Well, it’s official. I’m a day late on my blog post. This makes me sad – but in my defense, yesterday we were in the car for 14 hours driving from Boston to Raleigh. When I wasn’t driving or napping, I was getting work done. So here it is, a day late, and yes, we are a few dollars short – thanks to the tolls on the way.
Our final weekend in Boston was jam packed and fun-filled, lots of time spent with friends, and lots of time packing. I knew Halloween would make me miss my kiddos (well my niece and nephew) because nothing is better than trick-or-treating with those two. Luckily, our friend Steve has a kid that was going trick-or-treating and they let us tag along. We had a blast (as you may have seen from my pics on facebook), and I got to eat lots of candy, which is of course the most important thing!
Saturday we went to the game watch at Barracuda Tavern with Andrew and Inga and had a really good time. Unfortunately it was freezing and I was exhausted from trick-or-treating so I left early courtesy of Uber. Sunday, we packed our suitcases, boxes and bags, headed to Steve’s to get our car and watch some more football. We brought the car home, got a ROCK STAR parking spot (unheard of), and within an hour we had eaten pizza (mmmm pizza) and packed up the car.
So now that brings us to yesterday. After waking up at 3:15 AM (*sigh*) we were on the road by 4 AM. The trip was fairly uneventful, with the exception that it was excessively long, and it felt like we were driving in Virginia for 8 hours (seriously, how is that even possible?!). By the time we got to Raleigh it was 6 PM and we were so ready to meet our new home! And meet our home we did!! After spending the last month in a cute “little” apartment, this house feels like a mansion. This place is GORGEOUS! We haven’t had time to explore yet, since it was night time when we got in and unpacked the car, but we are looking forward to it!!
I’m sorry this post is so short, please forgive me! We are still tired from being in the car for 14 hours, and I’m eager to explore our new home for the next month!
In the past month, we have done a lot of different things, and been to a lot of different places. I believe this makes me an expert on Boston. As the resident “Boston Expert” I’ve decided to bestow upon you the wisdom I have gained over the last weeks and tell you the ten “Bests” I found, expecially when you have nothing to compare them to.
1. Best Sunday Brunch – Gaslight in SoWa – By far the BEST (and only) Sunday Brunch we attended was at Gaslight in SoWa about two blocks from where we are staying. For $10, they have a Prix Fixe Brunch menu that includes a beverage (non-alcoholic), a lovely Shortbread with raspberry jam, and your choice of three entrees. It was delicious, and they even threw in a free molten chocolate cupcake with whipped cream on top for Christopher’s birthday. Most definitely the best Sunday Brunch we went to.
2. Best Place to Study and Work – Boston Public Library – Not only is the Boston Public Library gorgeous and a little touristy with lots of photo opps, it has a great little cafe, upscale restaurant and a couple awesome study halls, exactly how I remember from the movies. It is definitely easier to concentrate in a place that doesn’t have your two dogs, your husband making phone calls, and the sounds of trucks renovating the street you are living on every day. Unfortunately I only went once, but it was the best time ever. Also – they have a hall named after me and my family (my maiden name):
3. Best Dog Park – Peter’s Park – We may have only gone to one “official” dog park in Boston, but it was so close we went on average two to three times a day. The only exceptions being when it was raining so we would go to the little grassy area behind the dog park area. Instead of grass they use a “kitty litter” type gravel, which is awesome when you are cleaning up your dog’s… “messes” … but Buster didn’t really care for it. He has sensitive paws (read: he is PRISSY), but eventually he met a few dogs that he liked and braved the gravel.
