Through the decades, ye blog writer has managed to log more than a few miles in the Big City, Boston, but not until this past weekend was I able to tally some of those miles hitting sites that Andrew and I traversed during an epic father-son outing.
A tiny piece of background detail: Jack, bride-to-be Heather, Katie, and Zoe were, as Andrew and I hit the pavement, hitting the bridal shops on Newbury Street. The result of that bridal visit is a whole other topic altogether, and one which I can't post any pics to chronicle, for reasons that should seem obvious. (Hint: SHE SAID YES TO THE DRESS!) But I digress....
Andrew and I took advantage of the brilliant sunshine to instead explore many of the locales that millions of tourists come to Boston to enjoy. This particular morning, we had a clear passage through many of those pathways, as there wasn't an abundance of foot traffic on many of the routes.
So without further ado, a quick tourist's guide to some of the sights of beautiful Beantown. Hopefully you'll learn something about the Massachusetts capital in the process!
Our first mile took us across the Arthur Fiedler footbridge that spans Storrow Drive. The footbridge was built in 1953 and named after the legendary Boston Pops Orchestra conductor Arthur Fiedler, who led the Pops from 1930 to 1979. It connects the Back Bay to the Esplanade. This day, Andrew's feet barely touched the ground as he crossed over Storrow Drive.
From there, it was time to pay homage to Fiedler himself - his statue, erected in 1984, is made of 83 aluminum plates and was built by Lippincott of North Haven, Connecticut.
His bust faces the venue where he spent his decades leading the Pops.
Apologies for the back side, but Andrew captured me running alongside the legendary Charles River Esplanade.
The aforementioned concert venue, the Edward Hatch Memorial Shell, (The Hatch Shell), which was built in 1939 and plays host to the world-renown Boston Fourth of July celebration each year.
From there, we crossed the iconic Longfellow Bridge, which spans the Charles River and connects Boston to Kendall Square in Cambridge. The bridge was first opened to traffic in 1906.
The span is named for American poet and author Henry Wordsworth Longfellow, he of Paul Revere's Ride fame, among other notable works. In the background is the John Hancock tower, located near the terminus of the vaunted April Boston Marathon.
The bridge's ornamental stone towers have led many to call the bridge the Salt and Pepper Bridge due to the towers' shaker shapes.
On the Cambridge side of the Charles, the Cambridge Parkway was surprisingly free of much foot traffic, giving us the unimpeded run of the walkway.
The tyrannosaurus rex outside the Museum of Science is currently wearing a COVID-19 safety mask that's about five feet wide and took a museum staff member around 10 hours to custom-make!
The Leonard P. Zakim bridge was opened in 2003, and is an iconic A-frame cable bridge that brings Interstate 93 traffic into Boston's tunnels. Bruce Springsteen, a favorite of many regular readers of this blog, performed at the bridge's dedication. It's named for Boston area civil rights activist Zakim, who championed "building bridges between peoples."
True Story: Andrew claimed it as his own as a young lad nearly 20 years ago because he thought the A frame structure was an homage to his name. As a result, at least in Cook family circles, we still lovingly refer to it as the Andrew Bridge.
Heading toward the North End, we logged some steps across from the U.S.S. Constitution, seen in the background beyond the lumbering runner in green.
Berthed at Pier One in the Charlestown Navy Yard, Old Ironsides is a three-masted wooden-hulled frigate of the U.S. Navy, and is the world's oldest ship still afloat.
Didn't get to the traverse the North End streets made famous by 1970s Prince Spaghetti runner Anthony Martignetti, who found television immortality as a 12-year-old Italian immigrant sprinting through the North End to answer his mother's window beckons of "Anthony, Anthony!" (Sadly, Anthony died in 2020.)
We did, however, make it to the picturesque trellises of the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park on Boston Harbor.
Katie was busy documenting events at the aforementioned dress fitting, but we made sure to visit her workplace, the New England Aquarium, which was bustling this fine morning. (If you visit the aquarium, be sure to seek out guide Katie Cook for a plethora of marine life information!)
No visit to Boston would be complete without a pass through Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market - a treasure trove of shops and eateries. Oh, and a spinosaurus as well!
The Old State House was built in 1713 and was the seat of the Massachusetts General Court and is one of the oldest public buildings in the United States. It's the oldest surviving public building in Boston, and is now a history museum.
So naturally, we had to bridge the old to the new, and cross the Boston Common, with the current Massachusetts State House in the background.
Phew! There's obviously hundreds more landmarks we could have taken in, had we chosen to extend our 10K run a bit more. But the ladies - and a Cornish pasty lunch - awaited, so we had to call it a day. But an unforgettable day it was, indeed!
Feels like there's some more future running blogs waiting to be documented with another series of exploratory runs.
Andrew and I stand - and run - ready to accept the challenge.
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