The day I fainted

That's how we will all remember this day. I always wondered what it would be like to faint. I never planned on doing it, though. But a trip and fall in the Paul Revere Mall gave me a concussion, and taught me what it feels like to faint...or more like what it feels like to come to after fainting. After I had recovered, Abram took this picture of me.

The pictures below were taken at Dorchester Heights, in South Boston. It was about a 1.5 mile walk from the nearest T station to get to the park, but it was well worth it. The view of Boston and the Bay were amazing. It was super windy this day, so my hair looks a little crazy.

We were all pretty happy to find Dorchester Heights. Well, actually Jacob didn't care at all, but Abram and I were sure happy. The inscription on the stone says, "At this place the cannon brought by General Henry Knox from Fort Ticonderoga to deliver to George Washington in the winter of 1775-1776 were used to force the British army to evacuate Boston." Notice the proper use of the plural of cannon--cannon.

We spent about an hour on top of the hill, and then we started our long walk back to the T. We stopped for lunch and ice cream, and then Abram noticed the "South Boston Lithuanian Citizens Association" and wanted his picture by it because it was so random.

And then I talked the boys into the long walk from the T to the Paul Revere Mall. I tripped somewhere near where you see the car parked in the background and hit my forehead on the bricks. I got up and stumbled over to this bench where I sat down.

After the boys caught me, and shook me awake again, I realized what had happened and was freaked out. Then the boys told me that my eyes had been awake the whole time, and that at first they thought I had been joking, and I started laughing really hard. When I laugh really hard, there is this tiny moment where I start crying. Not just tearing up, but literally crying. Sobbing. And then I was sitting on the bench sobbing. The boys thought I had bumped my head harder than I actually did. I told them I was fine, and Abram went off to buy me some water. I was very dehydrated after all the walking we had done this day, and that could have contributed to my fainting. I am sure I had a minor concussion, as I was shaky and cold for the rest of the day, but I was fine.
Just sitting and waiting until I could get up and walk again.

I know you all could recognize John Hancock's signature on the Declaration of Independence. I bet you could also spot his headstone from across the Granary Burial Ground as well.

This is a picture of Abram standing next to Paul Revere's grave.

We saw this quaint little street as we were nearing Quincy Market on the way back into town, and we decided to walk down it. I am so glad we did, because right in front of my face, there it was in real life.The Green Dragon Tavern. The hub of secret revolutionary meetings.
We skipped the pre-race pasta buffet that Mark went to with some of his friends, and instead we met up with our cousins from Connecticut who drove into Boston to spend the evening with us.

We had Chinese food in Chinatown with our Chinese cousins. It was delicious.

=

Then the kids wanted donuts. We walked to Dunkin Donuts. Then to another and another. They are EVERYWHERE in Boston, by the way. But everyone was out of donuts. Those darn marathoners had completely wiped them out all over the city.

So we ended up at McDonalds for ice cream, and then back to the hotel for early bedtime so that we could all get up early for the marathon.