Reunion Tours

Boston - 2013

Our Hosts

Len Sciuto (QM 69-71)                                           Rob (EN 67-70) and Bette Bridle

1.) Monday, July 15th    -  Arrival Day

Today is a day to get checked in to the hotel and renew old acquaintances.

2.) Tuesday, July 16th   $50  8:00 AM Departure to Boston - USS Constitution and Sam Adams Brewery

Our trip to Boston will take about an hour where we will board "Old Ironsides".   The 44-gun USS CONSTITUTION, built in Boston, was launched on Oct. 21, 1797 and is the worlds oldest commissioned warship afloat . :nbsp;Following the American Revolution (1775-1783), the United States was a neutral and successful maritime trading party with England and France, countries that had been at war with each other since 1793. The British imposed embargoes and trade restrictions on America’s merchant fleet to limit trade with France, and, desperate for sailors to man her 600-ship fleet, impressed (kidnapped) more than 5,000 American sailors suspected of being former English subjects and forced them to serve aboard her ships.

President James Madison declared war on England on June 18, 1812.  At the outset of the War of 1812, USS CONSTITUTION had already won all of her engagements in two wars: the Quasi War with France (1798-1801) and the Barbary Wars (1801-1805).   During the War of 1812, to the surprise of both the Americans and the British, she defeated four English warships, earning each of her three captains a congressional gold medal.   Upon returning to Boston from each victory at sea, the ship and her sailors were honored with parades and public adoration, and her legend grew into the national icon that “Old Ironsides” remains to this day.   Throughout the next four decades following the War of 1812, USS CONSTITUTION secured numerous bloodless victories until she was taken out of active service in 1855.

Lunch today will be at the oldest tavern in America, The Bell In Hand Tavern.  The Tavern has been around since 1795. A gathering place for printers and politicians, sailors and students, it quickly became the most famous alehouse in the city.  The first owner was Jimmy Wilson.  Everybody in Boston knew Jimmy.  Not that they had much choice.  You see, Jimmy was Boston’s town crier for fifty years.  Good news or bad, Bostonians heard it all from Jimmy.  He reported on everything from the Boston Tea Party to the birth of the nation.  When he retired, he decided to open a tavern.  He was proud of his former occupation and that’s why he called the place the Bell-in-Hand.

After lunch we will visit The Samuel Adams Brewing Company for a tour of one of New England's best known breweries.   You'll learn about it's history... and then drink it.  Learn all about Samuel Adams, brewer and patriot.  Experience the entire brewing process, from start to finish.  Taste the special malts used to brew Samuel Adams® beers and smell the Hallertau hops.  And YES, there will be samples!

3.) Wednesday, July 17th    $40  8:00AM Departure to Boston - JF Kennedy Presidential Library and Historic Faneuil Hall

Tonight - Bang Olympics.

The Presidential Library system formally began in 1939 when President Franklin Roosevelt donated his personal and presidential papers to the Federal Government.  At the same time, President Roosevelt pledged part of his estate at Hyde Park to the United States, and friends of the President formed a private, non-profit corporation to raise funds for the construction of the library and museum building.

Following the example of the Roosevelt Library, all succeeding presidential libraries have been constructed with private funds.  Private, non-profit organizations have been formed to coordinate these efforts and continue to provide support for presidential library programs.  Once a presidential library has been constructed, the National Archives and Records Administration assumes responsibility for its operation and maintenance, in accordance with the Presidential Libraries Acts of 1955 and 1986.

On September 20, 1961, President John F. Kennedy wrote the Archivist of the United States to ask him to consult with White House staff and representatives of Harvard University concerning establishment of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  President Kennedy announced then that he would follow precedents set by Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower, and give his papers and memorabilia to the National Archives for a Presidential Library.

A month before his death, President Kennedy visited Cambridge, Massachusetts, and chose a site next to Harvard University for the Library.  It was to be the place where the records of his Presidency could be kept and where he would have his office when he retired from public life.