4. Best Pizza – Harry O’s – Christopher suggested I try pizza from all over the city and write up a blog on the best pizza. Only problem is that I only had two different pizza places, Harry O’s, and a place in Needham by our friend Steve’s house. Harry O’s is in walking distance, it’s decently priced, and it’s pizza. I love pizza. Oh, and they have more than pizza, but I have no idea what it would taste like since I only ate the pizza. Mmmm…. pizza……
5. Best Cup of Coffee – I have no idea – I don’t drink coffee. But the good news is if you LIKE coffee, there are a TON of options. Especially Dunkin’ Donuts. There are over 100 Dunkin’ Donuts within city limits, and there are about 50 Starbucks. That’s not to mention all the little independent cafes everywhere. Sorry I can’t recommend a place, but if you like pizza… mmm… pizza…
6. Best Grocery Store – Star Market – Now, we actually go to Foodie’s more often since it is a block away, but it’s expensive with very little selection. If we have the time to make the half a mile trek, the Star Market right next to the Prudential Center is AMAHZING. A HUGE selection, “normal” prices you’d expect from a grocery store, and an awesome Hot Bar selection of quick meals to go. I even had some Orange Chicken… from a grocery store! Oh, and Christopher said that they had the best Grocery Store sushi he’s ever had. I’d assume that isn’t a difficult feat but I don’t eat sushi, grocery store brand or otherwise.
7. Best Day Trip – Salem, MA – The best day trip by FAR (since we only took one) was Salem, MA. Don’t expect much though, unless you want tourist attractions, awesome architecture, and tons of history. The best part of the trip to Salem was the ride on the Commuter Rail. I love trains. Oh, and the House of Seven Gables was pretty cool too.
8. Best Boston Tour – Duck Tours! – The one and only! I can only assume that in the 90 minutes you spend on this tour you learn the most you could about Boston, since it’s the only tour we went on. But it’s totally worth the money: entertaining, informative, plus, you saw the pics – they let me drive the boat! Here’s a refresher:
I drove the Duck!
9. Best Place to Watch the Iowa Hawkeyes – Barracuda Tavern – In case you are one of the masses who attended school at the University of Iowa, there is one place to watch the Hawkeye Football games in the city, a great little Dive bar called Barracuda Tavern. It’s difficult to find because it’s entrance is in an alleyway, but it’s worth it. Great food, cheap drinks, Iowa games on the TV, what more could you ask for?? Oh, and in case you didn’t know, Christopher attended University of Iowa for a year. That’s why we went. And Andrew was a college friend of his that helps run the “Game Watches” at the Tavern.
10. Best Place to Pretend You Are A Student – Harvard – I may not have a fancy college degree (I received my AA in 10 years, a fact I am PROUD of), but just walking around the Harvard campus makes me wish I had gone away to college. Even if only for a semester. It’s so gorgeous, exactly how they make it look in movies. Thank goodness I got the Harvard zip up sweater that makes everyone think I actually attended.
Thank you to everyone who is reading this blog, it means a lot to me that you want to keep track of my know-how as we go through this adventure. Stay tuned, Monday we are leaving Boston for Raleigh, NC!! 🙂
As I’m writing this, I have shed my Harvard zip-up that fools everyone into thinking I’m a Harvard student (I wish) because the heater is finally on and cooking up the apartment. It usually kicks on sometime in the middle of the night, then turns back off and on again in the morning. It will be off again in probably an hour or two, which is fine, because by then, the sunlight streams in through the bay windows warming up the living room. What I’m trying to say is, this place ain’t perfect but it has been amazing! With only one full week left, I’m a little sad at the prospect of saying goodbye to our little temporary Boston home. The first month of our adventure thus far has been full of wonderful days and nights, but I am excited to see what the next city brings us! And on that note, I shall tell you about our amazing weekend!
Christopher was traveling for work last week, so when he came home on Friday we went over to Andrew and Inga’s ADORABLE apartment in Brighton. They made us the most delicious Buffalo Mac’n’Cheese (seriously, I want more), and we played one of the funniest rounds of Cards Against Humanity ever. During our “intermission” Inga and I decided a dance party was in order. Then I remembered I’m too old for a dance party, and we resumed the game. It was an awesome night, and they are awesome people 🙂
Saturday we met up with them again to go to the Museum of Science. Inga is SO awesome, she has a member pass and can get a family in with her, so we got to go for free! She also had Omni Imax tickets so we saw the most amazing Imax movie about pandas and the conservation efforts in China. Seriously, I want a baby panda now. While we were there, we saw some amazing things including a Lightning Show! And since Christopher and I are both professional photographers (riiight), he got some really cool shots:
Lightning striking a tire – turns out tires are NOT what keeps you safe in your car…It’s actually the metal frame of the car that keeps you safe. Yes, that is a man, inside a metal cage, touching lightning. Kind of.Lightning!!!
