Monday 25th July
Took a cruise out to the Boston Harbor Islands. Spectacle Island is NOT named for being spectacular thats for sure. More Cabbage Whites than you could, or would care to, shake a stick at and very little else. The problem so far as wildlife is concerned is the lack of any standing fresh water. And gravel/cinder surfaced paths are hard on the feet and the constant crunch is an assault on the ears.
Saw a single Pearl Crescent and thats your lot.
Though there are nice views of the Boston skyline on the way back into Long Wharf.
Tuesday 26th July.
Salem. Ah Salem, where Mrs. B and I... well shucks we spent our first night together these 8 years ago.
Still an odd place with its mix of history, literature and freakshow. I saw an excellent T-Shirt which I intended to buy but didnt come in the the requisite XXL now needed to gird the Banished bod. It featured a line drawing zombie Mickey Mouse and the tagline
" Salem MA. Disneyland for the Dead"
Salem is also the home of the Salem Witch Trials and Nathaniel Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables. An interesting connection between the two is found in the Old Burying Point Cemetary.
Justice (Colonel) John Hathorne was one of the presiding judges at the witch trials. He was also Nathaniel Hawthorne's great great grandfather. Hawthorne inserted the W in his surname in his 20s.
Wednesday July 27th.
View down Charles Street towards the Commons.
On the subject of Mrs Banished and myself and our previous trip to New England I was horrified to find that DeLuca Market on Charles Street had closed!
It had been my local market on my first a trip to Boston these many years ago and so when Mrs. B and I were on our first date it seemed the appropriate place to buy a bottle of champagne. It never looked too much from the outside but an Alladins cave of groceries awaited within not to mention a splendid wine department in the basement.
And now its gone.
Bugger!
But I did manage to make the pilgrimage to Fenway Park this afternoon. Couldn't do the tour alas because there was a game tonight
A third straight win over the Kansas City Royals despite Lackey giving up 3 in the first. Thankfully Ellsbury, Pedroia and Big Papi delivered once again. Ortiz hit the Sox first grand slam of the season, amazing when you consider the number of double digit run totals they have put up this year. And amongst those grand slam runs came his own 1,000th RBI in a Red Sox jersey.
T-shirt seen today:
"Boston Math: 04 + 07 = 11"
That first shot of the butterfly is fantastic
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