Explorations and Interrogations

   Wednesday I had the fun opportunity to go on All Access for the first time this summer. With sunny skies and warm weather I knew I was in for a fun day! After boarding the boat with hundreds of kids we were on our way to Georges Island. On the way out I sat at the bow, outside with some kids from a math and science camp. My choice of sitting back fired slightly as they continuously asked me questions I didn't know the answer to! They asked me things like "How long would it take you to swim from Georges Island back to the dock?". They were logical questions, most of the time, but I didn't always know the answers!

Sports on Georges Island

   We finally made our way onto the island after my harbor interrogation on the boat and we had the chance to explore. Melissa and two of the interns that came with us had never been on the island so we took the chance to explore the fort a bit. Upon arrival of the dark tunnel Everybody was too scared to go in. You could hear kids screaming and trying to rush to get out! Their fear was understandable, considering David Coffin was waiting for people to walk by so he could scare them!
   After our trip to the dark tunnel we walked around the fort and bit more and found some old rooms and a nice view from on top of the fort. Finally, we went to the large field in the middle of the fort and played some sports. We started by kicking the back to one another until some kids decided they wanted to come play too. Me and a few kids started practicing our soccer skills as well as our hopscotch skills. Then we joined the dodge ball game that was going on! Two different boys and girls clubs had come together to play the game and it was a whole lot of fun! My trip to one of the harbor islands was a lot of fun and a great learning experience!

Keep Exploring!

Sam

Spider Crabsss

Hi everyone,

As All Access Boston Harbor is wrapping up the summer this week, it gave families and friends the opportunity to come out to Spectacle island. On Tuesday we had a lot of families that came out with us. Although the attendance went down, it was still fun.

As always, I was fishing with a few groups of families where kids were fighting over rods. When I made the kids understand that there were not enough fishing rods for everyone, fishing got a lot better even though we did not catch anything. Usually I cast out a fishing rod and leave it out there to try to catch something to show the kids. This time just when I thought I had a skate on the line, It turned out to be a huge spider crab. The family that was there at that time also helped me pull up the crab trap in which all that was inside were 10 spider crabs. Throughout this summer, I was waiting to catch some pregnant spider crabs to show kids and families what a pregnant crab looks like. Luckily, four of those crabs were pregnant so I was able to show the kids and families and they were all amazed. That was the highest number of spider crabs we had caught all at once in a trap. I cant wait to see what the last day of the program will be like.

Until next time,

Andrea Lopes :)

Half Way There

Hello again fellow adventurers!

It's crazy to think about, but the summer is just about half way over! With all the fun and excitement over the past few weeks, I can't believe how fast the summer is flying by. This week I spent time at both the Children's Museum and AABH on Spectacle Island.

That's my corner!

This week at the Children's Museum we had some particularly feisty crabs. With the temperatures on the rise in the city, emotions tend to flare for some city-goers, so I guess the same can be said for the crabs in the Fort Point Channel. The crabs main defence is of course it's claws, which they usually display prominently when we take them out of the trap. They usually calm down when in the touch tank, but this week they've been quick to react to our hands entering the tank, and a few unlucky staff members have felt the powerful pinch from some of these crabs. They'll even fight for position in the corners of the tank, and the extremely feisty ones we've had to put back in the water.

Today I was able to spend the day out on All Access Boston Harbor as our team traveled to Spectacle Island. With blue skies, a boat full of eager kids, and temperatures in the 90's, the scene was set for an amazing beach day! Before we jumped in the water, Myself and Abel played sports with a few groups of kids, from soccer, to frisbee, and kickball. After working up a sweat, we all hustled down the hill to the refreshing waters near the beach. Wasting no time at all thinking about how cold the water might be, I ran in as quick as possible, feeling a wave of cool refreshment wash over me as I plunged into Boston harbor. Not too many things feel as good as that on a hot summer day. However it couldn't last forever, as the day was coming to an end and we had to get back on the boat to Boston. I can't wait until the next time I get to take another trip out to the islands and jump back in.

Campers enjoying the beach!

Until next time, keep on exploring!
-Luke C.

Firsts During The First Week of Summer

If I wasn't already excited for summer, I am even more excited after our first two days out on the islands. This first two days, we embarked the Provincetown II to reach George's Island. We might have started a new tradition of playing "Quackadilly" on the boat ride over. Both rides over Carlos made it to the final two but was beat out by Andrea the first day and by Cristian on the second.

