A Penny For The Boatman

October 6, 2015


Today Jason and I were looking forward to a special trip to Boston. We decided that one day we would take the Ferry from Salem to Boston. Jason has been there once before, but I have never seen it--unless you count the airport or train station. We woke up a little earlier than usual in order to make it on time for the ferry, as it leaves at 10:30. We showered, dressed, and made our way down to the breakfast room at the Salem Inn. We enjoyed our usual morning food with a cup of coffee (for Jason) and tea (for me). Below are the standard breakfast pictures:

After breakfast, we returned to the hotel room to brush our teeth and grab warmer coats. Here is a picture of us ready for our mini trip:

We then set out toward the harbor, by foot. According to Google Maps, the ferry port was only 6 minutes away. Google lied. As with most things on our trip, Jason and I rushed to our destination to make it with just seconds to spare. This was what occurred when we arrived at Penn Station in NY, when we purchase a walking tour of Salem, and now with the ferry. Later on this day we would find ourselves in this same position once more. We seem to be really lucky.

We purchased our ferry tickets and immediately boarded. Below is a picture of the boat:

It was smaller than I expected. I have always thought ferries were the ones with cars that can be driven on them, so I was surprised to see not just a lack of cars, but also a lack of space. We did, however, spot a Judi Dench look-a-like on the boat (you can see her in the picture above). She cackled and roared with amusement as we soared over the waters of the Massachusetts Bay.

We also spotted a service dog while on the ferry. Below is a picture:

A picture of us on the ferry can be seen below. It was way windier than we had expected, not to mention bumpy! Although it was a rather warm day for Salem, the cold wind numbed our fingers as we flew over the sparkling water. Although not what was expected, it was amazingly fun.

It was about an hour ride across the Massachusetts Bay to Boston. It was a perfect day for a boat ride. It was warm and sunny outside. Although it quickly became cold once the boat was moving, we were prepared with warm coats for the occasion. It was just breathtaking! Below are pictures of the city of Boston as we neared the port:

Below is a video of a brief moment of our boat ride:

Once off the boat, we decided it was time to grab a bite to eat. A lot of people who have been to Boston recommended eating at Legal Seafood. The guy on the train and our taxi driver from the night we arrived in Salem both highly recommended this restaurant. Said it was the freshest sea food around. We gave it a go. I meant to take a picture of the outside, but we were so busy I forgot. I was able, however, to get pictures of our food, as always:

 Our smoked salmon appetizer (above)

Jason's tuna burger (below)

 My fish sandwich (below):

All the food was amazing! Fresh and perfectly spiced. Jason's tuna burger massively surprised me--I'm not a huge fan of tuna but I loved it! Wish I had ordered it--well, maybe not since it's over 1200 calories alone. Still great! We later learned there is a Legal Seafood in Atlanta, we plan to give it a try once returning home.

After eating, we decided to head out for King's Chapel Cemetery. This is the oldest cemetery in Boston and is the resting place of the first governor of Massachusetts, William Dawes, the man who rode with Paul Revere to Lexington in 1775, Reverend John Cotton, Hezekiah Usher, and Mary Chilton. Mary Chilton is someone many believe to be the first woman to step off the Mayflower. Below are pictures of the Cemetery. It was just lovely!

In the picture above, to the right of me, is a large and deep hole in the earth. It appears to be a vent for the subway. We could be wrong, but that is our guess. It was right in the corner of the cemetery. Jason says I look very "city" in this picture.

Look at those fall leaves!

Before leaving this cemetery, Jason and I very discretely obtained a small sample of dirt for our cemetery collection. We meant to bring a bottle with us to collect this sample, but as always.... we forgot. On the way to the cemetery we stopped for a soda at a convenience store. We planned to put the dirt in the soda bottle, but we couldn't drink it in time. Jason was smart and was able to fashion a vial made out of our old ferry tickets which we used to hold the dirt. Success!

After visiting the cemetery, we headed toward another. Since this is one of our favorite things to do anywhere we go, and since Boston has two major cemeteries very close to each other, we headed out toward our second destination: Granary Burial Ground.

