Samuel Adams Brewery

Besides the Minuteman National Park I also checked out the Sam Adams Brewery. They're in an old building and have a pretty small operation going. They told us about the four main ingredients in any beer: hop, yeast, malt, and hops; the brewing process, and we got to try some of their beers including one which they don't have on the market yet: their Independence brew. 

Model of the brewery

Outside of the brewery

Sam Adams hold the record for the most awards ever won by a brewery. I can believe it with every award they put on display.

They had all their different brews displayed from their classic Boston Lager to their single brew series. There are other things on display like different keg and taps

The actual brewery which is pretty small

This is Erik out guide. He is pretty knowledgable and entertaining

The glass that everyone in the tour got

Minuteman National Park

I went to Minuteman National Park where the "shot heard round the world" was fired at Concord. This is the first armed confrontation between colonists and the British. There were about 400 colonists against 96 British. This site is really the birthplace of the Revolutionary War. In this first skirmish two colonials and 3 British were killed with the British retreating back to Boston under fire the whole time. 

Plaque at the site of the conflict

"On the morning of April 19, 1775 approximately

400 colonials stood on the hill overlooking the

North Bridge. As smoke rose from Concord center,

the order to march was given. In the exchange

of fire that followed Captain Issac Davis, who 

had exclaimed "I haven't a man who is afraid to go"

was killed together with Abner Hosmer, a private, 

also from action"

This hilltop in Muster Field is where the militia from the surrounding area gathered before facing the British. They were reacting to the British who were trying to seize arms from the colonists. Paul Revere was part of a  team of people who were to warn the militia of the British coming for their arms .

This is the site where the first shots of the Revolution were taken. The site is North Bridge and this is only a reconstructed one on the original site. The picture is taken from the militia's side. 

From the Manse House boathouse

Walking up on it. The right side is the colonial militia and the left is where the British were. 

Monument for the spot where the colonists stood

Engraving on the statue:

"By the rude bridge that

arched the flood,

Their flag to April's

breeze unfurled,

here once the embattled 

farmers stood,

and fires the shot

heard round the world."

This obelisk is where the British stood

Engraving on the obelisk:

"Here 

on the 19th of April

1775

was made

the first forcible resistance

to British aggression

on the opposite bank

stood the American Militia

here stood the invading army 

on this spot 

the first of the enemy fell

in the War of the Revolution

which gave

independence

to the United States

in gratitude to God 

and 

in the love of freedom

this monument was erected

1836"

This is the Old Manse House very near to the bridge at the time of the shots. The house was built for Reverend William Emmerson who is the grandfather of Ralph Waldo Emmerson. Emmerson wrote some of his famous works here and eventually the house became owned by Nathaniel Hawthorne and visited by Henry David Thoreau. Manse means reverend in Gaelic I believe, so the house's name is literally "Old Reverend's House"

This is the boat house of the Old Manse House

Colonial Militia uniform

British Redcoat

This musket was actually at the conflict and may have actually fired the first shot from the colonists. 

Boston Fireworks Show

These guys up here sure do know how to make some fireworks. I wasn't at the main event since you just about couldn't bring anything with you and you got searched, I sat on a hillside in the Public Garden where a lot of of people watched the show from.

New England Aquarium

I saw that there is a big aquarium here in Boston and I haven't been to one in a while so I checked this one out. It's pretty big and they got about everything I could think of. The layout is nice, there's a central round tank that is 5 stories tall with a ramp all the way up so you can go from the top to the bottom right against the glass, then there's regular floors with a bunch of different exhibits. 

These seals were actually on the outside of the building. For some reason they like to swim upsidedown. 

This is just a tidal environment with small fish and corals. 

Stingray exhibit where you could touch them

Multiple jellyfish tanks with quite a few different types. There are lights in the bottom of the tanks so the jellyfish light up and you can see all their parts. 

Penguins

A few different coral reefs

They have a whole whale skeleton hanging from the roof

Freshwater tanks

Sea Dragons, a cousin of Se Horses

Small sea horses

A couple of Amazon tanks

With an Andaconda

Piranha

Electric Eel

I forget the name of these little guys but they're a bird that's always seen on the shoreline

Flounder from the same exhibit as the birds 

The thing that is above the red rock is a fish

Octopuss

Just some random smaller tanks

This is that large round tanks. I went from the top to the bottom and they have about everything in there including sharks and sea turtles. I think there is supposed to be an eel in there but I couldn't find it. 

The last exhibit outside had sea lions