Our alarm went off at 6:00am on Saturday July 15, 2017 and the morning sunlight revealed our spectacular view of Gillette Stadium from our room. We weren’t rushed that morning as the JFK Presidential Library didn’t open until 9:00am and we were only 25 miles from there. We did have one site on the agenda before Kennedy’s museum, however, and that was the birthplace of George H.W. Bush in Milton, Massachusetts.
When we arrived at the Adams Street home in Milton, we knew we were at the right place because we saw a plaque on a large rock near the road that stated it was the birthplace of George Herbert Walker Bush. Unfortunately our view of the house from that rock was nearly nonexistent because of the numerous trees on the property. When my photographer didn’t see any ‘KEEP OUT’ signs, that was an open invitation for him to venture into the yard with me in hand. When I got my first glimpse of the three-story Victorian mansion, I was surprised by its appearance. The blue-gray house with green trim looked as though it was in dire need of a fresh coat of paint, as well as some tender loving care. George H.W. Bush, known as “Poppy” in those days, was born June 12, 1924 in a second-floor bedroom of that house. Six months after his birth, George’s father moved the family to Greenwich, Connecticut. With the unkempt appearance of the house, Tom assumed that it was uninhabited at the time; even though there were curtains in the windows. Since it seemed no one was there, my photographer placed me onto the porch where I posed for an up-close image with Bush’s birthplace. As I stood there, all I could think about was the fact that young “Poppy” was potty-trained in that house; which was an impressive accomplishment for a six-month old child.
When Tom placed me back into the camera case for our walk back to the Avenger where his wife was waiting, I thought about Bush’s birthplace and its appearance. Even though George 41 was born there, he only lived there for the first six months of his life; which made me wonder if the government would even consider purchasing a house with only six months of Presidential use.
I was looking forward to our next Presidential stop; which was the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum that was roughly seven miles north of Milton and situated along the shore of Dorchester Bay. Our timing was impeccable as we pulled into the parking lot just five minutes before the library opened. My photographer carried me into the museum and he had me pose alongside numerous artifacts used by President Kennedy. A few of the highlights in the museum were his personal rocking chair in the replica Oval Office; the Bible in which he was sworn-in as President in 1961; the podium JFK used during his 1960 televised debate with Richard Nixon; and personal items that sat on the Resolute Desk when JFK departed for Dallas. Although there was a small section that depicted the events on November 22, 1963, there were no artifacts from that tragic, yet historic, day. I wanted to see JFK’s suit that he was wearing when he was assassinated; the rifle used by Oswald; Jackie’s blood-stained dress; and of course the “magic bullet”. Those items have been stashed away in the National Archives and out of public view since 1963, but they belong in the JFK Library and they need to be put on display soon. It’s not that I’m a morbid bobble head who relishes in Presidential deaths and tragedies, but those artifacts are a part of American history and I’m itching to see them. I stood close to the gun used to shoot Abraham Lincoln; and I saw the clothes he was wearing during the assassination. To me, the only difference between Kennedy and Lincoln is the fact that JFK’s daughter, Caroline, is still alive and is understandably still sensitive to that event. Caroline, if you ever get a chance to read these words, please encourage our government to release the assassination artifacts and have them put on display in your father’s Presidential Library. It would be one more way for everyone to honor the memory of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and to never forget that horrific day in Dallas.
It felt as though we were in the JFK library for quite some time; but our visit lasted for just over an hour. There were some cool artifacts, but for a person who was arguably one of the most visible and most loved Presidents in history, I was left wanting more. A few of the Presidential library’s that I’ve visited have been better; and a couple, like Clinton’s and George W’s, were worse; a lot worse.
Shortly after 10:00am, we drove north into Boston where Vicki found a parking lot that was close to the New England Aquarium. My photographer and his wife had no intention of visiting that aquarium, but the Boston Harbor Cruises Whale Watch tours departed from a nearby pier. Once our tickets for the whale watching excursion were purchased, the three of us had some time to kill before our scheduled 2:30pm departure from Boston Harbor. Vicki mentioned that she wanted to have lunch at Cheers; my photographer wanted to snap a few photos of the Massachusetts State House; and I was comfortably situated in my camera case as I enjoyed their mile and a half hike.
The Massachusetts State House was nearly a one-mile walk from the aquarium and the thermometer needle was hitting the mid-90s. My photographer had also wanted to get a photo of the JFK statue that was near the building, but the gates were locked tight on weekends. What I found fascinating about the State House was the fact that it had been built on property once owned by John Hancock, who was Massachusetts’ first elected governor. As Tom captured his images of the historic capitol building through the bars of the wrought-iron fence, his wife remained in the shade of some trees on Boston Common that was located across the street.