So ANYWAYS, the Museum of Science is AWESOME. They had all kinds of other exhibits, and the point is, if you are in Boston, you should go.
After we were done at the Museum, we walked 2 miles over to the other side of Charlestown to the DownEast Cider House. We had all purchased a tour on Living Social and I Loooooove cider! They are growing so rapidly that in the next year they will probably need to look at a new facility! That’s craziness. They gave us some yummy samples, and then we got a growler to take home with us. It was a really really cool tour!
At this point it was getting late and colder so instead of walking the 2 miles back to public transit, we decided to get an Uber! I would like to tell you now that this was the first time I’ve ever used Uber. It isn’t super huge in Orlando (since everyone has cars) yet, but it is MEGA huge in cities like Boston. It was a very pleasant experience, the guy was super nice and didn’t make me feel like I was going to die (which is pretty impressive in Boston considering the way they drive here). I will DEFINITELY be using Uber again! 🙂
Since today is Christopher’s Birthday (yay! Happy Birthday!!), and we are both working today, we decided to celebrate yesterday! We started the day off with Brunch – Christopher’s favorite meal, literally – at a nearby restaurant Gaslight. I’ll be writing more about them on Thursday’s blog, they are definitely worthy of a Favorite Things entry! Then we went downtown for some shopping. Christopher’s goal was a new belt, and I wanted to look for a new purse and brown boots (yes, I was going to replace a purse and my current brown boots, trying to conserve space!), so we were headed to TJ Maxx. Only as soon as we got off the bus, there was a Men’s Wearhouse and they were having a huge sale! Christopher figured maybe they would have belts (which they did) but he didn’t like any. So instead I picked out two gorgeous sweaters for him, and he got two pairs of jeans and some undershirts. He deserved it, it is his birthday! 🙂 Then we finally headed over to TJ Maxx, where I was unsuccessful in finding a purse, but found the CUTEST brown boots!!
Seriously – how cute are these?!
While Christopher did find a belt, we decided to hit up Marshall’s, he was still looking for another belt (it’s a long story) and I still wanted to find a new purse. I found four I thought were cute, all under $30 and brought them to Christopher to help me decide between them. He didn’t like any of them, which of course was disappointing, so he went with me to put the four back and look at the others. After walking around a little while, he said “I like this one” and what do you know, so did I! Only problem was, it was $80 – and I hate spending more than like $50 on any one thing. But, it was Lucky Brand, real leather, and TOTALLY cute. I really needed a good quality cross body and it had to be big enough to carry my iPad mini and eReader for the T rides. And here it is:
After shopping our brains out, we decided to go see a movie, and we saw Birdman. I HIGHLY recommend it. I LOVED the cast – Michael Keaton (one of my all time favorite actors), Emma Stone, Ed Norton, Naomi Watts, etc. – and it was deliciously weird and funny at the same time!
All in all it was a lovely weekend! We have one left, so here’s hoping we don’t mess it up 🙂
If I’m going to be honest (which is all I know to do), I didn’t have a list of favorite places or things to do this week. I wrote so much about the stuff we did over the weekend, and we’ve only been to a couple places this week, I was a little worried I wouldn’t have anything to write about today. And then, yesterday I headed over to the Prudential Center. While it is truly amazing, and the fact that it is connected to Copley Mall via sky tunnel only proves it, it certainly isn’t enough to write an entire blog post. So instead, I’m going to follow my gut, which is telling me to write about something else. I hope you don’t mind this break from the tradition I only started two weeks ago, hopefully you’ll forgive me after you read this.
