This was Terry's birthday, and the last full day of our trip. We started the day with birthday presents, and then went out to breakfast at a place called The Blueberry Muffin. When it came time to pay the check, our waitress told us that someone had paid it! We never did find out who our benefactor was, but it was a nice extra birthday present for Terry.
We drove into Boston and visited Quincy Market (w):
This is a large market complex, consisting of three buildings. The central building - the original market - is primarily devoted to food service establishments. The other two buildings, which flank the original building on the north and south, contain a variety of shops and restaurants.
Walking into the main building, through the modern glass and chrome doors, I noticed that you could still see the older wooden doors:
We walked around the complex, and I read off the names of the stores to Terry. We stopped into a shoe store, because Terry wanted to buy a pair of boots. The salesperson showed Terry a nice pair, and when Terry asked the price, she was told $400. I quietly choked, and Terry politely said "Thank you," and we left.
There were several kiosks advertising trolley tours of the city, and on a whim, we signed up for one. It lasted about an hour and a half, and our driver/guide kept us informed and entertained with a constant stream of information, trivia and bad jokes. He also took a detour around Fenway Park (w), causing me to wish we had enough time for a baseball game. When we got home, and I discovered that the World Series was about to start, and it was the Red Sox vs. the Dodgers, I realized that we had gotten out of town just in time!
Along the way, I took this picture of a statue of a certain famous author:
Edgar Allan Poe, it seems, was born in Boston. The house where he was born no longer exists, but the city erected this monument to him near the spot.
That evening, we met up with Wynter and Johnny again. We went to a wine bar for wine (of course) and appetizers. The bar we chose turned out to be right around the corner from the Wendy's where we had dinner the first night. As we came out of the bar, I spotted this truck across the street:
Like I said - lots of Grinnells in New England.
We then went to yet another bar for yet another drink - the Bell in Hand:
...one of the oldest bars in the city, dating back to 1795. While there, I noticed something interesting across the street - a series of glass towers:
...which turned out to be a Holocaust Memorial (w). Six towers, each representing one of the major extermination camps. The glass walls were covered with writing etched into the glass. I thought at first they were names of Holocaust victims, but when I got up close, I discovered they weren't names, but numbers - the numbers tattooed on the victims' bodies. For some reason, I found that even more chilling. According to the Wikipedia article, there are over two million distinct numbers on the glass panels.
We left Johnny and Wynter at the bar, and went next door to the Union Oyster House:
...for Terry's birthday dinner. We sat right next to a table with a sign reading "The Kennedy Booth," which we learned was once JFK's regular table. I also noticed an interesting artifact in one corner: an actual - and apparently, functional - dumbwaiter:
And that was it for the trip. We drove back to the resort, went to bed, got up in the morning, checked out, drove to Boston, returned the rental car, and flew home, with a brief layover in Atlanta.
Boston is a city with an incredible amount of history. Terry and I have been there once before, just for a day trip. On this occasion, as with the last one, I left with the feeling that I hadn't had nearly enough time, and there was so much more to see and learn. Of course, I've felt that way about nearly every trip I've taken.