Our first day on George's, we were met by high heat, a hot sun, and little to no shade. The groups we came to the Island with found salvation in Fort Warren's cool and dark tunnels. Though we had few participants to brave the heat with us, we had great day for ourselves. Kharliyah and I started the day exploring the tide line. I had heard rumors of seastars in the tide zone and was eager to have success in finding some. Though we were unsuccessful in finding seastars we found a killdeer and her two chicks. They were so tiny when I tried to take a picture, they didn't show up! I also saw a pair of ducks with ducklings which were also adorable!

Andrea set the bar high for fishing this summer at SHSB. She helped kids catch not one but five striped bass! This has never happened before at George's Island or any other site. We also caught Red Crabs on the second day on George's. It was fun to talk to kids about what kind of animals crabs are and how to tell a male and a female apart. Rock Crabs are also a native species that have been recently outcompeted by Asian Shore Crabs and Green Crabs, so it was great to catch many of them instead of invasive species.

My favorite part of both days was the boat ride home. Not because the day was over but because it showed the connections the AABH team made with kids. Kids were coming up to us asking to play "Quackadilly" again, talking to the boys about sports, asking questions about the harbor, or seeing a few kids fall asleep after a very active day.

I'm excited to see what the rest of the summer holds!

Nora

Around the World in 60 Days

Hello again fellow adventurers,

Well unfortunately it's that time of thew year again. The days are getting shorter and shorter, kids are getting ready to go back to school, and our summer programming is coming to an end. Just like last summer, this one has been jam packed with excitement. From the first day of orientation, I knew my fellow Harbor Explorers and I were going to run an amazing program. One of the best parts of my summer was that I got to travel to almost every site!

Sailing the deep blue of Boston Harbor

My summer adventure began at Piers Park. Located in East Boston, this week long day camp proved to be one of my favorite sites of the summer. From sailing the Boston Harbor, to playing games like fishy fishy cross my ocean, we were always entertaining and being entertained by the children in the Harbor Explorers program. I learned so much from these little kids, and definitely prepared me for having kids of my own later in life. 

Kayak selfies!

The next stop on my wild summer ride was Community Boating and Courageous Sailing Center. Having worked at these two sites last summer, I returned much the wiser and ready to continue where I left off. The highlight of Community Boating was taking the kayaks out on the Charles river. I had been kayaking many times before, but watching some of my co-workers like Dexter and Ruth attempt to kayak for the first time provided plenty entertainment. This summer we didn't catch nearly as many eels as we did last summer, but our fishing numbers were way up! It's always exciting to be a part of a child's first fish. Watching them be both excited at what they have accomplished, and also scared to touch the wriggling fish on the other end of the rod.

Crab race champion!

Courageous Sailing Center continued it's excitement from last summer into this one with the abundant life we found in the multiple lobster traps we have there year round. While green crabs and tunicates were always a guarantee, the mystery came from never knowing exactly what you would find in each trap! We caught a total of 4 lobsters throughout the course of the summer, and while none of them were big enough to keep (and eat!) they were still a major source of excitement for both the children and us counselors! We also managed to snag a few different flounder, a few rock gunnels, and a few different species of crabs through the summer. Of course the highlight of every day was releasing the crabs and having a crab race to see who got bragging rights for the day. While I only one once, I didn't shy away from bragging through the day that I won!

Just an aspiring artist and his canvas 

While I only spent a few days at Carson Beach, they were some of the best days of the summer for me! As a new site this summer for Save the Harbor, Carson had a major task of showing off one of Boston's most prestigious and cleanest urban beach! The highlight by far was working with world renowned sand artist Andres Amador creating sand art along the shores of Carson. The experience was like nothing I had ever been a part of, and now I want to make my own sand art whenever I'm at the beach! While I'm nowhere close to as skilled as Andres, I hope one day I'll be able to create works of art like he can.

Last and certainly not least was All Access Boston Harbor. So many fantastic memories were made at the various islands we visited on All Access. From the sea glass filled shores and spacious fields of Spectacle island to the beautiful beach of Peddocks island, we helped over 6,000!!! children experience what the Boston Harbor Islands have to share. with kickball games, to beach walks and of course swimming, All Access is the perfect way to show the public just how far Save the Harbor has come in cleaning up Boston Harbor. I think I'll miss All Access the most, but that only means I'll be looking forward to it the most next summer!

