Boston Massachusetts, Acadia National Park Maine, and Quebec Canada

Pictures enlarge if you click on them.

Even though I was born in the Southern United States and grew up eating great seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, I have to say I had the best seafood I have ever eaten in Boston. Here is a shot from the Legal Seafood Restaurant eating stuffed lobster.



During our May trip to Boston we visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. A nice gentleman from Tennessee offered to take a picture of me and my wife so we would have one of the two of us together. A police officer drove up and thought the three of us were together. He offered to take a picture of the three of us and I said "Yes, thank you very much." That's how we ended up with the picture of us with a perfect stranger from Tennessee. Anyone know this man?

During the Boston Trip, we also went to Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park, Maine for two days.

Catherine on the Maine coast at Acadia National Park.

We also drove from Maine to Quebec, Canada the only walled city north of Mexico City. We also had great food in Quebec. Here Catherine is eating at a restaurant overlooking the St. Lawrence River.


A shot of Catherine walking down to the old city outside the Quebec walled area.
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Plymouth, Massachusetts

Mayflower II

The Mayflower II is a full scale replica of the ship that brought the Pilgrims from England to America in 1620.

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Plymouth Rock

In honor of Thanksgiving, I am writing about our trip to PlymouthMassachusetts where the Pilgrims had a feast after their first harvest in 1621. It is this feast which people often refer to as "The First Thanksgiving".


Above is a picture of Plymouth Rock that is accepted as the landing place of the Mayflower passengers.

Inside the Mayflower II

Guides on Board the Mayflower II are dressed in period costumes and provide various narratives about life on the ship.

Plymouth Plantation

A short drive from the Mayflower II is the Plymouth Plantation a re-creation of the 1627 Pilgrim village.

Inside the Plymouth Plantation

Behind Catherine you can see a demonstration, in the Native American section, of how corn was grown by placing a fish with the corn seed. This was needed because the soil was so sandy and needed the extra nutrition the fish provided.

Plymouth Village

Defenses of the Plymouth Village

John with a Pilgrim house in the background

Here you can see an example of a thatched roof that the Pilgrims brought with them from England.

Plymouth Village

"Pilgrim" at the Plymouth Plantation

At the Plymouth Plantation, there are actors that dress and assume the personalities of members of the original Plymouth community.

Plymouth Plantation Bull

There are also examples of animals, such as this bull, that were present at the original Plymouth Plantation.

View of the Plymouth Plantation

Behind each house at the Plymouth Plantation there were individual gardens. This is a view of the back of a home and their garden.


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John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

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The bus stop on the way to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

The Library and Museum are located on Columbia Point next to the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Archives.

A selection of personal items which President Kennedy displayed in the White House Oval Office.




Inside of the John F. Kennedy Presidental Library.

Senator Edward Kennedy’s coffin laid in repose in the presidential library in this room.

On our Boston trip we visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Boston, Massachusetts - Part II

Pictures enlarge if you click on them. The lobster was great.

Even though I was born in the Southern United States and grew up eating great seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, I have to say I had the best seafood I have ever eaten in Boston. Here is a shot from the Legal Seafood Restaurant eating stuffed lobster. They had great, fresh seafood.

The Old North Church.

A shot of the steeple of the Old North Church. The church was built in 1723 and is the oldest church building in Boston. On April 18, 1775, Robert Newman hung two lanterns in its steeple to warn that the British troops were arriving by sea to send Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride to Lexington and Concord to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British are coming.

Inside of the Old North Church.

Catherine outside the Bull and Finch Pub where exterior shots for the TV show Cheers were filmed.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.

On our Boston trip we visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. A nice gentleman from Tennessee offered to take a picture of me and my wife so we would have one of the two of us together. A police officer drove up and thought the three of us were together. He offered to take a picture of the three of us and I said "Yes, thank you very much." That's how we ended up with the picture of us with a perfect stranger from Tennessee. Anyone know this man?

Inside of the John F. Kennedy Presidental Library.