I can’t believe this is my life. Today, I took the dogs to the dog park when I woke up and it was cold and rainy (and is supposed to be raining all day), and when I came back to our little apartment, I realized it’s still amazing. We spent so much time developing this idea, and working out all the kinks, planning as much as we could… I knew it would be cool what we are doing. I knew we would have some great experiences and adventures. I just never expected to feel so… amazed. I am so blessed to have a supportive family, a dad that texts and calls a few times a week and sends us our mail in one big package (which should be here today or tomorrow), but in the meantime lets us know if anything important came. A brother and sister-in-law that carve out time in their busy schedules so I can face time once a week with my niece and nephew (I SWEAR he is saying Auntie D, I don’t care what they say!). A network of aunts, uncles and cousins that we can rely on for anything from a pizza pit stop on a road trip, to some contract advice, to just someone to tell us they love us.
But MOST of all, I am so very VERY blessed to have an AMAZING husband. This was HIS idea, and he was the one to assuage all my fears that popped up in the planning process. He is the one who busts his hump to support us and our little family (yes I work too, but we are talking peanuts to steak). And yes, we did get into a few tiffs over things like how many shoes I can bring (*sigh*) or whether or not I can bring my scrapbooking stuff, he always had the bigger goal in mind. He’s awesome like that. Now, I’ll stop, before I make you all gag to death. 🙂
Just one more thing – it is his birthday on Monday. I wracked my brain to think what on Earth I could get him! I do this multiple times a year for every gift-giving occasion because true to his gender, he is impossible to buy for. If he wants something, he gets it, so he usually doesn’t “need” anything either. I normally get him something of clothing, like a sweater, socks, tie, etc., but we have limited space so I know he would rather I didn’t. Well I would just like to say I am EXTREMELY proud of what I got him. Unfortunately I can’t tell you, because Christopher is SO supportive, he reads my blog. Just know he will be very happy.
I’m sorry this is a shorter posting this week and there wasn’t much fun “Bostonian” information. I just felt called to write about how very blessed I feel, and hopefully reading this helps you realize how blessed you are too!
Stay tuned for my next blog post on Monday, and on Thursday I will return to the regularly scheduled program of things to do and see!
It has been another lovely and eventful week here in Boston. The weather has been gorgeous, whether in the 70’s or the 50’s, and we squeezed in quite a few activities! We have definitely gotten more use out of the Charlie Tickets (passes for the T) we got this week than we did last week. Now that we are at our half way point into the month, we finally have the transit all figured out. We can walk to the orange line Back Bay station, which is about a half mile, or to the Copley Square green station, which is almost a mile, or we can grab the bus, right on our block, take it to Downtown Crossing, where most of the lines come in. Yep, we’ve got it all figured out.
This past weekend was just as awesome as last weekend, and we kicked it off Friday night by taking the green line out to Newton to have a late lunch and get picked up by our friend Steve who lives out in Needham. We went over to his place so Christopher could help fix his computer (he’s good like that!). I should tell you now that Steve’s 7-year-old son is ADORABLE!!! He and I had many conversations, including why we weren’t going to use the resistance band on the side table and use it to sling ourselves across the living room. After Christopher almost fixed everything, we headed back to our place for an early bedtime to prepare for the early wake up on Saturday morning.
Now… it was time for the activity I had been MOST looking forward to – the DUCK TOUR!!! It was EXACTLY as amazing as I expected, and helped me check off some to-do’s on my list. We saw Newbury Street and now I know that I can’t even afford to walk down it, so check! We learned a ton of the history of Boston, and there is so much to learn, so there’s another check! I really can’t begin to explain how awesome this amphibious tour is, you are just going to have to do it for yourself. So instead, here are some pictures from the tour:
Our cute official picture before the tour!Our ConDucktor, Skipper the Skydiver!The staircase from the movie The Departed – the stairs go nowhere…A really cool looking building. 🙂Actual piece of the Berlin Wall!Going into the Charles River!!Only free housing in Boston – the Suffolk County JailI drove the Duck!
