Time to turn south

We reached the northernmost point of our trip at Freeport, Maine.  From there we started south out of Maine, across a bit of New Hampshire and into Massachusetts using Highway 1 whenever we could.  Boston was on our itinerary but places to camp are a good ways out of town.  We chose Circle CG Farm located about an hour to the southwest of downtown.  We arrived on Sunday afternoon of Columbus Day weekend.  The place was packed with families enjoying one last camping trip before winter.  Twenty-four hours later it was almost deserted.

We drove into town, and acting on the advice of the tourist information advisor we spoke to the day before, we found a parking garage that only charged $3.99 for the entire day.  A steal when you consider that we saw many lots that charged up to $10 per hour.  We bought tickets for a trolley tour and set out.  We soon discovered that there was no way we could see and do everything on the tour in one day, or two days for that matter.  We prioritized, planned to return for a second day, and enjoyed this day.  A trolley tour has a guide/driver who points out points of interest and tells you a little about them.  You are free to get off at any of the stops, explore on foot then get back on when another trolley comes by. 

Our first stop was the famous outside facade of the Bull and Finch Tavern, also known as Cheers from the TV series.  Inside is nothing like the show depicted it. The series was all filmed on a set and this was just a shot of the exterior that was used in all the episodes while the series ran. 

Next we stopped at the site of the Boston Tea Party and learned a little about that.  There are a couple of replica sailing ships there at the museum in the harbor along with one of the actual chests that were tossed into the harbor by the rebellious colonists.

We had wanted to tour the USS Constitution, "Old Ironsides".  She is the oldest commissioned warship in the world, but due to the government shutdown it was not open to the public for tours. In order to keep its commission the Constitution has to sail at least a mile each year.  It does so, fires a 21 gun salute, then returns to port.  Each time she is docked the direction is reversed so as to keep the effects of weathering to a minimum. 

We finished the day with a harbor tour in a "Duck".  These are amphibious vehicles designed to hold about 50 people.  You begin the tour in a parking lot, drive into the water and tour the harbor then return to the parking lot.