A Whale of a Day

Monday past was a beautiful day, not too hot, not too cold and not humid. The weather forecast for Tuesday was more “iffy” so I made the always difficult decision to go to Boston on Monday.

Boston is a great city. I used to love going in to spend the day. That was before the “Big Dig”. No matter where you live you’ve probably heard a lot about Boston’s Big Dig. It was supposed to make travel into Boston easier and quicker. After years of traffic delays while they worked on it, it is now finished and traffic is worse! The expressway never clears out. 1 1/2 hour drive before is now 3 hours. The MBTA is crowded and hot. Not a pleasant experience and not much faster.

After much deliberation I prepared to drive into Boston and pay the exorbitant parking fees ($40-$50 for the day depending on which garage wasn’t full) but as I neared RT 128 I turned on the WBZ traffic on the 3’s and learned that even at 10:30 am the expressway was still tied up. The residual backup was all the way back onto RT 128. So change of plans, I went to Quincy Adams station on the Redline and took the “T” in.

To get to my destination, Aquarium station, I rode the Red line to Park St. where I changed to the green line to get to Government Center Station where I changed to the Blue Line to get to the Aquarium stop. Arrival time…1pm. 2 hours from parking at 11am to arrival at 1pm.

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I had a combo ticket for a whale watch at 2pm and admission to the aquarium. I had to dash into the Aquarium where I had 1/2 hour before boarding.

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I grabbed a hot dog as I ran out the doors to get in line to board the catamaran.

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That was an expensive 30 minute visit to the Aquarium. I won’t do that again.

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They crammed a lot of people onto the boat. There was minimal seating outside. Most seating was inside so everyone tended to line the railings. A family with  very active children offered me a seat. The mother said “you might as well take it, they will never sit still.” That gives you some idea of the atmosphere. 🙂

As we left Boston Harbor we passed Boston Light, with a glimpse of Graves Light beyond it.

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Then came Minot Ledge light.

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We also saw the Nantucket Light Ship.

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We were on our way to Stellwagon bank, an underwater ledge that is a prime feeding ground for humpback whales. The southern end of the banks is near Provincetown on Cape Cod. That was where we went with Captain John’s Whale Watch and saw the fin backs.

I’m hoping since the New England Aquarium Whale Watch stresses the humpback whales  that we’ll actually see some this time. If we do, I wonder if I’ll get close enough to the rail to get any pictures. In the meantime I will enjoy the boat ride.

Wordless Wednesday~ Boston Marathon

My plan Monday was to start at the starting line in Hopkinton. I envisioned getting pictures of the crowd as the race started. Then I intended to drive to a few other places including Heartbreak Hill to collect more photos that show how runners were doing as the race progressed.

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I intended then to drive to Braintree and take the “T” into Boston so I could arrive for pictures of runners crossing the finish line. I planned to arrive between 2:30- 3:30 because the elite runners would have come in by then and I thought I’d have a better chance of getting a place where I could have an unobstructed view.

Once all the pictures were in camera I would edit it down to the best as a Wordless Wednesday post.

But fate had a different plan. First I overslept so I never got on the road until almost 11am. At that point I seriously wondered if I wanted to put up with the  crowds. I decided to go to the zoo and spend a quiet day with the animals. What I forgot to consider was that this is school vacation week so the zoo was packed. By now it was after lunch so I went back to the original game plan and turned the car toward Braintree.

I had just got on the highway when my phone went off. There was a message from the Outsource Service that is working on my resume. I pulled off at the first exit to see what they wanted.

They were returning my original resume with a number of suggested revisions. I thought about the race and I thought about my need for the resume and the resume won. I turned around and went home and that fateful decision may have literally been a life saver.

I finished the revisions about 4pm and turned on the TV. It was a shock! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and seeing. It was deja vu. I had the same feeling of disbelief when I watched the Twin Towers.

As I write this no one has come forward to claim responsibility for this atrocity. But to me it doesn’t matter if it’s a foreign terrorist group, a home-grown protest, or a deranged individual…it’s all terrorism. ” The dictionary defines terrorism as : the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce.

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In my mind terrorism is preying on the innocent to induce a state of fear. Certainly the events Monday at the marathon fit that description.

One of the best comments I’ve read was written by Bruce Schneier, an American cryptographer, computer security specialist, and writer. Mr. Schneier wrote an editorial piece on the bombing. Out of that article I chose to share this paragraph: Don’t glorify the terrorists and their actions by calling this part of a “war on terror.”  Wars involve two legitimate sides.  There’s only one legitimate side here; those on the other are criminals.  They should be found, arrested, and punished.  But we need to be vigilant not to weaken the very freedoms and liberties that make this country great, meanwhile, just because we’re scared.

In the aftermath of this tragedy there will be talk of making stricter rules and maybe laws. We will again be subjected to searches on the “T” and see bomb sniffing dogs and  swat teams everywhere. Some may welcome it as there is a false sense of safely in this show of force but we must not forget that we cannot trade away our freedoms or the terrorists win.

Mr. Rogers said “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping’.”

We saw that in the frightening moments immediately following the blasts. People ran toward the explosion looking to help. Runners having just finished a grueling 26 miles continued to hospitals to give blood to help the wounded.

So stand tall. Don’t give up our rights in fear and look for the helpers. They will be there.

My thoughts, sympathies and prayers are with those who were injured or lost their lives in Monday’s horrific events. My the Good Lord give strength to the families and friends that are left to deal with the tragic aftermath. I pray that those responsible are identified and brought to justice. Amen

New England Aquarium

What a busy week that last week in August turned out to be! I had a wonderful day with Nancy, Alex and Dawn at the Roger Williams Park and Zoo. I told you all about that but then I was surprised by a visit from some of my New York relatives. They were taking their kids to the New England Aquarium in Boston and wanted to see if I wanted to meet them for the afternoon. Silly question. Of course I did!

I had a work commitment in the morning but it turned out that I finished at the perfect time. I got a Text from them letting me know they were about 90 minutes away and so was I! Could that have worked out any better if we’d planned it?

I headed into Boston but today I chose to drive in. I knew parking would be expensive and it was. $35.00! And the garage only took cash. Oh well what’s that saying, Admission $20.00,  Imax $10.00,  parking $35.00 , an afternoon with family…PRICELESS!!

George is my Nephew and his wife is Kelly and the two awesome kids are my (dare I say it) GREAT Niece Catherine and  GREAT Nephew Patrick.

Of course they are GREAT but  in this case I’m referring to the generational fact that I’m not just an aunt but a great aunt..WOW. I am getting old!

I haven’t been into the Aquarium in quite a while so it was fun to go again and to watch the kids get so excited about the great ocean tank. We even got to see the divers go in to feed the fish.

They’ve added a new Shark and Ray Touch Tank since I was there last too. Everyone enjoyed that, adults and children alike.

The sea lions aren’t on a separate boat anymore either. They have a beautiful enclosure where they are out for visitors to see all the time instead of just when the trainers come in to do a show.

Catherine slipped under the sea-lion statue for a photo moment.

Cute and she thought of it all on her own.

We also squeezed in an IMAX 3D show.

We were busy every moment.

The kids were great too. After that long drive they still held up the whole afternoon. I was very impressed. George and Kelly can be very proud.

Finally as it approached closing time we headed out.

The kids, and I bet the adults too, were getting hungry. George, Kelly and the kids headed over to Faneuil Hall to the food court and I headed back to the car. I had things I had to get done so I had to beg off from dinner but the time we had together was lots of fun.

Thanks guys for inviting me along! 🙂