This is part 2 of our 3 city trip -

Day 5: (Thurs., Sept 19) - Left Sarah's in Connecticut around 12:30pm. Arrived in the Boston area about 3:30pm, checked into the Econolodge in Malden, MA (a suburb of Boston). Rested a while and headed out at 6pm for Amy & Sean's place in Revere, MA (about a 20 min. drive). After unloading Amy's stuff from our van, we 4 went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant named "Margarita's". Amy & Sean brought us back to their apartment building for coffee & chatting, then we returned to our hotel about 12:30am and sacked out for the night.

Day 6: (Fri., Sept. 20) - We got up and out by 10:00am and made our way to downtown Boston by way of city bus to Malden train center. There we caught the MBTA "Orange Line" commuter rail to downtown Boston. Hit the first Dunkin' Donuts we saw (Boston has one about every half block) to get our bearings and decided on a "hop off/on" trolley tour to see the local landscape. Took one complete lap around city for observation. Tickets included a boat harbor tour also - which we took before a second lap with a stop at the USS Constitution Ship, Designated as an historic landmark, it's the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world. Toured the ship and also got a look at the USS Cassin Young, a WWII class destroyer that has the distinction as being the last U.S. Ship to be struck by a Japanese kamalazi.

After returning from the harbor tour, we got back on the trolley and ventured next to the Boston Common area. The Common is now a park, but dates back to the original "common" ground of Boston at it's inception-an area that was used for market, livestock, and social purposes. Conveniently located one block from the Common is the Bull and Fitch Pub, more popularly known as the inspiration and outside building scenes for the "Cheers" TV show. Got a drink and a snack there and wandered to the Granary Cemetery, whose notable residents include Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock, and the parents of Ben Franklin. Left there and rode the subway (a little too far and had to come back) and met up with Amy and Sean to see "The Jungle Book" play at Boston University's Huntington Theatre. Afterward we 4 went to the Hub Pub for a bite and a sip, then we all rode the subway back to our stops. Too late for the city bus portion when we got back, so we took a cab to the hotel and crashed about 1:30am.

Day 7: (Sat., Sept. 21) - Left hotel about 10:30am after a muffin and coffee, and headed to Niagara Falls, Canadian side (it's a nine hour drive). See the blog for Niagara.