We were up bright and early with a foolproof plan. The desk clerk here had told us about parking and the subway system here, so planned on using the resources at hand.
We headed out to the Quincy Adams Park and Ride about nine miles away. Made it without a hitch. Found the escalator down to the ticket machines and quickly turned into the "deer in the headlights". Fortunately there was a very courteous and helpful employee who stepped us through the the process of buying tickets.
Made it on board, and soon on our way to the Park Street Station. Surfacing from the underground station we were met by hundreds of runners - all in costumes and more interested in talking with other runners than winning any kind of trophy. This was apparently some kind of Halloween event.
Halloween seems to be a huge event here as we saw costumed people (young and older-than-us old) all day. This was especially obvious later in the day in an area with many pubs,which must be massive in size by number of consumed revelers we saw entering.
Not knowing Boston was a good reason to try a tour. Finding a ticket booth for one of the many hop on hop off tours we bought tickets and found a pickup spot - #14 of 15 on their route . We road around the entire one hour and 45 minute tour before picking several stops to hop off and explore.
Explored a bit of the Quincy Marketplace after watching a pair of jugglers outside. The market was huge and tightly packed with thousands of people. Mainly food booths in one building. Had a mediocre lunch there before proceeding.
Jumped back on a bus, stopping then at the USS Constitution. We wanted to take the tour of the ship, but were stopped by a naval security. As it turns out, Chuck's pocket knife's blade was longer than the legal two inches. Moved on to the museum, spending hour or so there.
The day was winding down, but stopped near Faneuil Hall. Near there is the Boston Holocaust Memorial. Very moving memorial.
We found the subway entrance around 5:00 pm and returned to the motel.
A few notes about Boston. Traffic is horrible even on Saturday. We thought it bad yesterday, but in watching the tour bus drivers navigate construction, narrow streets, seemingly endless number of traffic lights, and the myriad of other cars we were both thankful we didn't try to drive ourselves. Traffic patterns seem to prevent smooth flow.
Historical sites are intertwined with, and overshadowed by new construction. If built at a historic site, a new building must retain the original exterior as a facade. This makes for some strange looking building fronts.
Massachusetts has a number of turnpikes where tolls are extracted at routine intervals. There have been two methods of paying these tolls: cash at a toll booth, or an "EZPass" system that records each car moving past a sensor and then debits the user's account. That was the way it was until Friday evening when the cash option disappeared - now the turnpikes are cashless. Can't find information about people like us, tourists and visitors, are supposed to do, but can find a lot about fines, violations, surcharges for not paying the toll on.
Maybe Chuck can offer his pocket knife in return for a toll amnesty.
So thankful Boston remembers the holocaust.
