Of Presidents and Friends

Campaign button from JFK's 1960 campaign. It turned out to be true!

Today, Boston.  One of those cities in which a mere twelve hours isn't nearly enough, but we did our best!  Busy, enjoyable day. (and we will most certainly be back again!)

Weather was great, once again - a bit breezy, and apparently it rained this morning before we arrived, but the skies cleared and we were able to see all around very well.

Arrived at sunrise, which sounds early, but was around 8AM. Beautiful golden orange skies to the east. We sailed right past Logan Airport, which I obviously loved very much!  Out on the balcony in my bathrobe, shooting picture after picture (as the passenger ferries scooted by!)  Traffic was arriving & departing to the south, so they came right over the ship as we pulled into the Black Falcon Cruise Ship terminal area.  Yet another area (this was a common theme across our trip) in which there is much urban growth - new buildings springing up among, or in place of, older ones, or over former parking lots.

Our tour today was positively Presidential:  the Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, MA, and the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. Just a few notes about both of them, as I can either write loads and loads, or offer observations and hope you, dear reader, will visit them yourself someday.

Adams

• Home to four generations of the family, starting with John and Abigail
• We saw the home and the library (separate building) but there is lots more to see
• No photos allowed inside
• People sure were smaller "back in the day"

Please browse the web site for more details - and please do visit this park if you have any interest in US History.  Plus, it's free!  But be sure to say it is in "Quin-zee, Massachusetts,"  (not Quin-see) That is more local than saying "pahk the cah in Hahvahd Yahd"

JFK

• Stunning building and location on Columbia Point on the waterfront, in the campus of UMass-Boston
• Your visit starts with a 20-minute film composed of photos and video, and "narrated" by JFK himself (snippets from speeches and interviews
• Exhibits then walk you through his life from the time that he is nominated for President, to Nov 22, 1963 and his legacy beyond.
• Lots of great stuff from campaigns - signs, buttons, etc.
• Lots of great TV footage
• Some of Jackie's dresses and acoutrements
• Numerous drafts of speeches (with handwritten corrections) and White House guest lists, with Jackie's corrections "who are they?"  "need someone who speaks fluent French"  etc.
• Exhibits devoted to space, the Peace Corps, the Cuban missile crisis, and other events 
• Teddy's institute is next door

Well worth a visit, and the view across the water is stunning.  If you take the T to get there, they run a shuttle from the station to the museum (it's a little out of the way otherwise, in amidst the buildings of UMass-Boston)

After being presidential, we met up with friends Janet and Wayne, who live in the Back Bay area of Boston. They thoughtfully came out to meet us at the T station, and shepherded us back into their part of town, very near the John Hancock Center and Copley Square. It's also where the Boston Public Library is located, so of course we had to check that out (see what I did there?)  And of the Library, may I just say "WOW."  Stunning, majestic building, lots of marble, murals, arches, courtyard. Beautiful architecture and artwork inside, including rooms with murals from illustrious artists such as John Singer Sargent.  Well worth a visit, and (again) it's free!

Copley Square is also home to Trinity Cathedral, a weekly (seasonal) Farmers Market, and, of course, the start/finish of the Boston Marathon.  

We spent some time catching up at Janet and Wayne's gorgeous brownstone home (after they took us to their favorite chocolate shop nearby!) And then, they thoughtfully escorted us all the way back to the port, helping us navigate a couple of T-trains, a bus, and a walk through to the entrance to the port secure area.  The T bus dropped us off in between major stops because it would be easier for us to get to the ship. That was nice.

Now, we've been underway for a few hours, and the data on the TV is a little confusing.  It says we've sailed 189 miles since leaving Boston. Something's not quite right <grin>  We have spent a lot of time with this TV channel, too much, in fact.  It plays "soft hits music"  and we have heard Muskrat Love and That's Why I'm Leaving It All Up To You just a few too many times....

Beautiful sailaway in the dark. We went up to deck 11, the only ones up there, and enjoyed the city scape and Logan Airport with all its pretty lights. Aviation nerd alert - FlightRadar24 is a seriously cool app, and it gave us lots of information for the arrivals and departures we were viewing from our front-row seat.

Tomorrow, Newport, Rhode Island, and the last day of the cruise.  What a great trip it's been!