Beantown!
So, for those who don't already know, I was in Boston around Labor Day weekend. And I had a great time! And now I'm finally making the obligatory trip story/picture post. Enjoy.
While waiting at the gate in Dulles, there was a bird providing a great deal of entertainment as it flew back and forth INSIDE the building. Occasionally it got tired trying to find it's way out and it rested on a windowsill. Oddly enough, this wasn't the first time that I saw a bird inside an airport. This one though didn't fly. It zoomed! Insane. Maybe me took a sip from the Starbucks coffee machine. Anyhoo, the plane from Dulles to Logan was insanely small. The ceiling of the plane was maybe four inches above my head. I felt sorry for anyone 5'10" or taller on the flight. I checked my luggage for this trip thanks to the new restrictions, but I was nervous about it actually making it to Logan. But, I saw it get loaded on this flight, so my worries were eased. I made it to Boston slightly ahead of schedule and got to the hotel (Hampton Inn Cambridge - GREAT hotel) faster than I expected. I expected a much longer cab ride and questioned the cabbie to make sure he took me to the right hotel. I wasn't convinced until I saw a sign inside that said Cambridge. I felt like an idiot for questioning him and still doubting him even after he assured me it was the right place.
I made my way to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. Brazilians sat in the booth behind me. The first of MANY times over the course of the weekend that I would hear Portuguese. I don't know why, but hearing Portuguese makes me feel at home even though I feel like an outsider when among "real" Brazilians.
It was AMAZING! Definitely worth $20 - especially if the weather is as perfect as it was that day.
Well, I got all excited when I approached Long Wharf because I saw a cow (actually I saw two) and I thought of Corey.
Not because she is a cow, but because she got me a Cow Parade statue from London. Guess what. The Cow Parade was wrapping up its tour of Boston while I was there. So I of course took an insane amount of Cow Parade pictures.
Long Wharf is the oldest harbor, dating back to 1710. The Chart House restaurants also dates back to 1710 and is one of the oldest buildings in Boston.
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated as Evacuation Day in Boston as that was the day that the British left the city. The area that is Boston today was once known as Shawmut. John Hancock signed his name big so that King George wouldn't need his glasses to read it. South Boston was built on a landfill; in fact three quarters of the city is built on landfill. The World Trade Center Boston is on the Commonwealth Pier.
The Fishing Pier consolidates all the ships in the Harbor. Logan International Airport is right by the harbor and we got to see a bunch planes landing and taking off. I got such a kick out of it - especially when a big flew directly over us.
Most of the goods brought into the Harbor are petroleum. Castle Island was a refuge for the Royalists and was burned down. But George Washington and Paul Revere rebuilt it and got every man in the city to donate one day of service.
Spectacle Island is so named because it looks like a pair of glasses from an aerial view.
Our guide advised that we would see a bunch of laundry detergent and similar bottles in the Harbor, but that they aren't litter. They're markers for lobster traps.
The buildings on Long Island were used for various forms institutionalization over the years, including alcoholics, the homeless, unwed mothers and their babies, crazies, etc. The buildings are mostly abandoned now, but some buildings are maintained by the city as homeless shelters.
Deer Island was an internment building - the first point of contact for immigrants. Now it's home to a water treatment plant, which led to a significant improvement to the water quality of what was once America's dirtiest Harbor.
I also saw the Mystic River and Towbin Bridge - one of the longest in America, but known in Boston as the largest parking lot. From the cruise, I also saw the Bunker Hill Monument and the USS Constitution. The Constitution has had 67 captains, fought the Barrrrrrbary pirates and is most famous for the War of 1812. (Side Note: Every time that someone said the War of 1812, I sang in my head, And the White House burned burned burned and we're the ones that did it... If any of you had been there, I would have insisted that we sing it out loud.) Ten percent of the boat is it's original wood. (That shit is olddddddddddd!)
The North End has been home to a number of ethnic groups over the years - Irish, Jews, and more recently, Italians. The Old North Church is where Paul Revere hung his famous lanterns (look for the white steeple).
This beautiful building is the oldest skyscraper in Boston. It's now operated by Marriott as a time share.
It's a great, fun, busy shopping/food place.
There I saw this oracle guy. He moved just the way you would imagine an old rusty statue to move if it came to life.
I then toured the Nichols House. Waste of time. I went to this one store, Newbury Comics and saw a ton of random crap that reminded me of you all. I bought myself a cool pirate pin: Ye can have me booty but leave me chest alone! and some other nonsense. They had a bunch of great marijuana themeed stuff. I then ordered in to the hotel and chilled. I caught the VMAs and realized that John Norris never changes; he's always trying to hard to look less ugly. But the harder he tries, the worse it gets. (In spite of that, I like him. He's not obnoxious like all the other VJs. Nor is he arrogant and annoying like Kurt Loder.)
