Last Day at Hanscom AFB

This morning we took Tinker to a vet near here to have him tested for Lyme Disease. He's been on antibiotics since May 10 and he needed to be tested before we can start with the Lyme vaccine. His tests showed an elevated PH in his urine and the vet said we needed to take care of that before starting with the Lyme vaccine. We're to give him vitamin C every day to see if it will correct his PH level. She didn't seem to think that Tinker has a serious problem with the elevated PH since he's not showing any symptoms.

We spent the rest of the day preparing for our departure tomorrow.

Minute Man National Historical Park and Concord, MA

This morning we drove to the Minute Man National Historical Park. Our first stop was at the Minute Man Visitor Center. There we saw the multimedia presentation, “The Road to Revolution”, which tells of the historic events of April 19, 1775. It shows Paul Revere's ride, the battles at Lexington Green, North Bridge and along the Battle Road. There were actually 3 Midnight Riders - Paul Revere, Dr. Samuel Prescott and William Dawes. We told one of the Rangers that this was the best multimedia program that we had seen.


We stopped next at Paul Revere’s capture site. On Apr 19, 1775 at 1:30 a.m. Paul Revere was captured. William Dawes fled to Lexington and Dr. Samuel Prescott escaped and continued to Concord and beyond.


We visited the Hartwell Tavern, a 1733 historic home and tavern on the Battle Road. Ephraim and Elizabeth Hartwell owned the prosperous farm and tavern where travelers to and from Boston stopped and shared the latest news of the day.

From Concord, MA and Minute Man National Historical Park

Further on down the road we stopped to ask directions of a gentleman working in his yard and found out that the National Park Service had purchased many of the homes in the park - including his home. The National Park Service had renovated the homes and then rented them out. This gentleman was renting his old home from the Park Service. He told us that there were several vacant homes that had been renovated, but hadn't been rented.

From Concord, MA and Minute Man National Historical Park

We then went on to Concord to the North Bridge where the colonial militia was first ordered to fire on British regulars - "the shot heard 'round the world".  The first monument we saw was for the Grave of the British Soldiers. There are 2 soldiers buried there (British military records say there are 3 soldiers buried there); the third soldier is buried in Concord center.

From Concord, MA and Minute Man National Historical Park

The Minute Man statue is across the Concord River on the other side of the North Bridge. The original bridge, the "battle bridge", was torn down in 1788. The current bridge is a restoration of the last bridge built in 1956. The 1956 bridge is the fifth bridge built here since the battle.

From Concord, MA and Minute Man National Historical Park

The Minute Man statue represents a farmer who leaves his plow and picks up his musket to defend his land and liberty. The statue is the logo for the National Guard.

From Concord, MA and Minute Man National Historical Park

We then followed the path to the North Bridge Visitor Center. It is housed in the Buttrick Mansion which was built by descendants of Major John Buttrick, the colonial officer who gave the command to fire at the North Bridge. We saw a short video about the fight at the North Bridge. On April 19, 1775 3500 colonial militia men and 1700 British soldiers engaged in battle which continued all the way back to Boston along the "Battle Road". The British came to Concord to confiscate the arms supply that was hidden there.

Inside the Visitor Center we saw a cannon called "The Hancock", a rare Revolutionary War brass cannon. This was cannon was among the munitions that the British Army wanted when it came to Concord. In September 1774 some Boston Patriots stole four brass cannons that were under British Guard and smuggled the cannons out of Boston. The brass cannons and 10 iron cannons were reported to be hidden in Concord - the reason the British came to Concord. In 1843 when the Bunker Hill monument opened the "Hancock" and the "Adams" (two of the brass cannons hidden at Concord) were mounted in the upper chamber of the monument. "The Hancock" is on loan to the Minute Man National Historical park from the Bunker Hill Monument Association (the "Adams" is still at the Bunker Hill Monument).