If there isn't a selfie, did it even happen?

It's been quite the amazing summer. I just want to say thank you to everyone in the Save the Harbor Save the Bay company that made it possible for me to play a part in this amazing program. I'm looking forward to making a return next year!

Until next summer, keep on exploring!

-Luke

Fishing with Sam is Always a Blessing

These past couple of days has been great at Spectacle Island. Yes, the weather has been a little too hot but we still manage to make the best out of it to make sure the kids are actually out there on the harbor islands enjoying themselves.

       First skate caught in a lure rod

Fishing with Sam has always been the best and will always be the best. That's a fact! Sam came out with us on Tuesday and the number of groups and kids that came out with us was the smallest of all summer. We had only a few kids fishing. While the kids were there, we were catching nothing but crabs. We had a total of seven rods that day out on Spectacle. Sam castes three of them and left them out there until we get a bite so that the kids would have something to reel in. The other four rods were given to the kids to cast and try to catch something. At first we weren't catching anything at all and Sam goes "where are these skates?" A few moments later after the kids left, I decided to take one of the weakest rods that we have and just dropped the line down to the bottom of the ocean. Little do you know, I reeled in a skate from our weakest rod that had a broken reel and it was a lure rod as well. Sam was surprised because I caught a skate on a lure. 

  Jayda and the second skate of the day

Before we went for a swim, Jayda reeled in another skate! Isn't that amazing? I love when we catch all these skates because the kids always gets excited and they think it's a stingray. As Jayda, Sam and myself got ready for a quick swim at 1:30 PM, we decided to cast a few more rods. So when we got back from swimming, the three of us each decided to reel in one rod. Jayda reeled in further down to the left and I reeled in the one in the middle while Sam reeled in the one further to the right. After the two of them finished reeling in their rods, I was the only one left still trying to rail in one rod. I had no idea if I was reeling in another skate because it didn't feel that heavy so I thought it was a crab. Sam looks down and goes "Andrea, you're reeling in a skate and don't even tell me?" I was like, Sam it didn't feel like a skate at all. So guess what he says? "Here Andrea, let's leave it in the water and let one of the campers come reel it in so that they see that they caught something." I was okay with it. One camper from Lawrence came in and helped Sam reel it in!

 This past Tuesday has been amazing. Three skates in one day? AWESOME!

       Sam helping Jayda reel in a skate

Keep the skates coming,

- Andrea Lopes

Birthday Well Spent At Carson

This past sunny and hot Friday was nothing but fun. It was my birthday and I couldn't have spent it better anywhere else but Carson beach with the BASE kids. The morning started with some arts and crafts, soccer, and football. I was doing arts and crafts with a few girls from the BASE camp. They were pretty engaging and really smart young girls.

              Preston and Cynthia 

As they sat next to me coloring and drawing the different types of sea animals, Cynthia and I got engaged in a conversation. We became best friends for the entire day. So Cynthia and I started talking about birthdays and she was telling me how her birthday was July 26th and I told her that my birthday was July 31st. As a gift from me to her, I colored a striped Bass and decorated the entire sheet for her. 

          My gift from Me to Cynthia

As we move on to a massive game of soccer, Cynthia wanted to be on my team so I couldn't resist not having her play with me. She did a pretty good job being the goal keeper even though we lost. After the soccer game, she told me that she wanted to go kayaking with me but she couldn't because she had to go get lunch with her group. I went kayaking by myself after teaching the YMCA kids how to cast a rod. As I was returning from kayaking, guess who I see? Well it was Cynthia! She was kayaking with her friend and she told me to go stay next to them to help push them because the pedals were too big and she was so tiny.

Spending the day with Cynthia and Carson doing different types of activities really made my birthday worth spending it there. She is a really bright little girl who acts and talks much like a grown up. If I could replay Friday with her, I definitely would. 

