Vacation Recap 3: Boston, MA

After a fabulous Breakfast at Colby's in Portsmouth, we bid farewell to Courtney and headed down towards Boston.

Colby's, Portsmouth, NH

 We finally found a hockey store for the hubster, got in a fight with a non functioning parking meter, and went to a horrible wax museum in Salem. (I was so disappointed.)

Pretty soon, the great city of Boston lay before us. Our plan was to take the rental car back to the rental desk at the airport, then take the subway back to our hotel. The one problem: I was hangry without even knowing it. I was light headed and faint feeling, trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B. it was not pretty. Poor hubster tried to deal with me as best as possible, but I was rough. We stayed at Boston Common Hotel and Conference Center in the Back Bay area of Boston. Our accommodations were great, very convenient, and the staff was fantastic to work with.

After a quick nap and some snacks to subside the hangriness, we ventured out to find dinner and steak out our spots for the dress rehearsal of the Boston Pops 4th of July spectacular. We found dinner at Cheers. In Boston, there are two different Cheers restaurants. We were lucky enough to go to the one that inspired the show. It was originally known by another name, but after it inspired the show, they renamed it. We both got burgers, but I had had enough beer for a while, so I embraced a glass of wine with dinner. 

 The esplanade where the concert was being held was only about a 5 minute walk from the restaurant. I realized that I gravely misunderstood what I had read online about the concert. Turns out, most of what I had read was pertaining just to the oval, not the entire esplanade. We were not able to get seats in the oval, which was fine, and we didn't need to get there quite so early to get good seats in the esplanade. We were near a sound tower and had a great view of a TV screen. The concert was great-I was most impressed and excited by the 1812 overture. Jennifer Hudson was amazing, but I could have done without the 70s sing along and the cast from Mamma Mia! left something to be desired.

Not a bad view

Who can refuse a cheesy self-portrait?

The next morning we headed down to Quincy Market, and the followed the Freedom Trail to see some of the historical sites. It was a bit sobering to visit those on the birthday of our country.

Good Ole Benjamin Franklin

Paul Revere's Grave

Revere House

Old North Church

John Hancock's Grave

We ended our evening with dinner at McGreevy's, the first American sports bar (although not originally of that name) and now owned by a member of the Dropkick Murphy's. It was good and fun. From there, we walked back to the Esplanade to catch some of the fireworks. We left as stormy weather seemed to be approaching, and realized we could see some of the fireworks from our hotel. For the most part, the weather held out for those people out on the Esplanade, but I was thankful not to have to walk back to the hotel in the rain.

The next morning, we were out of the hotel early, and off to catch our flight home. No issues there, and we were back home by lunch time. It was a fabulous trip, but I am so thankful to be home in time to throw together a quick 30th birthday party, and repack to go on Gaycation 2012.