Tuesday, October 05, 2004

Best Birthday Evar!

yesterday after work, i had to rush home, shower real quick, get dressed, gather up clothes for the next day, and then head over to phillip's house. i had 15 minutes to get there, so i took a taxi. that got me to his house with enough time to grab my purse and head out to the bus stop. man, i was feeling frazzled by the time we got on the bus!

of course, phillip kept everything a big secret, so i had no idea where he was taking me. we got on the bus by his house and got off at park street. after park street we got on the green line to the blue line and ended up getting off at the aquarium. i said "we're going to the aquarium again!?" and he said "maybe...". we walked to where the boats are set up and had a seat on one of the benches. he asked me if i had any idea what we were going to do and i said "are we going on a boat?" and he said "maybe..." this went on for a while, till i couldn't guess any more. so at 7:00 phillip said "so you want to know what we're doing?" and i said "yes!" we got up, and walked about ten feet and i saw:






i was so excited! i loved when we took the trolley tour around boston when we went to the aquarium that day. but this was a spooky trolley tour! and the night was perfect. it was cool, but not too cold and clear. so phillip bought our tickets from the strange pirate guy:




we boarded the trolley and sat in the back. i love how phillip lets me sit by the window wherever we go.




the trolley began it's tour, and the woman who was the "sister of a grave digger" wasn't that great of an actor. she was kind of grating. anyway, our first stop was copp's hill burying ground in the north end. we all got out of the trolley and walked through the cemetery. it was pretty cool to hear the story of copp's hill.
    Copp's Hill Burying Ground is Boston's second oldest burying ground. It was first founded in 1659 as Windmill Hill. The area got its name because a a shoemaker, William Copp, once owned the land. Thousands of artisans, craftspeople, and merchants are buried on the Hill. Additionally, thousands of blacks who lived in the "New Guinea" community at the base of Copp's Hill are buried in unmarked graves on the Snowhill Street side. Also interred at Copp's Hill are the Mather family of ministers; shipyard owner Edmund Hartt; Robert Newman, best know for placing the signal lanterns in the steeple of the "Old North" Church on the eve of the Battle of Lexington and Concord; Shem Drowne, the weathervane maker who crafted the grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall; and Prince Hall, the anti-slavery activist and founder of the Black Masonic Order. you can read more about it here.


here are some spooky pictures we took while in the cemetery:








the steeple of the old north church



and look, or tour guide is possessed!




after copp's hill, we made our way back to the trolley to head over to the boston common.



we got off the trolley at the boston common and heard about how the settlers would torture/execute women who were too gossipy by putting a hot poker through their tongues. we also heard about how people would gather here to watch public hangings from the big oak tree in the center of the common. the tree isn't there anymore since it was struck by lightning. i took a picture of the steeple again. this one is much better:




we then went into the granary burying ground where we saw the grave stones of john hancock, paul revere and samuel adams. it was too dark to take any good pictures of the individual headstones, but here are some shots we got:






this picture creeps me out because i can't tell if phillip has his eyes open or closed!


this tour guide guy was annoying too. he did a really bad cockney accent. i wanted to tell him, but i bet it would hurt his feelings ;)






after the granary cemetery, we got back on the trolley and drove around hearing about lizzie borden, the boston strangler, and edgar allen poe. the tour guide had us scream at random pedestrians. i loved it. how often do you get to scream at people and have them not threaten bodily harm?? heehee. the tour lasted almost 2 hours and it was really fun.




so what did we learn on the tour? we learned about:

  • Boston Harbor's mythical Lady In Black
  • The ghostly happenings of Beacon Hill
  • The dark story behind Lewis Wharf's real House of Usher
  • The legend of The Bannshee's Scream
  • The disturbing details behind the Most Haunted Building In Boston
  • The shadowy traveler who began the tradition of Boston's Bad Drivers
  • The book that was bound in human skin
  • The real story behind Boston–native Edgar Allen Poe's grisly "The Cask of Amontillado"
  • Phantom Ships sailing along with full cargo holds and NO CREW
  • The enduring mystery of The Boston Strangler
  • The eerie secrets of The Omni Parker House Hotel
  • Boston Common's "Hanging Tree"
  • The exact weight of a human soul
  • The grim tale of Jessee Harding Pomeroy, Boston's own Bogeyman
  • And much, much more!


  • we made our way back to phillip's neighborhood and went to the longhorn for dinner. i don't know why, but i was craving the chicken fingers so bad. i ordered a raspberry margarita that was so good too. phillip had a cheeseburger and some of my chicken fingers. the dinner was awesome, but i didn't have any room for their yummy cheesecake. and everyone knows that cheesecake is my favorite!


    you gotta love the decor in there. a bull with a hat on! har! har!




    when we got home, i was surprised to find that phillip had bought these awesome chocolate truffles for dessert. oh my god. they tasted even better than they looked.




    it was so cute that he bought candles and put them in the truffles. i blew the candles out and then phillip sang "happy birthday" to me. have i mentioned yet in this post how awesome and adorable he is??






    phillip gave me a totally cute card and a halloween bag filled with candy and, of course, THE SIMS 2!!










    it was an awesome birthday and i have my amazing boyfriend to thank. i love it when he surprises me and he always goes all out for me. i couldn't be more thankful to have such a wonderful guy! i was so stuffed with food and chocolate and love that we went to bed at 11:00! we cuddled and talked for a while and i fell asleep soon after. it was a great night! phillip's birthday is in one month, so i will have to think of something special to do for him :)

    No comments: