Clint and I bought our tickets for the 311 Concert!!! Excited. Last time they were in town we were not able to get tickets. Let the countdown begin!!!
Boston Day 7 April 6, 2007
Well, time for our somewhat last blog of the trip. Yesterday we had planned (key word being planned) to go to the Harvard Natural Science Museum, the JFK Museum, and then finally the Skywalk Observatory. Well we did 2 of the 3.
Getting up yesterday was somewhat tough. We were both exhausted, and wanting to sleep in. However, we got up about 9, and left the hotel about 10. We finally got to the Museum around 10:30 or so, and both of us were dragging. Yesterday was the first morning since we’ve been here that Clint did not get his coffee from Dunkin Doughnuts (we’ve become fans of this place), and I didn’t get a Hot Chocolate w/ whipped cream. We did however have our doughnuts. And they were yummy. It seems to us that more people prefer the Dunkin Doughnuts over Starbucks. We easily fit in as locals if we were carrying a Dunkin Doughnut’s cup of anything. I think Clint really really likes their coffee. There is literally a Dunkin Doughnuts on just about every corner, and inside most of the subway stations. This town is crazy for the Dunkin.
Anyways, the museum was fantastic (despite being tired). I do not believe that I’ve ever been inside a museum like this before. Being next to all the dinosaur skeletons that they had made me feel really tiny. I really liked the part where they had all the different types of species of animals. By the time we got through with the museum, both of us were extremely tired and hungry. We ate at this small like coffee house called the “Greenhouse Coffee Shop.” Clint had another dose of Fish and Chips. And I enjoyed a nice Turkey Club. We sat there for a long time eating and chatting up about different things. Sitting was nice for a change.
After lunch we went back to the hotel room and relaxed. Neither one of us had the energy to go to the JFK Museum. I woke Clint up around 6 or so, and we headed to dinner in the Prudential Center (it’s a mall/business building). After dinner we took the express elevator to the 50th floor, to the Skywalk Observatory. That was really fun. It was a 360 degree view of the city with an Audio Tour. When we would move to a new window, there would be a sign with a number above it. You would press the number into the audio player and listen to what “Buddy” (the tour guide) had to say. Usually you were looking for a specific building.
We got back to the hotel about 8:30, and went for one last swim in the pool. That was really nice, just relaxing and having a good time.
That was our day. We have enjoyed our time in Boston, and I assume that one day we will come back. There were lots of things that we wanted to do, but we just didn’t have the time. Boston is full of History, and that’s what we loved about this place. Everyone has been really nice to us, telling us where we should go and take a look at, or helping us get on the right subway.
I hope that everyone enjoyed reading out our trip. I know that we are looking forward to seeing everyone for Easter! Our plane leaves at 5:30 tonight, and we should arrive in KC about 9.
CLICK HERE for pictures.
Day 6: Providence April 6, 2007
(Another guest blog by Clinton, because he’s the Lovecraft fan)
So, Wednesday we took a daytrip to Providence Rhode Island, hometown of H.P. Lovecraft, one of my favorite writers. Providence was awesome. It was like stepping in to one of HPL’s stories. We saw all kinds of sites from Lovecraft’s life as well as many places that he mentioned in his stories. Providence is probably the coolest town I’ve ever seen. I’m all kinds of jealous of people who actually live there.
Providence was also the stomping ground of Edgar Allan Poe, who was a big influence on Lovecraft. We saw several Poe related sites as well, including his girlfriend’s house. Neat, neat, neat.
Afterward we returned to Boston via the commuter rail (oh, I forgot to mention that Cassie had never ridden on a proper train until that day). Then, I had a big, fun night. I had made arrangements to visit StoryGames Boston, a Boston-area game group. Cassie decided that she wanted to stay back at the hotel (we had done a whole freakin’ lot of walking in Providence). So off I went. Turns out that Jared Sorensen, one of my game-designer heroes, was in town to do playtesting for his new game. I almost peed my pants. So I played in Jared’s playtest and chatted for a bit afterwards. It was incredible serendipity. The SGBoston folks made me feel very welcome and said very nice things about Roanoke. After that, it was a quick subway ride back to the hotel and some much needed sleep.
