Black Hearted Pearl

Perhaps we could start bombarding the Discovery channel website with requests to see the Monster House "Pirate House" edition. I have been a fan of Damon Stern's Monster House from the beginning. I think Monster House is feeling the pressure from Extreme Makeover Home Edition. In my mind, these are two totally different shows. However, it has become more difficult to catch Monster House and I even have my DVR set to catch them all. There's a chance it may never be aired unless we band together, as pirates do, and hold a sword to Discovery Channel's throat. Here is the contact information for Monster House through Original Productions. Monster House Contact Discovery Channel Viewer Relations http://extweb.discovery.com/viewerrelations

Suggested Itineraries If You Have 1 Day Sample some experiences unique to Boston by touching on several remarkable attractions. Follow part of the Freedom Trail on your own from Boston Common to Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Alternatively, National Park Service rangers lead free 90-minute tours from the visitor center at 15 State St. (tel. 617/242-5642; www.nps.gov/bost) from mid-April to November. The tours start as often as four times a day during busy periods and sometimes run in the winter. They cover the "heart" of the trail, from the Old South Meeting House to the Old North Church. You don't need a reservation, but call for schedules. Boston By Foot (tel. 617/367-3766 for recorded information, or 617/367-2345; www.bostonbyfoot.com) offers a "Heart of the Freedom Trail" tour at 10am Tuesday through Saturday in warm weather. It starts at the Samuel Adams statue on Congress Street at Faneuil Hall. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for children 6 to 12, and you don't need reservations. After your tour, prepare for a picnic with takeout food from Faneuil Hall Marketplace or the North End. Head to the plaza at the end of Long Wharf (pass the Marriott and keep going) or to Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park (across Atlantic Avenue from the marketplace). If you'd rather eat indoors, stay at the marketplace and have lunch at Durgin-Park, or go across the street to Ye Olde Union Oyster House. In the afternoon, complete your independent Freedom Trail foray in the North End and take a sightseeing cruise from Long Wharf or Rowes Wharf. Or explore the New England Aquarium or the Children's Museum. Or skip the afternoon sightseeing altogether and go shopping at Downtown Crossing, home to Filene's Basement, or on Newbury Street. If You Have 2 Days On the first day, follow the suggestions for day 1 or pick and choose -- you can spend more time along the Freedom Trail, on a longer harbor cruise, or at another destination. On the second day, branch out a little, again letting your preferences be your guide. Spend the morning at the Museum of Fine Arts, and have lunch there or at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Start the afternoon at the Gardner Museum or, if it's a Friday during the season, at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. If art isn't your passion, start the day at the Museum of Science or the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, followed by lunch at the Prudential Center and a Duck Tour. Then take a leisurely trek around the Back Bay or a high-intensity shopping trip to Newbury Street. In warm weather, leave time for a Swan Boat ride. If you had a light lunch (or skipped it so you could start shopping earlier), have afternoon tea at the Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton. On summer weekdays, Boston By Foot (tel. 617/367-3766 for recorded information, or 617/367-2345; www.bostonbyfoot.com) conducts a tour of Beacon Hill ($10 adults, $8 children) that starts at the State House at 5:30pm. If You Have 3 Days The suggestions for the first 2 days can easily fill another day, but you'll probably want to branch out. A visit to Cambridge is the logical next step. Ride the MBTA Red Line from downtown or the no. 1 bus from the Back Bay to Harvard Square. Take a walking tour, squeeze in some shopping, or head straight to one of the university's museum complexes. Have lunch in Harvard Square and continue exploring, or visit Mount Auburn Cemetery. You can also venture farther from the city. You might start in Cambridge and have lunch in Concord or Lexington. Spend the afternoon exploring the area, or communing with nature at Walden Pond. If You Have 4 Days or More Now you're cooking. Having scratched the surface in the first 3 days, you'll have a better sense of what you want to explore more extensively. Check out other Boston attractions that catch your fancy, perhaps including one or more of the historic house museums, and plan a full day trip to Lexington and Concord, to Plymouth, to Marblehead and Salem, or to Gloucester and Rockport. Visit Museum Wharf, where you'll find the Children's Museum and (if it's open) the Boston Tea Party Ship & Museum. Go on a whale watch or make an unstructured visit to a city neighborhood (see the section "Boston Neighborhoods to Explore" later in this chapter). If you haven't taken a sightseeing cruise or completed the Freedom Trail, visit Charlestown, where you can explore USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") and Bunker Hill. Take in a large-format film at the Museum of Science or the New England Aquarium, or evaluate Boston's reputation as a great sports town by attending a pro or college event. Then hit one of the restaurants or nightspots that you couldn't fit in earlier, and start planning your next visit to Boston.