For those of you who don't know, there is a red line that starts in the Boston Common and ends in the North End that takes you to the major historical sites in Boston. The day before I purchased an AWESOME guidebook. It tells you exactly where to go, gives you side trips off the trail, and tells you all about the historic site you're seeing. I didn't listen to the book, but it's right when it says that the only place worth entering is the Old North Church. But I started with a tour of the State House. Our tour guide (an intern) was not that bright, wouldn't tell us rules (e.g. no drinks in this room) so the security guards would get all uppity. And he (the guide) never seemed sure of the facts he told us. One of the people on the tour was quite shady. Very creepy. And stupid. After the guide told us that the dome of the building is of X carats of gold (I forgot how many carats), Creepy Dude asks, "Is that real gold up there?"
I then toured the Old South Meeting House, which is a haven for the First Amendment. Not very exciting, but they had this display of kids responses to "Who would you not allow to speak?" Some of their responses:
~Republicans and people who make dogs wear clothes.
~Mr. T because I pity the foo'.
~Any leader of scientology
~Anyone can speak. We can choose not to listen.
A response to, "What cause would you risk your life for?" Pokemon should be played in school.
After that I headed to the Old State House. In front of the building an in character and garb tour guide (I thought all of you should be such tour guides) approached with her group. A nearby food vendor asked her, "Are you going to a burn a witch today?" She responded, "No, we're not! It's passe!" I cracked up.
The Old Corner Bookstore is where many old school American authors were once published.
Paul Revere's house was also a waste of time. This picture is all you need to see of it.
The Old North Church is pretty cool. The organ and clock are originals.
It also features box pews. The pews were designed this way to keep families warm during the winter. The families would also bring foot warmers because they couldn't heat a church of that size during the winter.
After the Freedom Trail, I visited shopping districts Downtown Crossing, Newbury Street, and Copley Square.
(Did you know the T is the oldest subway system?) It also provided some entertaining scenes:
~OLD white guy singing Hey Ya by Outkast. (Had it not been so crowded, I would have snapped a picture).
~A mother absentmindedly, yet playfully hitting her toddler daughter in the face with a stuffed animal. The girl looked at me as if to say, "See what I have to put up with?"
~A little boy exiting a train felt that stopping on the steps to eat his Pringles was more important than getting off before the door closes and separates him from his mother.
~Vinnie's future: a 35 year old wearing a Hollister t-shirt
While riding the train one day, I noticed that Boston has a lot more Asian people than Miami. It struck me that I shouldn't be surprised since MIT and Harvard are in town. Then I remembered Boston has a Chinatown.
This I also really enjoyed.
You start off viewing a movie about JFK's life right up until the presidential election campaign. Then the exhibits pick up from the campaign trail through his presidency and assassination.
The last exhibit was what I found most interesting. It shows landmarks from around the world (some places that you would least expect) that honor JFK.
I did some wondering around and found this priceless gem, which I photographed solely (not really) becuase of Vanessa's demand for pics of random stuff.
I then headed to the USS Constitution. This was also rather boring, but it was free and I had time to kill. The Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat (it celebrates its 209th bday on 10/21). They occasionally take it out to sea. You can enter a lottery on their website to go on it when it sails. According to the tour guide (an active duty navy guy), the only person there who knows how sail it is some genius 22 year old. The only entertaining part was when the guide requested the help from some kids for a fake gun drill. He directs a couple of them to go help the other kid because "he's not that strong." The kid he's talking about looks at him and says, "I'm a girl." She had the best expression. I half expected her to attack the guy and beat him. I suppressed my giggles. Apparently all navies in the world serve alcohol except the US. The Constitution's nickname is old Ironsides because during a major battle a cannon ball from the enemy ship bounced off the Constitution and a sailor exclaimed, "Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron." (Huzzah always reminds me of you rennies.)
As I removed my shoes while in line at the security checkpoint for my return flight, annoyed that I didn't have any lotion (stupid restrictions) on me to soothe my dry hands, I cursed the shoe bomber and the gel terrorists. With each plot, they plan ways to bomb that results in greater travel inconveniences. I couldn't help but think that maybe the no longer wish to bomb us. Maybe they just want to create threats that are thwarted but that result in additional restrictions to the point that you can't carry anything with you. Between that and gas prices (which are actually starting to go down), travel will decrease significantly and will result in a big, negative economic impact. Just what they want. Terrorist Proof Airlines.
And that was Boston. I love it there.