After the tour was over, we headed out to catch the commuter rail, which was extra money and not included in our T passes (major disappointment) so that we could go to Salem, Massachusetts! Everyone we talked to told us it would be a lot less cool than we thought, but I couldn’t be this close to the town of the historic witch trials and not at least see it! Unfortunately, everyone was right. The Salem Witch Museum, which we were told is pretty much the only “must-do” was booked solid through 5PM (it was 1:00 at the time) and by then we needed to be back on the train to get home to the pups. So that would NOT work. Instead, we walked around, went to the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, which includes a replica of a 1797 East Indiaman ship. That was pretty cool, and we pretended we were sailing on the ship:
Christopher in a HammockMe doing what I do best – sleeping on the job!
Then we headed over to the House of Seven Gables, one of the oldest homes in the nation, and the one that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel of the same name. It was really fascinating, they have restored the home to represent 300 years of it’s history, and there were even some secret passages we got to go through. Definitely worth it! By that point, we were feeling that we came, saw and conquered Salem, and it was safe to head back while still saying we experienced it. I’d say it was a pretty successful Saturday!
And yet Sunday was just as exciting! When we were at the SoWa Open Market a couple weeks ago with Andrew and Inga, they had told us about the Head of the Charles Regatta taking place at Harvard, and invited us to go along with them. Sunday was the day to do that, so we hopped on the red line and made our way out to Harvard Square. Now, here’s an interesting Boston tidbit – you know how usually, when a city calls something a “square” it means it is.. well… a SQUARE?! Apparently in Boston, they don’t really abide by that rule. Sure Copley Square is an actual square, and there are many others that are, but Harvard Square – is SO NOT A SQUARE. It’s still cool, but I feel like if you are going to call something a “square” …. anyways, I digress.
We met up with Andrew and Inga and ate at a restaurant that was really confused. It is called Flat Patties, but also houses (temporarily) a Mexican taqueria. You had to order in different places for the different food, and they shared a very tiny kitchen. Since I wanted tacos and Christopher wanted a sandwich, this proved to be a little difficult, but somehow we figured it out and got it done. After a very filling lunch, we hit the roads and went to Harvard. I decided on the spot to enroll there since the rumors are true. Harvard is not only one of the top colleges in the nation, it is also one of the most beautiful campuses. Since I’ve seen a handful of other college campuses in my lifetime, this pretty much makes me an expert. After walking down by the Charles River and watching the crew teams for a bit, we headed deeper into the campus. The problem with actually watching the Regatta is that it makes no sense. The teams have to leave at different times because the Charles River has a couple of tricky bends that they can’t all be in at the same time, so even if a team looks like it might be winning, it probably isn’t.
We found Harvard Yard, and I practiced saying “I pahked my cah at Hahvahd Yahd” which Christopher said I totally bombed. I guess I’ll never be a true Bostonian because I can’t do the accent. It’s sad. We decided to head back to Harvard Square to do a little shopping – as Christopher said “Just mention shopping to Danielle, and she’s in” – he says it like it’s a bad thing?!
We found some cool boutiques, stores and even a cupcake shop (yes, we ate there. DUH.) before heading to the Coop (read Co-op), where they have Harvard merchandise, text books, and a giant bookstore that was big enough to make me want to cry and move in. Walking around that store took about an hour, it was that awesome and big, and then it was time to head home. I’d like to quickly give thanks again to Andrew and Inga for being awesome tour guides. (They love getting shout-outs in the blog haha)
Stay tuned for more adventures in Boston next week, and don’t forget my new Thursday posts where I highlight some specific things to do or see!
As you read in my Monday post – I have been tied to my computer for the past week and a half working on a big project, and yesterday, I finally finished!! Which meant that Christopher and I had to go out and celebrate, and we found two new AWESOME places in the North End, and they have inspired this blog post – 5 of my new favorite things in Boston!