From Concord, MA and Minute Man National Historical Park

The inscription on "The Hancock" reads:

The Hancock ~ Sacred to Liberty. ~ This is one of four cannon, which constituted the whole train of Field Artillery, possessed by the British Colonies of North America, at the commencement of the war, on the 19th of April, 1775. ~ This cannon and its fellow belonging to a number of citizens of Boston, were used in many engagements during the war. The other two, the property of the Government of Massachusetts were taken by the enemy. ~ By order of the United States in Congress assembled ~ May 19th, 1788.

We had perfect weather today and we even saw people canoing on the Concord River at the North Bridge.

Before going back to the RV we stopped at the Hanscom AFB PX and had a late lunch at the Burger King there. Then we stocked up on groceries at the Commissary since we're leaving here on Tuesday.

New awning in at Camping World

We got a call today from Camping World at Chichester, NH telling us that our new awning is in. We've made an appointment on Tuesday, June 3, for the installation.

Mike made a reservation today for Balsam Cove Campground (Passport America) in East Orland, Maine for June 7-12.

Boston & Old Town Trolley Tour

Yesterday at the campground office I bought tickets for the Old Town Trolley Tour of Boston. The regular price for seniors is $31, but at the campground office I paid $26 for each ticket and we got a brochure showing a map of Boston and the route of the Trolley Tour. We were up early this morning to drive to the MBTA subway station at Alewife which is about 15 miles SE of Hanscom. We parked the car at the parking garage ($5 for the day) and followed other commuters from the parking garage to the subway station. There we paid $2 each for a ticket at a ticket vending machine. We rode the Red Line subway to the Kendall/MIT station (I had gone on the MBTA's website and found all the information I needed regarding parking and the subway schedules). We chose the Kendall/MIT station because one of the Old Town Trolley stops was right near there.

Our first stop on the Trolley Tour was at the Massachusetts State House. The cornerstone was laid July 4, 1795 by Gov. Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. The State House was completed in 1798 and is on the former site of John Hancock’s cow pasture. It's the oldest building on Beacon Hill and is one of the oldest state capitals in continuous use.

From Boston, MA

We then walked down to the Granary Burying Ground which is the 3rd oldest burying ground in Boston. There are 2345 gravesites in the Granary Burying Ground. Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere and Benjamin Franklin's parents are buried there.

From Boston, MA

We walked through part of Boston Common before heading to the Trolley Stop. The Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum should have been our next stop on the tour, but we were told that there had been a fire and it was closed for renovation. Our next stop was at Quincy Market where we ate lunch at Cheers (a recreation of the Cheers from the TV show).

From Boston, MA

We then visited Faneuil Hall which was built in 1742. It's called the "Cradle of Liberty" - town meetings were held here where colonial Boston patriots met to rally against the British oppression. From there we walked over to the Old State House. It is Boston’s oldest surviving public building. On July 18, 1776 Bostonians heard the first reading of the Declaration of Independence from the balcony. Here on March 5, 1770 five colonists were killed by British soldiers and that action became knows as the Boston Massacre -a key event leading to the American Revolution.

From Boston, MA

We got back on the Trolley and our next stop was at the Paul Revere house. It was built ca 1680 by Robert Howard who was a wealthy Puritan merchant. Paul Revere bought the house in 1770 and sold it in 1800. We couldn't take photos inside the house, so I bought some postcards and I've scanned them so I could include them with the photos that we did take.

From Boston, MA

Our next stop on the Trolley Tour was at the USS Constitution Museum. Here we saw exhibits detailing the history of "Old Ironsides" during peace time and in war. She was launched October 21, 1797 in Boston and cost $302,718. She was restored in 1997 and sailed under her own power for the first time in 116 years. The USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Her hull is made of live and white oak - 24" thick in some places. We then walked over to the USS Constitution to go onboard for a tour. We had to go through a security check and then wait for our Navy tour guide. The USS Constitution is undergoing a restoration now and her masts had been removed for painting. Once onboard we could only be on the upper deck, but she is still very impressive.

