When we were trying to decide what to do today we wanted to really experience
island life so we decided to go to the beach. We hopped on the bus that goes to
all of the beaches. We received a suggestion from one of the locals on the bus
to go to Elbow Beach and we got the driver to let us know when we got to the
correct stop. After a short walk, we arrived at the beach. The water was very
blue, just like at Church Beach, but it was a much larger beach. We walked in
the shallow water along the beach in one direction until we got to a collection
of rocks. The waves were breaking hard against the rocks and we were able to
stand behind them and watch the spray and get sprayed. Then we walked down the
beach the other direction for a little while. At some point I went all the way
into the ocean. At this point, it was about time to head back to the ship so we
left the beach for the last time in Bermuda.
To get to St. George Island we rode the ferry to Dockyard and then took the
ferry from there to St. George’s Island. On the way there, a tour guide
introduced herself to the people on the ferry saying that she offered tours of
the Town of St. George. We decided to join her tour.
Today we went snorkeling and watched the Bermuda Day Parade.
Ferry to the Navy Dockyard
We woke up fairly early to try and make it to a snorkeling tour around some
shipwrecks. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do the tour, it’s a complicated
story of why we weren’t able to so if you want to hear the details, ask me when
I get back. We had already boarded the ferry to the old Navy Dockyard though, so
we went. The Navy Dockyard is basically a fortress at one tip of the island. If
you imagine Bermuda as a fishhook, the dockyard is at the barb (I think that’s
what you call the thing that snares the fish).
Today we arrived in Bermuda, went to a beach and walked some in the town of
Hamilton.
After breakfast this morning, I went down to the library to see if there was
anyone who wanted to play chess. There was a guy, David, who wanted to play. He
was very good (at least compared to me). He won all three games we played.
Today we were at sea and it was fairly rough. The swells were up to 6 metres
(20ft). Of course, the ship didn’t go up that high, but it was going up and down
quite a bit. Mom spent most of the day in the cabin, only coming out for dinner.
I was up more than her. I ate all three meals, but towards the middle of the
afternoon it was really getting bad. To cope, I took a Dramamine pill and napped
in the cabin. That was most of the day.
Today we did a trolley tour of Boston and then boarded the ship.
Trolley Tour
With our Boston Go Pass we got tickets for the trolley tour of the city. We
redeemed our tickets yesterday so that we can use them today (the trolley
tickets were good for two days but the Boston Go Pass was only good for three
days, but Saturday would be our fourth day). We started out a bit later than the
other days, and after a Bruegger’s bagel, we went to go catch the trolley. They
were stopped at a light in between two stops but the driver/guide let us on
anyway. We rode the tour all the way around the city and the guide explained the
various sites.
Today we went whale watching, went to the New England Aquarium and the Science
Museum and went up the Prudential Building to the observation deck.
Whale Watching
After breakfast we headed to the dock by subway. Our Boston Go Pass allowed us
to do a Whale Watching Tour. We boarded the ship and sailed out to an area about
25 miles off the coast where whales tend to be. There were three Naturalists
guiding the excursion. They took notes as we went and recorded sightings of any
spouts that we saw. They did this because they are, in addition to guides, part
of a research project into whales in the area. We spotted the spout of a Fin
Whale. We sailed towards it and when we got near, we cut the engines because you
can’t track the whales underwater and you can’t know where they will come up
again. The whale stayed close to the ship for almost an hour diving up and down.
I got a few bad pictures, but I mainly watched it. At times it was a few minutes
between surfacing a, but sometimes it was fairly close together.
Our first order of business after we woke up was to eat breakfast. There is a
Bruegger’s Babel store on the same street as our hotel. After a bagel, we rode
the Red line subway to Cambridge. We walked over to the car rental place and got
our car. Then mom drove up to Lexington (I would have driven, but it’s illegal).
Our first stop was the Minute Man Visitor Center. We watched a short film that
explained the events of the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
Today was primarily spent travelling by train from New York to Boston. We woke
up and got ready to go on the train. Our hotel is literally across the street
from Penn Station where we caught our train. We grabbed some breakfast for on
the train and then waited for the track to be announced. We got on the train
fine and finding seats was not a problem. The ride was fine and I was able to
catch up on my blog post from yesterday.
Although it’s the 18th, I’ll be writing this as if it were yesterday.
TL;DR today we rode the Big Bus tour bus around Lower Manhattan. Then we
walked to the Intrepid Museum. After that we went biked around in Central Park
and went to the Rockefeller Complex.
Big Bus Tour
We started our day by getting on the Big Bus tour, the tour we got tickets for
yesterday morning. The bus stopped right outside our hotel which was nice.
Unfortunately we had no idea the exact location it would stop so we wandered
around asking people. We managed to find the correct spot and board the bus.
There was a guide who gave information about the sights we were seeing from the
bus. He was a New York Native who grew up somewhere near Central Park. We drove
past a bunch of interesting sites in downtown New York. Everything from museums
and monuments to Wall Street and Broadway. I would elaborate on what we learned,
but that would be a lot of writing so I won’t. Besides, judging by the dismal
number of views I’m getting on my posts, you probably don’t care anyway.