In this cemetery they had tours. We decided not to take one. Most cemeteries can be self-guided as long as you can read. We followed the signs and read about each person and were lucky enough to sometimes hear the guides as they passed on occasion. The first thing we saw was this:

At first we thought this was Benjamin Franklin's grave, which is confusing because we both thought he was buried in Philly. Turns out we were right. This was not his grave. This is the grave he set up for his parents and where they now rest.  Below are more pictures of this beautiful cemetery:

 In the picture above, you can see how well preserved these headstones are. We were shocked by this. Most graves this old are wearing down and illegible. These and those from the previous cemetery are perfectly preserved. They had chains to block off the public from walking near the graves, which probably helps.  Although I don't have a picture of this, and because the chains blocked off many of the headstones, I was unable to find and take a picture of the one for "James Allen." Jason and I searched and searched, hoping to send the picture to my brother, James Allen. It would have awesome, but we never found it.

Something we did find at the cemetery, were acorns. Jason and I also saw acorns in Salem at the Common. We decided earlier this week to take home some acorns and try to plant a tree in our yard at home. So, we were lucky enough to grab some acorns directly in front of Paul Revere's Grave. Pretty excited!

Pictures above and below are of John Hancock.

The rest of the pictures are either random or are of notables in the cemetery. Any with an American flag were noted on the maps located throughout the cemetery. I would like to state that James Allen was noted on the map, although unable to be seen. 

 The picture above is of the small (very small) headstone of Paul Revere. The picture below is of the monument dedicate to him, which resides directly to the left.

 Sam Adams the president: 

After the cemeteries, Jason and I decided to walk toward the common. This was the first time either of us had ever been. It was lovely. It wasn't very far up the street from our previous destination. The first thing we saw--other than hot dog vendors) was the State House. It was very large and quite impressive. We walked up quite a few stairs to obtain the picture below:

Below was a rather amazing sculpture that we found opposite the State House.

Jason and I continued walking through the Common when we came across the picture seen below. It was a beautiful spot (despite some trash thrown in the water). Apparently this is where they do Swan Boating. Back in 1870 a man named Robert Paget was given a boat to hire from the city of Boston. This boat was used to give people a lovely ride down the Public Garden Lagoon and is still done today. Interestingly enough, it is Rober Paget's descendants who continue this tradition. Sadly, we found out about this after the fact and were not able to go for a ride. Next time we are in Boston, however, we will be going down the Lagoon swan style.

We continued our walk in the Common when we came upon the Beacon Hill Gazebo (called the Parkman Band Stand). It is almost identical, although larger, to the one in the Salem Common. Just lovely! You can see the leaves changing on the trees all around this spot.

We continued to walk a little more until we decided to find a public restroom--that soda just wasn't a good idea. We walked down Treemont, trying to find a place to stop. We figured a Dunkin Donuts would be a safe bet--it wasn't. None of the Dunkin Donuts had a public restroom. We ended up going all the way down to Faneuil Hall. Basically this is the market place. Below is a picture:

 Faneuil Hall has been a market place and meeting hall since 1742. The building above is the original. Quincy Market was added in the early 1800s to expand the market place. Today both are very lively and filled with souvenir shops, street performers, restaurants, and sad men desperately trying to get woman to come into their hair salon. We immediately entered Faneuil Hall and found the restrooms on the bottom floor. On our way down, we passed a woman who said very loudly "I am not impressed." We thought she was being kind of rude about Faneuil Hall, but we had yet to truly see it. In either case, it seemed a strange reaction.

We relieved ourselves, possibly in the same place Samuel Adams did centuries before. Strange to think about. We quickly returned to the upper floor and browsed the shops. I found some taffy in a small, cloth bag with a lobster on it, but ended up deciding against the purchase. Side note, it was actually labeled as "LABSTAH" on it. In no time at all, Jason and I had finished browsing and decided to check out Quincy Market. Below is a picture: 

 As we left the historic building, we began to hear the beautiful sounds of a violin. There was a woman playing and a booth set up for the purchase of her CDs. She was very good. We walked in and immediately were tempted with the smells of cakes, cookies, gyros, pizza, and every other delicious, thigh-enlarging treat you could think of. We have been dieting, very successfully, for quite some time now--Quincy Market was not going to destroy our progress. We found ourselves rushing toward the end, trying to find fresh air. We came to discover that the center of Quincy was all food, but the sides or "wings" were for shopping. Slightly surprised that the Market is basically 100% souvenir shops, we browsed only.

