Since moving here last summer, J and I have done quite a few touristy things in Boston – many of them items on my Boston list. But until Memorial Day weekend, we hadn’t got around to touring the Adams Houses, Quincy’s own piece of presidential history. The birthplaces of John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams (which stand 75 feet apart), have been preserved, as has Peacefield, home to four generations of Adamses. So when our friend Beth (who lives in Boston proper) said she was hankering for a Memorial Day adventure, we invited her out to Quincy.
It was a hot, muggy day, but we were grateful for the sun after weeks of clouds and rain – and even more grateful for the fans and air-conditioning in all three houses. 🙂 We toured the two birthplaces (maintained by the National Park Service) with “Ranger Steve”:
After walking through both houses, we hopped back on the trolley (so fun!) and headed over to Peacefield, a mansion by comparison with a gorgeous library containing about 12,000 beautiful old books. (No photos allowed inside, unfortunately.) And the garden – oh, the garden! Beth fell in love with the ruffly purple irises, and I was smitten with the vivid orange poppies:
Sometimes I forget how much history Quincy holds – since I now spend most of my days in Boston, which teems with museums, cemeteries, old churches, quirky buildings, and other markers of history. Boston is where I go to work, but it’s also where I go to explore, to learn, to discover new pieces of history. Quincy is where I go to sleep and cook dinner, to do laundry and drop off dry cleaning, to go to the grocery store. But it’s chock full of history too. (And beauty – Peacefield, below, is so elegant! And I love the name.)
After the tour, we strolled over to Gunther Tootie’s for some yummy salads and sandwiches, then went for a walk along Wollaston Beach (our own personal beach, less than a mile from our house). Since Beth lives in a totally different part of Boston, she saw our little corner of it with fresh eyes – and gave us the gift of seeing it in a new light, too.
Do you ever play tourist in your own town? What is there to see/do?
cakes, tea and dreams 
I’ve never been to the Boston-area. You’re photos are gorgeous. I have to admit that I adore poppies, but can’t seem to grow them.
I actually just stopped by a Veterans Memorial Park in my area that I had never been to before.
You HAVE to watch the HBO series on John Adams. It will make you fall in love with Boston!
http://www.cuteconservative.com/blog/2011/03/18/john-adams-hbo-miniseries-review-and-the-lessons-it-holds-for-us/
One of my favorite books in recent years is David McCullough’s biography of John Adams. McCullough sets many of the scenes in Quincy. Abigail Adams is an equally fascinating figure, and the book really brings her to life.
Playing tourist in my own town? Oh, yeah! We have two camels and five zebras in a pen behind the cafe in our tiny town. I can see them from my back porch swing. Sometimes I glance up and notice a zebra strolling across the way, and I think I’m in Africa instead of rural Missouri!
Just browsed the Great American Mansions book. When my eyes fell on Peacefield, I had to look if you already blogged about it. I was sure you must have been there 🙂