Cruising Boston Harbor for a mere $10, or to the Islands for $15.

On more than one occasion whilst walking past a water taxi stop in the Seaport I've said to myself, or whoever was in earshot, I’m going to jump on one of these rickety boats some day and cruise around the Harbor like I’m captain of the seas.

And that’s exactly what my girlfriend and I did one splendid summer evening.  Our cruise director / captain couldn't have been more accommodating – when we were asked "where to?", we shrugged and pointed out to sea. So we floated around the bay for 45 minutes or so, harassing other passengers and offering up advice to tourists and businessmen – the captain put up with us graciously, and might have even enjoyed the company. But alas, the pleasure cruise could not last all night, so we jumped off in Charlestown and headed to the Warren Tavern for a beer. It was well worth the $10.

For something a bit more extravagant, there are plenty of other boating options that venture farther out into the bay. When I had some family in town recently we opted for a classic Gatsby-era yacht named the Beacon - operated by the Classic Harbor Line. It’s not a giant behemoth, and more importantly it was built with a beautiful mahogany bar to complete the feeling of a 1920s style vessel. 

Enjoying a leisurely cruise out past the scenic Harbor Islands as strangers on other boats wave to you as if this is your farewell voyage.

The captain will spit out just enough bits and pieces of history and trivia to his passengers without the trip becoming too much like a cheesy Duck Boat tour.  

Boston’s Harbor Islands have a long history – I could go on and on about forts and prisons and Native Americans, but I’ll just post some pretty pictures instead.

Many of the Boston Harbor Islands are accessible via a brief ferry ride from Long Wharf. The most popular being Spectacle and George’s Island – where facilities such as bathrooms and a snack bar can be found. Connections can be made from these Islands to explore Peddocks, Lovells or Bumpkin Islands. These pictures are from Spectacle Island in September of 2014...

If there's nothing available at the snack bar that pleases your palette you can forage for your lunch or maybe chase a down a turkey and make a sandwich.

The Ferry is a great bargain – it’s only $15 to get out to George’s or Spectacle and you won’t find a better view of the Boston skyline for a picnic.

A somewhat newer addition to the Boston Harbor is the very visible Nantucket Light Ship.

It’s docked in Eastie and it's in the midst of a complete renovation. Tours are available, but they are sporadic – look into availability before you head over.

                                        

The man who saved this ship and brought it to Boston. Awesome dude.

Land Ho!  Thanks for cruising my blog today and we'll see you soon...

Mini hike along Cape Cod's eroding shoreline

The term “Old Cape Cod” is a famous one – but as far as peninsula’s go, it’s actually kind of new. This landscape, built on sand and summer memories, is merely a bit of leftover debris from the last ice age some 16-20 thousand years ago. It’s here to enjoy today, but it won’t be around forever. As the landscape shifts and fluctuates, battered by wind and sea, homes will be lost and maps will be re-drawn. The greatest change in the landscape over the last few decades has been along Nauset, where a new inlet was created in 1987 during a Nor’easter and again a little farther north after a storm in 2007. Homes that were thought to be safe and secure are long gone. But it's been happening for centuries - this little group of historical cottages, called the Sand City Camps (seen below) were lost to the sea decades ago.

More recently, a beach community called the North Beach Chatham Cottages has been eroding since the 1987 storm and is down to is down to 4 remaining structures. 

This photograph shows the inevitable...

And what follows...

Here’s a great visual of the changes the coastline has seen between 1984-2013

Although Cape Cod is one big mass of evolving and dissolving sand and land, sometimes it’s hard to see with your own eyes where all this erosion is taking place. Nature is tricky like that. There is a little hike that I like to take in Eastham between Nauset Light and Marconi Beach that reveals some of the Cape's secrets. There are a couple different ways to get to this area by biking or hiking the meandering trails and fire roads of the Cape Cod National Seashore. There’s access from the rail trail that starts in Wellfleet as well as a number of other access points throughout the park. I’m pretty familiar with this area, so I just look for a well-established trail that’s heading due east. There’s only one outcome – an 80 foot dune.

When you get to the cliff - you stop! This part is along what used to be Nauset Light Beach Road. Most of the paved road has crumbled away and fallen to the sands below...

And it's not going to relent anytime soon...

The path I followed literally disintegrated into the dune and disappeared…

   

A new path was stomped into the woods several yards away from the dangerous edge...

I'm pretty sure the entire Cape isn't going to slip into the sea anytime soon, but New England is certainly due for a major Hurricane in the near furure - and with it will come the inevitable changes...

One last thing, if you ever get a chance to see an amazing band (Banditas) perform in a beach parking lot on top of a dune - you should do that...

Blessed Sweet Mary Mother of Jesus

Jesus H. Christ - can you please stop following me all over the place...and your mom too!

I reside in a neighborhood that is eerily dittoed throughout metro Boston. It’s a mix of middle class and blue collared folk with lots of duplex’s and single family bungalows (not many triple deckers though) - there are also a few decent Victorians and some old Colonial homes scattered about. These communities are prominent in West Roxbury, Quincy, Dedham, Medford, Watertown, Revere and just about every other outlying town. The neighborhoods are not overly gentrified - most likely because they are not on a major T-stop, adjacent to a trendy shopping district or near a major campus. These neighborhoods have lots of “Spas” - the kind that sell butts, Coke and Keno. Ahhh…the lifeblood of my ‘hood. Quite a few Grand Marquis are parked on the streets around here. But the main thing they all share in common is our Sweet Mary Mother of Jesus...

Those crazy Catholics sure have left their mark. These statues exist here as lost religious relics of simpler and holier times. I’m guessing that people looked at priests and the church a little differently back then. Of the dozens that I’ve spotted in my neighborhood it doesn’t seem like any of them are under 25 years old, and many of them must be from the 1970’s or earlier.

  

Little Miss Mary does have others in her flock, usually dudes in robes and shit. Occasionally the big guy even makes an appearance on the scene…

 

At times it’s not Mary or Jesus at all. Other forms of lawn expressionism include the jockey (white), angels, gargoyles, the glass globe, monks, donkey’s and the Buddha…but not a single garden gnome!?!?  What’s up with that – did all the creepy gnomes get stolen and go on trips around the world. Strange.

And I don’t know what this ungodly trio is up to. “Welcome” to Hell maybe… Fuggin pagans.

Occasionally Mary likes to have some friends over over for a party.  Worship me!

If Mary’s owners really really love the Mom Jesus, they’ll build her a shelter…

Or a whole friggin house (I think this one is heated)...

Mary can be found frolicking through the garden on one street…

While she might be all but abandoned in another neighborhood...

‘Merica...Fuck you!

All these photographs were taken well within a mile from my home. As soon as I crossed certain natural barriers leading to more affluent homes the icons and lawn art were quickly replaced with very well maintained shrubbery. Thus I have concluded that all wealthy people are heathens and are going to hell. Rich people make the Jesus sad...

But like the Catholic religion itself, the future of these religious icons are in doubt. I imagine that when one of these houses goes under the knife for a total makeover little Miss Mary is the first thing to hit the bottom of a rented dumpster. It’s sad to think about how many Mary’s have been lost to hipsters and their pagan ways in places like Somerville and Brooklyn – lost forever to the landfills... 

Jesus be with you (and for the record, I’m a Unitarian).  

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