Below is a picture of a cute couple as they walked through the Marketplace:

Jason and I sat down on a bench beside Quincy Market and watched as two Italian-looking men tried desperately to entice women into their hair salon. I'm sad to say they failed at every attempt. They asked me later in the day, but they were kind enough to leave us alone while sitting down to rest.

While on the bench, I accidentally dropped an acorn from the Paul Revere grave on the ground. I immediately jumped up to grab it. Jason said an older couple saw me and appeared to be very confused by my need to save the small acorn. Thought it was pretty funny. While we sat, we listened to a young guy playing a guitar and singing. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't great. I hope he's just trying to earn money for college and not for his band. We looked down at our clocks and realized we had 3  hours before our ferry returned to Salem. We decided we couldn't spend those hours just sitting in the Market.

We headed over toward the aquarium but ended up taking a Trolley Ride instead. Atlanta has slightly ruined us for other aquariums. We were nervous to go for a ride--uncertain how long it would take us to return. We asked an older gentleman how long the ride would last. Learning it was a two hour event, we figured we could swing it, if they left right then. As luck would have it, we had arrived minutes before the last bus left--again, we have a certain pattern on this trip.

We met our tour guide, a bald Bostonian with a knack for repeating himself. We found two seats side by side at the very very back of the trolley. Jason sat by the window and I near a crazy woman who could not sit still. This woman moved around the bus randomly, changing seats any time one would open. At one point, the kid in front of me fell asleep, and she literally grabbed his head and moved it onto his dad's shoulder. Luckily the dad didn't notice. If that had been a kid of mine, I would have been pissed. You can't just grab a kid's head with both hands and force it in a direction, even if they are asleep. But I digress...

We shared a window with the same father and son, but sadly they had previously rolled down the flap. Therefore, some of our pictures have a glare to them. Later on in the tour, many people got off and we were able to move to the left side of the trolley with a better view. Below are pictures:

We were unable to obtain a good picture of this, but behind that red brick building is the Old North Church, where they hung the light to warn that the British were coming. Side note... they wouldn't have actually said "the British" were coming because they all viewed themselves as British. We heard the bus driver say that later on in the tour, but no one ever mentions that when they "quote" Paul Revere.

Next is a picture with a slight view of Bunker Hill Monument.

Picture of the Leonard P Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge (uh... what a long name!):

The picture below is where they read the declaration of Independence on July 18, 1776. You can see a small balcony to the left on this building--this is where that happened. Each year on July 4th, they reread the declaration from this same spot. I would love to do that one day--well, to be there for that. I'm not a great public speaker. 

The next picture is of the brass teapot in Boston. Apparently if you ever hear someone say "meet at the teapot," it means meet under this. The teapot is the sign for The old Oriental Tea Company. Apparently it became famous in the late 1800s due to a publicity stunt. They asked everyone to guess how much it would take to fill the tea pot. They took a huge number of guesses and said they would announce a winner. To increase excitement they would have 8 boys and one tall man hide inside of it and occasionally look out from the massive teapot for advertisement purposes. The tea kettle could hold up to two hundred and twenty seven gallons, two quarts, one pint, and three gills. Apparently 8 people guessed within 3 gills and were declared winners. They each got 5 pounds or an 8th of a chest of tea. Pretty cool!

Here is a pictures that we can't remember anything about:

A picture of an amazing church that was beautifully designed:

A picture of something else we can't remember:

Pictures of Boston apartments that are probably worth a fortune:

A beautiful picture that Jason took:

A random picture:

A picture of the oldest firehouse station in Boston. Oddly enough it is located directly beside the Police Station, which apparently caused issues (they don't like each other).

Another random picture of a Boston street (love that clock to the center):

Boston Red Sox! Fenway Park!

Another picture of the old fire station:

A beautiful dining room:

This is a street in Boston that is known as Commonwealth Avenue. Apparently Winston Churchill was quoted as saying this was the prettiest street he had ever been down. This street is lined with beautiful trees as well as large sculptures. The most famous one was of George Washington on a horse, which sadly we were unable to get a picture of. Below are pictures of what we could capture:

Below is a picture of their street lamps, apparently still running by gas. Although beautiful, I personally think is waste of very valuable resources.

