Spending 3 days in Boston. What should I see?

[findingZzero]

Sam Adams. Brewer, Patriot.

 

[oldpink]

And Old North Church...Kudos for use of "Breed's Hill" rather than "Bunker Hill.."

If you can make it to Kittery, Maine the "Kittery Trading Post" is one awesome gun shop/outdoor shop....Picture Cabela's or Bass Pro Shop with a whole floor dedicated to new and used guns and not a chain store and you get the idea...
[...]

1st floor is sal****er fishing
2nd floor is freshwater fishing and camping
3rd floor is guns.guns,guns.....

Mods...Why can't I type sal****er without it being censored????? Is it because Indiana hasn't been an ocean bed for so long that we can't use the word here???

Hydrophobes!
Oh wait, that's rabies.

 

[indiucky]

Hydrophobes!
Oh wait, that's rabies.

seafood allergies maybe?????

 

[oldpink]

seafood allergies maybe?????

Actually, I think I figured out the source of the auto-censor just now.
I'll experiment here:
Water
****er

Yep, it's that pesky little "T" before the rest of the word that triggers the auto-censor.

 

[Cygnus]

USS Constitution is closed for repairs until 2016.
Kittery TP is pretty cool, but you bypass Salem to get there. Salem , MA is interesting.

Alos America's Stonehenge in Salem, NH is pretty cool. Neolithic and all.......

Cheer shas added the actual set form the show to the top floor.

 

[chipbennett]

Tagging, because I will be spending the next year in Boston, for work.

 

[shootersix]

. Drink a beer at McGreevy's for me!

since im kinda a dropkick murphys fan, i second mcgreevys!

McGreevy's Boston

 

[riverman67]

I forgot about the Kittery trading post.
It is worth a visit

 

[AA&E]

USS Constitution is closed for repairs until 2016.
Kittery TP is pretty cool, but you bypass Salem to get there. Salem , MA is interesting.

Alos America's Stonehenge in Salem, NH is pretty cool. Neolithic and all.......

Cheer shas added the actual set form the show to the top floor.

I was there last month. While you can not actually board the Constitution the boat is still on display in dry dock (which offers it's own unique perspective) and there is a museum. Still worth a look IMO.

 

[Cygnus]

I was there last month. While you can not actually board the Constitution the boat is still on display in dry dock (which offers it's own unique perspective) and there is a museum. Still worth a look IMO.

Oh cool. I thought they were going to move it for the repairs. Did you have to do the checkpoint at the museum still?

 

[74J10]

I'm 20 minutes north of Boston right now. The Constitution is open. You can only tour the top deck but it is open. It was closed for May and June while they were moving it into dry dock. It is really cool to check out now that it's in dry dock, and it only happens about every 20 years or so. Last time it was in dry dock was mid 1990's. The trolley tours are pretty cool. It's a good way to visit a lot of downtown. You can use it as a taxi, too. You pay a flat fee and can get off at any of the attractions on the tour and do your thing and then get back on the trolley to the next tour. They have some that include a dinner cruise in the harbor and/or a duck boat tour around the harbor or the Charles River. Both are pretty cool! The New England Aquarium is pretty cool too. I would also recommend the Museum of Science. I spent a day there and need to go back to take in more of it because I missed some stuff. The Fenway tour is cool too, also watching a game there. That place has some history! I really liked the tour of the fort at Castle Island, and even more I enjoyed the Fort Warren which you'll have to take the ferry out into the harbor for. Fort Warren is an open tour; so you just wander around and get lost in the catacombs under the old fort walls. Tons of stuff to explore at your own pace there. That is one of my favorite things I've done out here.

There is too much to do here. If it were me, I'd do Fenway the night you get here. Then Museum of Science (if the weather sucks) or Fort Warren Wednesday, then Thursday do the trolley tour because you are always near downtown and can hop on the subway to head to the airport quickly from anywhere down there.

 

[AA&E]

Oh cool. I thought they were going to move it for the repairs. Did you have to do the checkpoint at the museum still?

Yes, they have security screeners at the main museum, this is conducted by the US Marines. The museum is staffed by seamen from the US Navy to answer questions and keep a watch on the artifacts. Several of them were very engaging and well spoken. I have to assume they are hand selected for these roles. They represent our nation to visitors from all over the world in an exemplary fashion, I was impressed.

There is a smaller museum right next to the dry dock that does not have a security presence. It was staffed by both historical society volunteers and US Naval seaman. It was worth the walk across the Washington Street bridge. There really isn't much on that side of the bridge. Bunker Hill memorial is worth seeing I suppose, if you are already over on that side of the bridge.