Best day ever?
- Visit H.P. Lovecraft’s hometown . . . check.
- Eat some really great clam chowder . . . check.
- See the most awesome library ever . . . check.
- Playtest Darkpages w/Jared . . . check.
Yup, best day ever.
CLICK HERE for Pictures
Boston Day 5 April 6, 2007
Wow! We come home tomorrow, and I’m behind on the blogging. I’m going to tell you about our day at the Fine Arts Museum, and then Clint will be logging in to tell you about our day yesterday.
On Tuesday we went to the Museum of the Fine Arts. It was fantastic. Being around pieces of artwork that are hundreds of years old is an wonderful feeling. We have some pictures from the museum. Our batteries died in the camera about half way through the museum, and the gift store did not cell batteries. The clerk there even thought it was was weird that they didn’t. We ate lunch in the Courtyard Cafe. Mainly because it was the cheapest of all three restaurants at the Museum.
Clint and I have gotten to know the Subway system pretty well since we’ve been here. There are four lines (blue, red, green, and orange), and they either go inbound or outbound. I finally managed to find a subway map in the commuter rail schedule book. However, I had already torn the one out of the yellow book the day before. (A local Boston person told us that we should do that.)
We decided to eat that night at the California Pizza Kitchen. Which Clint thought was pretty funny since we are in Boston. Clint had the Hawaiian Pizza. It did look really yummy. I went with the all time classic, CHEESE!!!
I had been looking forward to Tuesday night since we booked out trip. I have always wanted to see the Blue Man Group. We got tickets that were three rows back center. When we arrived at the theater, there were ponchos waiting in the seats. Clint and I looked at each other, and he said, “You know it’s messy when you have to put these on before you sit down.” He was right. It was completely messy, and totally awesome. If you ever get a chance to see them, DO!!! It’s completely worth the ticket prices. There’s audience participation, and lots of fun!
We got back to the hotel around 10 or so. Clint went to work on the computer researching for our trip on Wednesday (which he will blog about), and I tired in.
We are looking forward to getting home. Clint misses Slinky something awful, as well as CoCo. I had to admit, I enjoyed having the bed without Slinky, but now I miss it too.
CLICK HERE to see our pictures.
Boston… Day 4 April 3, 2007
Okay. . . almost caught up with my blogging. So yesterday we went to Museum of Science. That was a lot of fun. I hadn’t been to a Science Museum in a long time. It was fairly crowded with school aged children on field trips, but that was alright.
We started out in the “Make a Model” section, where it talked about the different types of models that we have in use today. From there we moved into a section where you could design your own fish for their virtual fish tank. Clint and I both designed a fish and then placed it into the tank with our initials on it. My fish was cuter than Clint’s. His looked more like a ninja fish.
After that we went into the Electricity Theater and watched a thirty minute presentation on lightning, and electricity. That was very cool, because the Museum had the largest indoor electricity generator in the country. That thing was huge. It got so loud inside the room, that we had to plug our ears. There was a metal cage around this thing, so the bolts wouldn’t come into the room.
We ate lunch at the little cafe in the Museum. Needless to say it wasn’t very cheap (those places never are.) After lunch we went to a Planetarium Show of “Far, Far, Away.” It compared the Star Wars Planets, to planets in our own solar system. It was really interesting. It showed the different stages that our own planet has gone through.
