Boston for the day

June 12 – Oh, what a night and then what a day!  We went to bed at a reasonable time as we

Samuel Adams in front of Faneuil Hall with
A great tower in the distance

were getting up at 6.  Ugh!  Well around 1- 1:30 Bill got up to go to the bathroom and on his way back he turned the corner to the bedroom and in the dark hit his head on the sharp corner, waking me and Molly.  He asked for ice for his head and I reminded him we had bought some refreeze packets so he got one out.  Then Molly took off into the living area and I got up to get her and saw that there was a light on outside on the back of the RV.  Bill had emptied the tanks earlier and left one on.  So he had to put his shoes on and go out and turn it off.  By then he said forget it on the ice and we headed back to bed wide awake.  I took forever to fall asleep and didn’t know about him. 

I got up at 6 and he didn’t stir so as soon as I was close to getting breakfast ready I told him it was nearly 6:30 so he got up and was dead tired.  He warned me that I was going to have to drive back from Boston tonight!  We managed to leave just after 7 and drove to the Framingham station of the MTA commuter rail.  There we no parking spots available at the train and no signage indicating where else to park.  We circled again and nothing opened up so I got out and asked a couple of ladies if there was other parking.  One had no idea and the other one indicated down and across the road was another city lot with the payment machine.  We missed the turn and then by the time we turned around and got parked and ready we could see the train at the station and we missed the 8:45 by 2-3 minutes and had to wait until the 9:21.  Oh well, that’s the way our luck runs!

Bill in front of Faneuil Hall

We took the train into the South End station where the Amtrak, Subways and Commuters trains all meet.  It was a very nice, clean station and there were lots of people and tons of places to eat.  Of course prices were a bit jacked up but that’s to be expected.  After getting some information, an all day metro pass and something to drink we headed out on the metro to the Government Center where all the major tourist interests are or begin.  Since we’ve been to Boston before we knew we were not going on all the tours and in all the buildings but we visited Faneuil Hall which was originally built in 1742.  It was used by the British during the American Revolution and currently is the central building of a large marketplace.  There is a museum on the top floor but it was closed and we did not get to see it.  The downstairs has a National Park Service location in addition to shops and walk thru eateries along both sides from front to back.  Once you exit you enter Qunicy Market that houses more eateries and outside are benches and a park like setting with more shops and restaurants lining the streets.  It was a light tourist day but there were numerous schools groups visiting. 

Boston Massacre Site

We did walk a good portion of the walking tour from the AAA book until we were tired.  We stopped at the Union Oyster House for lunch.  It was built around 1713 and is one of the oldest restaurants in the country.  We sat at the bar and enjoyed a big lunch.  I had a crab cake with cornbread, slaw, steamed carrots and a huge kosher dill pickle spear.  Bill’s was the same but with a hamburger and fries.  That fueled us up for the rest of our walk.  We passed other old taverns and bars, Paul Revere’s house, some beautiful churches, one that originally had a bell cast by Paul Revere’s company, Revere Copper and Brass.  A piece of the old bell was in the lobby for exhibit.

Where we had lunch

We eventually made our way back to the metro and made a

Chinatown Arch

stop in Chinatown.  I left Bill at the corner in a Dunkin Donuts for a drink while I checked out the small “town”.  Apparently some years ago it was much larger but they cleared out the brothels and prostitutes and the community was instantly downsized.  The welcome arch still stands and mostly there are restaurants, some shops, bakeries and massage places.  Wish I had time for that!  I did some shopping in one store and stopped at two bakeries searching for coconut macaroons.  No luck but I did happen on some excellent almond cookies and coconut tarts.  That was my total downfall of the day!  I did eat the cornbread at lunch, but no butter but then I had a cookie and a tart!  Bad girl, very bad girl!

Bill wanted to head on out to Fenway to the Indians game so we took the metro there and although it was over 2 hours before game time there was a crowd gathering.  We looked in some shops, but honestly, my feet were killing me.  Then they cleared the street and put up the barricade so we sat on the curb and rested and waited.  Luckily for us, the entire day there was a 30% chance of rain and we got a few drops while we waited but no more rain until we were on the way home.  It was a chilly day with a high of 65.  The sun kept trying to break through but it was only in spurts a few minutes at a time.  Bill ended up changing from his shorts to wind pants for the day.  I was worried about getting cold at the baseball game.  I brought a thin sweater to put on under my windsuit jacket and was fine.

Once inside Fenway we made our way to our seats and I scoped out the possibilities for

Starting pitchers

dinner.  Not a healthy meal to be had.  Not a very progressive ball park!  I settled for a griled Italian chicken sausage and Bill had chicken fingers and fries.  Naughty, naughty!  The Indians did not fare well, losing 5-2.  Oh well, we enjoyed being at the game anyway.  We did not enjoy having to get up and down 50 times to let people in and out of the row since we were on the end seats and the other end was against a wall.  Geez!  We walked over to the Yawkey train station and waited about 15 minutes for our train.  It was pretty empty since we left before the end of the game to avoid a crowd on the train.  It was a peaceful ride back to Framingham and our car was still there so all was well.  I did drive home and it rained most of the way, which I did not enjoy.  We got home about midnight and were both bushed.  Molly was ready to escape the bedroom.  We left food on the counter that one of the other volunteers came and gave her for dinner but I know she was tired of being cooped up in the bedroom all day.  I can honestly say I could not wait to take my shoes off and go to bed.