As always, a few random thoughts to wrap this thing up.

At least in “downtown” Boston, streets can change name without notice. Streets at opposite sides of a perfect four-way intersection (a “+”) will have different names for no apparent reason. Arch turns into Chauncey, Essex becomes Boylston, and Summer changes into Winter without going through Autumn (or Spring).

Not only was I unaware of a there being a bunch of islands in Boston harbor and vincinity, they constitute a National Park….well, a “National Recreation Area”, but it’s close enough.

Note that “South Boston” and Boston’s “South End” are completely different neighborhoods. I don’t know what happens if you confuse them – but I don’t want to find out.

Metropolitan Boston has something they call the “Harborwalk”. It’s just a walking path that follows the water / shore / riverbanks for several miles. A nice way to take in some sea air, and get to places of interest, but unlike Chicago’s Riverwalk, there don’t seem to be any bars, restaurants, or even food carts along it. Boston’s missing a good opportunity here….

Maybe it’s because all the “fun” is on the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway, which provides the surface covering for the “Big Dig” – which buried the interstate highway that ran through the middle of the city. It’s a very nice urban strip park; they’ve gone out of their way to add native plants, special gardens, open lawns, and wandering pathways.

Some of you who are Of A Certain Age might remember that Kingston Trio song, “The M.T.A.” According to an informative sign in a subway station, it was commissioned for a political campaign back in 1949, when Boston’s subways actually did have a complicated “exit fare” system. Unfortunately, the commissioning politician was a Progressive Party (aka Socialist) member at the time, and not only did he bomb in the campaign, since the song mentioned him by name, it fell into disuse. Until the Kingston Trio simply changed the name of the politician. That’s a rather long story to explain how Boston’s mass transit fare card is known as the “Charlie Card”, after the unfortunate commuter in the song.

If you pay attention to all the stuff on the dollar bill, you might have noticed that Boston is the home to a branch of the Federal Reserve. I walked past the building quite often. They did not have a Visitor Center explaining what it is that they do there.

NOTE TO SELF: When booking one of those little tours or excursions, do it through the tour/excursion’s own website, and NOT through the “tour aggregator” (e.g. Viator). Otherwise, you are constantly bombarded with e-mails. I’ll accept the “Here’s your receipt” and “Here’s your ticket”, but not the “Your trip is coming up! Are you ready?” “Here’s something else our software thinks you’ll like!” “Your tour is just two days away!” “Did you enjoy your tour? Let us know!” “Please leave a review!” and “Here are some things for your next visit!” Here’s a review for you: “The tour was great, but I’m taking off two stars for all the annoying e-mails.”