I still say a "Men in tall boots with swords" calendar be the top of my list.

Soooo, will I be meeting said pirate soon? Has he taken up residence with the others in yer office?

delmar, Sandy Fraser and meself will be hoping to stop by yer encampment at Estrella. Perhaps ye can spot a shot of rum for some pub members?

Everythings wiped out by now. Okay, how many of you went out and bought the pirate?

Hey Petee, How about a count down?

Blog from Paul Cayard, Captain of the Pirates of the Caribbean 2 This morning when we arrived at the Pearl, we noticed a new addition to the equipment on the yacht. The following explains the efforts of some wannabe pirates: "Dear Capt'n Paul Sparrow, "A grave act of piracy has been discovered in Breskens this morning. Last night a gang of renegades abducted the blow-up parrot from the fly bridge of motor yacht Pastime and perched it on the com. bracket at the back of the Black Pearl. The owner’s wife is very attached to her parrot so we could not stand idly by and watch this crime go unpunished. We were successful in defeating the culprits and liberate the poor animal. He will be "deflated" for quite some time. "The owner is in St. Tropez at the moment but he told me to hang the guilty when the sun is over the yardarm, so if you're a couple short on your return to your Spain you know what happened. Good luck with your Volvo campaign. "Capt'n Roeland Vroon, m/y Pastime, Breskens" I have indeed checked into the "act", and I am must report that none of my Pirates were responsible. As near as we can tell, this act was perpetrated by local Dutch Pirates. The locals must have felt that the Parrot would actually prefer to live onboard the Pearl. As Captain Vroon indicates, the act was "in the spirit" and was appreciated by all in the harbor. I kind of like the idea of a Parrot... a real one though. I might take that onboard. Why have a yard dog? Everyone has one of those. Kimo, look into quarantine laws. We are gearing up for our first sail with the new rig tonight and if all goes well we'll head back to Sanxenxo tomorrow.

Oh, now that is a pretty boat. Pirates planning on mast heist in Holland

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, of course and Errol Flynn as Captain Blood.

A think that will happen after Friday.

I bet after yer post, RumbaRue, it's all gone now.

Arrrrgh! This coming Monday be the showing.

bump

Arrgh! The last time we were at Disneyland I bought the skeleton Pirate outfit for one of me boys. No one has claimed dibs yet, but I suspect me oldest will step up to the wheel. I'll have to take a pic of him soon. He's getting very tall lately and may not fit into it.

Grace O'Malley would be my first, with Anne Bonney and Mary Read second. Not that I wouldn't mind more films with men in tall boots with swords, but with the Legend of Zorro and of course, POTC II and III. I think we need some women represented besides Gena Davis' character in Cutthroat Island.

Silly me. I was talking to someone and I just realized you all are still filming in the Bahamas. Who's idea was it to schedule this during Hurricane season?

During the scene of the Flying Dutchman being chased by the Endeavor, you will be able to see the the "Black Pearl" racing yacht in the background.

Ye need to do what Paisley did. She upped and moved to Pirate country so she could enjoy it all the time.

That's why I found a plastic version from the Halloween store that fits into my scabbard.

Hubby in the background working deals while I spend his money and playing on the pyracy pub. Life is good.

You know, "it's not if you get seasick, it's WHEN you get seasick." Oh can you share who?

Quite looking at the pretty boat....errrr ship and look to the horizon. Oh, and don't eat any eggs. Learned that one the hard way, meself.

dang nabbit