Boston Trip : Day 4

Whale Watches & Boston Common Castle Island Home to Fort Independence erected in 1779, this island is recognized as the oldest most continuously used military fortification in the United States. A grisly murder here in 1817 inspired Edgar Allen Poe to write his short story The Cask of Amontillado.

The New England Aquarium operated whale watches with trained marine biologists. Ships carrying approximately 200-400 passengers make the 3.5-5 hour round trip to the Stellwagen Bank whale feeding grounds.

View of one of the international tall ships approaching the Boston shore for Tall Ship Weekend.

One of the 5 whales we were able to view feeding.

Austere and weather-beaten, Graves Light might appear to the uninformed observer to be a more ancient structure than Boston Light, its neighbor in Boston's outer harbor. Surprisingly, it's actually one of Massachusetts' youngest lighthouses built in 1843.

My favorite whale name = Etch-a-Sketch

The planes arriving overhead into Logan Airport.

If Boston were to have a mascot, it would most likely sport white feathers and a graceful, arching neck. The swan boats have been a Public Garden fixture since the first fleet glided onto the garden's shimmering pond in 1877. Each distinctive swan boat can accommodate up to 20 people. The Public Garden opened in 1839 and was America's first botanical garden.

Bronze of George Washington

The nation's first president cuts a stately figure at the western end of the Public Garden. Thomas Ball's 1869 bronze was the first to depict George Washington astride a horse.

True Story about Poe

So, I did a little research into what incident occurred in 1817 that influenced Edgar Allen Poe to write "The Cask of Amontillado".

(See Post Above)

In 1827, Poe, that brooding genius of the macabre tale, spent five months as a soldier at Ft. Independence on Castle Island, off the coast of Boston. Down on his luck, the author had enlisted in the Army for "three squares and a flop".

While there, the great writer came across the episode that inspired him, in 1837, to pen "The Cask of Amontillado".

In 1817, Poe, who was a Boston native, was assigned to Fort Independence. There had been a captain at the fort named John Forster, or Foster, who had earned an unpleasant reputation as "a bully". He was cruel to his men, and to officers beneath his rank. In general, he was detested by one and all at the military post. There was an incident involving "poor young Massie", a new lieutenant at the fort. The captain accused Robert Massie, a fellow officer, of cheating during a game of cards. Words were exchanged, tempers flared, and the men came to blows. Both men felt their honor was at stake. A duel was arranged for Christmas morning, 1817. It was young Massie who had issued the formal challenge, and protocol governing such matters allowed the captain the choice of weapons. The captain, a master swordsman, chose the blade. When fellow officers heard of this, they protested. They demanded pistols be used by both men. The captain stuck to the sword. He had that right. Massie, no match of the older, experienced swordsman, was killed. On the surface, at least as far as the captain was concerned, it was a right and proper duel. As far as his fellow officers at Fort Independence were concerned, it was an act of murder. And they plotted a fiendish punishment for the killer. The captain loved wine. That was a well known fact. It was whispered in his ear that certain officers had stored some "fine French wine" in a dungeon beneath the island fort. As expected, the bully pulled his rank. He summoned the officers to his quarters and hinted it might be a good idea if they shared the wine with him. He indicated the wine was illegally stored at the fort, and that he was in a position to bring charges against them. In short order, the captain had more than his share of the "fine French wine". Feigning friendship, the officers brought three jugs of wine to the captain's quarters and let him drink most of the stuff. Next, they offered the captain his own jug of the wine. It was suggested he could come with them down under the fort, so he could learn where the wine was stored, and be able to find his own private bottle when he desired it. Needless to say, the captain could not resist the invitation. He was led to the lowest dungeon of the fort, struck on the head, and shoved into a tiny room, where he was shackled to the floor. Then, the area was walled off, and the "bully" was left to meet his Maker.

Poe heard the story a decade later, and used it as a basis for "The Cask of Amontillado".

At the time, it was only a rumor - a whispered tale that could not be verified. Had it been verified, the officers involved most certainly would have been charged with murder. All that was known back then was that the captain had disappeared in 1817, and no trace of him had ever been found. Let us now move ahead to the Twentieth Century. The City of Boston took possession of Castle Island, and decided to renovate the fort, so that the entire area could be used as a picnic grounds by the people of the city. Thus it was, in 1905, a group of workmen, while restoring the fort, came across what newspapers, at the time, called "a walled room". It was decided to see what was on the other side of the wall. A hole was made, and a laborer, carrying a lantern, crawled inside. By the light of his lantern, he spotted the twisted skeleton of a rather large man dressed in the rotting remains of an old Army uniform.

Edgar Allen Poe wrote: "I hastened to make an end to my labor. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry, re-erected the old rampart of bones. For a half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat!"

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

The follow-up to Quirk Books' best seller, 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' is ... Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. The book expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobsters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities. As the story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon.

Smokehaus

I heard it's not that good, but what do y'all think?

Boston Trip : Day 3

Beach Day! We started out the morning at Revere Beach.

Established in 1896, Revere Beach was the first public beach in the US. Thanks to a centennial restoration, it's also one of the best, with nearly 3 miles of clean white sand and clear blue water. Around noon we meet up for three of Siobhan's co-workers and drove about 45 minutes north of Boston to Ipswich near Cape Ann.

This was a private beach that luckily one of the people in our group had a membership with. It's called Crane Beach.

Crane Beach is one of New England's most scenic beaches, with more than 4 miles of white sand, warm water, and outstanding bird-watching. We has a FULL DAY in the sun from 10 am in the morning till about 7 pm at night. We played volleyball, jumped around, walked practically the whole beach, and sunbathed with our ipods/books. It was wonderful! Surprisingly, the only food we ate all day...Lays chips and water...hehe.

Breakfast of Champions Book Club

Our last book club had us meeting at the Carousel Bar in the French Quarter. We finished reading The Confederacy of Dunces and since it's set in New Orleans, we were lucky enough to be blocks away (it's on Canal St) from the statue of the main character, Ignatius, from the book. Thus, we made a field trip with To-Go Cups from the bar and braved the humid muggy NOLA night air to snap a picture. We only had about half our book club members present that night, but lo' and behold the Breakfast of Champions Book Club.

Johanna's HP&THBP Movie Review

Ok. I'm gonna go out on a ledge here and say that this was possibly my favorite Harry Potter movie, thus far. It's defiantly geared more toward the older crowd since it's getting darker and quite intense that I question if it may upset some younger audience members. Overall, I loved it. You get sucked right in at the beginning and actually want more as the credits roll.

Jim Broadbent, who plays the daffy, yet tormented new addition to the Hogwarts staff - Professor Slughorn - was surprisingly my favorite addition to the cast. His facial expression were priceless! Also, I have to give props to Tom Felton. After years of playing the petulant platinum-blond pest Draco Malfoy, I bet he couldn't wait to get his hands on the script. He was wonderful at getting you to actually feel sorry for his new tormented role.

Favorite scenes from the movie: The potion making scene for the luck serum and the private dessert party scene that Professor Slughorn threw were fantastic. Both had me cracking up! Also, I did get quite spooked (and even jumped in my seat) with the scary cave water scene...you'll see.

Even if you're not a Harry Potter fan - haven't read the books or kept up watching the movies - I think you'll surprisingly enjoy this new installment and not have any trouble following the fairly complicated plot. Don't go in expecting a light, kiddie adventure film - it's the complete opposite, but you'll like it...I promise!