1. Saus – This place is AMAZING!!! First of all, it’s affordable, which we have found out is not that common in Boston. If you look in the picture below, they actually write out what you do on that big support column, which is good, because when you walk in and first see the place, it’s a bit confusing. Their menu is amazing, all sandwiches are $8 – and they are big! I chose the CBJ – Cookie Butter, Bananas, and Jam on wheat toast, while Christopher had the Sloppy Jacques, basically the most gourmet Sloppy Joe’s I’ve ever seen on a brioche roll. And then of course we had to get their famous “frites” and decide from their THIRTEEN dipping “saus”-es – I chose the Vampire Slayer, garlic + garlic + mayo, and Christopher chose the Ole Chipotle, which is chipotle in adobo, lime juice, cilantro, and mayo. The food was so good! After I finished my sandwich, the girl next to us had received hers, which was a crispy chicken with pickles and their special mayo. I instantly had food envy, even though I was stuffed to the gills. We will DEFINITELY be going back.
2. Improv Asylum – Maybe you are the opposite of me, and don’t like to laugh. If that’s the case, definitely do NOT go to Improv Asylum. Fortunately for everyone involved, I LOVE to laugh – and the Improv Asylum did not disappoint. Every night they have a different show/theme with different cast members and we will DEFINITELY be going back! Tickets are $15 each or if you buy them through goldstar.com – with fees, they are $10.50. There isn’t a bad seat in the house, and these folks love to prove that every chance they get. It was as interactive as improv normally gets, with them asking questions of the audience and building scenes based on their lives. One show we definitely want to check out is their Friday night midnight show – The Show Against Humanity – a show based on the party game, Cards Against Humanity.
3. Gracie Finn – This shop, which happens to be on our block, features a lovely yet eclectic mix of merchandise. When we walked in I wanted to buy EVERYTHING. Unfortunately (as mentioned in previous posts) we are not yet rich, so that would have been impossible. From awesome journals and to do lists, to scented candles and cookbooks, this place has a ton to choose from. I picked up this cute little tin of bicycle sticky notes for my Project Life, but also because who doesn’t need cute sticky notes?!?
4. South End Buttery – I had actually found this place online before we even came to Boston. When we booked our home on airbnb.com, I immediately googled “south end” to see what it was like, and one of the first things to pop up is the website for this gem. Every morning this place is HOPPING, people wanting fresh coffee, juice, and handmade breakfast sandwiches. They also have a “market” where you can pick up some of their goodies to go, and a small bar and restaurant in the back for those dinner-time needs. We’ve been there for both breakfast and after dinner drinks and this cute little local eatery hasn’t steered us wrong yet. I HIGHLY recommend!
5. Comicazi – Let me preface by saying that while I am a self-proclaimed “nerd,” I’ve never actually been into comic books. So, my trips to comic book stores have been very few and far between, most of them existing in the TV show “The Big Bang Theory” (because that’s real life!). We went out to this shop in Somerville on one of our first nights here to see a stand up show, Geek Comedy Night. (Can you tell by now that Christopher and I love to laugh?!) When you walk into the shop you are ASSAULTED in the best possible way by comic books, graphic novels, superhero figurines, nerd games (I had a couple of them already), etc etc etc! Again, I’ve never really been into comic books, but their selection of graphic novels, including fan fiction pieces for Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars, was enough to keep my attention for quite awhile. I would like to quickly interject here that there was NO Harry Potter graphic novel to be seen. Perhaps someone should get on that and write me one. Then you walk into the back of the shop where the stage and chairs are set up and you have entered the childhood of your dreams. Action figures of all shape, size, age, etc. were there. I can’t even begin to describe the kind of heaven that existed in that back room. You will have to see for yourself!
And there you have it. Five of my new favorite things in Boston… Hopefully next week I will have another five for you! Stay tuned, I post every Monday and Thursday!!
