Boston

We just returned from a wonderful vacation which included Boston, Portland, Maine, and Niagara Falls, NY.

2740 miles, 9 states, a lost headlight, and two new tires later, we are ready to share our travel experiences with you.

We will break it down into three posts, the first being Boston.

I, (Sherri), booked our studio apartment on Concord Square on the South side of Boston.

I did this online with Homeaway in January without knowing one thing about the city of Boston.

I read a few reviews on the place and booked it.

We could not have been happier with this rental.  It was located within walking distance of all of our destinations so our car was able to remain in its $94.00 very small parking space in a very narrow alley.  I am so glad that we chose to pay the parking fee for three days because parking in Boston would have been almost impossible and would have caused some major stress for the two of us.

We would recommend doing the same thing if you are planning a trip to this historic city.

If you are not able to walk the two miles to get to the attractions, use public transportation which is easily accessible in Boston.

Our little studio apartment felt so much like home.  Even though it was small, it made us feel like we were a real part of Boston life.

Here are some photos of our home away from home for three days in Boston:

 This is our cute little place.  The bed was so comfy.  There is a small kitchenette off to the left, a small bathroom with great shower, a dresser with a TV on it, and a small table and two chairs by a beautiful window.

 This is the door that we used to enter and exit the building.  Our apartment was at the opposite end of where I am standing.

 The outside of our beautiful building.  This is our first afternoon of exploring our neighborhood.  I have an umbrella because it had been raining off and on the entire day.

 Our alley where we had to park the car.  There were four stalls back there for our building.  Very tight fit for our big SUV, and those of our neighbors.

 One more look at the building from the front.  Our sidewalk and street were all brick.

This is our little street.  Boston is such a green city.  In among all the buildings there is so much greenery, trees, bushes, and pretty flowers.

We arrived in Boston, which is about 17 hours from Watertown, about 2:00.

We had spent a night somewhere in Pennsylvania to cut the trip in two days.

Upon arrival, we moved into our apartment and then took off to explore just our little area.

There were so many shops, restaurants, bars, and beautiful buildings within one mile of our place.

We had a beer in the oldest sports bar in America and had dinner at Dillon's, a wonderful restaurant with outdoor seating.

John enjoyed Mac and Cheese with lobster while I had fresh Haddock tacos.  We would highly recommend this restaurant.

We continued to explore our area until about 9:00.

Since our blog is about helping Seniors on these trips, we will mention that there are not a lot of public bathrooms in this area.  The bathrooms we used were in the bar and restaurant and both were downstairs, so we are not sure how a handicapped person would be able to use them.

Here are some of our favorite photos from that first night, our first view of Boston:

 Such pretty sunflowers growing in small garden areas all around this area.

 We loved all the different types of architecture around Boston.  Here you can see a modern building right behind Trinity Episcopal Church .

 Boston Public Library

 The Old South Church, such a pretty building.  We were able to go inside and see the beautiful worship area, too.

 Yes, they do give Duck tours just like at the Wisconsin Dells, but these ducks do not go in the water.

 Our friend, Tom Kovach is a retired firefighter so we made sure to stop and take a photo at all the fire stations we saw on our trip.  This was an old station with so much character.

 The modern Prudential building standing tall above the older buildings in this part of Boston.

 A green space in the middle of the city.  We did notice a number of homeless people just like any other big city.

A closer view of Trinity Episcopal Church, another old beauty.

 A beer at the oldest sports bar in America

 Our delicious dinner at Dillon's

Shared clam chowder, lobster mac and cheese, and fish tacos.

After our adventure of that first night, we headed back to our place to get a good night's sleep before our upcoming big day.

Boston - Day 2

I, (Sherri) had done a lot of research getting ready for this trip to Boston.  Since John does all the driving, the least I can do is do the research.  It makes for a good team.