I have many more pictures. Especially of the cow parade. If you wanna see 'em I'll e-mail you my SnapFish photo album.
While waiting at the gate in Dulles, there was a bird providing a great deal of entertainment as it flew back and forth INSIDE the building. Occasionally it got tired trying to find it's way out and it rested on a windowsill. Oddly enough, this wasn't the first time that I saw a bird inside an airport. This one though didn't fly. It zoomed! Insane. Maybe me took a sip from the Starbucks coffee machine. Anyhoo, the plane from Dulles to Logan was insanely small. The ceiling of the plane was maybe four inches above my head. I felt sorry for anyone 5'10" or taller on the flight. I checked my luggage for this trip thanks to the new restrictions, but I was nervous about it actually making it to Logan. But, I saw it get loaded on this flight, so my worries were eased. I made it to Boston slightly ahead of schedule and got to the hotel (Hampton Inn Cambridge - GREAT hotel) faster than I expected. I expected a much longer cab ride and questioned the cabbie to make sure he took me to the right hotel. I wasn't convinced until I saw a sign inside that said Cambridge. I felt like an idiot for questioning him and still doubting him even after he assured me it was the right place.
I made my way to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. Brazilians sat in the booth behind me. The first of MANY times over the course of the weekend that I would hear Portuguese. I don't know why, but hearing Portuguese makes me feel at home even though I feel like an outsider when among "real" Brazilians.
It was AMAZING! Definitely worth $20 - especially if the weather is as perfect as it was that day.
Well, I got all excited when I approached Long Wharf because I saw a cow (actually I saw two) and I thought of Corey.
Not because she is a cow, but because she got me a Cow Parade statue from London. Guess what. The Cow Parade was wrapping up its tour of Boston while I was there. So I of course took an insane amount of Cow Parade pictures.
Long Wharf is the oldest harbor, dating back to 1710. The Chart House restaurants also dates back to 1710 and is one of the oldest buildings in Boston.
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated as Evacuation Day in Boston as that was the day that the British left the city. The area that is Boston today was once known as Shawmut. John Hancock signed his name big so that King George wouldn't need his glasses to read it. South Boston was built on a landfill; in fact three quarters of the city is built on landfill. The World Trade Center Boston is on the Commonwealth Pier.
The Fishing Pier consolidates all the ships in the Harbor. Logan International Airport is right by the harbor and we got to see a bunch planes landing and taking off. I got such a kick out of it - especially when a big flew directly over us.
Most of the goods brought into the Harbor are petroleum. Castle Island was a refuge for the Royalists and was burned down. But George Washington and Paul Revere rebuilt it and got every man in the city to donate one day of service.
Spectacle Island is so named because it looks like a pair of glasses from an aerial view.
Our guide advised that we would see a bunch of laundry detergent and similar bottles in the Harbor, but that they aren't litter. They're markers for lobster traps.
The buildings on Long Island were used for various forms institutionalization over the years, including alcoholics, the homeless, unwed mothers and their babies, crazies, etc. The buildings are mostly abandoned now, but some buildings are maintained by the city as homeless shelters.
Deer Island was an internment building - the first point of contact for immigrants. Now it's home to a water treatment plant, which led to a significant improvement to the water quality of what was once America's dirtiest Harbor.
I also saw the Mystic River and Towbin Bridge - one of the longest in America, but known in Boston as the largest parking lot. From the cruise, I also saw the Bunker Hill Monument and the USS Constitution. The Constitution has had 67 captains, fought the Barrrrrrbary pirates and is most famous for the War of 1812. (Side Note: Every time that someone said the War of 1812, I sang in my head, And the White House burned burned burned and we're the ones that did it... If any of you had been there, I would have insisted that we sing it out loud.) Ten percent of the boat is it's original wood. (That shit is olddddddddddd!)
The North End has been home to a number of ethnic groups over the years - Irish, Jews, and more recently, Italians. The Old North Church is where Paul Revere hung his famous lanterns (look for the white steeple).
This beautiful building is the oldest skyscraper in Boston. It's now operated by Marriott as a time share.
It's a great, fun, busy shopping/food place.
There I saw this oracle guy. He moved just the way you would imagine an old rusty statue to move if it came to life.
I then toured the Nichols House. Waste of time. I went to this one store, Newbury Comics and saw a ton of random crap that reminded me of you all. I bought myself a cool pirate pin: Ye can have me booty but leave me chest alone! and some other nonsense. They had a bunch of great marijuana themeed stuff. I then ordered in to the hotel and chilled. I caught the VMAs and realized that John Norris never changes; he's always trying to hard to look less ugly. But the harder he tries, the worse it gets. (In spite of that, I like him. He's not obnoxious like all the other VJs. Nor is he arrogant and annoying like Kurt Loder.)