Lunch will be on our own at any of the over 50 modern or historic restaurants in the Faneuil Hall marketplace area including such famous places as Durgan Park Restaurant and Oyster Bar (circa 1800), Ye Olde Union Oyster House (1826) and the famous Cheers from the television show. (This is a copy.  The actual original run by the same people is on Boylston Street.)  Faneuil Hall, in the heart of historic old Boston is teaming with eating places and shopping.  If you are a history buff, the Freedom Trail passes through this area and you can follow it to many of Boston's historic landmarks.  After lunch the afternoon is yours to do as you please in this bustling cradle of liberty.

Located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, Faneuil Hall, has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742.  It was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others encouraging independence from Great Britain.   The grasshopper weather vane on top of the hall is a well known symbol of Boston.  Knowledge of the grasshopper was used as a shibboleth during the Revolution period.  The people would ask suspected spies the identity of the object on the top of Faneuil Hall; if they answered correctly, then they were free; if not, they were convicted as British spies.

Faneuil Hall is now part of a larger festival marketplace, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, which includes three long granite buildings called North Market, Quincy Market, and South Market, and which now operates as an indoor/outdoor mall and food eatery.  Its success in the late 1970s led to the emergence of similar marketplaces in other U.S. cities.

2:45 PM - SHARP - Our luxurious motor coach awaits to return us to our hotel and the ever popular hospitality room.   If you are not there on time please be sure to have a camera so you can take a picture of the bus leaving …..Ed!

Tonight after dinner we will again have the Bang Olympics.  This was a big hit last year and rumor has it that several shipmates and ladies have been in training over the winter in anticipation of hot competition this year!

4.) Thursday, July 18th
9:00 AM Business meeting for all shipmates.

9:00 AM Ladies Bloody Mary Bingo

5:30 PM   Banquet tonight -  $38

The rest of the day will be free to explore on your own.  Swim in the indoor heated pool or relax in the whirlpool or sauna.   Or explore some of the area's many attractions including:

• Downtown Manchester Guide  This handy guide includes information about nearby restaurants and attractions as well as the free downtown shuttle which stops across the street from our hotel!   Click the lower right or left corner of each page to turn the page forward or backward.


• Frank Lloyd Wright Zimmerman House  The Isadore J. and Lucille Zimmerman house was designed by the acclaimed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1950.  It is the only Wright-designed building in New England that is open to the public.  Wright designed the house, the interiors, all the furniture, the gardens, and even the mailbox. In 1979 the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  In 1990 the house and grounds were opened to the public.


• Currier Museum of Art  Stroll through the different galleries to see American and European art ranging from the Renaissance to current day.


• Palace Theatre  Just 3 blocks from our hotel.  On April 9, 1915, the Palace Theatre celebrated its opening night with great fanfare.  From 1915 until 1930 the Palace Theatre was in its prime.  Touring vaudeville companies regularly stopped at the Palace where performers such as Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope, Harry Houdini, The Marx Brothers, and Red Skelton entertained audiences.  Today the Palace Theatre is a beautifully restored 840-seat professional performing arts center.


• Lowell, MA National Historic Park : Only 35 miles from our hotel.   Admission is free if you have a National Parks pass.   Lowell's planned textile mill city, in scale, technological innovation, and development of an urban working class, marked the beginning of the industrial transformation of America.   Its historical structures represent one of the greatest transitions in American social history.  This was the shift from a rural society, where most people adapted their lives to natural cycles, to a society in which people responded to factory bells, where work was the same year round and did not cease at nightfall.


• New Hampshire Fisher Cats Minor League Baseball  Less than a mile from our hotel, The Fisher Cats celebrate their 10th season in 3013.   They will be hosting the Portland Sea Dogs at 7:05 PM July 15, 16 and 17th while we are on town. The stadium features a Samuel Adams Bar and Grill in left field which opens 2 hours before every game.


• Millyard Museum   Less than a mile from our hotel, the Millyard Museum is housed in Mill No. 3 at the corner of Commercial and Pleasant Streets in the historic Amoskeag Millyard.  The exhibit continues with the story of the development of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company.  This powerful corporation would become one of the largest textile producing company in the world, employing over 17,000 people, including immigrants from many countries.  The company's vast brick millyard still dominates the cityscape today.


• Mall of New Hampshire  This mega-mall is just 5 miles or 10 minutes from our hotel and contains 125 specialty stores.





Reunion Hotel Information