Catherine on the campus of Harvard University.

We also walked over the Harvard Bridge also known locally as the "MIT Bridge" that was near our inn to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and then caught the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) subway to Harvard Square. From Harvard Square we walked to the campus and went to several museums including the Harvard Museum of Natural History. This museum included a collection of glass models of plants, flowers, and fruit.

Catherine in front of a dogwood tree on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus.

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Boston, Massachusetts Part III

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View of Boston from the Prudential Center.

The Prudential Center has an enclosed observation deck near the top of the building that provides a 360 degree view of Boston. The building is about a 20 minute walk from the Back Bay area were we were staying.

Catherine in Harvard Square.

We walked over the Harvard Bridge to the city of Cambridge and then went to Harvard Square to look at the the shops. I especially enjoyed being here because Harvard Square is where my favorite NPR radio show is broadcast. The show is called "Car Talk" with Click and Clack also known as the Tappit brothers. On the corner of John F. Kennedy and Brattle streets there is a sign that reads Dewey, Cheetham, & Howe (read it out loud). Car Talk is broadcast from there on the third floor and on their show they always say that their attorneys are Dewey, Cheetham, & Howe.

After all that shopping, Catherine needs a break.

Actually I needed a break, Catherine never needs a break from shopping. Later on this trip we went to Burlington, Vermont the home of the original Ben & Jerry's. Here Catherine decides to do a little pre-trip research.

Catherine is walking back to our inn from the Public Garden. (How come we never have a car?)

In the background of this shot is some typical Back Bay area architecture.

View from the Marriott Residence Inn in Boston on the Tudor Wharf.

The last part of our trip in Boston we stayed at a Marriott Residence Inn. It was really nice and very clean and included a complete kitchen; stove, refrigerator and dish washer. As you can tell it also had great views of the Boston Harbor.

A scene of the USS Constitution "Old Ironsides".

Just a few minutes walk from our new hotel was the USS Constitution. The USS Constitution is one of the U.S. Navy's first frigates. She was launched in 1797 using bolts, spikes, and other fittings from Paul Revere's foundry. She played a key role in repelling the British in the War of 1812. She earned her nickname "Old Ironsides" during a battle on August 19, 1812 when shots from HMS Guerriere bounced off her thick oak hull as if it were iron.

U.S. Naval Sailor and USS Constitution guide.

I spoke with the USS Constitution guide pictured above and she told me that all the guides are active duty U.S. Navy sailors. They are selected during boot camp and offered a chance to spend six months as a guide before they continue in their Navy service. Being selected is considered to be a high honor. The sailor pictured above said she was going to Navy "A - School" to be a hospital corpsman. Anybody recognize this lady?

That's me on the gun deck of the USS Constitution.

Catherine points the way to Bunker Hill.

This 221 foot granite obelisk is in honor of the colonists that died in the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. The rebels lost the battle, but nearly half of the British troops were killed or wounded, a loss that contributed to the British decision to abandon Boston nine months later. The Marquis de Lafayette, the hero of the American Revolution, helped lay the cornerstone of the monument in 1825 and is buried in Paris under soil taken from Bunker Hill.

A view of a neighborhood along the Freedom Trail as it leads away from Bunker Hill.

A small park along the Freedom Trail near Bunker Hill.

Catherine at Giacomo's Ristorante in North End neighborhood.

At the end of one of our day walking the Freedom Trail, we ate at Giacomo's Ristorante. No reservations are taken and there is always a line waiting outside, but is worth the wait. Once inside you choose the meal off a board on the wall by selecting from the various pastas, sauces, and meats you want. For example, a little tortellini, with a tomato sauce, and scallops. There was only the two of us so they sat us with another couple. He was from Boston and the lady was his Mother-In-Law that he had just picked up from the airport. They were very friendly as were all the Bostonians that we encountered.

Later, when we were home, we watched Rachel Ray the television chef and she went to this same restaurant on her show. She sat in the same table that Catherine and I had our meal. We both got a big kick out of seeing the restaurant again.

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