July 28, 2009, Tuesday TO BOSTON
Today we took a train into Boston. It was a very hot and very humid today. We took a boat ride around the harbor and it is really beautiful for a working harbor. The water is clean and clear and the views are spectacular. We got off and walked on the USS (something, I can’t remember the guy’s first name) Young. Ralph, having been in the Navy, explained some of the things on the ship. I think it would be so hard to live in such close quarters. The room where the regular guys slept had bunk beds that were three high and very narrow. We got to see the sick bay, the communications room, the captain’s quarters (he had a little bunk all his own), the galley and the guns. It was interesting. We rode a trolley around to some of the sights and stopped off at Faneuil Hall which is called the” cradle of liberty” because many a meeting was had there when the decision was being made to fight the British for our freedom. We watched a street performer who was great! He did juggling with knives and several other things including a toilet plunger while standing on a board that was balanced on a ball! The architecture in Boston, like all of New England, is really beautiful. The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) had a fire a few years back so it was closed for repair. Did you know that Old Ironsides was actually not made of iron but just had really thick wood sides and the cannon balls would just bounce off. We rode the train back “home”.