I see no whales

Today was going to be the highlight of the Boston leg of the holiday. In the morning we were on a 3 hour whale watching trip and in the evening we were on a sunset cruise of the harbour, all gin and tonics and watching the sun decline over the skyscrapers.
However....
Skies were dark first thing, the weather forecast worse. We had to be at the pier by 8.30 or so. Found the booth where you check in, only to be told "sorry, the 9am cruise is cancelled due to high seas. You can rebook on the 12 o'clock." weather looked grim, but we took a vote and decided to try again. So, we had about 90 minutes to kill before they would know if the cruise would be on or not. After looking for options whilst slightly dripping onto the carpet of the Marriott hotel (posh!) we decided on Feneuil Hall for breakfast and coffee. Lots of options and between that and the shops we filled in the time till we could call the whale people. "Yes, its still on. Come along at 11.,30" - yippee!! So, a bit more shopping, including the most amazing Xmas shop. Everything you could imagine, including a string of light-up cats, which we now own!
Back at the pier at 11.30 the weather as even worse. We stood in line for about 10 minutes and then got the news we pretty much expected - cancelled. 6 to 7 foot swells.
So, sulking all round and back to plan B. We grabbed a cab and went to the Mapparium. Basically a giant globe where you are in the middle of the Earth looking at the countries all round you. Difficult to get a description to di it justice, but if you're ever in Boston make sure you go, although skip the museum dedicated to the founder of the Christian Science movement. After that we went to the Art museum to see the native American art galleries, and also had a surprise of a small but high quality Audobon exhibition.
So, our last trip was the sunset cruise - without the sunset clearly as it was still raining cats and dogs. We'd been assured (twice) there was at least shelter on the boat. On arriving though we were basically told you stand for two hours in the elements - no shelter, nowhere to sit down, imminent pneumonia. In no uncertain terms I expressed my displeasure at this thought, we gave it up as a bad job and retired to a nearby restaurant for beers and steaks, which was a much better option.
So, not exactly the day we wanted, but not a total disaster compared to what it could have been!!  I'll leave you with a couple of photos from our walk back to the hotel, with rain and car lights symptomatic of the day.