Aug 13-16, 2009 – First days in Boston, MA

On Aug 13, we awoke in Plymouth to very grey skies and inclement weather. It was a day to stay in port, not embark on a voyage to Boston. The marina in Plymouth had another reservation for our slip and were thus not prone to discuss extending our stay until conditions improved. We assessed our options….Robert had set up our route in the chart plotter. We had duplicated our route in our new little garmin. All systems were working well. It was not a great weather day, but it wasn’t foggy. We decided we could safely make the run to Boston.

The trip from Plymouth to Boston took constant vigilance because of the thousands of lobster pots. We got pretty good at using simple terms. If I’d see a red lobster pot buoy on the left side we’d probably miss, I’d say, “Red, port, safe”. If there was a lime green in our path, it was “Lime, straight ahead”. If it remained in our path, I’d say, “Action to port or starboard” “Safe”. There were times we were literally surrounded and Captain Robert would wend our way through.

We arrived at the Constitution Marina in Boston in excellent time. We knew we had almost arrived when we passed by the USS Constitution. The marina is across the Charles River in the suburb called Charlestown. The view was excellent.

We did some sightseeing in Boston by a trolley. I’ll say up front that Boston is a beautiful city…clean with lovely buildings. When you visit NYC all you care about is seeing the tourist places seen in movies and on tv. When you visit Boston, you want to understand the history of the birth of our county. Here is the challenge…the historical sites are spread out over miles and are in random order so landmarks are not seen in chronological order. It is confusing and disorienting for the short time visitor.

Just in time, we found Ben Franklin in Faneuil Hall.

The old State House, where the Declaration of Independence was first read from the balcony.

This statue commemorates the black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry led by white Bostonian Robert Shaw during the civil war. The movie, “Glory” was based on the story of this regiment. Click here for more information.