Anyway, after research I decided to buy a "Boston Go" card which is basically a pass that you purchase ahead of time.  The "Boston Go" card gets one into over 40 attractions in the Boston area.  One can purchase a one day, two day, or three day pass.  We purchased the two day pass and in the end we feel we did, indeed, save some money with the purchase.  Just google the "Boston Go" card and it will all be explained to you. I would say it would depend on the attractions that you really want to see.  IN Boston, for us, it worked out well.

We had to walk about  a mile on that morning to get a ticket for the Hop-on, hop -ff trolley which was included with our "Boston Go" card.  We used our phone lady, who we named Judy, to get us all around Boston.  She did not let us down.

There are a number of Hop-on , hop-off trolleys in Boston, all offering basically the same tour.  The one we chose was included with our "Boston Go" card, but one could  choose from any number of trolley tours if you did not purchase the card.

We started our day with an hour long tour on the trolley.  Instead of hopping on and off, we wanted to get the whole tour so we could get a feel for the sites we wanted to see later in the day.

Our tour guide was great at pointing out all the historic and fun sites in Boston.

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the trolley:

 This is just one of the little neighborhood parks that we passed on our walk to the trolley tour.  There is some monument or green space with benches on almost every block.

 This is Christopher Columbus Park taken from the trolley, we will visit it again later.

 Paul Revere's monument

"The Flying" Orr".  Oh, the bridge is cool, too.

 This is a holocaust memorial pointed out to us on our tour.  There are six of these towers, one for each of the concentration camps.  We did try to find this again later in the day, but were not able to locate it. 

The oldest continuous-running hotel in America.

 Site of the Boston Tea Party

After getting off the trolley, we decided to get tickets for a Boston Harbor Cruise, also included on the "Boston Go" card. 

Speaking of bathrooms, we did find ample bathrooms in the wharf area of Boston.

We were able to board a boat, almost immediately for our cruise.  It was 96 Degrees that day so less walking and more riding and cruising was much appreciated.

The cruise lasts about an hour unless you decide to get off the boat at the Charlestown Navy Yard and take a tour of the U.S.S. Constitution.  We decided to do just that.  You are allowed to tour the Navy Yard for an hour and then hop back on the next boat  to continue the harbor tour.

We would highly recommend the harbor tour.  Here are a few photos from that tour::

This is the type of boat on which we took our harbor tour

Boston from the water

The flags on this building are from all the countries with which Boston trades

A lighthouse boat.

Two American war ships from two completely different eras.  So cool.

John thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the U.S.S. Constitution.  You will need an ID to get aboard the ship so be sure you have one along if you want to take the tour.

I am going to turn this over to John now, so he can post about this tour.

You have access to the deck and the top two lower decks.  The impressive part of this ship is that it's all wood.  There is metal, in the cannon and some of the corners where wood meets, but the boat was wood.  The masts are really impressive.

The tour guides told us that "Old Ironsides" is 33-0.

After the boat tour, we went to see Christopher Columbus Park which houses the rose garden of  Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

 Next, it was on to Cheers, "where everybody knows your name".

Be advised, there are actually two Cheers locations in Boston.  This first one which is located in the Quincy Market area, is the one that looks like the inside of the bar in the Cheers TV show..  The other Cheers bar located near Beacon Hill is the outside of the Cheers bar on the TV show.

We had lunch at the one that looks like the inside.

I had "Cahlah"'s Small Spaghetti and John had "Coach's Wrap" and of course, we had a few beers because, Cheers...

 This is a mat going downstairs to the bathrooms, again, they are downstairs.

There is also a gift shop with lots of Cheers memorabilia located just outside of the restaurant.

If you were a fan of the TV show, Cheers, this is a must stop.

Prices were reasonable, food was good, and menu was varied.  It is a very busy place.  We recommend finding spots at the bar.

For your souvenir needs, there are so many shops in the Quincy Market from which to choose.

We did a little shopping and then headed to Boston Common, the big park in the center of the city.