Hoping to see you soon,

- Andrea Lopes

CHV Takes Over AABH

     On Tuesday I went to Peddocks island with the All Access Boston Harbor crew. It was fun to be back on All access for the day. It was also good that it was at Peddocks, which can be debated to be the best island we go to. When we first got to the island we had lunch on the nice chairs near the beach. Then we gathered some kids in order to play kickball. I was making my debut after my self-proclaimed Rookie of the Year season last year. 

     The game started off very hype, with friendly trash talking going on by both sides. I was on the opposite team as David Coffin. In my first at bat I hit a 3 run home run to give my team a 6-0 lead. The game went on for a few more innings before it was last ups for David Coffin's team, who were down 8-4. His team was able to load the bases with 2 outs and a camp counselor was up to bat. There was late inning drama and it made the game fun for us and, most importantly, the kids. The camp counselor proceeded to hit the ball hard and high but we were able to make the catch and secure the win. We then took all the kids and broke it down screaming "Save The Harbor" on 3. There were smiles on all kids faces whether they won or lost. As for David Coffin and Max they were just simply on the wrong team. Then we went to the freezing beach and cooled off from the blazing sun.

Sincerely,

Ivaniel Diaz

Accessing All Access!

Hello again fellow adventurers!

This past week I had the opportunity to spend the week with the All Access Boston Harbor crew on Peddocks Island. Peddocks island is by far my favorite of the harbor islands. With a beach that surpasses that of any other island, a huge open field for intense kickball games, and a fishing area teaming with skates and crabs, this island has it all and then some!

Beating the heat!

Any day I get to spend in the water is a good one. Even though the water was ice cold, it was much better than cooking like an egg in the sweltering sun. Whenever you're on a beach with David Coffin, you always have to keep your head on a swivel. David's favorite thing to do on the beach is throw staff members into the water. Fortunately for me, I avoided his grasp last week, but in the future I'll have to keep my guard up. 

Before I could muster up the confidence to jump in the freezing water, I took part in one of the most intense kickball games of my life. The score was 4-2 in the last inning of the game, and my team was up. Never loosing sight of victory, we strode to the plate with our imaginary rally caps on. Everyone kicked the ball with confidence and pure power, and before I could blink, the winning run had crossed the plate and we won! We celebrated our timely victory with a celebratory jump in the water, and an amazing day at Peddocks came to an end. I'm looking forward to many more adventures to the many harbor islands we visit!

Until next time, keep on exploring

-Luke

Crabs > Skate

It surely has been an epic week for the crew over at Save the Harbor. The highlight of my week would probably have to be watching Little T, from St. Marks, catch a skate off the dock. This was the first big catch after many bites over the course of the summer. Despite the skate being the biggest Spectacle moment all summer, another particularly small part of my week was highly memorable. This would definitely have to be watching one of my campers catch a crab using one of our ugly sticks. This was legit.

Mini caught a crab!

Excitement all around for the squad!

For the first time in five years I led fishing this past Tuesday on All Access Boston Harbor. The bait used to catch this small green crab was a squid. Interestingly enough most of the squid was gone and the crab was latched onto a fairly minor part of our intended bait. Mini was part of one of the last groups to attend my fishing clinic, it feels awesome to say that, and achieve this great accomplishment. It was about 2 p.m and most would normally understand that the day is over at this point but Mini put up a a good bargain. Her words were simply "Can i fish for crabs?" That's all she had to say to win me over.


One cast...... BAM, a crab. God written or luck? The world may never know (No, this isn't a tootsie pop advertisement). This was very fun for all of us on AABH to see and a great end for our first day out on the island this week.

Until next time,

Ahmed Hassan

David the Goliath

Yesterday was my first time visiting Peddock's Island, one of the Boston Harbor islands in the rotation of the "All Access" team here at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. I had heard that All Access was fun, but I was unprepared for just how fun. After arriving on the island we immediately began a game of kickball, the holy grail of ll recess activities; my inner child was torn out of me, arriving with a hunger that could only be quenched by home-runs. Sadly my team and I were defeated 8-4 with the last four runs of the opponents runs coming in the last inning!

Only one thing could have washed away that heavy stench of defeat and that is the crashing of waves from the Atlantic Ocean; in other words, we went swimming. It was there on the beach that I encountered the infamous David Coffin, known for his expertise in the involuntary depositions of unsuspecting victims into the water. But today, he would no longer be considered a threat to the kind townspeople of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay as on this day the mighty David was smitten, and at the hands of his own craft no less. After years of tormenting the poor village, the warriors were finally able to band together and cast the hardy beast into the ocean. And the village lived happy ever after..

