Today was another long day of walking. We started out by visiting the Boston Public Library. Quite an amazing library...I'd have a hard time finding what I wanted. But really an amazing site.
In the library, there's a room dedicated to an exhibit of John Adams' library. It featured his books that had been recovered and as well as displaying many of his books that contained his own notes, scribbles, etc. It was neat to see, "very curious" scribbled next to a line in one of his books. One thing in particular that I noticed was this statement made about him: "Adams could not resist the temptations presented by books and spent enormous sums on them, however meager his income." This reminded me immediately of
Patricia. So, pea, you shouldn't feel bad about buying books...look where it got John Adams. ;-)
After leaving the library we came across a farmer's market where we bought a chocolate croissant from a local baker. Then we went to Trinity Church. It was built between 1872-77. I can't imagine how they built such amazing buildings before there were cranes and other modern construction equipment. There was so much intricate detail.
Chris has posted some pictures of this (and other pictures from today), so be sure to check out his blog.
By the time we left the church, our memory card for the digital camera was full so we had to trek back to the hotel so we could download the pictures to the computer before heading out again. Once that was done we headed toward the Beacon Hill area and had lunch at Cheers. There are two locations here in Boston. The one we ate at was the restaurant that Cheers was originally inspired from. The food was quite good.
From Cheers we walked to the Science Museum to see the BodyWorlds 2 exhibit. It was a little pricey (at $26 each) but it was worth it. I'm not sure I'd ever get a chance to see anything like it. They were real human bodies that had been through a process called plastination, which enabled their muscles, tendons, bones, organs, etc. to be preserved. So, if you can imagine (we were not able to take pictures) human bodies posed in various positions without skin. This made it possible to see the various muscles, tendons and organs within our bodies.
All I can say is that it's an amazing testimony to our wonderful Creator. I'm not sure how, after seeing something like that, people can continue to believe that our bodies were accidentally created as a result of some big bang. Impossible. Perhaps one of the most moving parts of the exhibit was a woman who died during her pregnancy. Her body, and the baby she carried, were displayed. Her skin and muscles were pulled back so you could see the baby inside her.
I thought it might be gory, but it really wasn't. The muscles and tendons kind of looked like beef jerky (not to be disrespectful but just to try to help you imagine what we saw). They also had preserved capillaries which were really amazing...not sure I can even try to describe that. Oh...I forgot. They also had an adult camel, baby camel and a colt that had been plastinated.
With the purchase of the tickets to that exhibit, we also received tickets to enter the main part of the museum. We wandered around a bit and then decided to buy tickets (only $4 each) to go into the Butterfly Garden. Those who know me can appreciate that this was a little bit of a stretch for me. I know butterflies are pretty (and harmless) but I'm not big on things flying around me. Anyway, we only stayed in for a few minutes because it was HOT in there but it was really neat and I'm glad we did it. They actually had mirrors before the exit so you could check to make sure you didn't have any "hitchhiking" butterflies. =)
After leaving the museum we started on our trek back to the hotel. But decided, instead, to head over the Longfellow Bridge, to MIT. Fortunately, we found a Dunkin' Donuts (surprise, surprise...since there are 98 in Boston) and stopped for coffee and a donut on the way. One of my coworkers, Tim, suggested that if we made it over to MIT that we go to the Reading Room in the Engineering Library. It was really cool...and very, very quiet. We passed some MIT students as we were leaving the building. How come I'm not surprised that I heard the phrase, "intersecting parabalas" while on the MIT campus?
From there we headed back over the Charles River on the Harvard Bridge and caught a crew team out practicing. We made it back to the hotel a little after six...after heading out this morning around 10:00 a.m. We've ordered a pizza for dinner...don't laugh...we're really tired!
We head home tomorrow...can't wait to see the doggies! I miss them so much. Our flight isn't until around 3:00 p.m. so we'll get in some walking time in the morning before we have to head to the airport. Someday my feet will recover from this adventure.
Here are some pictures from today's adventure. Hope you enjoy.
A card catalogue at the Boston Public Library.
Do you remember when this was all there was?
Me at Cheers.
The sign for the BodyWorlds 2 Exhibit.
The only thing we could capture on film.
A butterfly in the Science Butterfly Garden.
Another butterfly.
Me in the reading room at the MIT Engineering Library.
(There's a guy sleeping behind me.)
A crew team rowing in the Charles River.
Sure does bring back memories from my high school rowing days.
He went under the table and would periodically turn his head to look back at me. Eventually I got him out and cleaned his ears.