From Boston, MA

After our tour it was late afternoon and decided to pass on walking up the hill to see the Bunker Hill monument. While we were waiting for the next Trolley to come, several Duck Tours came by and everyone "quacked" when they passed by. We rode the Trolley back to the Kendall/MIT subway station. On the way we passed the oldest firehouse still operating in Boston, Fenway Park and the Christian Science Mother Church. We got to the subway station (bought 2 $2 tickets from ticket vending machine) in time for the 5 p.m. commute, so we rode standing up and shoulder to shoulder with the other commuters. Then back to the car and then home to the RV.

We highly recommend the Old Town Trolley Tour and they do have a package where you can buy tickets good for 2 days instead of touring Boston like we did in 1 day. We want to go back sometime to visit the USS Constitution, the Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum (when they aren't being renovated), Bunker Hill and to see some of the other sights we missed.

Generator Repaired

We were up early again this morning to head down to Cummins Northeast in Dedham to pick up our generator.

Again we waited in the customer waiting room while our generator was installed in the RV.

This time a young couple came into the waiting room while their truck was being repaired. They were a husband and wife team from Chicago. They were both originally from Romania. We talked about their experiences as truck drivers and we told them about being full-timing RV'ers.

After our generator had been installed, we invited them in to see the RV. We had to wait for the paperwork on the generator to be finished, so we continued visiting with them. By the time our paperwork was finished, their truck was repaired.

Our extended warranty on the RV paid for some of the generator repairs, but the valves had to be readjusted and the warranty company wouldn't pay for that. The service manager explained to them that the valves had to be adjusted due to the repairs and that it wasn't "routine maintenance". But the extended warranty company wouldn't budge and we had to pay for that ourselves plus our $50 deductible.

Gas Price on Post

Today we drove on post (the campground is actually outside the post) to get gas in the Vue at the post gas station. We paid $3.859 a gallon for regular.

Yesterday I bought groceries at the Hanscom commissary. They have a really nice commissary and PX there.

Appt at Cummins Northeast

We were up early this morning to take the RV to Cummins Northeast to have our generator worked on. It's located in Dedham, MA which is about 25 miles SE of Hanscom. Their service department opened at 7 a.m.

We stayed in their customer waiting room (Tinker went also) while they checked to see what was wrong with the generator. After a few hours we were told that the bolts that hold the rocker arms on one cylinder had come loose. We would have to leave the generator there for them to repair it. They are going to replace the plugs and re-torque the rocker arm bolts. We have to come back next Tuesday to have the generator installed.

While we were waiting for them to work on the generator, a truck driver came in to the waiting room while his truck was being repaired. We had seen the truck being towed in to the shop. It turned out that he would have to have a new engine or a rebuilt one installed in his truck. Since he was an independent trucker, he was going to have to pay for it himself. He had a family and kids getting ready to enter college and he was trying to figure out how to pay for the rebuilt engine. He said the cost of fuel was already eating into what profits he made and he wasn't sure what to do about replacing the engine. We left before he had made a decision and we wished him well.

Burlingame State Park to Hanscom AFB, MA

We left Burlingame State Park this morning about 10:30 and headed north on US-1. We stayed on US-1 until it connected with SR-138 where SR-138 crosses Narragansett Bay. The Newport Bridge which crosses Narragansett Bay is a toll bridge and our toll was $4 for the RV and the car. SR-138 becomes SR-24 and we continued north until we stopped at a rest area near Scotland, MA for lunch.

We stayed on SR-24 until we connected with I-95 south of Boston. Then we took SR-225 northwest for about a half mile to the turnoff for Hanscom AFB Famcamp. We arrived at the campground around 1:30 p.m. We're in Site #49 - a fairly level pull-through with a concrete patio. We have 50 amp electric and wifi. Hanscom Famcamp doesn't take reservations, but we had no problem getting a site.

From Boston, MA

After hooking up and getting settled in, Mike called the Camping World in Chicester, NH to order a new awning. Our RV insurance will cover the new awning and installation (less our deductible). Our insurance company said they would pay Camping World for the new awning and installation, but Camping World had to have everything paid for before they would order the awning. After we told the insurance company that we would pay for the awning and would have Camping World fax them the invoice where we paid for it, our insurance company agreed to mail us a check to reimburse us.