That's ok! It HAS been a long day. But just one closer to our Boston trip! =)

Yes, no worries about being an Angels fan at Fenway. You might get some friendly ribbing but I'm sure you'll have a great experience.

I think spending time near the waterfront is a great idea, you could walk along the Rose Kennedy Greenway, very pretty.

The JFK Library is underrated I think, the location on the harbor is very picturesque and the library itself is great. No big deal if you miss it but it's definitely a worthwhile place to spend a few hours.

I like the Cask N Flagon pregame and the roofdeck of the Baseball Tavern postgame. Game On is also fun pre or post game.

Have fun!

The folks of Red Sox Nation are usually pleasant to everyone in the park who's not a Sox fan, unless perhaps you're a Yankees fan.

And if you're going to go to the Union Oyster House, I'd strongly suggest just sitting at the bar for raw oysters and beer for the best experience. The food and service there are awful, and if you want to assure your oysters are freshly opened (not pre-opened who knows when), be at the bar to watch them do this. You'll get significantly better Yankee Style comfort food at Durgin Park in Faneuil Hall. I'm a local -- and I do go to Durgin Park sometimes, but won't set foot in the Union Oyster House.

If one of your group decides to skip the Swan boats then they get to take the photos of the 'sailors'...

The boats have been around for over 125 years (I have a '125th anniversary of the Swan boats' magnet on my refrigerator but I'm not sure how long it's been there!).

For your trip to Salem, make sure you know when the trains are heading back to Boston, as they are commuters trains and end early evening. You could get stuck in Salem.

THe Cheers bar, nah, stop in for a beer and then go to Durgin Park for lunch, fun spot and better food. One of the oldest restaurants in Boston.

You mentioned Union Oyster House, and others may disagree, but it is one of my favs as well, or you could walk up to Little Italy and pick a restaurant there, or have desert there.

Pick up a map of the Freedom Trail, so you have some info on all the stops and can find some of the nooks and cranies along the way.

Boston is a smaller walkable city and you guys are in for a GREAT time.

Thank you everyone for your input, suggestions and responses. I'm very much looking forward to this trip!

I'm going to look into Durgin Park now =)

The Commuter Rail runs less often on evenings and weekends, but there are trains inbound from Salem on weekday evenings at 8:30, 9:30, and 11:30 PM, on Saturday and Sunday at 8, 9:30, and 10:30.
http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_ma...route=NBRYROCK

Seconding Artu and Daily Catch. The eggplant parmesan at Artu will float off your plate if you don't hold it down. It bears no resemblance to the usual leaden industrial product. I usually eat the pasta with sausage and rapini, but I always "help" my wife with the eggplant.

The signature dish at the Daily Catch is obviously anything calamari (it is known locally as the Calamari Cafe) but the black pasta with white clam sauce (may not be on the menu, but they can make it) is fabulous.

Definitely Durgin Park over Union Oyster House. One of the glossy travel mags just named Durgin Park one of the best places in the US to eat oysters. If you want to skip the whole rude waitress bit, enter through the oyster bar and ask to be seated on the top floor. It is a different experience, still very casual but different. And wonderful oysters.

I'm an adult & I love the swan boats. don't miss them if they are still operating when you are here.

If your group does split up and if it's raining, you can also visit the Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or the Museum of Science. the Aquarium is ok.

Newbury St is fun for shopping and strolling. I also agree that Cambridge & more specifically Harvard Square are musts. But I also like Salem, too. Either place is a great choice.

Enjoy your trip!

In your opinion, do you think we can replace Harvard Square with the Waterfront on Day 5? As long as we get to eat a good Lobster Roll sometime during our trip (recommendations are welcome) and can still do the Harpoon Brewery on Day 5, I think we can change our itinerary around. AGAIN!

I also made reservations at Durgin Park our first night there. We're looking forward to the rude service!

>>And if you're going to go to the Union Oyster House, I'd strongly suggest just sitting at the bar for raw oysters and beer for the best experience. The food and service there are awful…..

The best lobster roll is Neptune Oyster in the North End. Harvard Sq is easy to get to via the T so if you have a couple of hours, you can certainly do it.

Will enthusiastically second what wyatt92 said about Neptune Oyster and lobster rolls -- this is the best spot for them, with your choice of a cold one (with mayo and meat) or a hot one (just meat and butter) in a brioche hot dog roll. It's also in my experience the best place locally for seafood in general.

Both cots and I can attest to good experiences at Legal Seafood, though a few of the locations (particularly the ones at Kendall Square in Cambridge and at the Prudential Center in Boston) can be good or disappoint -- the ones in Harvard Square (Cambridge) and by the Aquarium (Boston) are where I've done best. But generally, I like Neptune Oyster even better.

"Being from Southern California, rain/showers are a BIG DEAL."

I can really relate to that remark!

Earlier this year on a trip back East, I had to buy an umbrella in NYC and am now firmly of the belief that when God made Californians, he did not give us a gene to understand that mysterious contraption, the umbrella.

Newbury Street had a wonderful ice cream shop with the best raspberry chocolate ice cream ever - or is that "evah"?

Is the Barking Crab still around? It's a fun place to go not so much to eat as to smash crab and splatter everyone with crab juice - LOL! Definitely dress down!

Having just spent the Labor Day weekend in Boston, personally, I would skip Durgin Park. I was not impressed by any means. You could take the T to the Yawkey station rather than a taxi. Fenway tours close 4 hours before game time.

Emack and Bolio's is on Newbury Street and to my taste is the best ice cream place there, much better than J.P. Lick's. Two other ice cream places of note are in Cambridge, Toscanini's (Central Square) and Herrell's (Harvard Square). Barking Crab is terrible -- I've gotten sick eating there before, and can't in good faith recommend it to anyone.

Re Durgin Park: have seen more than one gripe in online forums about the place from folks who apparently don't like the type of cuisine they dish up, as opposed to whether they do Yankee Comfort Food cuisine well or not (we're talking Indian pudding, coffee jello, pot roast, franks and beans and brown bread, baked scrod, and such fare). The only other two places that serve up this type of food locally are Union Oyster House and the Parker House, both vastly inferior to Durgin Park.

Been on the Swan boats many times, make sure you take lots of photos. They are just as pretty sitting at the dock.
Also, even if museums aren't on your list, check the exhibits on-line. One year I found a jewelry show at BFA which included a friend's work - I didn't even know it was touring because it is part of a private collection. The Isabella Garner Museum is near BFA and a very beautiful art-filled private home with a large interior courtyard-memorable! Check the hours- i think thurs are usually late nights
We alway like walking along the Charles River (cross the bridge to the shell behind the original Cheers) if the weather is nice.
Umbrellas/ponchos/rain shoes or an inclement weather alternate itinerary would be a good idea-you nevah know

Emack and Bolio's! That's it! Thanks so much, bachslunch!

Re: Durgin Park - if not Durgin Park, where else for scrod? I loveee scrod!

Durgin Park is a good place in Boston to get scrod, though some other seafood spots like Legal Seafood also serve it.

Thanks again, bachslunch!

Seems like Durgin Park may need to be visited soon!

Many years ago, by chance, I had a piece of scrod in a Logan Airport hotel. That piece must have been at least 2 inches thick and the memory has stuck forever. Every other white fish since can't come up to that memory.