The Charles W. Morgan is the oldest surviving whaling ship in the world, and this summer it’s set sail again, after a lengthy restoration process and much work on the part of the folks at Mystic Seaport. I had the good fortune of attending a lecture in Boston presented by the museum a few months ago in preparation for the Morgan’s 38th voyage, and had a great time learning about stuff that I, growing up in a landlocked place, had no idea about - so it was a wonderful surprise to receive an email inviting me to an early-bird tour of the ship when she docked in Boston. Completely aside from being spared what sounded like an hour-long queue for the general public, sneaking onto the ship early got us a chance to ask annoying questions to the crew, peek in at breakfast, and see the Morgan’s neighbor - the USS Constitution, which lives a few blocks from our apartment - from a different angle.

So many stories hiding in this city, just waiting to be found!