For those of you who don't know, there is a red line that starts in the Boston Common and ends in the North End that takes you to the major historical sites in Boston. The day before I purchased an AWESOME guidebook. It tells you exactly where to go, gives you side trips off the trail, and tells you all about the historic site you're seeing. I didn't listen to the book, but it's right when it says that the only place worth entering is the Old North Church. But I started with a tour of the State House. Our tour guide (an intern) was not that bright, wouldn't tell us rules (e.g. no drinks in this room) so the security guards would get all uppity. And he (the guide) never seemed sure of the facts he told us. One of the people on the tour was quite shady. Very creepy. And stupid. After the guide told us that the dome of the building is of X carats of gold (I forgot how many carats), Creepy Dude asks, "Is that real gold up there?"
I then toured the Old South Meeting House, which is a haven for the First Amendment. Not very exciting, but they had this display of kids responses to "Who would you not allow to speak?" Some of their responses:
~Republicans and people who make dogs wear clothes.
~Mr. T because I pity the foo'.
~Any leader of scientology
~Anyone can speak. We can choose not to listen.
A response to, "What cause would you risk your life for?" Pokemon should be played in school.
After that I headed to the Old State House. In front of the building an in character and garb tour guide (I thought all of you should be such tour guides) approached with her group. A nearby food vendor asked her, "Are you going to a burn a witch today?" She responded, "No, we're not! It's passe!" I cracked up.
The Old Corner Bookstore is where many old school American authors were once published.
Paul Revere's house was also a waste of time. This picture is all you need to see of it.
The Old North Church is pretty cool. The organ and clock are originals.
It also features box pews. The pews were designed this way to keep families warm during the winter. The families would also bring foot warmers because they couldn't heat a church of that size during the winter.
After the Freedom Trail, I visited shopping districts Downtown Crossing, Newbury Street, and Copley Square.
(Did you know the T is the oldest subway system?) It also provided some entertaining scenes:
~OLD white guy singing Hey Ya by Outkast. (Had it not been so crowded, I would have snapped a picture).
~A mother absentmindedly, yet playfully hitting her toddler daughter in the face with a stuffed animal. The girl looked at me as if to say, "See what I have to put up with?"
~A little boy exiting a train felt that stopping on the steps to eat his Pringles was more important than getting off before the door closes and separates him from his mother.
~Vinnie's future: a 35 year old wearing a Hollister t-shirt
While riding the train one day, I noticed that Boston has a lot more Asian people than Miami. It struck me that I shouldn't be surprised since MIT and Harvard are in town. Then I remembered Boston has a Chinatown.
This I also really enjoyed.
You start off viewing a movie about JFK's life right up until the presidential election campaign. Then the exhibits pick up from the campaign trail through his presidency and assassination.
The last exhibit was what I found most interesting. It shows landmarks from around the world (some places that you would least expect) that honor JFK.
I did some wondering around and found this priceless gem, which I photographed solely (not really) becuase of Vanessa's demand for pics of random stuff.
I then headed to the USS Constitution. This was also rather boring, but it was free and I had time to kill. The Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat (it celebrates its 209th bday on 10/21). They occasionally take it out to sea. You can enter a lottery on their website to go on it when it sails. According to the tour guide (an active duty navy guy), the only person there who knows how sail it is some genius 22 year old. The only entertaining part was when the guide requested the help from some kids for a fake gun drill. He directs a couple of them to go help the other kid because "he's not that strong." The kid he's talking about looks at him and says, "I'm a girl." She had the best expression. I half expected her to attack the guy and beat him. I suppressed my giggles. Apparently all navies in the world serve alcohol except the US. The Constitution's nickname is old Ironsides because during a major battle a cannon ball from the enemy ship bounced off the Constitution and a sailor exclaimed, "Huzzah! Her sides are made of iron." (Huzzah always reminds me of you rennies.)
As I removed my shoes while in line at the security checkpoint for my return flight, annoyed that I didn't have any lotion (stupid restrictions) on me to soothe my dry hands, I cursed the shoe bomber and the gel terrorists. With each plot, they plan ways to bomb that results in greater travel inconveniences. I couldn't help but think that maybe the no longer wish to bomb us. Maybe they just want to create threats that are thwarted but that result in additional restrictions to the point that you can't carry anything with you. Between that and gas prices (which are actually starting to go down), travel will decrease significantly and will result in a big, negative economic impact. Just what they want. Terrorist Proof Airlines.
And that was Boston. I love it there.
I have many more pictures. Especially of the cow parade. If you wanna see 'em I'll e-mail you my SnapFish photo album.