Here's a slideshow of USS Constitution photos, taken on a recent business trip to Boston. Unless you're from outside the USA, or you're inside the USA and went to a really bad elementary school, you will have heard the story of the ship already. I say this because I'm not going to attempt a history lesson here. If you need a refresher, you can try the Wikipedia entry linked above, or the US Navy's official site for the ship (since it's still considered an active-duty Navy ship), or the site for the adjacent USS Constitution Museum.
I figured it would be a great time to post these photos since yesterday was the 200th anniversary of the Constitution's famous battle against the HMS Guerriere, in the early days of the ugly War of 1812. The ship marked the anniversary by sailing under its own power for the first time since just after it was restored in 1997. (Prior to that it hadn't sailed under its own power for about a century.)
The most surprising thing about the ship was that it was free to visit. You go through a TSA-like security line first, but then you can just wander aboard and look around. There are also free guided tours, and you need to be on a tour to look around below deck. I didn't realize this at the time, so I haven't seen the whole ship, but I had a bunch of exterior photos that seemed worth sharing, so here they are.
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