Now that we’ve been in Boston for over a full week, I can officially say I’ve fallen in love. Not “I’ve fallen in love and will move to Boston forever and ever” – more like “I’ve fallen in love and if Christopher and I ever get really rich, we will be snowbirds with a home in Boston.” Or “if we ever have kids I will make them go to one of the million colleges in Boston (on scholarship of course) so I can come visit all the time.” It has been wonderful walking around everywhere, taking the T and the bus, heck, it’s even been wonderful with how cold it has been. How many times do I get to wear my coat, scarf and boot cuffs / leg warmers in October?! NEVER in Florida. Our week has been mostly uneventful, I’ve been working like a dog on a huge assignment that is ALMOST done (thank goodness!) so I’ve pretty much been tied to my computer. But we definitely made up for lost time over the weekend!
So Saturday morning, I was feeling kinda “bummy” and Christopher had made plans for us to go to a Game Watch with an old college friend of his Andrew, and Andrew’s new and awesome wife, Inga. I should tell you now that the college team is the Iowa Hawkeyes, not to be confused with the Iowa Hotguys. (That still cracks me up!) Since I wasn’t really feeling up to hanging out, I decided to stay home. So after a WONDERFUL facetime session with my niece and nephew, Christopher left and I crocheted and watched Desperate Housewives. I never watched it when it was on, and Netflix lets us correct our past mistakes. Well, Christopher kept texting me things I was missing. Like the guy who was wearing an Iowa Quidditch t-shirt – and by the way, he didn’t even know what Quidditch was!!! I know, I was insulted too. Or the fact that he was ordering buffalo shrimp, one of my favorites. So finally, I decided to get off my butt, put on some real clothes, hop on the Silver Line #5, and head downtown to the bar Christopher was at.
I got a little lost trying to find the little alley way the bar was in, but that only made me happier, which is totally weird, I know. But there’s something about getting a little lost and then finding your way that makes you feel like you finally put in the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle. So the bar, called the Barracuda Tavern, was tiny, and it was filled with Iowa Hawkeye fans! It was crazy that so many people from Iowa were now in Boston. But I guess the alternative would be staying in Iowa?? When I got there, Christopher had a Downeast Cider waiting for me (I talked about them in my Thursday blog, so yummy!) and I ordered some food and settled in to chit chat and make new friends.
After a few hours, we decided to hit the road and go up a few blocks to a karaoke “studio” place – you know like the kind you see in movies. They have little private rooms you can rent, but also a public space for sharing your songs. We got there and found out we had about an hour before the public room would open and all the private rooms were reserved. So we went a couple doors down to a cheap dive bar called The Tam and had another drink. Christopher ran home to let the dogs out, and when he came back, it was time to head over to karaoke. We sang our butts off, as Christopher and I are known to do, and were home to walk the dogs by 10 pm. It was a great day and I met some awesome new people, plus I got to spend time with Andrew and Inga, which is always a plus!
So then yesterday, Sunday, we woke up lazily and bought our tickets for the duck tour for next weekend (you get a discount if you book a 9 or 9:30 AM tour online!) and decided to do some of the Freedom Trail. Now, since we are NOT yet made of money, and Christopher promised me the duck tour, I compromised and agreed that we didn’t have to pay a million dollars for a costumed actor to take us on the Freedom Trail. Instead, I downloaded a free app that would tell us a little bit about each stop, which then asked me to pay $3.99 to get all the background information after stop #1. The good news is that each stop on the Freedom Trail has their own little placard or information regarding why it’s a stop. We did about half of the freedom trail because we were losing the afternoon sun and in downtown, with all the skyscrapers, once you lose the sun, it’s game over if you didn’t bring a coat. Which we didn’t, because it was warm enough to not need one when we set out.
I won’t tell you about every stop we saw on the Freedom Trail, because really, you need to come to Boston yourself and do it. It’s awesome, the city of Boston has a red line in the sidewalk and road that takes you everywhere you need to go, so you don’t need a tour guide. And there are a bunch of little free museums, houses, and churches on the way (and some that cost money), for you to check out and learn the history of Boston.
The Old State House – Oldest Public Building in Boston
And now for your viewing pleasure, some pictures of what Buster and Maddie do during the day while I work:
Also, if this data entry thing doesn’t work out, I think I could be a pet photographer. At least of our pets. 🙂
Stay tuned next week for another installment of life on the road! And don’t forget about my new series every Thursday about my favorite tips, places, etc. in each city!
