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This delightful and knowledgeable young lady gave us the
tour of Old Ironsides, telling us how it developed that reputation because
of its hull being made of 'live oak' which had the power to repel cannon
balls. |
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It is still an active ship of the US Navy, although I
don't suppose you'll find it in the Gulf. |
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I thought I was being a bit subtle taking
this wide angle shot with the young man forming an interesting bottom of
frame. No, he bounded up saying "Hey, that's a 20D isn't it? My dads got one
of those, they're cool!" |
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Down below, we were introduced to the heavy,
noisy bits. Not very noisy nowadays, I
hope. |
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Ah, now that's the capstan, I recognise that from the 'fag'
packets of my mis spent youth. |
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In glorious close up. |
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Captains cabin looks a bit posh. |
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Also in the US fleet, but no doubt steel sides. |
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I saw this lovely old sign nearby. Still applies, leave
your flip flops at home. |
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This is, I guess, some dead 'live' oak as
spare material for old Ironsides. |
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This interesting combination of pseudo
weaponry was to be found nearby. |
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The thin red line of the freedom trail takes
us onwards and upwards to the 220 foot tall Bunker Hill monument. There are
well over three hundred steps inside, so I decided to climb them for the
view.
Jean was more sensible and saved her calf muscles for
other days. |
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| However, a little over two hundred years ago, the view
was somewhat different in the heat of the battle between the colonials and
the Old English redcoats. This rather fine model
gives you a flavour of the time. |
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The models are part of a display in the base of the
tower. June 17th 1775 was the date of the first
battle of the Revolution and the British lost a lot of men. The statue is
that of Colonel Prescott who was famous for saying, "Don't fire until you
can see the whites of their eyes!" |
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Our tired feet took us back into the city and to Beacon
Hill in particular. Not one but originally three steep hills, it has been
scraped lower for Bay fill before being gentrified by many delightful gas
lit streets.
Yes, gas. |
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One could be in Greenwich village New York, or even
certain parts of London. But no, you are in historic Boston and very
pleasant it is too. |
