as a national historic landmark in 2003). Built in the early 1700s, it originally housed a clothing and dry goods store named Capen’s. In 1771, the second floor was home to The Massachusetts Spy newspaper, published by Isaiah Thomas, a thorn in the side of the Royalist government. The building’s most surprising resident was none other than the exiled Prince Philippe of France. The prince lived on the second floor for a few months in the late 1790s, later returning to France to take the throne as Louis Philippe I.

When the space became known as the Union Oyster House, the steady flow of famous faces was far from over. Its oysters, clams, and scallops, served from the same semicircular oyster bar that exists today, were a hit with both locals and visiting dignitaries alike. One of the restaurant’s most notable patrons was the American statesman Daniel Webster. He often pulled up a chair to the oyster bar, where he would order a tall tumbler of brandy and water, then devour half a dozen oysters, before repeating the process at least six times.

During his time as a representative and senator, John F. Kennedy often dined alone at the Oyster House, preferring one particular booth on the second floor. In his quiet and secluded booth, Kennedy would unfurl his newspaper and enjoy a lunch of lobster soup. The “Kennedy Booth” has since been dedicated to the president and features a gold plaque with a portrait of JFK.

But Kennedy wasn’t the only president to have dined at the Union Oyster House: Calvin Coolidge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama have all come for a bite to eat (Obama ordered 10 chowders to go). The walls are now covered with photos and paintings of these and other notable patrons.

As for the food, it’s good, old New England fare: homemade crab cakes, broiled Boston scrod, clam chowder, Boston baked beans, lobster, and, of course, as many oysters as you can eat.

Know Before You Go

With such a rich history, the Union Oyster House is understandably a tourist attraction as well as just being a restaurant. So yes, it has its touristy side, as attested by the attached gift shop. But locals still frequent the restaurant, and the downsides of the Union’s popularity are offset by the sheer history of the place.

NIGHT PUB CRAWL

Boston: Haunted Pub Crawl of Historic Pubs and Taverns

AND/OR

Boston Ghost Tours With Ghosts & Gravestones – if we do this, get Boston Day and Night Tour Package for $89.15 … meet at Marriott Long Wharf Hotel on 200 Atlantic Avenue, corner of State Street

AND/OR

Sunday, July 16

Brunch

Bootleg Special

Brunch Hours: Sat – Sun 11am -2:30pm

Or

The Friendly Toast Sun

Waitlist usually opens at 8:00 am via https://www.thefriendlytoast.com/locations

35 Stanhope St

Back Bay, MA 02116

Chambers Pl & Massachusetts Tpk Ra

Back Bay

8:00 AM – 5:00 PM