BOSTON - DAY 3 - MY FINAL DAY IN BOSTON.........

Actually it will be my final half day in Boston until I return Monday morning to fly home.  I arrived early, wanted to take the first harbor cruise so that I could be on the way back to the hotel to change to go to baccalaureate that evening.

The harbor cruise was very nice.  I am going to share a few pictures of Boston as taken from the cruise.  A completely different perspective.

This was a cargo ship coming into port from Japan full of automobiles.

As we were told while on our cruise  "The cargo ships come into port full of cars, will return to Japan full of money."

Look closely, you will see the two small tug boats, one beside, one behind, escorting the cargo ship into the harbor.

These buildings are built on short wharfs, once where smaller ships docked.  At that time there were no buildings.

These are apartment buildings, the apartments cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase.  The buildings are built on pilings in the harbor, and you receive 2 parking places on the shore with the purchase of the apartment.

 This is the skyline of downtown Boston as seen from the harbor.

You do have to admit, it is a beautiful skyline.

I wonder what the earlier Bostonians would think if they saw the skyline now.  What a shock to the system.

The next pictures I am going to share are of the CHART HOUSE.

This is the oldest building on Boston's Long Wharf.  In this building Thomas and John Hancock had their law offices.

The Hancock safe is still on the premises.

The building was built in the early 1700's, with large cellars for storing cargo.

This is one view from inside the building.  It is now a very beautiful restaurant.  Upon returning from the harbor cruise, I had my lunch there, felt I was entitled to splurge one time.  Had the most delicious coconut crusted shrimp. 

They have retained as much of the original building as possible, a very beautiful place.

Upon leaving the restaurant, returned to Cambridge to drive back to Bedford to change clothes and head to Paxton for the Baccalaureate.  Was to meet the family at their hotel in Paxton around 3 p.m..

So since this was my last day in Boston I thought I would share some interesting tidbits that I learned while hopping on and off trolleys:

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

Boston was first settled in 1630 by Puritans from England?
That native American presence in the area dates back 8,500 years"
That Boston, when first settled by the Puritans, was an Island?

That in the early 1800's many of Boston's hills were removed for landfill to fill in the back bay to connect Boston to the mainland?  It took 50 years to complete this undertaking.

How Boston got it's nickname "Bean Town"?
That Boston is home to more than 100 colleges and universities?
That Paul Revere actually had two additional men riding with him that night?
The warning light on Bunker Hill was actually barrels of tar burning?

That the Ivy League of Universities is not IVY League, but IV league, the roman numeral 4 for the 4 original Universities making up the IV league.  There are now 8 Universities.

Boston got the nickname of Beantown because the Puritans did no labor on the sabbath, so on Saturday prepared large pots of baked beans.  These could be eaten cold on Sunday, with no cooking involved.

The Parker House Hotel in Boston is where the first Parker House dinner rolls were served.  Also this is where the first Boston Cream Pie was served.

Boston built the first subway system in the country in 1897.

The first Mayor of Boston to have an automobile - James Michael Curley, had the FIRST automobile license plate issued in Boston and that the plate number was "567", the number of letters in the Mayor's name.  The OFFICIAL car for Boston's Mayor still uses the number "567".

In 1634 Boston Common became the first public park in America.

The Boston Tea party re-enactmant takes place in Boston Harbor every December 16th.

That on January 15 1919 the Great Molasses Flood occurred?  In the north end of Boston a tank of hot molasses burst at the Purity Distilling Company, dumping over 2 million gallons of HOT molasses into the streets, killing 21 people.  The clean-up took weeks, what a sticky mess this was, and to this day, in that area, when it is hot in Boston, people claim they can still smell the molasses in their basements.
(In case you don't know, molasses is what Boston uses when making their famous baked beans).

Enough now!  I am sure you have had all the history lessons you want for a while. 

Tomorrow I'll share Baccalaureate and Graduation with you.  I'm just positive you can hardly wait, but wait you must.  This is probably the laugh of the day.  So, have a good day and God Bless.