Day 1 in Boston
Posted on July 10, 2011 by Ching under Travel.
After we checked in to our hotel in Cambridge, we drove to Boston to drop off the rental car. The drop off location is pretty close to Quincy Market so we decided to walk over. There were a ton of people there that weekend. Not sure if it is your typical weekend crowd or if there are more people because of 4th of July weekend. Probably the latter.
There are lots of really good street performers in Boston. They’re even better than the street performers you see in San Francisco or Las Vegas. We got to watch The Red Trouser Show (that’s what they call their act) in front of Quincy Market and these guys were really good.
Here’s a video of part of their act (sorry it’s sideways)…
Anyway, I would have taken more pictures at Quincy Market but my phone was out of juice. I did get to take some pictures at Dick’s Last Resort, though. Then my phone finally died. But it’s okay because you can’t really capture Quincy Market in pictures. It’s something that you have to experience in person — no words can describe the sights, the sounds, and the smells! They have every kind of food imaginable represented. It’s like a food court (more like food alley, though) on steriods!
We walked around for a bit and Becca got fried dough, which I got to try for the first time, before we headed back to the hotel. Sans the rental car that we already returned, the four of us walked over to the nearest MBTA station. They’re everywhere really.
I think the best advice I can give for making the most out of your Boston trip is to ditch your car. This worked out really well for us. Parking is expensive and can range between $30-$40 per day. We met this one guy who told us that he paid $20 for four hours of parking. If you’re lucky and can eat cheaply for about $80, that still brings your total to $100. You’re not even counting miscellaneous expenses like tour fees, tips and souvenirs. Who can afford to do that everyday?
Our best move was to get a 7-day MBTA pass. I think we were looking at spending $17 each for 10 fares (already discounted because I think fares are normally $2 each) on a Charlie Card. The helpful MBTA employee asked us how long we were staying and, when we told him 4-5 days, he recommended that we get a 7-day MBTA pass instead which would give us unlimited fares for only $15 each. He punched some buttons on the ticket machine, we each got one (you can’t really share these because they can’t be reused for 15 minutes), and off we went. There are subway stations everywhere so used the heck out of the T (this is what everyone calls the subway trains) while we were there. This was definitely a good value. The pass saved us a lot of money not just in fares, but in parking fees too (which we would have had to deal with had we decided to keep the rental car).
The only thing about the T is that you have to know your way around somewhat. The lady at the hotel concierge desk told us that the hotel was about a 15-minute walk from the nearest T station. Well, we couldn’t remember which T station she said so on our way home we got off at Kendall — one stop too early. We didn’t realize this of course.
We were walking around for about 20 minutes when Becca was like, “I thought she said it was only a 15-minute walk?” The weather was nice and the walk was pleasant so I didn’t really mind. She, Jay and Brian all had to pee really badly, though, so they sort of felt differently. We found out that night that Kendall is the MIT stop so we got to know the MIT campus pretty well that evening. Brian and Jay got to know it better than Becca and I did. They actually peed on MIT property. LOL. Good thing it was night time and they didn’t get busted.
After Brian and Jay got the relief they needed, I think we probably could have walked the rest of the way back to the hotel. Everything was just so interesting to look at and the weather was so nice, I probably could have walked for hours and not even realized it (until the next day). Becca didn’t get her relief, though, so we ended up hailing a cab. We were literally just around the corner from the hotel. I think we would have gotten there in another 10-15 minutes.
It was a good way to gauge cab fare, though, which is way more expensive than the MBTA. We just have to remember to get off at the correct stop next time.
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Courtyard Marriott on the Charles
Posted on July 10, 2011 by Ching under Travel.
Becca picked a great hotel for us in Boston. The hotel is actually located across the river on the Cambridge side, but you’re pretty much in Boston. Check out the great views of the river and the Boston skyline…
This is what I woke up to each morning… It was awesome! We were actually thinking that we’d be able to watch the fireworks from the fifth floor patio next to the swimming pool but, because of the way that the river bends, we couldn’t. We ended up having to walk a little over a mile along the river to get a decent spot/view.
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Trip Recap Continued
Posted on July 9, 2011 by Ching under Travel.
Sorry about the interruption. I just had to post the bikini carwash photo because I didn’t want you all to miss out on a great opportunity to contribute to the community while oogling sexy scantily clad girls at the same time.
Anyway, you’ve seen the photos from Stonington and river tubing and Tanglewood so that brings us to Saturday which is the day of Pete and Lynne’s wedding. It’s also the day that we checked out of Hyatt Summerfield Suites in Connecticut and drove to Boston, which is about a couple of hours away.
Brian and I packed the night before in anticipation of switching hotels so we were ready way early in the morning. We took some photos while waiting for Jay and Becca. This is the only one that turned out somewhat decent. LOL.
The Dills had a pretty crazy morning. It’s not my story so I’ll hold off on sharing it. Suffice it to say, it was a pretty exciting morning. They forgot the wedding invitation at home so we didn’t have the address of the wedding location. We ended up going to the wrong venue where they just happened to be having a funeral at the exact same day at the exact same time. It was pretty funny.
We did finally make it to the wedding. Thank God. Here are some pictures to prove we were actually there…
Mama Dill and Becca…
Yup. Those sunglasses are new. I told Brian that I didn’t need new sunglasses, but he insisted because he figured that I would need them for the rest of the trip (for the afternoon ballgame at Fenway, for the Segway tour, etc.)… Lucky for us, Rachael and Jeff live right by The Shoppes at Farmington Valley where there is a Brighton store. You know how we don’t have any Brighton stores at all in Wichita and I have to go Von Maur or Wild at Heart to buy Brighton stuff? Well, I quickly realized that Brighton stores are like Dunkin Donuts in the East Coast. They’re everywhere!
Jay and Becca…
I was trying to copy Jay…
Blink face detected!
LOL. Alright. That sums up Saturday morning. Next up, I’m going to post pictures of our hotel in Boston. Well, we actually stayed in Cambridge on the other side of the Charles River. Stay tuned for more pictures from our East Coast vacation!
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I Think Bebot Needs a Carwash
Posted on July 9, 2011 by Ching under Things to Do.
Drove by a bunch of cute girls in bikinis washing cars on the corner of 21st and Rock, in front of Clark’s Fine Jewelers, today on the way home from the gym. I’m thinking Bebot might need a carwash, too! LOL.
I’m not sure how long they’ll be out there washing cars but, if you enjoy watching scantily clad girls wash you car, I suggest you go now. The next shift might be a bunch of fat guys and who wants to see that?
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The Boston Pops and James Taylor at Tanglewood
Posted on July 8, 2011 by Ching under Travel.
Guess what. I got to see James Taylor perform twice this year! Listening to the Boston Pops perform was a real treat also. The Wichita Symphony Orchestra is good. The Kansas City Symphony Orchestra is great. The Boston Pops? Phenomenal!
Brian and I originally wanted shed tickets, but the lawn tickets worked out just as well. The nice thing about Tanglewood is that they allow you to bring your own food and drinks. These folks got totally decked out, complete with candelabra!
I just realized that I wore the exact same white blouse that I wore to the Symphony in the Flint Hills a few weeks ago. This blouse will henceforth and forever be dubbed the official symphony blouse.
Check out our makeshift cup holders…
I think my favorite part was James Taylor’s performance of “You’ve Got a Friend” because he didn’t perform it when he performed at the Intrust Bank Arena and then also because Jay kept going, “Where’s Brian?” LOL. It was a great show and we had a really good time.
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