Boston

Boston has been at the top of my list of “cities I want to visit” for a L-O-N-G time.  So when Wes was able to go for work in October 2014 – my parents were nice enough to take our kids so I could join him.

The city did not disappoint.  I loved it.  And going in the fall was an added bonus with the beauty of the leaves changing.  And coming from a hot Las Vegas – the cooler weather was great.  We weren’t hot but we weren’t freezing either.  Just cold enough to drink hot chocolate all day {literally}. 

When in a new city I do not know how to relax.  I want to see it all in case I never make it back!  So I call this an adventure to Boston . . . not a vacation. 

We got up at 3:30am and thanks to Southwest we had a looooong travel day across the country.  We made it by nighttime and checked in to our hotel – Westin Copley Place – and grabbed a quick bite at the closest restaurant we could find – Maggiano’s. 

Day ONE was jam packed!  It started on a Duck Tour of Boston.  It was rainy so it was nice to be in the Duck Boat and get to see the city.  I’m a big fan of the Duck Tours – that was my 3rd one!  By the time it was over it was about time to grab lunch.  My friend Melissa used to live in Boston and told us about a great burrito just out of downtown Boston.  So we jumped on the subway and headed there.  It was nice to see an actual little neighborhood & we ate a tasty lunch at Anna’s Taqueria!

The rest of the day was spent walking around the areas closest to our hotel . . . Boston Library, Boston Common, Newbury Street, Fenway Park.  Miles and miles of walking around a beautiful city.  Loved every step.  We packed up our stuff and headed to the other end of Boston to the Fairmont Battery Wharf where the rest of Wes’ colleagues were staying.  We walked around and found an Italian restaurant in Little Italy that was pretty good.  I was glad we ended up staying somewhere else the first night because we easily saw that side of the city.

Day TWO.  The history that is everywhere in this city is just amazing!  We started the day with the Freedom Trail Tour.  We had a great tour guide that takes you along the freedom trail and tells you as much as he possibly can about everything that happened there.  Fascinating.  After this tour we got on the Trolley Tour that takes you all around town and you can get on/off to see what you want.  It was great.  We saw the USS Constitution Ship & Museum, Faneuil Hall, Beacon Hill, Charles Street {a charming street with shops and restaurants}, Bunker Hill & had lots of treats and hot chocolate along the way.

 

We ended up with a few hours to kill and not much was open so we roamed around a great mall and found Wes some new pants he desperately needed!  It was chilly and we weren’t starving so we grabbed a cup of soup and headed back to our hotel.  We walked a block or two to experience Mike’s Pastry Shop.  Holy smokes – hundreds of people jammed in a little bakery for a cannoli!  I don’t love cannoli’s but it was a pretty good one.  A Boston must.

Day THREE.  After seeing almost everything we wanted to see in Boston, I convinced Wes to take me out of the city for a day.  So we got up before the sun and caught a water taxi to get a rental car to drive out of Boston to explore.  Our first stop was a five milk walk in Minute Man National Park near Concord.  Loved reading more and more about history!

We were kind of in the middle of nowhere at this point but Wes found us a great spot to have breakfast.  Then we made a stop at Wilson Farm.  Oh, I was envious of the people who live back East this time of year.  The produce, flowers, pumpkins, apple cider donuts etc. were just fabulous. 

Next stop was the Little Women house – the Orchard House.  Wes took a little rest in the car while I walked inside.  We were only a few miles away and couldn’t resist checking it out.

As we were driving along we accidently drove by two places on my list – Walden Pond and the Boston Temple!  Both were beautiful.  On our way back in to Boston we drove through Harvard.  We wanted to do a student-guided tour of the campus but they were closed the days we could go so we at least drove around for a minute.  So pretty!  A neat place, for sure.

We made it back to Boston in enough time to rest for a minute and then meet our friends Ryan & Amanda for dinner at Hillstones near Faneuil Hall.  I had some of the best ribs I’ve ever eaten!  Great food, great company.

That’s the end of my adventure.  I got up at 3:30am to catch a taxi to catch a flight home to take care of children while Wes started his meetings in Boston.  I had a great time exploring with Wes – it was our first trip exploring a new city with just us & we still liked each other by the end!

Wes had meetings in Boston for a few more days.  But after his meetings they got to do some neat stuff.  One of which was a tour of Fenway Park and time for a little batting practice!