What to Do, What to Do?

Posted on February 23, 2017February 23, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Now that my globetrotting is temporarily on hold the age old question rears it’s ugly head. What am I going to talk about until my next trip (which isn’t until June by the way)?

If I were on a TV show you’d get to watch reruns for the next couple of months and I may dip into some of my older posts to share but I don’t plan to do that every day.

In hopes of finding topics I googled the Top 10 things to do in Boston. If the weather holds out maybe I can try to cover some of those.

According to Trip Adviser the number 1 thing to do is visit Fenway Park. That won’t work. The Sox are in Fort Myers Fl. for spring training.

#2. Is a visit to the Museum of Fine Art.

Well, I’ve been there and it is beautiful. I attended the special exhibit for the glass blowing artist, Dale Chihuly.

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His work is amazing!

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I also love the statue out front. Appeal to the Great Spirit.

Appeal to the Great Spirit at the MFA

#3. The Freedom Trail.

Get out your walking shoes because if you want to walk the whole thing it will take you awhile. The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km) path through downtown Boston that passes by 16 locations significant to the history of the United States. Marked largely with brick, it winds between Boston Common to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. Of course while you are at the Bunker Hill Monument you’ll want to climb the 294 steps to the top for views of the Boston Harbor. Bunker Hill Monument is a National Historical Park.

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#4. Boston Public Garden

This is one of my favorite places in Boston but not in February. In the spring there are flowers everywhere.

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Swan boats cruise the little lagoon and there’s always the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture. Of course in the winter there’s skating on the Frog Pond but it’s been so warm I bet all of the ice has melted.

#5, Boston Common

I really don’t distinguish between the Boston Common and The Public Garden. They are all sort of one big park.

According to Wikipedia they are a pair of public parks in Boston. I’m sure my friend Joe would be quick to point out the differences to me. He is far more of a “Bostonian” than I am even though he’s lived in the south a number of years now.

Well that’s about all I have time for in this post. I guess we’ll have to finish off the last 5 another time.

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Superbowl Sunday

Posted on February 5, 2017February 5, 2017 by Dusty Roads

Before anyone starts yelling mean things about the New England Patriots, remember I am from a New England state. I’ve heard it all and I am sick of it. Suck it up , cupcake. The New England Patriots win games. You hate us ’cause you ain’t us! So I am not going to get pulled into a Pat’s bashing dialog. No whining about “cheaters”. No complaining because we’re in the Superbowl “AGAIN”.

I am not going to put your team down. I am not going to call your team names. ( Not even if it’s the Cleveland Browns)

I work in Foxboro, home of Gillette Stadium.

I’ve been to Patriot’s Place.

I like Tom Brady. I’d like to see him get one more ring.

(Brookline, MA, 0/14/15) New England quarterback Tom Brady holds his hands with all four of his Super Bowl rings during a ceremony on Sunday, June 14, 2015. Photo courtesy of the New England Patriots

I have friends in Atlanta. I’ve been there. It’s a nice city.

I have nothing against the Atlanta Falcons. Congratulations on making the Superbowl!

That being said,

May it be an exciting game, a true nail biter. Make it a game worthy of a “SUPER” bowl.

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‘Nuf Said!

Graves Light

Posted on January 27, 2017January 27, 2017 by Dusty Roads

Yesterday I mentioned Graves Light that marks the North Channel into Boston Harbor. It isn’t as “pretty” as Boston light but its history is just as colorful.

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The lighthouse gets it’s ghoulish names from the tiny island it’s situated upon. “The Graves” is the outermost island of the Boston Harbor Islands National recreation Area, 9 miles off shore of downtown Boston.

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The lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in the approach to the Port of Boston and until 1975 it was the most powerful lighthouse in New England. It is currently lit with a modern , solar-powered lamp that doesn’t compete with the original giant Fresnel Lens.

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The Lighthouse was built in 1905 and equipped with a first-order Fresnel lens that shown with a 350,000 candlepower beam across the harbor. That lens was removed in 1975. Although not on display at this time it remains in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution. Any classic film buffs may remember that this light was the setting for the climatic storm in the 1948 movie “Portrait if Jennie”.