It's a beautiful place where everything of importance happens or has happened in Boston.

Included with our "Boston Go" card was a ride on the Swan Boats and of course, the preschool teacher in me had to see the ducks from the children's book, "Make Way For Ducklings."

 One driver pedals all these passengers around the lagoon.

I am guessing there are no fat swan drivers.

Be warned if you want a photo of these cute ducks, be prepared to wait a long time while all the kids climb on them!  So glad when we were able to capture this photo without anyone on it.

We ended day 2 with our walk back home.  On the way we found a little grocery store where we bought dinner for the night and enjoyed that in our little apartment.

It was an early bedtime since Day 3, our last in Boston, was going to be another busy one.

Boston - Day 3

We woke up to another hot, humid day, but we were ready to head out for some more exploring.

We made our way, with Judy's help to the ticket booth for the Freedom Trail, also included with our "Boston Go" cards.

Our tour guide was awesome and we learned so many historical sites and facts on this tour.

It is a self guided walking tour so you can do it without the guided tour, but since it was included in our card, we went for the tour and we are so glad we did.

The guided tour does take about 90 minutes so give yourself ample time.  The guided tour does  not include all 2.5 miles of the trail either so you will still have to go see some of the sites on your own.

 Three of the guides for the Freedom trail tour

 The Massachusetts State House.  Massachusetts is the only state where the governor has no residence due to the fact that John Hancock forgot to sign the deed to his home.  So if you are governor of this fine state, you will have to find and buy your own home. 

 Our guide who was depicting Prince Hall, a famous black man who started the first black Mason's Lodge in Boston.  He was a wonderful guide.

"Mother Goose's"  grave near Paul Revere and Ben Franklin's parents.  It is broken off, however.

First Black church in America

Monument honoring the potato famine

Site of the Boston Massacre 

New city hall deemed the ugliest in America

Both of these trails are a must see while in Boston

After the Freedom trail, we enjoyed a tasty lunch of tacos and chips/salsa at a restaurant at the Quincy Market.  This was located on the opposite side from the Cheer's restaurant.

After lunch, we took a self guided tour of the African American Freedom Trail.

Boston was a safe place for the underground railroad and played a big part in that chapter of history. 

Home of one of Boston's black men who helped many freed slaves

Public school for whites only until 1855 when it became integrated

It is the first integrated school in American

The original cobblestone streets in Beacon Hill

A meeting all that did not allow blacks

A typical alley in this area

 It was so hot after our tour, that a dip in the frog pond at Boston Common was necessary.  In the winter, it's turned into an ice rink.

 A final stop at the other Cheers before our walk back.

Once back at the apartment we showered and regrouped so we could go out for our one last night in Boston.

We ate at the California Pizza Kitchen, a short walk from our apartment, which was very yummy and a great way to end our time in Boston.

A few things to note about Boston:

1.  Boston is a great city for all ages.  We saw many young families as well as seniors older than us and

     everyone in between.

2.  Seafood is not as good as I expected in Boston.  The only fresh fish I saw on any menus was haddock

     and that was not anything to write home about.  I much prefer my Door County, Wisconsin whitefish.

     There were lots of other choices though.

3.  Public bathrooms in the downtown area were few and far between and most that we saw in bars and

     restaurants and were downstairs.

4.  People are not overly friendly in Boston.  Here in the Midwest, we are used to eye contact and smiles,

     not so in Boston.  Any waiters, store clerks, tour guides, ticket sellers, etc. that we ran into were very

     helpful and friendly, though.

5.  Boston is an easy city to see on foot if  you are able to walk 2 - 3 miles a day.  There is ample public

     transportation if you can't walk that far.  Driving is not suggested as parking is a nightmare and very

     expensive.

6.  Take an actual camera.  You will be taking a lot of photos and will need a lot of memory on your phone

     free if you don't.

After one last night in Boston, we were on our way to Portland, Maine.

Stay tuned for that post next.