June 14, 2008 - Boston, MA

This morning we drove into Boston. I had always heard horror stories about driving into Boston but since it was a Saturday, we thought we would give it a try. Our 5 hour Boston Lighthouse Cruise left at 10:00 a.m. so we had plenty of time. It was an easy drive and only took us about 40 minutes. We parked near the Boston harbor and walked to the wharf where Larry got a cup of coffee. The boat wasn't real big but it was comfortable. The view of the city from the boat was spectacular. Some of the buildings are so unique and very modern in style. We had a lighthouse expert on board who was the narrator for the trip. He made it very interesting and told some stories about each lighthouse. The Boston Harbor light is the nation's oldest navigational light. It was built in 1716 and then the British destroyed it during the Revolutionary War. It was rebuilt in 1783 with the base walls being 7 feet thick and in 1853 the tower was raised 15 feet and its stone walls reinforced with brick.

Another light that was interesting was the Minots Ledge Light. The ledge or shoal was responsible for many wrecked or sunken ships. The first light was made of an iron skeleton built on pilings hammered directly into the ledge in 1850. It lasted less than one year when a gale knocked it down and killed two lighthouse keepers. It was rebuilt in 1860 of more than a 1,000 interlocking granite blocks and weighs more than 2300 tons. Its flashing signal was unique one/one-two-three-four/one-two-three. The local folks read the flashes as I/L-O-V-E/Y-O-U and gave the Minot beacon its name of "Lovers Light."

Among one of the oldest and most historic lighthouses in America is the Twin Cape Ann Lights. They were built in 1771, several years before the Revolution. A foghorn from the lights may have saved the life of President Woodrow Wilson by preventing the wreckof his fog-blinded ship as it returned from Europe in 1919, following the Versailles Peach Conference that officially ended World War I. Both towers are made of granite.

We saw several more lighthouses and then returned to the wharf. We walked from the wharf to the Faneuil Hall Marketplace. The marketplace consisted of three long buildings. The building in the middle is Quincy Market and contains all the food booths. You name it and it was there. We ended up in a pub for dinner. It was upstairs so we had a view of the courtyard below where a magician was doing his act.