Boston: Whale-Watching

Tuesday, October 11, 2011, was probably our best day in Boston. We drove into town and parked at Fanueil Hall and did some shopping. Michael and I bought a pair of Boston pewter peacock champagne flutes encrusted with crystals. We all bought souvenirs for friends and family. We grabbed a quick snack and then headed to the wharf.

For the next three to four hours, we had the most amazing time with Boston Harbor Cruises. We boarded a boat and rode at full speed about 45 minutes into the open ocean. It was a cold fall morning with clear blue skies, and Michael, like a champ, stayed on the prow of the boat the whole ride to save us a good spot. Why, you ask?

Because we were going WHALE-WATCHING.

Once the boat stopped, we crowded out to the deck and wormed our way to a railing. And then we saw it. It was Michael’s first time whale-watching, and his face lit up as we saw the first spray from a blowhole leave rainbows over the choppy water. As one, the people on the boat gasped and cried out and pointed to the water where a humpback whale had surfaced, just yards from the boat.

Usually, when humpback whales surface, they come up for air and dive for a good 15-20 minutes or so before resurfacing to breathe. So whale-watching can be a lot of waiting interspersed with brief thrilling moments. Not so that day. Right by our boat, at least four individual humpbacks were FEEDING on krill at the surface. So they appeared once every half-minute or so and posed for photos. Every time one appeared, we felt the same jolt of energy and the fun never wore off, even as we grew chilly in the brisk air. We even saw a single fin whale once.

We moved around a couple of times and spent almost three hours on that deck, exhilarated and giddy. Finally it was time to go back, and we reluctantly said goodbye and went inside the boat to grab a drink and a hot pretzel.

As we approached the silver city, we went back up in the spray at the front of the ship and enjoyed the view from the harbor.

When we returned, we wandered, slack-mouthed, back toward the city and eventually ended up at a famous Irish pub, The Black Rose. We couldn’t pass it up. Mom had the Black Rose burger with sweet potato fries, I had corned beef sliders and chips, and Michael had—of course—the seafood platter (haddock, scallops, salmon, and shrimp). Everything was good and we enjoyed the atmosphere and several drinks.

On our way back to the car, we did a little more shopping and wandered through the night market, where fresh fish and produce were haggled over by locals and we itched to have a reason to buy something.

It was a perfect day.

Boston: The Freedom Trail

On Monday, we drove into Boston and parked near Boston Common. America’s oldest city park, it dates from 1634. The weather was on the warm side for October in Boston, with a clear blue sky and light wind.

We did a walk-through of Central Burying Ground on the Boylston Street side of Boston Common. Revolutionary war fighters, Boston Tea Partiers, and early American poets are all buried here.
We then followed the red line painted on the sidewalk to the Massachusetts State House, the state capitol and house of government. It was Columbus Day and therefore closed to the public, so we only viewed it from the outside.

We followed the red line to the Granary Burying Ground (dates to the year 1660), the third cemetery established in Boston. We loved this spot. The final resting place of such greats as Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock, it also contains the grave of Mary Goose, who is suspected by some to be the real Mother Goose. Others say some Mother Goose stories predate the 17th century, but I like the idea.

We took a quick peek inside the King’s Chapel, a church founded in 1686 but built in the mid-1700s. The King's Chapel bell, cast in England, was hung in 1772. In 1814 it cracked, was recast by Paul Revere, and was re-hung. It is the largest bell cast by the Revere foundry, and the last one cast by Paul Revere himself. It has been rung at services ever since.

We are all three cemetery people, so we spent much more time at the King's Chapel Burying Ground. Founded in 1630 as Boston’s first cemetery, it was the city’s only burial site for 30 years.

Next up was the Old Corner Bookstore, which was regrettably closed for the holiday. I wanted to go in! The building itself was constructed in 1712 as an apothecary shop. From 1832 to 1865, it was home to Ticknor and Fields, a publishing company. For part of the nineteenth century, the firm was one of the most important publishing companies in the United States, and the Old Corner Bookstore became a meeting-place for such authors as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Charles Dickens.

We walked to the Old South Meeting House (built in 1729). This was a great spot because it was the largest building in Boston in 1773. On December 16, 1773, 5,000 people gathered at the Old South Meeting House to debate British taxation. After the meeting, a group raided a nearby tea ship. It was the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party.

After that we looked at the lovely façade of the Old State House (built in 1713), It is the oldest surviving public building in Boston.

Then we stopped for lunch at the historic Union Oyster House. Ye Olde Union Oyster House, open since 1826, is the oldest operating restaurant in the United States of America. The Kennedys loved this place so much they have a dedicated booth where you can sit and eat. I had crab cakes and green beans; it was okay. Michael and Mom both said their lunches were excellent. Michael had clam chowdah and oysters. Mom had a chicken sandwich.

