Walking the Streets of Boston 2 - On My Own

I am enamored with writers.    Many seek out movie or rock stars, I want to find writers.  They are the ones who rescue me, take me around the world and back in history; they introduce me to fascinating people and they give me something to think about and chew on for awhile.   They almost always make me look at things in a different light.

So it should come as no surprise that I wanted to seek out Boston's rich literary history.  I thought I had found the perfect means only to find out it was a 20 mile trail and the walking tour is only offered on Saturdays.   I did a lot of walking, but I don't think  know I could not walk 20 miles.   A little disappointed and feeling adventuresome, with my trolley map in hand, I took off on my own.  Each find pushed me further, until I realized I probably didn't have a good handle on where I was and I had been gone most of the day.

Here are some of my pictures:

Old Corner Bookstore is one of the oldest buildings in Boston.

It was an apothecary before becoming a bookstore,
 later occupied by publishers Tichner and Field.

  Thoreau, Holmes, Emerson, Longfellow,  Hawthorne, Stowe

and Dickens walked through those doors.

This is just outside the bookstore.   The two lines of bricks
surrounded by gray is the freedom trail.

It begins at The Boston Common and ends,
I believe, at Bunker Hill.I actually just happened

 on the trail and didn't stay on it, but it became my
compass during my day. 

King's Chapel

and burying ground.

Marker of Elizabeth Pain,  falsely rumored to be

the subject of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.

Her headstone is thought to be the inspiration for

the final passage in the book.

 Old Granary Cemetery

Franklin is not buried here, but 

Mary Goose, who is believed to be

the "real" Mother Goose is.
Most of the stones  are unreadable.

There were bookstores to browse

Nirvana!

After roaming the streets and alleyways
I found myself back at the Boston Commons
where I sat on a bench and enjoyed a cold bottle of water.

I found the ducklings

crossing the Public Gardens.
(Make Way for Ducklings)

I wanted to make it to the Public Library, but I realized it was late and
I was a little lost.  Once I arrived back at the hotel and looked over my
map I realized I had come so close.

I traveled over a lot of bricks

And, ended up needing several bandaids.

Oh, did I sleep well!