Boston Walking & Street Scenes, Part 2

As a bonus, this post has a few Harvard photos also. So the post is a bit longer than previous entries.

Seen from the waterfront. Boston is a very compact city. We walked from the Taj Hotel on Arlington, through the Commons & through the city center to the waterfront.

 This & the next few shots are lovely homes centered around Beacon Hill.

 This grey mansion is home to the Sears family. Yes, that Sears family.

 The old state house. From this balcony, the Declaration Of Independence was first read.

 Lots of tourists moments later.

Look down the street at the base of the large dark monolith. Same old state house, different perspective. If our founding fathers knew what would arise from their beginnings . . . . . 

The corner of Arlington & Beacon Streets. Time to find an old location.

Row Houses on Beacon Street.

The wider view.

473 Beacon Street. 4th floor walkup. I was fortunate enough to spend time with family here many years ago.

Looks a bit overgrown with the ivy. How many times did I crawl out of that turret window to watch the activity below. And there was a fraternity in the building across the street just to keep the entertainment going. Good memories.

Was formerly a church. Now condos and such after a fire.

Corner market.

Commonwealth Ave. Next photo also.

Last time I crossed this walkway was about 35 years ago.

Looking across the Charles River toward MIT.

The Esplanade. Excellent walking space along the river.

And now on to Harvard.

Apparently, getting your photo taken with Harvard himself is a thing.

One of several entrances.

Annenburg Hall.

The type of place my wife holds in reverence. Widener Library.

This looks absolutely nothing like the university club I frequent. This one has no room for a golf course.

A few years ago we changed planes at Logan airport while on our way to Maine. Sitting in the co-pilot seat of a twin engine turboprop, I was able to get a great overhead look at the city & recognized several locations. I do like Boston.

Boston Walking & Street Scenes, Part 1

For our 28th anniversary, we decided on a long weekend in Boston. Boston is a walking city, pedestrian friendly with a new destination around most corners. Just like in London & several other cities, I feel quite comfortable playing city dude. Much of our early U.S. history happened in Boston. I was fortunate enough to spend some time here years ago & was happy to be back.

Home for our stay was the Taj Boston on Arlington Street.

 Our 5th floor room overlooked the City Garden & met our approval.

 City Living. This was shot from a hallway window. Plant boxes with assorted vegetables. BeeKeeper boxes also. And a lovely planter box in the lower left that was previously used for other purposes.

With a direct flight, we were on the ground before 11am. By 11:30 we were checked in and found this place just around the corner for lunch.

 Hampshire House. AKA the Cheers Bar from the TV show.

 

 The interior of the real bar and the TV program are 2 different issues. Reality is a typical basement bar found in any large city.

 Boston is full of lovely old brownstones.

Typical street. It's been a long time since I saw exhaust coming from the street grates.

How to do it properly for the well-to-do. A nice apartment that includes a roof garden spot. 

 

 Boston City Garden in a quiet moment. On Saturday, this was a place of weddings, impromptu brass band concerts & family picnics. All happening at the same time.

 

 Just across the street: Boston Commons. Add tour groups to the mix & you get the idea.

 

 This could be the location of any park bench story.

And just up Tremont Street we find . . . . . . 

 

 The Granary Burying Ground.

 

 Tombstone styles were a bit different back then. Maybe a bit ghoulish to some, but I found it quite interesting.

 

Among those buried here: Paul Revere, John Hancock and Samuel Adams.

 

 The best was to see the city for a tourist? The hop-on, hop-off trolley tours.

 

 This is a phone photo taken after leaving Smith & Wollensky, a rather up scale dining establishment.  There is something magical about a city at night. 

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A Bit Of Warm For A Cold Winter

Photos for this trip turned out to be just quick snapshots. We've been aboard various ships and the photos start to look alike after a while.

