Better than the Last

worked in Boston a few years ago. It must be a New England drink. But they're good, and I don't drink soda. So I splurged. Oh, and the whole clams? Fresh right from the sea. They don't get any better, and at Tony's you can get both. So after the machine was fed, I headed to town.

Boston is an amazing town. The sea. The history. The food. The people. Downtown. There's something for everyone, and it's all good. If you've never visited before, you're cheating yourself. Book a ticket and come stay for a week, in the summer though. This is New England, and the winters can be, in a word, brutal.

I holed up in the Courtyard Marriott Downtown. I figured it would be easier to stay in the thick of things rather than save a few hotel points because I would end up paying a toll, parking fee, more fuel, and time trekking to and from town. Turns out that there is a garage across the street from the hotel that charages $7.75 per day for motorcycle parking. Compare that to the $41 per day that this hotel charges or the $51 that the Marriott Long Wharf commands, and it's not hard to figure out that parking in downtown Boston comes at a premium. Bonus!

After unloading the bike, I sat out exploring the town with my sight set on the closest point if interest - the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common.

The garden is beautifully landscaped with a small boating pond and a bridge. There were many couples lounging in the grass, sitting on benches. Families were playing with their children. The bridge has probably been used in a movie scene or two, I would guess. It's a really nice place - in the center of Boston.

Likewise, the Common is nice, but it's more of an open hill with a few parking garage entrances. There is a ball diamond where people were playing softball. By then, it was getting dark, so I headed back to the ranch for the evening.

I plugged my electronic devices in to charge when i got back to my room and noticed that my phone wasn't charging. Ugh! Another problem? Long story short because I've had such a good day, my carrier is shipping a new phone to a store that is on my route. I'll pick it up on Tuesday, 07 JUN. Now, I know what day it is.

So after an excellent night sleep, in arose to tackle more of Boston. The starting point for any visitor is The Freedom Trail. I recommend that you pay for a guided tour and specifically request one of the teachers as your guide. There are many guides. Some of them are actors.

I, however, was sidetracked by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts on my way to the Trail. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is arguably the oldest Masonic Lodge in the Western hemisphere (ask Pennsylvania). It has several Lodge rooms that are in use by subordinate Lodges in town and across the Commonwealth. Beautiful building inside and out.