Next we walked through the site of the Boston Massacre. We visited the Paul Revere house next and went inside after being charged a small admission fee.

Next was the Old North Church, which really sparked my imagination. Paul Revere's midnight ride on April 18, 1775 had everything to do with this building. Here is where the two lanterns were hung and the signal—“One if by land, two if by sea”—was used during the Revolutionary War.

By this time we had been walking and standing on concrete for most of the day, so we cruised through the next cemetery, Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, founded 1659.

Finally we got to the obelisk. The Bunker Hill Monument was built to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill in the revolutionary War. The 221 foot granite obelisk was erected between 1827 and 1843. The Bunker Hill Monument is not on Bunker Hill but instead on Breed's Hill, where most of the fighting in the misnamed Battle of Bunker Hill actually took place.

We passed on the USS Constitution and took a cab back to Boston Common. There we found a trendy bar that played Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins to wait out rush hour.

Exhausted, we finally left and picked up some pizza from The Upper Crust pizzeria on the way back to the hotel. The pizza wasn’t very good.

We soaked in the hotel hot tub until it was time for bed.

Boston: Adams National Park and Farm Tour

On Sunday, we got up early and battled rush hour traffic to go to the Adams National Park and tour the birthplaces of 2nd U.S. President John Adams and 6th U.S. President John Quincy Adams, as well as the “Old House,” home to four generations of the Adams family.

We arrived just in time to take the trolley to the birthplaces with about ten other people. We rode through the sleepy town of Quincy on the trolley and enjoyed the scenery for a few minutes.

When we got off, the two birthplaces were 75 feet away from each other on zero land among modern houses, roads, and parked cars.

We toured the houses (no pictures inside), which were bare but included some period relics like hearth tools. We learned about the history of the houses. They are the oldest presidential birthplaces in the United States. It was here that John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Bowdoin wrote the Massachusetts Constitution. This document, still in use today, influenced writing of the United States Constitution.

We then took the trolley back to the Old House. This stately mansion, built in 1731, was packed to the brim with historical objects spanning the time of the Adams family for four generations from 1788 to 1927: Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, First Ladies Abigail and Louisa Catherine Adams, Civil War Minister to Great Britain Charles Francis Adams, and literary historians Henry and Brooks Adams. The family certainly had a long, strong legacy of service to their nation. We were all impressed by their collective accomplishments. What an amazing family!

My favorite part was touring the Stone Library, built in 1873. It contains more than 14,000 books that belonged to the Adamses. I walked in and felt the words whispering to me. It was a stone (fireproof) structure crammed with books two- and three-deep from floor to ceiling. We also enjoyed the 18th-century style formal garden, containing thousands of flowers.

When we left, we started our farm tour. This was something I developed using the Massachusetts state agriculture website. Our first stop was in the city of Sharon. We went to Ward’s Berry Farm where we looked at pumpkins, gourds, mums, and other fall produce before standing in a long line to order veggie wraps, smoothies, and hot pumpkin bisque for lunch.

Once we ate, we piled in the car again and went to Millis to visit Tangerini’s Spring Street Farm, where we skipped the hay ride but had to go through the corn maze. It was situated on a couple acres and really well done. The three of us split up and I only won because I ran the last ten feet.

Next up was OutPost Farm in Holliston, where I was disappointed not to see the turkeys but enjoyed the yummy turkey pot pie.

Then we went to Dowse Orchards in Sherborn, where we were greeted with beautiful piles of every kind of apple you can imagine. We bought a couple apples and a gallon of cider to be enjoyed at the hotel.

Our last stop was Sunshine Farm, also in Sherborn, where we looked at more fall produce.

We weren’t hungry for dinner yet, so we looked at the GPS until we saw the ocean. None of us can stand to be near the ocean but not experience it. We went back to Quincy and parked right on the ocean and walked up and down the beach, feeding oyster crackers to seagulls and collecting shells. We watched the sun set and spill red over the distant skyline of Boston across the water. We just enjoyed each other’s company.

When we got hungry, we drove to Taunton and ate at Benjamin’s Restaurant, where I had my first-ever whole lobster. It was stuffed and baked and very tasty, though way too much food for me. Mom had the filet and Michael had a seafood explosion (I don’t recall what menu item it was) plus an appetizer of escargot, which I wasn't too fond of watching him eat. Everything was absolutely terrific. I have my Boston native friends to thank for the restaurant suggestion.

In all, it was a wonderful day. The day was warm and sunny, with a blue, blue sky that slowly seeped to red at the end of the day. We talked and laughed and loved life.