Charlestown!

Prudence the cannon.

Rigging galore.

On Old Ironsides.

That's a big mixer. aboard the U.S.S. Cassin Young

Cool knot on Old Ironsides! This is the oldest commissioned war ship in the world. Neat, huh?

The U.S.S Cassin Young destroyer was the biggest hit with Coleman, though. WWII buff that he is.

Design is everywhere.

There are meanings to all of the flags. We've got a cool book about this.

We spent a good part of Tuesday in Charlestown at the shipyard. The U.S.S. Constitution and the U.S.S. Cassin Young destroyer is located there. There's a fabulous museum! This visit is part of the freedom trail we'd planned to walk. I thought it would be great to start the tour here since it isn't as crowded as in town and the parking is easy. But Coleman was still sick - the whole darn vacation! - so this is both where we began and where we ended the tour. We did get a peak at the Bunker Hill Memorial from the shipyard. Well, we'll just have to do this again this summer, if we make it back to Boston. It was a beautiful, sunny and crisp New England day.

Interesting Stuff About This Stuff:

Marine Flag Meanings we've got the DK book on Ships and Sailing.
For a book club Coleman recently read Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes. The book is set in Boston at the start of the American Revolution.
The Constitution of the United States of America by Sam Fink, this is an illustrated book, one illustration for each line. It's lovely, I found it at a thrift store for $3. I'll bet it's at your local library.
Howard Zinn's A Young People's History of The United States: Columbus to the War on Terror