In recent years many lighthouses have gone up for public auction and Graves Light was no exception. In June of 2013 the lighthouse was put on the auction block. The starting bid was $26,000 but by the time the gavel dropped it had reached a record $933,888, the highest bid ever paid for a U.S. Lighthouse.

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In 2014 the new owners began a major restoration project that has been features on the s television show, This Old house.

Graves Light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The lighthouse is still being used for navigational purposes and will remain so under the terms of the sale.

The lighthouse includes 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and a study but landing is difficult and entering the building requires crossing a 40 –foot ladder shown in this archival photo.

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Still who wouldn’t want to own a real lighthouse?

Boston Light

Posted on January 26, 2017January 26, 2017 by Dusty Roads

Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in the outer Boston Harbor.

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The original lighthouse was built on this site in 1716 making it the first lighthouse to be built in what became the United States.

This first light house was held by the British during the American Revolution and subsequently burned down by the American forces, not once but twice. When the British withdrew in 1776 they blew up the tower completely destroying it.

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In 1783 the new lighthouse was constructed with a 75 foot tower, the same as the original. In 1856 the tower was raised to its present height of 98 Ft. A new lantern room was added along with a 12 sided second order Fresnel Lens.

In 1998 Boston Light was automated but is still staffed by a resident Coast Guard Keeper. The current keeper is Sally Snowman who, along with volunteers from the Coast Guard Auxiliary act as interpretive tour guides for visitors.

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The current light still uses the 2^nd order Fresnel lens, one of only four left in use and the only one in Massachusetts. It flashes white every 10 seconds and is visible for 27 nautical miles.

To reach the safety of Boston Harbor, ships had to navigate the dangerous channel through numerous rocks, shoals and islands so Boston Light was an important navigational aid.

In more recent times the channel has been dredged and larger vessels have shifted to the North Channel marked by Graves Light.

Boston Light is designated a National Historic Landmark and is the second oldest working lighthouse in the US today.

Into The Harbor on a Wildlife Cruise

Posted on January 25, 2017January 25, 2017 by Dusty Roads

The cruise was a “sell out”. Many of the people I spoke with had been on the cruise in previous years. They only run it one day a year and they go out rain or shine or snow. There were National Park Rangers, Aquarium naturalists, DCR (Department of Conservation and Recreation) employees and volunteers to answer questions. The boat was well stocked with food and beverages in the snack bar. two decks were heated if the outdoor space got too cold. They really went all out to make it a special day.

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At 10:35 the loading began and by 11 am we were all ready to head out to the harbor.

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Our first destination was Logan Airport. Logan Airport is home to some migratory snowy owls. Because of the damage they can do to a jet, the Audubon Society has a trap and release program. Snowys are trapped at Logan and released elsewhere, often at Duxbury beach.

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I was on the 2nd deck when the cry went up that a snowy owl had been spotted. Unfortunately it was too far away. I couldn’t see it with my 300 mm lens. A photographer standing next to me with a gigantic lens on his camera said he couldn’t see it either. It looked like a snow pile or a white plastic jug, just a spot against the dark gravel.

That pretty much set the tone for the trip. It would have been more accurate to call it a bird watching cruise. We saw lots of birds but they were mostly fast and small. I soon got tired of trying to photograph them and settled for just watching them.

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The only “wildlife” we saw were some seals hauled out on the rocks. Since it was low tide they were a good distance away from us and the sun was at the wrong angle to see much. It was more the silhouette of their “banana pose” that gave them away.

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It had warmed up a great deal and the sun going in and out behind the clouds. The harbor was amazingly calm for a winter day. We cruised past Boston Light into the outer harbor.

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One of the volunteers explained that they almost never get to go into the outer harbor in winter. It’s just too rough but we made it all the way out to Graves Light and even there the waves were only gentle, rolling swells.

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Graves was the end of the trip. We did our turn around right in front of the light house. The return trip was leisurely as we passed the various harbor Islands, Georges Island with it’s fort, Peddocks Island with it’s 4 headlands to name only 2.

Georges Island, Boston Harbor

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It turned out to be a beautiful day for a boat ride. I may not have seen much Wildlife but I had fun all the same. I’ll watch for this next year. I wouldn’t mind a repeat.