Boston and Hurricane Henri

We were very excited about our planned stop in Boston. Our RV visit in 2018 was way too short and were excited about exploring the city more thoroughly. With a little research and some persistence I landed us a marina right in the middle of downtown, right next to the aquarium, the Greenway and just blocks from some great food.

The Greenway

The storm in the middle of the Atlantic had just earned a name: Henri. I watched it with mild interest, but it wasn't predicted to become much. And we were in the Northeast. After all, the reason we came here was to avoid the hurricanes of the Southeast. How ridiculously unfair would it be to get hurricaned anyways - after all the traveling we'd done to escape?

Hand-held Boston creme pies at the Quincy Market

We settled into the marina and were greeted by the sounds of a sea lion barking at the aquarium. We hadn't heard that sound for so long, we immediately felt right at home. Chloe of course barked right back, a feature the neighbors surely appreciated at sunrise when they were both most active. Each time we couldn't stop laughing long enough to chastise her for it. I wonder what they were saying to each other.

Sea Lion: "Help, I'm a prisoner"

Chloe: "I can't free you. I don't have any thumbs." or "I don't speak sea lion, I don't know what you're saying."

The Boston Aquarium bordered our marina to the North

Boston is a friendly city that seamlessly balances parks with city, a harbor both working and pleasurecraft populated, and architecture from four different centuries that stands in harmony together. In the '90's they demolished the elevated highway along the waterfront and dug up a tunnel to route most of the traffic through. This was known as the "Big Dig" and was recognized widely as a failure because it took significantly more time and money than planned. I'm so glad we missed the messy part, but equally glad we are here to enjoy the aftermath - a public space called "The Greenway " that was placed right on top of the tunnel and runs along the waterway for many blocks, and ties the waterfront to the financial district and Little Italy. There's always something happening on the Greenway; live music, kids playing in the fountain, a beautiful carousel, walking and bike paths, food trucks, art installations. Chloe sniffed it all, and was well walked on the Greenway.

Paul Revere's house. The cobblestones out front, and throughout much of the waterfront, are original ballast stones from ships of the era.

After watching for a couple of days, it became clear that Henri was in fact going to make an appearance, so we extended our stay at the marina and prepared Minerva for the hurricane. In the end the abuse we took from Henri was less than our average daily South wind beating on the A Dock in Oriental, so we'll gleefully accept it as a win.

Our all-around favorite drybag. One day a hurricane ditch bag, the next day a grocery-fetcher.

Nothing quite like a fountain frolic to celebrate the end of a hurricane