Boston - end of the reunion and some alone time
We met up with RouxB in the afternoon. (this is post 2 of 2 for our Boston trip. If you're just arriving, scroll down.)
(ack! I'm realizing now I only remember RouxB's screen name, not her real-life name!) LOL -- oh well. We've attended a couple of the same events before, but this was the first trip we spent much time together. Such is the case of the Brokies -- we know literally hundreds of people, and yet KNOW just a handful. But there is always the opportunity to spread that net just a bit wider.
Anywhoo - the Duck tours use amphibious vehicles from WWII time, to drive around the hot Boston spots, and then even dip into the Charles River for a water-side view of the city. It's kitchy, but fun -- and most importantly afforded a 90 minute block of sight seeing while sitting down!
We happened to have a chance to capture a pic of our own Duck vehicle.
We cruised through much of the area we'd walked earlier, but much further - including across the bridge into Cambridge. But the guides are well versed and funny, so it was a whole new look at the area.
The Mega Mansions
The Massachusetts State House again
The actual GAS lamps throughout this district - that burn 24 hours a day.
The Old State House (Which we discovered, later that night, disguises an entrance to the T, Boston's subway. However... look around this intersection, is there a SINGLE sign to the fact it's a T access point?? Nooooooo!)
OH - and I did mention these were amphibious vehicles, right? Into the Charles River we went.
And after the guide had called up a couple kids to drive the boat? Dave gave it a shot.
The City Scape. Notice the tall glass building? Conveniently that was across the street from our hotel. Finding our way home was really never an issue with that landmark!
Several of the locals came back out for one more night on the town, as us few stragglers tempted them. We said our last good byes - we were going to spend our last day in town doing our own thing.
Jay and Donna, Deb, Dave and Me, Lynne, Paul, RouxB
Tuesday morning got off to an extra special start as I jumped up in bed (as well as my decrepit pelvis would allow) at 7:55 panicked that our flight was that morning and somehow we'd forgotten to set the alarm to go to the airport! ACK!!! And then? It all came back to me that we were going home the NEXT day. Ah - another hour of sleep was apparently in order.
The USS Constitution is one of the first 6 naval vessels commissions for the US Navy - she set sail in 1797, from Boston where she was built. She's still there, still floating, still making tug-boat appearances in the bay, and even sailed again back in 1997 for her 200th birthday. This was our primary goal for the day.
I think this section threatens to be rather photo heavy - she really is an attractive ship!
There were several sets of these stairways between each of the decks. Made me wonder if they had a convention for one set to be 'up' and the other 'down'.
The deck below the main deck was the Gun Deck. I think she was designed for some 44 guns, but typically outfitted with 52? I'm not sure where they squeezed the extra guns, but these babies were impressive! Not original though.
Bilge pumps to pump water out of the bowels of the ship. And yes -- they dumped that water right on this deck, the second deck. Not only is it good to keep all the wood wet, to fight shrinking and swelling, but the gun deck in particular you want to douse any live sparks and such.
Another deck down, the berthing deck. And this one even shorter than the gun deck.
Engineering geeks as we are - I thought these were cool. The "knees" underneath each gun above. These elements transferred the weight of the guns into the support structure of the ship's hull, so that the deck doesn't sag under their weight.
So -- it's fun. It's free. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.
There isn't a lot to report about the rest of that day. More walking, which actually did me in, so we returned to the hotel for a nap. That too was well worth it, as we had a very pleasant evening. We had intended to dine in the North End - which is otherwise known as "Little Italy", so we hopped back on the sub and exited at yet another new station. I laugh remembering as we exited the station trying to get our bearings... I know it's the only time we've used the prevailing foot traffic as a way to determine direction. That was the night of the first Celtics/Lakers game to be held in Boston -- and we knew which direction the stadium was by the floods of people headed that way!
Dinner was wonderful, and we meandered our way back through town, capturing some before and after shots.
The Old State House again.
Our last stop, was at the Omni Parker House Hotel, the birth place of Boston Cream Pie! Now, I think they actually have tried to get a bit nouveau with it... but you can be sure we didn't hesitate to finish them off never the less.
It was a really wonderful trip!! I'd love to go back for a more extended stay. But, I expect(hope!) the Brokies will pull us to some other long desired destination first.
