We really didn’t need a vacation, we just came back from a vacation in Hawaii with our kids and grandkids, so we were fairly well rested (and broke). HOWEVER, while I was surfing the net last month I happened across an unusual deal. We’d built up 45,000 frequent flyer miles in each of our Continental Airlines accounts and I found two first class tickets round trip to Boston for almost that exact amount. We couldn’t pass it up so I swapped the miles for two tickets and began planning.
I almost decided not to go when the motel 6 was too expensive. In the case of the Boston motel 6, it’s not six dollars, or even sixty dollars but more like six HUNDRED dollars a night. Exaggerating, of course, but even the normal run of the mill hotels are ridiculously expensive here – not as bad as Hawaii, but I remember when we HAD money…. That was BEFORE the Hawaii trip..
Being resourceful, I began looking to see if there was an Army, Navy, or Marine base anywhere close. Turns out there is a hotel that is run for the military but is not run BY the military. We have a room for $79 a night in Charlestown, it’s called the “Constitution inn”- named, I presume for the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides – for those of you who know US history. Old ironsides is the first warship of its type and served fighting the British during the revolutionary war. The wood it is constructed from was so resilient that cannonballs fired by British gunners bounced off the sides of the ship – earning it the name old ironsides) the ship is still afloat and nearby our hotel – which is located in the National historical site Charlestown navy yard (whew, did I say all of that without taking a breath?)
I can see the skyline of Boston out our window- that is - If you stick your head out the window far enough. Regarding our room. Several calls to the ladies at the front desk who make the reservations in my usual “pain in the ass” attention to detail way, prior to arrival resulted in establishing a small amount of rapport.
They gave us what is purportedly (by them) to be one of the best rooms in the hotel. It is kind of like an attic. I’m sitting here on the bed and looking straight ahead. We’re on the top floor and the roof is our ceiling. It slants 45 degrees making the wall on the right side of the room about four foot tall and on the left side of the room about 9 feet tall. There are two windows, which are like skylights, if you push them up they raise above the roof and permit air to come in. ONE of the two window/skylights actually has a screen in it. So far, no serious head bumping incidents have occurred, however if anyone gets out of bed in the middle of the night to make a bathroom run, it could get ugly. I’m afraid if I leave the window without the screen open, it could admit a seagull. Alfred Hitchock!!!
There is a ferry that leaves every fifteen minutes and steams over to downtown Boston in ten minutes.
So there it is, a week in a YMCA style hotel and free airline transportation for a pittance. Couldn’t pass it up.
This morning we crawled out of bed at 3am in the morning in order to catch a flight that left at 5:30 am (probably the reason the miles were usable). I was very surprised to find the airport hopping at 4:30 in the morning. Apparently, everyone must get to Houston before dawn.
We arrived and picked up our rental car (which had Florida license plates on it) and drove with our GPS to the hotel. Unfortunately, the street names didn’t correspond with the ones on the GPS. It told us to get on and continue south on the Burbank highway. Unfortunately not a single sign anywhere said anything about Burbank highway. We actually had to get out and look at a map – how prehistoric.
We arrived at the hotel around 2:30 pm, checked into our room and headed by taxi to our first restaurant. My first exposure to Boston was a chain smoking Haitian Taxi driver who treated us to a diatribe about how no one liked Reagan while he was alive. I told him to shut up or his tip would be forfeit!
We researched the city via the zagat guide to restaurants and the most popular restaurant in Boston according to Zagat is Legal Seafood. Strange name – long story on how it got its name – goes back to the time of Paul Revere - I’ll spare you the details. We got to the restaurant (apparently there are about 20 around the Boston area) AND they have one in Sunrise Florida – which I think is Fort Lauderdale. It was like a seriously high class red lobster. Big, nice bar, windows overlooking Boston harbor and a menu that made it almost impossible to decide. I ordered a stuffed Lobster. Lucy ordered their special of the day, which was a seafood casserole. Both were absolutely among the best we’ve ever eaten. During the meal I tried to take a photo of me slurping down a lobster while wearing a giant BIB with my cellphone and tried to send it via text message to Lenny and Brandi. Don’t think it worked. A piece of technology is evading me. DAMN.
Wonderful dinner. Jumped on the ferry, which was directly in front of the restaurant, cost $1.70 per person and sailed beautifully back to Charlestown, sunset behind the Boston Skyline – brilliant red sky, on the exact opposite horizon was a full moon. Glorious day.
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