Boston

Wood had a few days off this weekend, so we decided to go to Boston. A hectic Thursday evening of tying up lose ends allowed us to make an early start on our vacation on Friday (Wood had to remind me on Thursday that we were on vacation and I could relax). When all was said and done we were able to get to the "T" (subway) station by noon on Friday and on our way into downtown Boston.

There are of course lots of advertisements on the T, but one made us laugh and laugh. I wish I had a picture of it. Wood has been "conjugating" words in his own unique way...I find myself doing it too. Try adding "ified" or "ification" to words. For example if something was salty it would be "saltified" or have undergone "saltification". Or if something was destroyed it would be "destructified" or "destructification". Apparently his conjugations are catching. An add for Comcast read "Instant Connectification".

Walking out of the station onto Boston commons was a fantastic feeling to me. I love Boston. It is a large city with a welcoming feel. I'd pick Boston over just about any other big city. I love the old brick buildings packed tightly together. I love the parks. I love that it's the "walking city" and that so many people are out and about. I love that it feels clean and at least during the day time, I feel perfectly safe. I love seeing street performers. I love walking past so much history in a matter of blocks. I love Boston.

Most of our day was spent walking the freedom trail, a red line (literally) that wanders through the city, taking you past many historical sites. With our trusty guide book in hand we followed the trail> One thing I am enjoying about living "back east" is the history. Growing up in Colorado, we just didn't visit sites from the 1600's and 1700's, obviously. In Boston we visited several graveyards where people like John Hancock were burried or Elizabeth Pain (the model for Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne) or the parents of Benjamin Franklin. We saw the Old South Church where it was determined to commence the Boston Tea Party. We saw the monument for the Boston massacre and the location where the Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians. And mingled in all of this history we stopped to watch some break-dancers perform.

We began to quicken our pace in order to tour the USS Constitution "Old Ironsides". I did get sidetracked at the Haymarket. It is a market with fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Raspberries for $1/box. A large box of strawberries for $2. Lettuce, beautiful fresh lettuce for only $0.50. Large red peppers for the same price. I suggested to Wood that maybe we should purchase a cooler and stock up. I was only half joking but we did end up with some raspberries and strawberries. Too bad I can't do all of my grocery shopping there. Maybe if gas prices would just drop a little lower.......sighhhh.

We finally made it to Old Ironsides. This ship made it through thirty battles and never lost a single one. The people giving the tours were in the US Navy and this was part of their shore duty I guess. I enjoyed that Wood could pick out different uniforms or markings and explain to me what rank they were, what some of their duties would be, etc. We talked for awhile before our tour about the US Navy and some interesting things about people associated with its beginnings. During the tour we learned about the massive "guns" (cannons) that had to be manned by at least 9 people, the tight, stinky quarters the saliors lived in, the food they ate, the water they drank that teemed with life, and some of the battles the ship went through. It gave me a lot of respect for what those men did to serve our country. It made me think about Wood and what he will be doing, and although sometimes I gripe about the Navy and beaurocracy and him being gone, I'm really proud of him and all those who serve our country.

We finished the trail and wandered through side streets, enjoying the cozy old homes. The evening was finished with official Boston Clam Chowder (yummmm). Our trip was topped off the next day as we headed to the Boston temple, which is actually our temple district. Going to the temple is so renewing both personally and, we are discovering, in our marriage. What a blessing it is to live close enough to a temple to be able to attend! We were grateful to have this weekend and to live close to so many great things.





(Yes, that's us...the little people in front of the temple.)