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It was not advertised, but Coral Princess had been in dry dock the previous 2 weeks prior to our sailing. So for the first week out, the things that "go bump in the night" may turn out to be worse than a mere bump. We sailed from Port Everglades and were at sea the next day with little issue. Our route was to leave Port Everglades, take the northern route around Cuba and make way for the Mexican coast. Coral Princess was scheduled to call on Cozumel for day 3. While we should have been undergoing docking procedures at appx. 7am, Captain Nicolo Binetti came on the public address system and informed everyone of the issues that had happened during the night. A bearing on the  starboard shaft had gone and repairs were underway. The engineering staff had already been working on the problem since earlier in the night. We would not arrive in Cozumel at our appointed time. Coral Princess has a cruising speed of 22 knots. For a 962 foot ship, that is approaching light speed. We were running appx. 5 knots, if that. Port engine was operational, the starboard was down due to the shaft bearing. This was obvious when looking off the fantail of Coral Princess. Only 1 screw was turning. Most of the day was spent traveling 2 large circles just due west of Cuba. About 3:30, Captain Binetti informed us that repairs were successful & we would have a schedule change. We headed to Cozumel, arriving around 5pm when we would have normally left. We would stay docked at Cozumel the next day. Roatan, Honduras was not going to happen.

Bad bearing or not, I was happy to back on salt water.

For us former Boy Scouts, seeing a seamans' knot in use warms our hearts. We Scouts struggled to learn the various knots. Sailors know their knots by heart & use them daily.

A quiet moment along the promenade deck. The newer model Princess ships do not have a promenade deck. The wife & I avoid those particular vessels, the lack of a promenade deck being a large reason.

Did someone say Dancing? Sure you did. The WheelHouse Bar is one of the better dance floors on the ship. This is also where you find the bands that can play traditional ballroom music.

The Atrium is the inside central gathering place on the ship. Anne & I danced that marble floor to 4 stories of adoring spectators.  My girl does love her audience.

This is where you can usually find me. I'll be under one of the overhangs in the shadiest spot on the boat. Stretched out on a lounge, drink in hand and watching the world go by.

And this is where all the sun-bleached or burnt crazy people are.

We've been to Cozumel before. Neither of us got off the ship during the port stop.

The land of the Maya is now the land of the tourist.

Yes, the local infrastructure is well built. But . . . . look at the deep blue of the Caribbean waters. You don't find that in other seas.

We were not the only ship in port.

More of that lovely blue water. The dark spots? Those are coral outcrops.

You can tell where the better diving and snorkeling spots are. Just look for the boats.

After leaving Cozumel, we made way toward Costa Maya. Early that morning, Captain Binetti came on the public address system again and informed everyone of the 25-30 knot winds and 6-8 foot seas at the Costa Maya dock. We've been there before. The dock is nothing more than a concrete pier extending out into open ocean. There is no breakwater or safe harbor. Better to avoid that stormy spot. Costa Maya had been crossed off the list for this voyage. For me, no great loss.

Our sea day heading back to Port Everglades was normal enough. To a point. We were reversing our earlier route, working around the western tip of Cuba and north of the island while heading back to Port Everglades. While setting on the promenade deck, both my wife & I noticed the ship had slowed and was making a turn. Another announcement from Captain Binetti told us a small boat with several people had been spotted & we would offer assistance if needed.

The boat was home made, covered with a tarp to camouflage if needed. These were Cubans trying to make their way to the US. I counted 10 aboard this small craft. They had a tiny motor and totally ignored us. For those of you not familiar with US maritime law, any requested assistance contact is reported to authorities. Not good for the Cubans. If they could get to dry US soil, asylum can be requested & granted legally to Cubans.

Take a look at the boat and the size of the open ocean. Republicans complain of immigration, but anyone willing to risk their life for a better opportunity for themselves and their families has my respect. No assistance was requested, so we were free to continue on to Port Everglades.

The old folks say things happen is 3s. My electric razor quit while on the trip, so I guess 

we hit the mark.

Yes, you do see several yachts aboard that freighter. That's how they arrived from Europe.

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Some people reading this will think we had a awful trip. Those people will be wrong. I've traveled enough to realize that a "perfect vacation" is a marketing ploy. Sometimes things may go "phlaaaatt", but it's how one views the world that makes all the difference. We had a great time & have stories to tell. I hope the Cubans made it to dry US soil.