A Whale of a Day

Posted on August 9, 2013August 9, 2013 by Dusty Roads

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Then came Minot Ledge light.

We also saw the Nantucket Light Ship.

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.

Hump (back) Day

Posted on August 7, 2013August 7, 2013 by Dusty Roads

New England Aquarium

Posted on September 12, 2012September 12, 2012 by Dusty Roads

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.