(ack! I'm realizing now I only remember RouxB's screen name, not her real-life name!) LOL -- oh well. We've attended a couple of the same events before, but this was the first trip we spent much time together. Such is the case of the Brokies -- we know literally hundreds of people, and yet KNOW just a handful. But there is always the opportunity to spread that net just a bit wider.
Anywhoo - the Duck tours use amphibious vehicles from WWII time, to drive around the hot Boston spots, and then even dip into the Charles River for a water-side view of the city. It's kitchy, but fun -- and most importantly afforded a 90 minute block of sight seeing while sitting down!
We happened to have a chance to capture a pic of our own Duck vehicle.
We cruised through much of the area we'd walked earlier, but much further - including across the bridge into Cambridge. But the guides are well versed and funny, so it was a whole new look at the area.
The Mega Mansions
The Massachusetts State House again
The actual GAS lamps throughout this district - that burn 24 hours a day.
The Old State House (Which we discovered, later that night, disguises an entrance to the T, Boston's subway. However... look around this intersection, is there a SINGLE sign to the fact it's a T access point?? Nooooooo!)
OH - and I did mention these were amphibious vehicles, right? Into the Charles River we went.
And after the guide had called up a couple kids to drive the boat? Dave gave it a shot.
The City Scape. Notice the tall glass building? Conveniently that was across the street from our hotel. Finding our way home was really never an issue with that landmark!
Several of the locals came back out for one more night on the town, as us few stragglers tempted them. We said our last good byes - we were going to spend our last day in town doing our own thing.
Jay and Donna, Deb, Dave and Me, Lynne, Paul, RouxB
Tuesday morning got off to an extra special start as I jumped up in bed (as well as my decrepit pelvis would allow) at 7:55 panicked that our flight was that morning and somehow we'd forgotten to set the alarm to go to the airport! ACK!!! And then? It all came back to me that we were going home the NEXT day. Ah - another hour of sleep was apparently in order.
The USS Constitution is one of the first 6 naval vessels commissions for the US Navy - she set sail in 1797, from Boston where she was built. She's still there, still floating, still making tug-boat appearances in the bay, and even sailed again back in 1997 for her 200th birthday. This was our primary goal for the day.
I think this section threatens to be rather photo heavy - she really is an attractive ship!
There were several sets of these stairways between each of the decks. Made me wonder if they had a convention for one set to be 'up' and the other 'down'.
The deck below the main deck was the Gun Deck. I think she was designed for some 44 guns, but typically outfitted with 52? I'm not sure where they squeezed the extra guns, but these babies were impressive! Not original though.
Bilge pumps to pump water out of the bowels of the ship. And yes -- they dumped that water right on this deck, the second deck. Not only is it good to keep all the wood wet, to fight shrinking and swelling, but the gun deck in particular you want to douse any live sparks and such.
Another deck down, the berthing deck. And this one even shorter than the gun deck.
Engineering geeks as we are - I thought these were cool. The "knees" underneath each gun above. These elements transferred the weight of the guns into the support structure of the ship's hull, so that the deck doesn't sag under their weight.
So -- it's fun. It's free. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.
There isn't a lot to report about the rest of that day. More walking, which actually did me in, so we returned to the hotel for a nap. That too was well worth it, as we had a very pleasant evening. We had intended to dine in the North End - which is otherwise known as "Little Italy", so we hopped back on the sub and exited at yet another new station. I laugh remembering as we exited the station trying to get our bearings... I know it's the only time we've used the prevailing foot traffic as a way to determine direction. That was the night of the first Celtics/Lakers game to be held in Boston -- and we knew which direction the stadium was by the floods of people headed that way!
Dinner was wonderful, and we meandered our way back through town, capturing some before and after shots.
The Old State House again.
Our last stop, was at the Omni Parker House Hotel, the birth place of Boston Cream Pie! Now, I think they actually have tried to get a bit nouveau with it... but you can be sure we didn't hesitate to finish them off never the less.
It was a really wonderful trip!! I'd love to go back for a more extended stay. But, I expect(hope!) the Brokies will pull us to some other long desired destination first.
Labels: Travel
posted by Monica |
12:18 PM
2 Comments:
It sounds like it was wonderful! I'm jealous that you were able to meet so many fellow Brokies AND tour Boston. Thank you for putting this up and sharing.
I loved the pictures, thanks!
Hugs
Roby
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