2nd Day in Boston

We all drove to the train station and get rode the train into Boston. I had already downloaded tickets for a different Trolley than we used yesterday. It went around a little more of the Boston area including Cambridge. I had some issues printing but our luck held again and we just made the train.

We caught the trolley and drove around for awhile and got off near Fenway Park where we had decided to do a tour. Brock and Kristi are big baseball fans.

Our tour guy was a 79 year old who was very funny. Lots of corny but funny jokes and his presentation had everyone laughing. He was also very infomative with the history of Fenway Park and the Red Sox who have played there since April 1912,almost a hundred years ago. The Red Sox  were very successful in the early years. Then the owner wanted to fiance a play on Broadway called No No Nanette. So what did he do to raise the money but sell a number of the players including Babe Ruth. Not a smart move. They didn't do so well in the 20's.
There were a number of changes to the Park. One was in 1936 when a 23 1/2 foot tall screen was added on top of the 37 foot left field wall to protect the windows of buildings on a near by street. When the wall's advertisements were covered by green paint in 1947, Fenway's signature feature, the Green Monster, was born.

We jumped back on the trolley and got off near the Freedom Trail and walked over to see the Paul Revere House. It was built in 1676 and is the oldest buiding still standing in the city of Boston.

Paul Revere House



We walked through the North End of Boston and stopped at one of the many Italian  restaurants in that area. Strega was a very nice one. Small and intimate. Strega means witch and the decore fits that theme. Also there are a number of flat screen tvs showing mafia movies, such as the Godfather movies and Good Fellas. Kristi though some of the Sopranos were sitting near us. HA! Food was delicious. I had seafood risotto which was actually heavier on seafood than rice. I couldn't eat it all though I certainly tried. Kristi and Brock both had pasta dishes and Joe had veal medallions. We had a wonderful gelato that was pistachio with coconut. We all shared that.

We walked back to the train station at the North End that was only a few blocks or so. We had to wait a little while and so bought some donuts for tomorrow at a Dunkin Donuts in the Station. We found out on the tour that there are 3,000 Dunkin Donut shops in Massachussets. There is literallly almost one on every corner in Boston. So we just had to buy some before we left the area.

                                                                        
                                                  

Boston

Everyone says not to drive in Boston if at all possible. You can drive from the campground about 40 minutes and then take the subway, or do as we did, drive about 15 minutes to Lowell and take the drive. We got a little lost when we were almost to the train but finally found where to park. We just made the train by minutes. The last stop on this train is North End and in the train station is one of the entrances to the  TD Garden where both the Celtics and the Boston Bruins play. The team store is in the station. We had decided to travel around the city by Trolley. There are several Trolley companies that have a tour guide. However, you can get off at any of the stops and just jump back on another of the trolleys when you are ready to go to a new stop. Also included is a Ferry ride around the Harbor. This also takes you to the USS Constitution "Old Ironsides". We stayed on the Trolley until we got to the Harbor.

State Capital

On the Trolley listening to Tour Guide who was very funny as well as informitive



Ship we took our cruise on



The cruise was nice thought we ended up standing as it was a full load. The day was just beautiful, a crisp Fall day. WHen we got off, we decided to get a bite to eat and wait until the crowd going to the USS Constitution was down. However, when we got there, there was still an hour wait to be able to take the tour of the ship.    USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. It was first launched in 1797. George Washington first ordered four ships to be constructed to protect American's maritime interest. There was no navy at the time. It's greatest glory was during the war of 1812. IT defeated 4 Bristish frigates and earned the name "Old Ironsides" because their cannon balls just bounced off its thick hull. There were a number of guides aboard giving information on the ship and what life was like on the ship.

We got the trolley and as it was already late afternoon decided to head back and get some rest as we have been doing a lot of sight seeing these last days. Got back to the Train Station and took this picture of Bobby Orr, famous Hockey player induced in Hockey Fall of Fame in 1983.