Jason and I were nervous that the tour was going to run long and we would miss our ferry. We did not realize we picked the tour during the middle of rush hour in Boston. The tour guide asked us all where we were picked up at and made sure to drop us back off at our origin. He seemed flustered by the traffic, which worried us we wouldn't make it. However, in no time we were back. Not only were we back in time, but we had an hour to an hour and a half to eat dinner and get back to the ferry.  Oddly enough, our tour guide apologized to us when we got off the trolley. He said "It sort of just fell apart there at the end." We told him not to worry--we hadn't noticed anything wrong. He asked how long we were going to be in Boston. We think he was going to offer us another free trolley ride, but since we were only there for one day he just apologized. We enjoyed it and still aren't sure what went wrong. Haha! Below are pictures of Boston at night:

Once back at Quincy Market, we decided to eat at Durgin Park. We had heard this was a good place to get Boston baked beans, which I definitely wanted to try. We walked in and found ourselves in a quiet room with no one to be seen. Finally we looked to our left and saw a sign that pointed up toward the stairs. We walked to the top of the building and met a hostess who seated us to the left of the restaurant. A true Bostonian took our order and arrived with food just moments later. Below are pictures:

Jason with his beans and clam chowder:

We ate and enjoyed our delicious food while listening to a crazy woman behind us. We think she and the poor guy with her were on a date. She continually talked about previous relationships that ended badly and what she wanted out of a relationship. Not exactly a conversation for a first or second date, which it clearly appeared to be.

After finishing our crock of baked beans (sadly not in a bean pot, like we had hoped), we ordered a Boston Cream Pie. Below is a picture, delicious!

After eating, we decided to return to a shop we previously had visited that day. The only thing I wished to purchase were two bean pots. I collect them and thought it would be nice to have them from Boston. We searched and searched all day but found none. We did, however, spot two teeny tiny Boston Baked Bean pots with the candy in them. We purchased them and called it a day. Before I forget, however, there was one other store I feel I should mention--the Ghirardelli shop. We walked in and were greeted by a kid who seemed very happy to have a career in chocolate selling. He gave us a free caramel sample, which we devoured on the spot. We browsed and noticed their large selection of ice cream, floats, and candy. We purchased nothing, but it was a great shop.

After eating, we headed toward the ferry. We were roughly half an hour early. It was cold by the water, so we stopped inside a Marriott for warmth. Luckily, this Marriott had it's lounge upstairs. The bottom part of the hotel kept us from sight and allowed us to sit on a bench in the warmth. We waited until time to board and then walked outside. I pointed to a squirrel running along the dock and got excited for Jason to see (we love squirrels)... turns out it was just the largest rat we have ever seen. It was crazy! Then suddenly another rat ran out.

We sat down and watched as a woman began frantically running up and down the dock. She looked worried. We saw our boat and boarded. Following us was the frantic woman from earlier. She was with her elderly dad. We heard her saw "We almost missed it" to him as they boarded. Guess she wasn't sure where to go.  It was just the four of us on the way back. The poor older guy was dragged here and there by his daughter to see this or that on the boat. He looked like he just wanted to sit. Felt bad for him.

We began the ride inside the boat where it was warm, but decided it was best to see the city fade away from the railing. Below are pictures:

I have always loved the ocean but now I have truly fallen in love with it. We bounced up and down rapidly, soaring over the waters with great speed. It was so much fun! I could easily see how you could feel sea sick, however, I was nervous myself toward the end, but managed just fine. I enjoyed the excitement of flying on the bay.

At one point in our journey, we heard the daughter ask her father to come outside "Just for a second." She said "You have to see this." The poor guy hobbled after her. Next thing we knew, about 20 minutes later they came around the corner. He looked sick and as though he couldn't move. She asked Jason to help get him back inside. Jason was kind enough to grab his shoulder and assist him as the boat violently rocked back and forth. Poor guy. "Just a second" apparently means 20 minutes of hell on a boat. Below is a video of our boat ride and a picture of the boat:

After returning to Salem we had to walk back to the hotel in the dark. Luckily, Salem is pretty safe. The only weird incident was when a guy opened a kitchen door and dragged a trash can out to the street without looking where he was going. He almost hit me with the trash can. He looked genuinely surprised that anyone was out that late (9 O'clock). I saw his rather large scar that went from his forehead, over his eyelid, and down his cheek. He looked pretty rough, but was very nice and apologetic. Below is a random decoration I loved on the street:

Once back at the hotel we took pictures of what we bought while in Salem. My Boston bean pots:

Our anniversary bands from the Silversmith Shop:

The end of our Boston adventure!