One of my secret shames is how little of Boston I've ever actually visited. Today I struck out into Southie to see Castle Island (photos).
I'm not sure I've spent any more time in Southie than it takes to pass through on my way to somewhere else, which is really too bad. I saw a lot of charming neighborhoods today--well-maintained triple deckers, wide streets, plenty of sunshine. To start, I took the red line to Broadway station, then waited for the #9 bus. Directions on the DCR web site are somewhat vague about where to get off the bus, but since it says the #9 or #11 to City Point, I decided to take the bus to City Point. For those of you who don't know, I will share my discovery with you: despite being the destination of multiple bus lines, there is no there there. City Point is a smallish parking lot where the buses turn around. From there I walked back a couple of stops to where I should have gotten out to begin with.
At Broadway station, a pair of nattily dressed (straw fedoras, crisp yellow shirts) old men insisted I board the bus before them (one explained, in what I think was an Italian accent, that he did this out of 'respect' for me.) The bus was fairly crowded. Two young men standing near me were catching up. One explained that his first name is "J", just the letter J, but that the arresting cop wrote "Jay" and then they booked him under his middle name, so the warrant had the wrong name on it. He followed this up with a story about running into a mutual friend on the train, carrying a black trash bag containing 40 pounds of meat. The friend claimed to be on his way to a BBQ, to which J responded, "Why are you lying to me, man? You saw an opportunity to steal 40 lbs of meat! No one's going to buy meat from you out of a trash bag." This is the sort of local color I don't get hanging around the South End or Coolidge Corner, so already the excursion has exceeded my expectations.
How is it that I've never gone to Castle Island? It's lovely, and remarkably close to the city, and I realize now I've glimpsed it from the Expressway as I'm on my way to somewhere less interesting. Despite being in the flight path, it seemed quiet, too, in a "wow, am I really minutes away from a city bus?" kind of way. There were plenty of people around, and people watching was good. Witness the elderly woman leaning against the back of a wheelchair, pushing it along the walkway, while a Yorkie lounged in the seat. There were lots of children and older folks and dogs--it was a pleasant family outing kind of place. It actually seemed a little weird to me that there weren't packs of teenagers hanging around threatening the peace.
I stopped by Sullivan's and had a hot dog. I felt that a hot dog was required for the full Castle Island experience. I made a full circumambulation of Pleasure Bay. It was a beautiful day, the people watching was excellent, and even the stacks of cargo containers over at Conley Terminal had a certain charm. I could picture spending a couple of hours just watching the giant cranes in operation. I also saw one of the tall ships motoring past, on its way out of town, presumably. She was flying the Brazilian flag, so I guess it may have been the Cisne Branco.
On my way back, I walked down East Broadway past L Street, then picked up the #9 again, and took it into Copley. This bus stops right in front of the building where I work. It was astounding to me that South Boston was so close to the South End. Pulling into Copley Square on the bus, I had that feeling you get when you're seeing a familiar site from an entirely new vantage point.
Altogether a successful outing, and now I must plan another trip in Boston's neighborhoods.
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