The best way to travel in the metro Boston area is by subway or buses. There is a handy one about a block from John’s house. We drove instead down toward the Bunker Hill Monument which is in close proximity to the USS Constitution. The streets do not run in an ordered manner but in a haphazard way that the communities were built hundreds of years ago. Street names change from one side of the street across the intersection to the other side. There are highways systems overlaid through the towns so getting to the other side of these is a challenge. There is a small distance between streets so even with a detailed street map is it difficult to follow exactly where you are. Stan drove by dead reckoning toward the monument and I tried to follow along with the map as best I could. We were close but one way winding streets can be deceiving. We parked on a side street with a building that looked familiar from our previous trips to visit the USS Constitution. When we looked around it seemed to be the best place to park and walk a few blocks.
Stan loves to visit the USS Constitution, which is the oldest ship in the navy seeped with history about its strength that tagged it with the name Old Ironsides. The visit is always a great way to rekindle US Spirit and reminders about freedom. In previous visits we learned that a tour through the ship was closed on Mondays. Now it was closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays during the winter months due to funding cut backs and availability of personnel. Seeing it there in the harbor is still a remarkable sight. There is also a private USS Constitution Museum on the same site which has a wealth of knowledge, movies and models of the ship to spark your interest.
In this same ship yard is the USS Cassin Young, a World War II destroyer, which we did walk through. It is maintained by the National Park Service. It was built in 1943, then assigned to the Central Pacific. It first experienced combat in April, 1944, attacking a Japanese stronghold in the Caroline Islands.
On the main deck we could meander through the hallways to see the quarters, galley, sick bay and radio room. There was a Kitchen Aid mixer about four feet tall with the mixing bowl at least thirty inches across. That can mix a lot of dough to feed hungry sailors.
After enjoying a bagel sandwich in the nearby shop we walked out to the park near the Korean War memorial. The grounds were beautiful with mounds of colorful mums lining the walkways. There was a guy practicing his bagpipes in the grass with his young son listening and smiling from his stroller.