Shutdown averted, tourists enjoy visits today to federally run historic sites
Gene and Kathy Hollis of South Portland, Maine, relished the 294-step climb to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument this morning, which would have been impossible had Congressional Republicans and the White House deadlocked Friday night and not reached their tentative deal averting a government shutdown.
"We thought of going to Portsmouth, N.H. That was plan B, " said Kathy Hollis, 60, speaking at the foot of the stone tower after the climb. "This is plan A."
Tourists visited some of the city's most popular federally run destinations, such as the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument, today unfazed by the averted shutdown that could have made their plans go awry.
"We thought of going to Portsmouth, N.H. That was plan B, " said Kathy Hollis, 60, speaking at the foot of the stone tower after the climb. "This is plan A."
Tourists visited some of the city's most popular federally run destinations, such as the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument, today unfazed by the averted shutdown that could have made their plans go awry.
"If it was shut down, we were going to walk by," said Alex Arnold, leader of Boy Scout Troop 660, from Massapequa, NY, who visited Old Ironsides in Charlestown with 14 scouts in tow. "We were planning to do the Freedom Trail regardless."
A ceremony marking the capture of Paul Revere by British soldiers was scheduled to go ahead as planned at the Minute Man National Historical Park in Lincoln after the tentative deal by Congressional leaders late Friday night kept the federal government in operation at least for several days.
Workers at some sites that were threatened with closure today said they had prepared for the worst, but were pleased they needed no backup plan.
Vince Kordack, a 34-year veteran park ranger on duty in the Charlestown Navy Yard, said he recalled the last shutdown in 1995, which was more sudden and chaotic.
This time, rangers came up with a contingency plan Friday in case the government shut down -- a limited number of rangers would work one four-hour shift to post signs and direct people away from the park.
"They were prepared," he said. "I was impressed."
Meanwhile, families of servicemen serving overseas said they were elated that the government will continue to operate.
"Thank God," Maureen Johnson of Abington, whose husband, Carl, is serving in Iraq, said in a phone interview today. "We're on a tight budget because he's on active duty. A shutdown would have definitely set us back."
A ceremony marking the capture of Paul Revere by British soldiers was scheduled to go ahead as planned at the Minute Man National Historical Park in Lincoln after the tentative deal by Congressional leaders late Friday night kept the federal government in operation at least for several days.
Workers at some sites that were threatened with closure today said they had prepared for the worst, but were pleased they needed no backup plan.
Vince Kordack, a 34-year veteran park ranger on duty in the Charlestown Navy Yard, said he recalled the last shutdown in 1995, which was more sudden and chaotic.
This time, rangers came up with a contingency plan Friday in case the government shut down -- a limited number of rangers would work one four-hour shift to post signs and direct people away from the park.
"They were prepared," he said. "I was impressed."
Meanwhile, families of servicemen serving overseas said they were elated that the government will continue to operate.
"Thank God," Maureen Johnson of Abington, whose husband, Carl, is serving in Iraq, said in a phone interview today. "We're on a tight budget because he's on active duty. A shutdown would have definitely set us back."
