Summer in the City: An Evening in Boston Harbor

Birthdays should be about special experiences with your loved ones and Boston is never short on things to do.  Finding an activity to engage multi-age kids is a challenge, however, but I take it on happily,  For my son’s recent 18^th birthday celebration I came up with the following “water-themed” summer evening in Boston Harbor: water-front dining, a harbor walk and a sunset cruise. Follow us along!

We start at “Barking Crab” on Sleeper Street in Boston’s Seaport district which offers casual dining on the water. It has recently moved into a new space next door to its original location, and is now much airier while maintaining it’s super casual vibe.   It is not cheap, but you cannot beat the location and the teen appeal!   (Parking was a challenge but we found a street meter on Northern Ave)

 

After dinner we crossed the nearby Northern bridge onto the Atlantic Avenue, and just a few steps to the right entered the iconic Arch of the Boston Harbor Hotel at the Rowes Wharf.

 

We continued along the Harbor Walk  to the Long Wharf where we were scheduled to take a sunset cruise.

There are several sunset cruise options satisfying various budgets.  I briefly considered dinner cruises, then settled on a Boston Harbor Cruises line.  (The cheapest option is probably a groupon for 4 ($35) on Mass Bay lines, but it was not available on the evening of our outing).  The vessel was not as new and shiny as I would have liked, but my family rather enjoyed the experience.  We sat on the outside deck the entire time, enjoying anecdotes from Boston history (via live narration) and observing Boston skyline in its twilight glory.

 

On the way back to the Long Wharf, as the sun was about to set our boat made a special stop alongside the USS Constitution docked on Pier One of the former Charlestown Navy Yard to observe a sunset flag lowering ritual. USS Constitution is the world’s oldest running battleship.

After the cruise, we walked along Rose Kennedy Greenway back to our car (on Northern avenue). The Greenway is a delightful mile-long ribbon of parks, interactive fountains, playgrounds, and green space in the middle of the Atlantic Ave.  We love our Greenway walks on sunny summer days, and we found the lit up fountains to be quite entertaining in the evening as well!

 

For Greenway horticultural tours, open air free concerts and other events, check out Greenway’s website here.  For a 2-day Boston itinerary, read this post.

How do you celebrate your own family birthdays- in Boston or wherever you are- please share in the comments!

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