Day tripping to Boston…

The day started with an unusual sound… our alarm clock going off at 6:15 am, yes that is right AM. For six months we have gotten up whenever we wanted to  but this day we got up early because we wanted to. Our plan was to catch the 7:50 am commuter train to Boston so we could have the whole day to  tour the city.

A short drive from Salisbury to Newburyport took us to the train station and for a $3.00 parking fee and $31.00 for two round trip tickets we didn’t have to drive the 40 miles into Boston during rush hour traffic.  Not to mention having to hunt for a parking spot (which can cost anywhere from $15 to 24 per day). As a result, this may have been the single best value in Boston…

About 1 hour later we arrived at the North Station and started our walking tour of the greater Boston area. Our plan was to walk the length of the Freedom Trail with the supporting narrative we got from the internet. If we had time we would take a ferry tour of the harbor and check out Beacon Hill and a few other spots in Boston.

 

We started out in Little Italy and as we passed by a small community bakery a sign said they had hand stuffed cannollis.  We made a sharp turn into the store. A hazelnut cannolli had our name on it even though we had already eaten breakfast… dang, what a great tasty treat this was!!!

Touring Boston by walking the Freedom Trail is really the best way to soak it all in. We were treated to many of the historic sights of Boston including: Boston Common, Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church, King's Chapel, Old State House, Site of the Boston Massacre, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere House and many others.

Where to eat lunch was plentiful and we had been emailed many suggestions but we ended up eating at a place no one told us about. We were hungry while we were in  the North End of Boston so when we passed a small Italian eatery and noticed a long line out the door…  in line we went and 15 minutes later we were eating some wonderful homemade Italian pizza and some nice spinach cheese calzones.

After finishing our walking tour of the Freedom Trail we still had time to walk over to look at the area known as Beacon Hill. I stayed in this area at a Bed and Breakfast back in the 80’s so we wanted to visit the area and then stop by and see the Bull and Finch Pub, better known as Cheers!

Another short walk over the Boston Harbor brought us to Long Wharf where we caught the MTA ferry over to Charlestown. This 10-15 minute ferry ride costs a measly $1.70 per person one way for a total of $6.80 round trip for a 30 minute harbor tour. Stop by any of the other vendors and you will pay much much,more than that.

As it was pushing 3:00 pm we started to head back to the North Station to get on the train before the late Friday afternoon rush began… however, as we passed Union Street where the oldest tavern in the USA is located we had to drop by for an adult beverage especially since they were advertising pitchers of Molson for $8.00 (in Boston nonetheless)…

After enjoying the ambiance of the tavern we made it to the train station and caught the 4:25 pm train back to Newburyport and got back to the RV by 5:45 pm. No sooner home than the shoes and socks were off and the feet were up… what a great adventure we had this day!!!