Well, I have been so very very slack. I am sorry - please forgive me. Life just sometimes gets away from us, scampering along, sometimes dashing, sometimes sprinting, and before you know it next week has become last week.

Without further ado, let me continue on the adventure of Boston.

Now when we got to Boston, I was already feeling tired and hungry. So first order of business was to find food! We found a grocery store, and though not overly exciting, nourishment was found. On the way we saw Copley Place - ludicrously expensive place, it makes your purse cringe just by stepping into the building ;)

Also on our walks around, we passed this very gothic looking building. It was a bank or insurance company, I don't remember correctly now, however I liked the looks of it - so snapped a pic - of course J

Now Boston has some very strong Irish roots. So we decided it was only fitting that we visit an Irish pub. After a chat to some locals, we decided on M.J. O'Connors. And as luck would have it, the bar tender Patrick was the real deal - Irish ( we will discount that he had immigrated to USA 17yrs ago - his accent was still very distinguishable). It was an agreeable hour passed in chatting. We met another Aussie, 2 rather inebriated local girls and some other locals even bought us shots. One of the girls was a bar tender (elsewhere) and devised a drink for me - it was actually quite good - no idea what was in it. It was sweet & as per my request, light on the alcohol. (photos in the album) We headed off after a while in search of dinner & wound up at P.F. Changs - Asian cuisine (photos in the album). They have a very detailed menu listing every imaginable allergy.

Oh, I will quickly flick back to the Constitution and the Cassin Young for a brief moment. In the photo album you will see Scott at a penny mashing machine, making 'elongated coins' bearing the USS Constitution and a saying ("Old Ironsides", never has she failed us!). This was the very start of his new addictive hobby. You can check out the technicalities of it at www.pennycollector.com it is actually a rather serious hobbie - but also rather inexpensive. I think it is much better than collecting teaspoons etc.

Well then, as the romp through Boston was rather fast, as will the rest of this blog, as I just want to get it & the photos up for you to see. We saw Boston City Hall, Korean War Veteran Memorial, Charleston Navy Yard, Paul Revere Park, the site that Paul Revere landed at, Quincy Markets, the site of the Boston Massacre, the Old State House, the Irish Famine Memorial, Benjamin Franklin Statue, King's Chapel, Park Street Church, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, The Boston Common, Masonic Temple, and a bunch of other places that may or may not interest you - some were planned, others we just stumbled upon.

Now - a bit more of a treat, below are some actual stories of some escapades and some historically interesting places we visited.

An ESCAPADE! The Coast Guard…. Lol, I can't help but grin at this memory. It only took me about 3 days to train Scott to become a shutterbug almost to rival me. We were walking to Charleston Naval Yard to see Old Ironsides. We caught the train to I forget where - but it was on the Orange Line, therefore the train was orange (hehe). On our way to the yard, we passed the Zakim Bridge, walked across a floating walkway that was a part of a 'lock' (as in a canal system, small scale, like the Panama Canal) to Paul Revere Park, then on to the yard. Now, rewind… floating walkway… the 'lock'… it just so happened that the lock also sat with a big building built over the causeway - it was the local Coast Guard, I think it may even have been their head office for the district, it was huge & impressive. So, as we stepped on the first part of the walkway, a boat was coming in and we made it to the 2nd section, with a gate swinging closed behind us to allow the walkway to swing away and the boat slip through the lock to get into the inner harbour. Alina oohed & ahhed, recognising it for what is was. Scott quickly jumped a boundary fence to get a better picture of the canal and boat …. And very promptly, over a loud speaker, a voice from the large, impressive building tells Scott "That is a restricted zone, step back across the fence, that area is restricted, back across the fence". LOL - Scott was quick to jump the fence back to the walkway, but we were laughing and wondering if they kept a close eye on us as we continued to traverse the floating walkway to the park.

The Old Corner Bookstore: is located at the cnr of Washington & School Sts. The building itself was constructed in 1712 and has had a variety of tenants and purposes. In the 19th century it housed a publishing firm and it became the meeting place for such authors as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

Copp's Hill Burying Ground: a historic cemetery in Boston. It was originally named "North Burying Ground". The cemetery was founded on February 20, 1659, when the town bought land on Copp's Hill from John Baker & Daniel Turell to start the "North Burying Ground". Now named "Copp's Hill Burying Ground", it is the 2nd oldest cemetery in Boston (2nd to King's Chapel founded in 1630). It contains the remains of various notable Bostonians from the colonial era. On the Snow Hill Street side there are many unmarked graves of the African Americans who lived in the "New Guinea" community at the foot of the hill. In addition to the graves, there are 272 tombs, most of which bear inscriptions that are still legible.

Old North Church: the location from which the famous "One if by land, and two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent. This phrase is related to Paul Revere's midnight ride of April 18, 1775, which preceded the Battles of Lexington and Concord during the American Revolution. It is the oldest active church building in Boston; it was built in 1723.

Massive seagull: We had seen Old Ironsides and before taking the formal tour of the Cassin Young, went in search of lunch. On our return trip to the Naval Yard, we came across a man sharing his lunch with a couple of pigeons and a massive seagull. So, snap, snap, check the album - our lil guys have nothing on this bird!

Granary Burial Ground: founded in 1660, and is Boston's third-oldest cemetery. It is the final resting place for many notable Revolutionary War-era patriots, including three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Paul Revere, and the five victims of the Boston Massacre. Prominently displayed in the cemetery is an obelisk erected in 1827 to the parents and relatives of Benjamin Franklin who was born in Boston (he is buried in Philadelphia).

Traditional Inca Pipes: well, I would like to know from anyone who may have some historical background/interest into the Incas… were they well known for their song writing? There was a man and his wife (?) set up in one of the 'park' areas and they had a sign advertising cd's selling music. They had other signage proclaiming the historic tag of being the pipes made and played by the Incas. What we found funny, but after spending about 20 mins in the park, annoying, is that apparently the Incas like to play Hotel California. The song has now been ruined for me :/

And last one for the Boston blog… We were out and about on the Boston Commons and checking out some other local monuments etc when Alina decided that the sick feeling was not going away and she needed to sit and rest. Apple juice was fetched and a shady spot on a raised flowering garden bed nabbed for the recovery perch. It was interesting to just sit and people watch. All types of people passed by. Though there was one that stood out the most, so much, we snapped a photo of him. There was a man of some kind of Asian descent who came shuffling along. I would likely say he was homeless. His hair was long & all over the place, his fingernails were very long and had curled under. All of a sudden he just stopped; he was a couple of meters passed us. He was standing still, with an occasional bit of a sway. After about 5 mins, Scott got up and went over to him, and he came back saying, I think he's sleeping. People continued to walk passed, some staring at him, some actively avoiding him, others so unaware of their surrounds, I don't think they even realised he was there. After a couple of more minutes Scott went up to him again and asked him if he was all right. Several times he asked, and no response, not even a flicker of an eyelid. So he grabbed the camera and snapped a pic (which is in the album). A few moments after that, he started to sway off to the side and must have come off balance, for with a start he woke up, shook his head a bit and then shuffled off. Scott called out to him to ask if he was ok, but still no response. We think that he was likely on some kind of drugs. But it was the most bizarre thing to see him taking a nap there in the middle of the bustle and bustle of a Boston sidewalk.

Well, there we go, Boston, done. From Boston we went to Niagara.

I hope to get it up for your reading pleasure next week. Check out the photo album "Boston", as I have uploaded the rest of the photos for you to see J