Happy 4th of July! I’ve spent Independence Day everywhere from Yosemite National Park to Dublin, Ireland to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland to Munich, Germany to Denali National Park, but this year I’ll be spending it in one of the most historic cities in the U.S.: Boston, Massachusetts. I’ve done the concert and fireworks on the Esplanade in the past so today will be more of a low-key celebration.
The MBTA offers $10 weekend tickets for unlimited rides on the commuter rail and it includes holidays if they fall on a Friday or Monday. So I donned my American flag t-shirt, laced up my sneakers, and walked to the North Beverly commuter rail station for the first of three day trips into Boston. The only drawback to riding on the weekends is that the trains only run every 2 hours in each direction.
Soon I was heading out of North Station and into Boston’s North End en route to today’s breakfast destination of North Street Grille. North Street Grille has been hailed by Good Morning America as the best breakfast in Boston and it is easy to see why. I’m very good at rationalizing anything, including a mimosa at 8:30AM (holiday!), but the star of the show was the pesto hollandaise on my “North End” eggs Benedict. Complete with prosciutto and mozzarella, it was a breakfast I won’t soon forget!
As I walked over to the ferry dock for the Boston Harbor Islands I walked through Christopher Columbus Park, which is always one of my favorite places along the waterfront. The flowers were in full bloom today and I enjoyed stopping to take some pictures along the way.
I have visited the Boston Harbor Islands several times in the past but I love being out on the water, so close and yet so far from the city. I wanted to go to Georges Island but the ferry wasn’t running due to water line repairs, so Spectacle Island it was. But before we get there… the ferry was delayed because the USS Constitution was making its annual voyage into Boston Harbor to turn around by Fort Independence on Castle Island. What should have been a 30 minute ferry ride turned into almost an hour as we slowly followed off to the side of Old Ironsides. The USS Constitution was followed by three US Navy vessels with the sailors lining the sides in their dress whites. Passing Castle Island, there were hundreds of people on the lawn waiting to see Old Ironsides pass by. Once we got to Spectacle Island we heard them fire the cannons from both the USS Constitution and Fort Independence. I felt like I got my money’s worth with the ferry ride alone!
Spectacle Island is so named because from above the island looks like a pair of glasses with the North and South Drumlins joined by a saddle in the middle. I quickly abandoned the guided walking tour of the island to explore on my own. I made it up to the North Drumlin and South Drumlin for 360 degree views of the harbor and along the South Beach to look at the sea glass and broken pottery. Alas, you can’t take the sea glass but it was still fun to look at.
The ferry ride back was not nearly as exciting as the ride out, save for the planes landing right next to the boat at Logan Airport. When I got off the ferry, I followed the Harborwalk over to the Seaport where I enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner at The Barking Crab. The drink (peach vodka, iced tea, and lemonade) was delicious. So good, I ordered a second (holiday!). The fish tacos couldn’t have been more boring, but I do love a restaurant that puts malt vinegar on the table.
After dinner, I had dessert in the form of a scoop of Van Leeuwen’s Peanut Butter Brownie Honeycomb ice cream, which I enjoyed in the quaint outdoor garden. Then it was a walk back to North Station along the Greenway and a train ride back to Beverly. Now I am happily lying on the couch watching the Boston Pops on TV, ready for another day in Boston tomorrow.
Traveling with Laura 