Road Trip... Day 5 in Boston

So I got up early - as usual :-)  I almost rolled over but then I remembered that I am my husband's alarm clock and didn't want to take the chance that I would oversleep by being too lazy!

We had breakfast together and then I saw him off to class!  One of the many things I like about Hampton Inns is that they usually have a great breakfast selection (and FREE :-)... they all feature a fitness center and pool too... I think they are one of the best hotel values.  The first day I snagged enough 'breakfast' to cover lunch but since then I have had tons of leftovers from dinner the night before!

I planned to catch a shuttle for the 10:30 train to Boston... so had a couple of hours to spend working on writing... and I took the time to BEGIN the hand quilting on that infamous quilt strip.  Go ME!  It's not hard.... and there are only 4 small areas to cover before I can attach it to the rest of the quilt... I just need to DO IT!  So, this morning..... I did ONE of the four.... a start :-)  Hmm... if I do another one tomorrow morning.... I'll be half done with this portion....   

I am excited about catching the train - and nervous too... I am still not used to doing things by myself.  Somehow I had a lot more courage when I was dragging little people to educational sites.... now it's just me wandering around with no agenda.   Kind of strange!

But it's a little like riding a roller coaster.... ALL I had to do was get on the shuttle to take me to the train..... anything after that was as much trouble to go backward as forward.... so it kept me moving FORWARD!

I'm really not an adventurous soul... I mean, I have an adventurous MIND... but my emotional self is a big chicken... a SEVERE homebody... I can as easily sit in a corner watching people and taking notes as I can breathe.... Actually doing something new... getting involved in an adventure...is a little bit harder :-)

At any rate, there I was... on a train..

I found it!  And it was going in the right direction... I DO worry too much...

So I got on...... bought a ticket.... and went to Boston!

I arrived at the North Station and used a generic tourist map to wander my way to the Boston Common and the Public Gardens - my favorite spot of all!

What was fun was the Bruin fever!  Of course, those of you who know me, know that I know nothing much at all about sports... I mean zip.... zilch.... NADA!  I had caught a little about the Bruins (okay - that is hockey) but I only know that from the news last night.  Even George Washington in the middle of the Boston Public Gardens caught the fever....

Hard to see in the photo but George is dressed in a Bruins shirt...

My friend's train was late so I had some time to wander a bit & enjoy the beautiful sunshine.  I really liked listening to everyone complain about the heat.... even with the gorgeous breeze in the gardens.  I think that someone from Boston would get the same enjoyment listening to me complain about snow!

I mean, it WAS hot..... but I've never seen a Virginia squirrel need to chill out on the brick walk...


When my friend arrived, we had a great lunch at the Boston library, an incredibly beautiful building and enjoyed a super Civil War exhibit composed of period maps.... I do like maps!  A bit of a nerd, I know...  but they were absolutely fantastic!

Initially my husband thought his class would end early and he would join me in the city.... but two obstacles.... his class ran late AND the station we were using is also the hockey stadium..... with the 4th game of the Stanley Cup happening tonight!  Hmm..... change of plans!

My friend put me on the right train before she went to work.... and I headed back to the hotel...  An evening in the city with my husband was a great idea.... but not this time :-)  I was pretty tired anyway from all the walking - but feeling virtuous about the exercise...

Another quiet evening.... we re-visited the Asian restaurant and let our not-so-adventurous souls bask in the intrepid tasting of a new food :-)  Gyoza... a Japanese appetizer.... little meat ravioli-like pastries with a sesame-soy sauce...  enough adventure for me for the day!

Road Trip.... Day 4 in Boston

Woke early and saw hubby off to class.....

Good intentions of exercising. early.. but since we returned to the room after breakfast... I sat down to the computer and started to work AND play. 

A few weeks ago, I gave up a game I had been playing to see how much I missed it.  While I DID miss it, and I made friends there (as you do in the internet world), I am finding that it still takes up too much time for me to really enjoy.  If I do not figure out a way to manage the time I spend on it.. I will have to give it up altogether. 

I did spend 45 min on the treadmonster and then a couple of hours at the pool... laying out and swimming!   AND reading my son's manuscript... bless him, I've read so many versions of it..... but it's really pretty good (if I am a judge!)  At any rate, reading it all the way through if one of the tasks I set for myself on this trip - since I have so much reading time.


Hmm.. what else did I do?  A bit of financial planning work.... a charted dishcloth (I brought the yarn & instructions but somehow didn't print out the chart... so had to do it at the computer!).. and worked a little bit on a couple of other projects.  The good part about driving is that you CAN bring projects with you :-)

When Don came back, we went to a nearby Latin restaurant - Pedros Latin Cuisine (thinking Mexican) but were pleasantly surprised at South American food!  Neither of us was very familiar.. and carefully chose things that were a little different (but not TOO much - we are a little adventurous - but not a lot!).... I did enjoy discovering yucca root (much more like potato than I imagined) and fried plaintain (as much like banana as I thought)  So far, we have been lucky with our restaurant choices - they have been great!

We came back for a quiet evening.... Don had work to do both for his job and for his class... and I curled up with an afghan I've been working on..

Tomorrow - I navigate the transit system on my own and go to Boston to meet a friend for lunch.... Don's class is supposed to let out early and he plans to join me.  I can't wait to go there - even if all I do is sit in the gardens... the Boston Public Gardens are incredibly beautiful!