Both of us were pretty tired after all that, so we headed back to the hotel. After a short nap, we headed to dinner. We ate at this place called Bennigan’s. Clint had Popcorn Shrimp that was basted in a Guiness-based sauce. I had the Monte Cristo. It had turkey, ham, Swiss cheese and American cheese. They then coated it with this batter, fried it, and put powdered sugar on it. Sounds really really gross. However, it was fantastic! Think of a funnel cake flavor with really good meat on it. As if we weren’t already full, I convinced Clint that we should get dessert. After all, we had been walking everywhere, so we would easily walk it off. HA! When you see the picture of Big Ben, you’ll see how big it was. at least a good foot off the table. This thing was massive! I believe between the two of us ate about half of it.
We left the restaurant and headed towards the Observatory. When we got up to the two, what we thought was just a pretty blue wall, was really fog. We ended up not using our tickets because it would have been pointless. Hopefully we can get back over there before we leave. We ended up going to Barnes and Noble and picking up some books to read. Neither one of us brought any leisure reading, just our text-books, which we needed a break from.
If you want to see pictures CLICK HERE
That’s all for now!!! Hope you are enjoying your 80 degree weather. It’s cold and rainy here.
4.1.07 Day 3 April 3, 2007
So Clint did the blogging this morning, because I still had to get in the shower, and had spent the time he was in the tub uploading pictures. I’m a day behind blogging. Hopefully I’ll get caught up here in a bit. So yesterday was Salem, MA. What a wonderful day trip that was.
We left the hotel about 10:45, and didn’t arrive in Salem until, oh 12:15. That’s what we get for taking the subway/bus route. We later found out that if we took the commuter train home it would only take 30 minutes. So that’s what we did.
Anyways. We went to the Salem Witch Museum, and watched their presentation of the Witch Trials. It was pretty cool. The one we went to was supposed to be the best one in the town. After that presentation we decided to take the Trolley Tour of Salem. This would give us a little history of the town, and then we could walk to anything that seemed cool. The trolley tour was about an hour and well worth it. We both found out that the witch trial was just a minor part of the town’s history but that is what they are known for.
Salem was a major shipping port in its early history, however has the ships got bigger, their shallow bay was less and less appealing for the captain of any large boat. We walked down the last remaining wharf in the town. If you walked the entire length and back in was about a mile or so. We took a picture under the lighthouse. In the wharf was a replica of the “Friendship of Salem.” We didn’t get a chance to go in it, but it was really big and pretty.
We also walked the “Red Line” in town. Along this line were many historical buildings and things throughout the town. We saw many of the things on the trolley tour, but wanted to see them up-close. Clint LOVED the graveyard, you’ll see a lot of pictures in the album from the graveyard.
We took the train back to the city about six o’clock. Needless to say we were very tired by the time we got back to the hotel. We took a little dip in the pool, and then I turned in for the night. Clint’s been working on his games at night, viewing the city at night is something that he likes as well.
I am truly enjoying the Sleep Number Bed. I’ve found that my Sleep Number is between 30 and 45. Not sure what Clint is sleeping at.
All in all we are having a WONDERFUL time. I know I’m going to rest before going back to school.
To see the pictures from Salem: CLICK HERE
Boston Day 2 April 2, 2007
(this entry features special-guest-blogger-who-doesn’t-normally-do-blogs . . . Clinton)
So, day two was actually the day before yesterday. We ended up going to the New England Aquarium and checking out all kinds of cool sea life. We also went to see an IMAX film about the Deep Sea, which was cool. Afterwards, we decided to check out a play. After exercising some google-fu, I found Persephone, by an up-and-coming playwright called Noah Haidle. Before the play, we grabbed dinner across the street from the theater and took in some spontaneous street art. The play was great. Afterwards, we walked a few blocks back to the hotel. Cassie went to bed and I stayed up late working on stuff. That’s pretty much it for Saturday.
And now . . . the link to the pictures:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0CctWTRo2asXNw¬ag=1
Photo Update! April 2, 2007
Something went wrong when I shared the pictures from the first Day in Boston. Sorry! Here’s the link that you want to go to. There’s 10 pictures from Day 1
