A chance to look around today. Jerry had kindly offered to take me to their house at Cape Cod, picking me up at 1, so I thought I'd make the most of the morning, taking the T into the city and going on the Boston By Foot walking tour. From coming down for breakfast at 8, to getting into the city was exactly an hour - pretty good going! I had a wander around the waterfront - now open to the rest of the city after the completion of the Big Dig - which put the old elevated freeways underground. When I was here last this part of the city was a mess - dug up and boarded off. The old freeway line is now a strip of parkland and has transformed the city. The bright sunshine added to the glamour of the day.

The walking tour was 90 minutes. The guide was fantastic - a prrofessional historian who volunteers to do this a couple of times a month. He clearly loves the history and architecture and he had a tremendous depth of knowledge. We explored the various key buildings and heard all kinds of stories of the history from foundation, through the war of Independence to the present day.

Got the T back to Newton Highlands. There were signs at Government Centre station of increased security with 9/11 tomorrow - but nothing over the top.

Jerry picked me up dead on schedule as always and we dropped in on his sister Ann at her retirement home en route to Franklin, where Jerry had a meeting with a cohort of doctoral students. Interestingly these EdD students are working in a group of five to do a single project. It is a study of attitudes of principals to appraisal processes which they will present to the supervisors as well as forming a key part of their doctorate. So no single thesis - rather a joint project.

The house at the Cape is a delight. An older classic timber place it sits on two acres between a church and a graveyard. Jerry and I tried to go the local restaurant which was fully booked, so I cooked a meal instead - despite Jerry's protests - and we had a quiet evening at home watching college football.