Sincerely,

Maxwilliams Iwuala

Peddocks Island

Hi everyone,

This week, All Access is at Peddocks Island. Peddocks Island used to be my least favorite island, yet it has a better beach than Spectacle. I disliked Peddocks just because every where you would step last year, you would see goose poop. This year is totally different. It's like a miracle because there is no goose poop!  Now I can say that Peddocks is definitely my favorite island. 

       It's the biggest SPIDER CRAB!

These past two days has been amazing. Yesterday, we caught about fifty to seventy-five crabs. Most surprisingly, we caught LOTS of spider crabs. We normally catch more green crabs than any other type of crabs. I was also surprised that we caught several humongous red rock crabs.

      Caught in the pavilion on Tuesday

Today, Sam who's back with All Access went with us to Peddocks and guess what he caught on his first day in a matter of five minutes? A SKATE!!! Lord knows that I was excited when he caught the skate. The kids were also excited and I really mean that they were extremely happy when they got to wear the skate on their heads as a hat. It's really funny but I mean Sam is just amazing. For my lovely All Access coworkers, they should know that I always get too excited when we catch anything. Whenever I get crabs from the crab traps, I always call them my people. My love for sea creatures is unbelievable because I hated and I had a fear of all types of animals. Thanks to Save the Harbor, especially All Access who made me overcome my fear for sea creatures.

       Happy girl wearing the skate as

                             a hat 

           Sam reeling in the SKATE

Sea Creature Loving,

- Andrea Lopes

Miss Peddocks

Unfortunately this is not a blog about the boat Miss Peddocks, if you were anticipating that my apologies.

Ladies and Gents this is a blog about the wonderful, Peddocks Island.

Personally I have had an amazing time on Peddocks in previous years. I've met Governor Deval Patrick and have hosted thousands of children on our FREE All Access Boston Harbor experience.

Nice to meet again, Tobin Sports Club!

Being our first week out we have accomplished many things on Peddocks. We welcomed our favorite fisherman Sam Schrieber back, landed a few skate, and thrived in a heat wave. Sounds like a lot, right? Wrong. We pride ourselves in our work and once we accomplish one thing we do not like to settle, we dream bigger and work towards the bigger goal. Especially when were catching spider crabs on our rods that are almost a foot in diameter!

Peddocks' beach is also a favorite of many groups. On All Access we cycle islands first Spectacle, George's, Spectacle, then Peddocks. Already we have seen groups like Mission Safe, Revere Rec, and many others return this week for Peddocks. They all enjoy many parts of the island but love the beach the most. Despite being slightly smaller my belief is that they enjoy the slight current that flows through the beach. Or maybe the smooth rocks that can be skipped if the group cannot swim due to their organizations ruling. (We still advise everyone to atleast get their feet wet) Despite spectacle offering equal the amount of opportunity with a shorter commute, Peddocks is still a fan favorite.

Its been a great week, from BCM to AABH, from kickball to swimming, from smiles to excitement. This week could not have went any better.

Talk to you soon,

Ahmed Hassan

Recap of the First Two Days of All Access Boston Harbor's Return to Spectacle Island

Hello Friends, here is a recap of the first two days of fishing during our return to Spectacle Island.

Day 1:  On Tuesday Ahmed, Antonio and Drea successfully helped a camper reel in a skate!  The skate, which now rests in a pizza box at the Save the Harbor Save the Bay offices, was caught on a stationary rod that had been secured to a post on the pier.  Noticing that the line was taught, the AABH crew untied it and handed it to a camper who successfully landed the skate.  Once landed, Ahmed removed the hook from the skate’s mouth and allowed the campers to examine it.  JPA Antonio, who had not seen a live skate before, commented that the skate mouth looked “human.”

Day 2:  On Wednesday AABH provided the opportunity to fish to over 55 campers.  The campers took turns examining lures, bait, and casting their lines into the harbor.  Additionally, the campers were excited to find that our crab traps had landed over forty crabs and one lobster – all of which were eventually returned to the harbor. 

The return to Spectacle Island has produced strong results.  Hopefully, tomorrow AABH will continue to provide campers with opportunities to handle fishing gear and observe the animals living in Boston’s coastal waters. 

