Boston Reunion 2008: Part Three (People and Places)

I've been dragging this out way too long. Here are the final pictures of my Boston vacation, I promise.

The first day was filled with stops along Boston's historic Freedom Trail. First up, Boston Common and the 23K gold capped (no joke) State House, completed in 1798.



Boston Common is America's oldest public park. It has also been used as grazing ground for cattle, a British army camp, and a venue for public executions of pirates and witches. Today, it is home to the fabulous Frog Pond, a large, ankle-deep wading pool (or an ice skating rink in the winter) in the middle of the busy city.



Next to Boston Common is the Public Garden, America's first public botanical garden. Totally gorgeous, and one of my favorite places in the city. In the garden is this famous equestrian statue of George Washington, who showed up in Boston right after the Battle of Bunker Hill, took control of the Continental Army, and kicked some Redcoat ass.



Here is another of my favorite places in Boston. On the left is Trinity Church, and on the right, the John Hancock Tower, designed by the god of all things architechtural, I.M. Pei. I love the way the old church reflects in the sleek and shiny skyscraper. Boston is such a strange city. You'll see modern buildings such as this right next to a 17th century cemetery. All of those dead people are taking up some really prime real estate, but you can't dig 'em up because those dead people just happen to be Paul Revere and John Hancock himself. Crazy.



Here is a cute shot of two of the best daddies I have ever met giving their daughters a lift from Bunker Hill (actually Breed's Hill. My 10th grade U.S. History class was full of LIES!) to the U.S.S. Constitution.



And here she is, Old Ironsides. Launched in 1797, she is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world.



And here are the hot sailors who are stationed on her.





Scott took some tea (English Breakfast. How fitting, right?) from the hotel that morning so that he and Brielle could reenact that fateful night in 1773 when angry colonists dumped hundreds of crates of tea into Boston Harbor. How much you want to bet we are the first tourists ever to attempt this?





After a quick diaper change...



...it is on to Faneuil Hall (pronounced FAN-you-ill), where people like Samuel Adams got together with other disgruntled colonists to plot against the Brits.



Oh, look! It's the Old North Church, where some dude lit two lanterns to alert Paul Revere and others that the British were coming by sea.



Scott is standing on a circle of bricks that marks the spot where the Boston Massacre took place. Really Boston, this was just pathetic. There wasn't even a plaque anywhere letting us know what the stupid circle was about. I expect this situation to be rectified before my next visit.



A few days later, Timmy Tim Tim, Scooter Pie, and I headed down to New York City to catch a Red Sox/Yankees game in the House That Ruth Built.



I know I'm supposed to be in awe because it's Yankee Stadium and all, but this place is a DUMP. Sure, it's all historic and what not, but check out how freaking gloomy these passageways are:



Go ahead, tear the place down. Next time, try something a little more like this:



I'm sorry, but Safeco is the most beautiful damn ballpark in creation. Anyway, back to business. Here we are, along with Scott's friend Digby, a Yankees fan. (He seemed like such a nice guy, too.) I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to this day. I mean, a Red Sox/Yankees game in baseball's most hallowed hall, road trippin' down to New York with other women's husbands... Unfortunately, it was like surface-of-the-sun hot that day, and like a dumb ass, I wore jeans. And I got a sunburn on my bottom lip that blistered and didn't heal for 3 weeks. When will I ever stop being stupid?



Scott, dealing with the grief that naturally results from watching the Red Sox lose to the Yankees. Damn you, Jason Giambi! Has anyone checked that dude for 'roids lately?



Next stop: 13 Ronaele Road, where I spent two of the best years of my life (no offense, Bolivia) with Alicia, Kamber, Becky, and Melena. Isn't it the cutest little New England house? I wish we had been there in October. That tree out front turns the most gorgeous shade of yellow.



And we're back to baseball! Seriously, there was a lot of baseball this trip. I also went to a traveling baseball exhibit from Cooperstown at the Boston Museum of Science. I saw the Babe's bat, the jersey Hank Aaron was wearing when he hit #715, the most valuable baseball card out there (the Honus Wagner), Schilling's bloody sock, and lots of other cool crap. I went with my dear friends, John and Rachel, but I don't have any good pictures of them to post. Rach and John, if you're out there, I'm sorry about that. Next time I promise to fill my memory card with you and only you.

Man, I love this place:







Ken Griffey Jr. had just been traded to the White Sox like, 15 minutes prior to game time, so I got to see The Kid play for the first time in about 10 years. Totally awesome. (Hey, Griffey! I hear you're a free agent now. Come back to us! No one will ever love you like Seattle loves you.)

Then we headed down to The Cape and went swimming in some very frigid waters. The kids didn't seem to care much.



Then we checked out Provincetown, where the Pilgrims really landed. (My high school U.S. History teacher has some serious explaining to do...)



Let's see...what else? We rode the T:



We swam in Walden Pond:



We went to a Boston Pops baseball-themed concert on the Esplanade, where the 2004 and 2007 World Series trophies were displayed:



We went to the Boston Children's Museum, where Scott was groped by Arthur's mom:






We found out that the Turley-Benson family is just as wacky as we remembered:



We found out that Tim plays a mean game of Catan:



And that's about it. Thanks for an amazing vacation, everyone! Let's keep in touch more, OK?