Day 3 Boston

Well though it did indeed rain through the night MacGyver held it in check and a few drop of water and some very soggy wads of paper towel was the only evidence of the hurricane when the sun greeted us this morning – that and the waterfront site on which we are now camped. I expected water, and maybe even flooding, but the body of water beside our trailer looks like a river, and a deep one at that!!

With the sun shining once again, the birthday boy and I headed back into the city for the hop-on hop-off portion of our trolley tour and a trip out into Boston Harbour. The T served us well yesterday so today, when we finally knew what we were doing, we travelled into the city and landed exactly where we wanted to go! We learned today why Bostonians refer to their transit tickets as ‘Charlie Cards’. At one time the city tried to increase fares without having to alter the collection process, so decided to impose a five cent exit charge. You could ride the system for the same price but had to pay a nickel to get off! Bostonians revolted and when it became an election issue in the 1949 campaign, Charlie on the MTA was born! A folk song eventually recorded by The Kingston Trio, it tells of Charlie who got on the train and never had the nickel fare to get off. As the song goes, Charlie’s wife passed him a sandwich everyday through the train window at Scollay Square Station...why she couldn’t hand him a nickel I don’t know! The song laments the fact that poor Charlie was stuck for all eternity to ride the trains below the streets of Boston because he didn’t have the exit fare. It became such a hit with Boston that the transit authority adopted the notion (but dropped the exit fare!) and tickets became known as Charlie Cards!

Those who have followed my blogs in the past know that we highly recommend harbour tours. No matter how much you roam around a place, and how much you manage to see, a view from a boat offers a unique perspective you can only glean from the water. This time the first and most significant thing we learned is that more than 70% of Boston is built on manmade land! It was very obvious from the water that dirt had been strategically piled and then reinforced by a rock wall to create land! David’s first choice today was a visit to Old Ironside – the USS Constitution. The harbour tour would bring us from the downtown Aquarium to the navel yard so it was our obvious choice to start the day.

Beautiful view of downtown architecture from the water.

 

Here is an example of the manmade land. In this case an extra little portion was extended further out in the water than the rest to create a harbour park!

 

The USS Constitution, aka Old Ironside. She is the oldest commissioned war ship, meaning she is still manned by the navy and can be used at any time by Obama to conduct government business. In reality she is now only moved five times a year, by tow. She does issue a 21 gun salute on July 4th and is quite simply, magnificent!

The captins quarters.

Following our visit to the beautiful ship, and she really wquaas a beauty, we picked up our trolley to head into the Beacon Hill area of Boston for a cool drink and a snack. Since we were in Boston how could we not stop where everybody knows your name? A very crowded and very loud bar, Cheers (formerly the Bull and Finch before TV show fame!) has a labyrinth of rooms through the old brownstone across from the Public Gardens. We made our way through the maze of patrons, memorabilia, gift shops and restaurant rooms to the top floor bar where the set has been recreated. It was neat but the best part was definitely the cold Sam Adams! Norm never enjoyed one more!

Sometimes you want to go ...

In such a pretty neighbourhood surrounded by Boston Common on one side of Charles Street and the Public Gardens on the other we strolled around just taking in the Saturday afternoon sights as everyone headed out to enjoy the afternoon sunshine and warm breeze. Our good friends have a daughter living in Boston and we knew their soon-to-be son-in-law managed a chocolate shop somewhere in the neighbourhood. Keeping our eye out we were rewarded with a visit to Beacon Hill Chocolates. We had never met Doug, but of course that didn’t stop me from asking for him! He was indeed at work and came out to greet us. He treated us to samples of the most delicious salted caramels. He swore it wasn’t because we were friends of his future in-laws but I’m thinking to get treats that tasty you have to know someone!!!

 Doug serving us gelato!

Outside the Beacon Hill shop enjoying deliciousness!

On our way to meet the trolley again it was time to head to the Quincy Market area for David’s birthday dinner.

The Union Oyster House is the oldest restaurant in the US. They have been serving food there for almost 200 years and although some updates (electricity, sprinklers, etc.) have obviously happened over the years, it still very much feels like a step back in time. Jonathan had been there just last week with his girlfriend Jenna and her family and they had recommended it (and the chowdah). Great suggestion and the fresh fish was delicious!

The birthday boy!

 At the Union Oyster House

 Streets in some areas of Boston are move like streets in Europe...than some of the streets in Europe!

Balcony where the Declaration of Independence was first ... well, declared! You can see here how the city blends the old and the new.

After dinner we needed to continue to stroll to work off some of the deliciousness of the day! 10,000 steps is not hard to do on vacation but never has it been more necessary!! We say good-bye to Boston, like we do so many other places we’ve been, with some regret that we don’t have more time!