Out and about

My sister, Becky came for a weeks vacation & to celebrate her birthday. We headed downtown Boston for the day on Sunday. Took the trolley tour. It was a great way to get an overview of the town and all of the history. Loved the fact you could get off and back on at several stops. We started the tour at Fenway. No games in town so we were free to explore without the crowds. We're going back on August 6th for the Red Sox and Yankee game.

On Monday, Becky and I headed out to the Cape. We stopped in Hyannis for lunch and to visit a favorite store that's closing. Then we headed out for Chatham. I was particularly interested in seeing the seals. We explored the town and then stopped at the fish wharf. We were lucky to time it right when a fishing boat was coming in. They unloaded their catch of the day under scrutiney of a few seals. The seals swam around and entertained the onlookers all the while hoping one of the fisherman would toss them a fish or two. Sure enough, they were rewarded with a fish. I was thrilled that I was able to see the seals up close. We also stopped at The Maps of Antiquity Store in Chatham. It was recommended to us from an old neighbor of mine. Wow, what a gold mine of a store! At first, I didn't know what to look at. The store is filled with maps of all kinds. I was looking for a map of the Cape with the Islands included only to find out that those maps are very rare. Sure, I would pick something like that! They showed me 3 maps that they have that do show the islands and the cape. Most maps of the Cape that show the islands, have them depicted in a box and superimposed on the larger Cape map. We found one map that was perfect. It shows the Cape and both islands in their place. It's from 1896. No roads, only train tracks and cart paths showing the map. Apparently they used to load the train on the boats and take them over to the island and then back. Very cool. I couldn't resist, I had to have this map. I presented it to Jeff later that evening. He was thrilled. We're having it framed at a local frame shop. It's our anniversary present to ourselves. I also found a small map of our town that we're having framed. Both maps should look great in our tv room.
The rest of the week was perfect. We had the best summer weather to bum around in. Becky went home on Saturday full of good memories and exhausted from all of the fun we had.