-John Tobin – Spectacle Island

The Pit Challenge

Today, there are all types of crazy challenges out there on the internet.  From the cinnamon challenge to the gallon milk challenge, they seem to get crazier by the day.  But now, a new challenge is catching on with the Save the Harbor staff. 

The Cherry Pit Challenge, is a very simple concept.  I bring cherries with me to every site I visit, once you take your last cherry out of the bag, you have to keep the pit in your mouth for the rest of the day.  If at any point the pit falls out or you take it out, you lose!

Pit Check with the Pit Master

Many have tried and failed to beat the all time pit master David Coffin.  Legend has it that he has kept a pit in his mouth for 24 hours straight!  BUT let the record show that on July 15th, 2015, I did in fact beat him.  For one brief moment I claimed the Pit Challenge title belt!! 

For such a simple game, it really is a ton of fun!

See you out on the harbor!
May the Pit be with you.

~Lindsay

Guide to Boston Harbor: George's Island

Guide to Boston Harbor

George's Island

Georges Island is a 39 acre island in Boston Harbor, just 7 miles from downtown.  This island is rich in history with many great features.

Visitor Center
Gift Shop
Café
Drinking water and restrooms
Picnic shelters and cooking grills

There are open fields for recreational use and the dock is available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.  Despite all that, the island's most prominent feature is its historical fort. It is accessible throughout the summer and early fall by ferries to and from Boston and Quincy.   

boston.com

During the days of the original 13 colonies, Georges Island was composed of two major drumlins, and was used for agricultural purposes until 1825.  It was then that the U.S. government acquired the island for coastal defense.

Over the next 20 years the island was dramatically altered, and one of the country's finest forts was built. Dedicated in 1847, Fort Warren's defensive design was virtually obsolete upon completion. However, the fort did not go to waste.  It served as a training ground, patrol point, and Civil War prison that gained a favorable reputation for the humane treatment of its Confederate prisoners. After 100 years of military use, the fort was decommissioned in 1947 and acquired for historic preservation and recreation in 1958.

Today the island is a great place to spend the day and gives its visitors a first hand experience with a little piece of history.  Take time to explore the fort on your own or with a guide.  Follow its narrow halls to it’s different levels, various rooms, and potential dead ends.  You never know where you will end up! Swimming is not allowed on the island, but the docks provide great areas for fishing. Walking into the forts main yard, there is ample room for recreational activities and picnics.  Be sure to be aware of one of the islands most curious inhabitants, its small family of Canadian Geese. 

The geese and rangers are not the islands only residents though; many people throughout the centuries have claimed to have seen a very unique inhabitant roaming the fort grounds.  The ghost of a woman, better known as the
Lady in Black, is said to roam the fort’s dark corridors.

A lady in black, not to be confused with The Lady in Black

The Lady in Black is the ghost of Mrs. Melanie Lanier.  She was the wife of a Confederate soldier that was imprisoned at the fort in 1862.  Legend says that when she received a letter from her husband saying he had been captured, she was compelled to free him. She traveled from Georgia to Hull, Massachusetts where she stayed at the home of a Confederate sympathizer.  She observed the fort with a spy glass and on a stormy night rowed across to George's Island and went ashore. Once on the island, she cut her hair short, disguised herself as a man, and armed herself with nothing but an old pistol.

She slowly made her way around the prison cell walls, whistling an obscure southern tune, until she heard her husband whistle back. Mrs. Lanier was then able to squeeze through the slit-window of his cell.  With the help of her husband and the other prisoners in his cell, they were able to open the cell door and begin their escape.

The group was almost free when the guards were alerted by their commotion.  They ran down a dark narrow tunnel, and where surprised by a guard.  Mrs. Lanier fired her pistol in a last attempt at escaping  Unfortunately, the weapon backfired and the bullet struck and killed her husband. As punishment for her deeds, Mrs. Lanier was condemned to death by hanging. Her final request was to be given female clothing.  After a thorough search of the fort for such garments, all that was found were old black robes. She was executed in these robes and buried on George's Island.