When I was there they had the newly restored original cannons lined up right next to the fence at dry dock. Standing next to the main guns of such a historic vessel that had brought hell upon on our adversaries was inspiring when taken into context with the other sites of Boston. That city is alive with history. I know it is a bastion of liberal hell today. But once upon a time that land was inhabited by men that refused to be ruled.

 

[AA&E]

I'm 20 minutes north of Boston right now. The Constitution is open. You can only tour the top deck but it is open. It was closed for May and June while they were moving it into dry dock. It is really cool to check out now that it's in dry dock, and it only happens about every 20 years or so. Last time it was in dry dock was mid 1990's. The trolley tours are pretty cool. It's a good way to visit a lot of downtown. You can use it as a taxi, too. You pay a flat fee and can get off at any of the attractions on the tour and do your thing and then get back on the trolley to the next tour. They have some that include a dinner cruise in the harbor and/or a duck boat tour around the harbor or the Charles River. Both are pretty cool! The New England Aquarium is pretty cool too. I would also recommend the Museum of Science. I spent a day there and need to go back to take in more of it because I missed some stuff. The Fenway tour is cool too, also watching a game there. That place has some history! I really liked the tour of the fort at Castle Island, and even more I enjoyed the Fort Warren which you'll have to take the ferry out into the harbor for. Fort Warren is an open tour; so you just wander around and get lost in the catacombs under the old fort walls. Tons of stuff to explore at your own pace there. That is one of my favorite things I've done out here.

There is too much to do here. If it were me, I'd do Fenway the night you get here. Then Museum of Science (if the weather sucks) or Fort Warren Wednesday, then Thursday do the trolley tour because you are always near downtown and can hop on the subway to head to the airport quickly from anywhere down there.

Dang, I missed the open tours by weeks. I was there late May. Maybe next time.

 

[oldpink]

Yes, they have security screeners at the main museum, this is conducted by the US Marines. The museum is staffed by seamen from the US Navy to answer questions and keep a watch on the artifacts. Several of them were very engaging and well spoken. I have to assume they are hand selected for these roles. They represent our nation to visitors from all over the world in an exemplary fashion, I was impressed.

[,...]

I can confirm beyond all doubt that, yes, those sailors are assigned to the Constitution by virtue of being exemplary sailors.
It's a similar process for how they select sailors for instructor duty, which includes the people who do the technical training, as well as the company commanders who are in charge in boot camp.
It's based on the candidate's evals largely, but in highly visible assignments, especially those with heavy emphasis on interaction with civilians, the process is even more rigorous than for instructor duty, often requiring explicit recommendations by the candidate's CO/captain at said candidate's present duty station for the specific assignment as his next duty station.
Getting assigned to the Constitution is harder still, requiring further scrutiny and recommendations, based largely on each candidate's personal skills, especially public speaking.
IOW, it's just about the most difficult assignment to obtain for the Navy, with the possible exception of the nuclear ratings, which (of course) require a spotless record both before and after joining the Navy, plus considerable technical skills.
Getting assigned to the USS Constitution is a very similar process to how the military selects the people who stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Also, as with the Tomb of the Unknowns, duty at the USS Constitution is considered probably the highest honor possible without receiving the Navy Cross or Medal of Honor.
It's also worth noting that the USS Constitution is still a fully commissioned U.S. Navy ship, even though it (obviously) never goes underway (out to sea) as such or into battle.

 

[chipbennett]

How is the Duck tour? We've done that in several cities, and have loved it everywhere we've tried it.

 

[74J10]

I went through Boston Duck Tours. It was similar to the the trolley tour except you can't get off and on. It was like 2 hours both land and water. They take you around most of downtown and past most of the major sites. The drivers are talking over a PA the whole time and ours was pretty funny. Then they take you out into the Charles River. The river portion of my tour was cut short because it was April and the river was still frozen. I liked that it was one of the WWII ducks, but I think the other tours that have the modern ducks that take you out into the harbor might be cooler. The harbor tours take you over towards the area of the Constitution so you can see if from the sea side. I think it is Bostonsupertours.com. They have a package deals on trolley/duck/harbor cruises.

 

[chipbennett]

I like the WWII ducks. The quaintness is part of the experience, and the drivers/guides are always great.

 

[74J10]

Just saw on Facebook the Constitution will be closed on Thursday this week for change of command ceremony. Get there Wednesday if that is on your list!

 

[magic man]

Figured I'd update this thread.

Flew out of Midway at 5:30 this morning. Landed around 8:40 local time. Used a free Uber promo code to get from the airport to the hotel. They comped us a free breakfast. Walked about 2 miles to Fenway and did the 1 hour tour. Another free Uber back to the hotel and now we're relaxing before the game tonight. Got a lot of great pictures on the tour.

 

[1DOWN4UP]

Harpoon Brewery