When my photographer was finished at the State House, we strolled along Beacon Street for another half-mile until we arrived at Cheers Beacon Hill; a pub that was used for the exterior film shots of the television sit-com Cheers in the 1980s and early ‘90s. The three of us descended the stairs that led us into the famous pub where we were seated at one end of the bar. As I peered out from my camera case, two things immediately came to mind: First, the interior looked nothing like the bar on the television show. And second, not one person knew my name; even though it was printed on the front of my base.
After Tom and his wife had enjoyed a burger and a beer at Cheers, it was time to visit one more historic Boston site – the Boston Marathon finish line. While normally that site wouldn’t have been something that my photographer would have hiked a mile in the heat to see, the finish line became a site of interest after the Boston Marathon bombing that happened over four years earlier. When we arrived at the scene, we stood outside of Marathon Sports which was where the first home-made pressure cooker bomb exploded on April 15, 2013. A second bomb, which was located about a block west of the first, detonated just 14 seconds later. Three innocent people were killed, and 264 marathon spectators were injured in the two blasts. As the three of us stood silently in front of the sports store, all I could imagine was the chaos that ensued after the bombs went off.
It was 12:45pm and time to make our 1.7-mile journey back to the Boston Harbor Tours dock where we were slated to board our tour boat at 2:00pm. For my “husky” photographer and his wife, the heat of the noon sun made that hike seem more like a marathon than a stroll in the park.
The three of us boarded the Boston Harbor Cruise boat ‘Asteria’ just after 2:00pm and Tom found a good viewing seat at the stern of the mighty vessel. The bow would’ve been his location of choice, but those seats were already occupied by the time we boarded. At 2:30pm, the ‘Asteria’ left the Long Wharf South and we headed out of Boston Harbor. Twenty minutes or so into our voyage, we passed the Boston Lighthouse that was situated on Little Brewster Island in Massachusetts Bay. In 1716, the first lighthouse to be constructed in what is now the United States was on that site. The lighthouse that we saw replaced the first one in 1783 and is the second oldest working lighthouse in the country; second only to the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in New Jersey.
It seemed to take forever for our boat to sail to an area in Massachusetts Bay where the whales were normally spotted. For a portion of that voyage out, however, my cameraman and his wife engaged in a conversation with three young ladies who were visiting Boston from Switzerland. It was during that chit chat when the first humpback whale was spotted. Tom took his place at the stern of the boat and he went to work with his camera. From time to time I was able to sneak a glimpse of the whales from the opening in the camera case, but later that night I enjoyed seeing the photos that Tom had captured. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
While that whale watching tour from Boston Harbor was good, Tom and Vicki had hoped for more. During our return to Boston, I heard them mention that in 2012, which was a year before I joined their family, they had taken their first whale watching excursion from Provincetown and had a closer encounter with the humpbacks. As they reminisced, Vicki said that one whale startled her after it went under their boat and blew water from its blow hole right below her.
The ‘Asteria’ docked just after 6:30pm; for the three of us it was time to leave Boston and get into position for our next day’s adventure – a sightseeing tour of Martha’s Vineyard by Jeep. My photographer’s goal was to find a motel somewhere on Cape Cod where we would have a short drive to the ferry in the morning. At 7:45pm, we pulled into the parking lot of the Sandwich Lodge and Resort that was situated just north of the small Massachusetts town of Sandwich. Since it was later than normal for dinner, Tom and Vicki didn’t hesitate to take me along to the British Beer Company that was located next to the motel.
When we returned to the motel after dinner, I heard my photographer as he talked with the desk clerk about Martha’s Vineyard. Although Tom had planned on taking the ferry to the island from Woods Hole, the woman at the desk gave him some valuable advice: “Drive to our sister motel, the Falmouth Inn in Falmouth, and park there for free. Just go into the lobby and tell them that I sent you; it’s a lot safer to leave your car there than at Woods Hole. Plus it’s a very easy and short walk to the Island Queen ferry dock from that motel.” After the woman drew a crude map on a napkin, the three of us headed to our room for the night. As I stood near the television set throughout the night, the only thing I could think about was great white sharks. After all, Martha’s Vineyard was known as Amity Island in the 1975 movie ‘Jaws’ and I knew that Tom had planned on visiting numerous filming sites from that epic motion picture. I knew one thing for sure – I was happy that bobble heads don’t go into the water!