To this day, people still claim to have seen her.  In one account, a shadowy figure has been seen walking the halls, but when followed, is unable to catch up to.  Once, after fresh snow had fallen, footprints in a circular pattern were seen in the yard, but there were no prints leading up to them or away from them.  Today, you can test your own bravery by entering the same dark tunnel where she was captured.  It is said that this is her favorite place to be on the island; enter at your own risk!

Test your bravery in the dark tunnel and plan your own trip with the links below!

http://www.bostonharborislands.org/ferry-schedule-spring-fall

http://savetheharbor.org/ 

Guide to Boston Harbor: Spectacle Island

Guide to Boston Harbor

 

Spectacle Island
 

Spectacle Island is a 105-acre island in Boston Harbor located just 4 miles offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a colorful history, and today is a public park which provides:

 

Visitor Center and Exhibits

Sea Glass Café (open seven days a week) 

Drinking water

Restrooms

Changing rooms 

Rinse showers

Venue for catered events

Marina with day and overnight slips

 Lifeguarded swimming beach

 Five miles of walking trails 

 

 During the Summer, Spectacle Island is one of the sites used for Save the Harbor's All Access Boston Harbor program, as well as a frequent destination for our fall and spring day trips.

 

Photo Credit: Boston.com

Long before Spectacle Island became one of the most visited Harbor Islands, the island was not a popular destination.  For almost 1,000 years, Native Americans used it as a dumping ground for clam shells and fish bones. After the Pilgrims settled the area, the island was used as a quarantine hospital for smallpox victims, and later as a glue factory.  In 1847, two hotels were built on the island, but ten years later were shut down for gambling and other illegal activities.  It wasn't until the 1920's that the city of Boston began using the island as a landfill.

Up until 1959, trash was continuously dumped onto the island.  The trash piled up so high, that the once primarily flat island was now one of the tallest in the harbor.  After the landfill was shut down, the island of trash remained there undisturbed for many years, slowly polluting the harbor. 

 

Fun Fact: It was said that on foggy days, fishermen could tell their location in the harbor by the strength of the smell of Spectacle Island.

 
In the 1990's, construction on the Big Dig had begun, creating the need to find a place to dispose of the 3.5 million cubic yards of excavated dirt, gravel and clay.  Construction began in 1993, to transform Spectacle Island from a dump into a beautiful state park.  During this process, the trash was burned, and the island covered with dirt and top soil.  Workers then planted 2,400 trees and 26,000 shrubs.  The island joined the national parks system in 1996 and officially opened for visitors in 2006.

 

Photo Credit : Boston.com

Although Spectacle has been completely reconstructed into a beautiful state park, and it's past seems all but erased, you can still find some remains from its days as a landfill.  Pieces of old glass bottles and ceramics can still be found on the beaches.  No need to worry about cutting your feet though, these pieces have been transformed by the ocean and time, making them smooth.  They are considered the treasures of Spectacle Island.  This treasure hunt however is not a hard one, just take a 15 minute stroll along the shore and you'll find beautiful beach glass of all shapes and colors.

 

Today, Spectacle Island is ideal for hiking, swimming, boating, and leaning.  It's a fantastic destination for families and groups of all sizes.  Stop in at the  “green” visitor center with exhibits about the history and evolution of the island. With its many hiking trails, you can explore on your own and find yourself at the top of a drumlin within 20 minutes.  From there, you can take in the spectacular panoramic views of the city skyline and the other harbor islands.  The rangers on the island also provide frequent guided historical tours, as well as kayak excursions around the island.  Take time to enjoy the open fields, they're a great place to picnic and set up group activities like kickball, frisbee, or soccer. Down on the pier you can cast your rod into the harbor and try your hand at recreational fishing.  It's also a great place to find green crabs and skates!  After a long day of exploring, nothing feels better than cooling off with a quick swim in the harbor.  Although Spectacle's beach isn't a white sand beauty, a few quick steps over the pebbley shore brings great rewards with a refreshing plunge into the blue harbor waters. 

Fishing off the pier

Soccer and sports in the fields



learn to make fish prints

Cool off in the harbor

 

Spectacle Island opens with the first ferry in May and closes on Columbus Day each year.  To plan your own trip, check out the links below for more info on ferry times and Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's All Access summer programs.

 

http://www.bostonharborislands.org/ferry-schedule-spring-fall

http://savetheharbor.org/

The possibilities are endless, you just have to get out there and start exploring!