Location:	The United States Maritime Academy in Massachusetts, followed by The Freedom Trail in Boston.
Dates:	May 28-31, 2004 ... Memorial Day Weekend
Who:	Adults Scouts Mike Cominski Howard Dodge Jim & Angela Derrane Mike Fitzsimmons Kevin Fee John Ivory Matt I. Dustin T. Joshua T. Arjun A. Bryce H. Chris D. Brian F. Patrick D. Ben D. Sarah D. Brian F. Mike C.
Notes:	Jim Derrane orchestrated this trip, and we're extremely grateful for the hospitality the people at the Academy showed us.  (*) Ben and Mike are Webelos who we're glad were able to come along.  Sarah, of course, is always welcome as well.

	Through special arrangement, we were able to make camp right on the grounds of the Maritime academy.  By that, I mean we got to sleep in the hallway for the gym.  :-)  We ate our meals in the mess-hall for the students (all you can eat!) and even had showers!  A definite plus. On the final day, we were able to get a personalized tour of the huge ship that they train the students on.  Between the athletic grounds and gym, the guys were able to stay quite busy, and sleep well each night.

Now, the Maritime Academy and Boston are cool, but the big ticket reason we went out here was to go deep sea fishing!  For many of us, it was the first time out on the high seas... We're pleased to say that pretty much everyone caught something.  Mostly cod, but we'd also bring up the occasional shark as well.  The scouts were great, baiting their own hooks and everything. The staff on the boat took care of all the details, including cleaning the fish on the way back to dock.  We cooked them all up that same evening for a fantastic late night meal.  We even managed to do another Geocache while we were out there!

SEASICK!? Grossed out!? Oh, heck no!  Why would anybody have any problem on a boat like this!? Close quarters, heavy seas, shoving your hands into a bucket of cold slimy bait with nothing to wipe your hands on except your pants, with the pervasive smell of seafood surrounding you, and then the pleasure of watching somebody gut and clean your fish for you...   Why would anybody get seasick!?

Seasickness is an amazing thing... pretty much the moment you step back on solid ground, you're feeling good again.  And, as the weather was wonderful, we decided to stroll around Plymouth and enjoy the nice weather.  The boys saw Plymouth Rock, and we had a nice treat of icecream!

	We finally did it! We hiked the Freedom Trail in Boston. We started at the Boston Commons, after having arrived there by subway.  We picked up a map, and began the trek. The weather was just perfect, and it was a great experience for everybody.  Of course, Faneuil Hall was a big hit, especially with all the good food and entertainment, but we also saw a few important churches and gravesites along the way. Other important stops include The Old North Church, and the Bunker Hill Memorial.