Today we visited Boston. Our main activity was a 4 hour afternoon excursion to drive around Boston and Cambridge. But before we could go ashore, we needed to participate in a full US immigration verification. Apparently the US Border Security group does a spot check on random cruise ships to make sure all paperwork is in order. The challenge was that everyone on board, both passengers and crew, had to appear before one of the 7 agents. Doing the math, that's over 400 people per agent! We were given an appointment time of 8:45, and when we got in line, it went nearly the length of the ship! Fortunately the line moved pretty fast and we were done in just over 1/2 hour.
After lunch we headed for our bus tour. We immediately noticed the temperature as the heat wave caught up with us. At one point we saw a bank sign giving the temperature as 95 degrees. Besides being air-conditioned, the ride was interesting, with the typical very talkative guide. Our first stop was at old Trinity Church which was established in 1733. It is across the street form the John Hancock building. Here's the church reflected in the John Hancock building's glass.
Once we crossed the Charles river (picture on left) we were in Cambridge. At Harvard, due to recent student protest issues, access to the core campus is restricted to people with a Harvard ID. That part of the campus is surrounded by an 8' iron fence with gates. So we did not get into the main campus. But we saw some of the buildings and had time to shop for Harvard merchandise.
Our next stop was for the Old North Church. This was a 40 minute walk (in 95 degree heat!) but was well worth it. On the left is a nice statue of Paul Revere with a shot of the Old North Church on the right.
When we got back we were both quite exhausted. I grabbed a beer and Mary some ice water to cool off. We ended up going to dinner much later than usual. Mary's creme brulee dessert had a smiling face so I wanted to include a picture.
Sea day #3 tomorrow as we head to Norfolk.
4 comments:
Sounds like Boston had the same temperatures we had in New York today. Too hot but I'm glad you were on an air conditioned bus for a lot of your tour. The creme brulee looks yummy! Enjoy the sea day tomorrow. Gail
You did great walking for 45 minutes in 95°. Cute dessert. Glad the security check went so smoothly. Nancy
A lovely day , loved the photos . So glad it wasn't too long of a wait for the security check . Love the cute dessert , I bet Mary did too . Pat
Nice that you had a driver to show you around Boston!
That heat will wear on you fast! It’s made itself at home here in Kansas…UGHH!
Someone was very creative with the smiley face dessert! 😊
Stay cool!
Kathy
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