Bawstin Baby!

Ahr trip to Bawstin was one wicked fun pahty! We ate wicked petezer, sahr the sights,  traded ahr cah for the T, and a cahrse watched the Red Sawx.  Instead of bahring ya wit words, heres some pictahs. Enjoy!

(Translation: Our trip to Boston was super fun. We ate delicious pizza, saw all the sights, mastered the subway, and, of course, watched the Red Sox. Instead of boring you with words, here are some pictures and a few explanations; I can't help it.)

DAY 1: Boston College, Freedom Trail (USS Constitution, Bunker Hill and the Prudential Center.

Boston College is one of the oldest and biggest universities on the east coast, but of course we went there to see the field and trophies. Clockwise: Posing with the BC sign; me with a random statue; Bryce and Kyle on the Boston Turf (yep, they ignored the 'Stay Off' sign; A Catholic cathedral on campus - apparently Kyle is making a religious change; The infamous BC tulips; Bryce pretending to be BC Heisman Winner Doug Flutie. 

When British Soldiers landed in Boston to kick off the Revolutionary War, the American soldiers took refuge on Bunker Hill. It was here that William Prescott exclaimed, "Don't fire until you see the white's of their eyes". The actual monument wasn't built until 50 years after the war, which was probably a good thing because half of the Americans would have died trying to run up 294 of the world's steepest, mini-stairs. This little jaunt up the monument almost did us in! (Notice the warning sign)

 

The USS Constitution, or Old Ironsides, is the oldest commissioned Navy Ship in the US. It was originally built for battle in the Revolutionary War and still sails every July 4th. We were able to tour the ship and museum where we saw the worlds largest chain link, an original cannon from the ship, and the precise blue-print (really a "wood-print) of the ship.

 


My favorite stop of the day was at the Prudential Center Skywalk. The entire 50th floor of the Prudential Shopping center is enclosed in glass with a great view of the city. We went in the morning, played a little eye-spy-in-the-sky so we could enjoy the air conditioning, and loved it so much we went back that night!

Day 2: Aquarium, Science Museum, MIT, GAME 1!! 

If you haven't seen marine life before the New England Aquarium is a must see (or just let me know and I'll email Bryce's 9,000 pictures of the place). They have a 200,000 fish tank, penguins, a blind sea turtle, and seals.

 

 Our second stop of the day was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology aka where the smart kids go to school. My IQ went up 50 points just by being on this campus. Clockwise: The Stata building. This building comes straight from a Dr. Seuess book. It is lopsided, domed, peaked, and awesome!; Kismet, the world's first sociable robot; Robo-ants; The first flag on the moon; The balloon hack (click here); The prestigious MIT student center.

 

FENWAY PARK GAME ONE! Clockwise: The view from our seats (over half of the seats at Fenway have a lovely view of a pole much like lovely #8); Our first Fenway picture; The bullpen; Enjoying the game; John's famous signature; Youkilis at bat.

Day 3:  Trolley Tour, Fenway Park Tour, Cheers, Faneuil Hall Market, Game 2! 

On Tuesday we took advantage of the Beantown Trolley tour and saw some pretty amazing stuff. Clockwise: Lunch at the Cheers Bar; George Washington in the Boston Commons; The steeple of the Old North Church; Boston Marathon finish line; A cemetery where Sam Adams, Mother Goose and other revolutionary people are buried; An old-town Boston street oil street lamp; All monument to the all-African American Regiment that fought in the Rev. War (see Glory); Our lovely mugs on the Trolley; The Boston State House with it's pure gold dome.

On stop on the trolley was a tour at Fenway Park so of course we went! I could probably write a book about this park but I'll spare you and give brief details. The park was built in 1912 and is the oldest in the US. It is also the third smallest park with a capacity of 37,402 and many of those seats are the original wooden chairs found in 1912. Fenway also houses the infamous "Green Monster" which is really a 37' 6" wall in left field that is always in the way. The manual score board is the only one of its kind left in MLB and the same three men have only missed two games in 50 years of working the score board. Fenway has been the home of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Carlton Fisk, Jonny Pesky, Trot Nixon, Nomar, Manny Ramierez, and a host of other great players! Basically, Bryce and I would like to be buried in Fenway Park! :)

Game 2! Just as good, if not better, as game one!!!

Day 4: Salem Trip, Game 3!!

Wednesday we took a little trip to Salem courtesy of Erin's friend Annie. We were hoping to see real witches in pointy hats and gallows and black cats, but unfortunately Salem is just like any other town. We visited the Witch Trials museum, saw a witches house, and got yelled at by a Wiccan. All-in-all, a good trip.

Our final stop of our final night in Beantown was, of course, Fenway! Before heading to Boston we had purchased tickets to the Monday and Tuesday thinking that would be enough Sox time, but it was so magical we had to back! For the third game was slurgged and sat right behind home plate. It was Nomar Garciaparra night and we saw so many former Sox. It was amazing! Disney claims that their land is the most magical place on earth but I beg to differ!

This trip was AWESOME! Thanks to Kyle - the wake up at 6:30 am every morning - we packed so much in to our four days. Luckily, our hotel was great, flights went smoothly, and we didn't get lost. I am sure we will be going back to Bawstin very soon and I would highly suggest this city to anyone wanting to explore New England. I tried to keep it short (and quite possibly failed) so leave any questions or comments :)!

P.S. GO RED SOX!