Well, we’ve been here for less than a week and already we’ve experienced and seen so much! I wanted to talk about all of the cool and neat things we’ve done, but there was one thing that was so FANTASTIC, that it deserves its own blog!
If you are ever in Boston during the warmer months, and you are here on a Sunday, you HAVE to go to the SoWa Open Market. They will be shutting it down at the end of October and re-opening in May, but I assure you, it’s worth it!! One part farmer’s market, one part arts and crafts market, one part vintage market and one part food truck bazaar make up this ridiculous circus of stimulation for anyone who likes, well, anything. There is something for everybody! Here is a list of my favorite vendors that we saw:
1. Fille de Ferme – This woman makes all of these jellies and jams by hand! There were so many amazing-sounding flavors, I couldn’t decide which one I wanted!! I asked for a taste of the Bartlett Pear with nectarine, and goodness GRACIOUS! It was so sweet and delicious, with chunks of real pear! Of course I had to buy one of these adorable little jars for only $8 – hooray for future breakfasts!
2. Creative Hands Boston – I ended up speaking to the woman who owns this shop and her mother for about 10 minutes, because they are doing a dream of mine – making money from crochet! They actually gave me a few awesome tips and I can’t wait to try them out. Check out their etsy shop, they have so many cute and affordable items!
3. Fudge Everything! – These lovely ladies make the most delicious (you guessed it) FUDGE!! It was so so so delicious! I didn’t buy any, which makes me sad. Perhaps I should go back this weekend and remedy this tragedy… Anywho, they use all natural ingredients and do NOT use any corn syrup! How awesome is that?! Go on their Facebook page and throw them a “like” – they don’t even have 500 and that is just SAD.
4. Downeast Cider – I LOVE Cider. I have never been a beer drinker, but recently started drinking Cider, and this local Cider brewery is unbelievable! They came to the show with four flavors: Original, Cranberry Blend, Hard Honey, and Lemonade Blend. The Hard Honey tasted like…. well… the cotton candy of cider! I loved it so much that Christopher went on Living Social and bought us two tickets to tour the brewery (yep, he loves me!) and I couldn’t be more excited. 🙂
5. Stern Design Works – This husband and wife team is incredible. They make jewelry and pendants out of metal and resin and they look like little petri dishes with the most gorgeous and beautiful colors. They even have some resins that glow in the dark! Lovely enough to talk to me about their process for a good 10 minutes, they explained that they do every single step by hand, using only raw materials, nothing is purchased pre-made. I was so fascinated! The products were a little out of my budget, but it completely made sense because of all the work they put into it! I may have to save up for one of their necklaces!!
And there you have it. There were so many more amazing vendors, artists, providers, etc., I wish I could tell you about every single one. You will just have to come out here and experience it for yourself!!
Don’t forget to follow my blog, and check out my post next Thursday about 5 interesting places I found in Boston.
Isn’t it funny how when you plan something in advance it feels like it will NEVER GET HERE?! Like when you plan a vacation for August in January (something we did) and it doesn’t feel like you are ever going to get to go on the trip until you are packed up and in some mode of transportation to take you away. Well, that is exactly how I felt when we made this decision a few months ago! However, as you’ve read on previous blog posts, this journey required much more than choosing which suitcase to stuff a few outfits into. I’m not sure if the planning and plotting made the trip feel further away or closer, but now that we are here, JUST as I predicted, all of those struggles were 100% worth it!!
In order to make the drive from Orlando to Boston MUCH easier, we decided to do it over three days and make two stops. Also, this way Christopher could visit some customers on the way. Wednesday morning, we woke up super early, packed up the van, ate some breakfast with my dad and his girlfriend, and got on the road. I did most of the driving because Christopher had to do some work emails and conference calls in the car. Have I ever told you how much I normally do NOT like to drive?! Somehow though, in the van, I don’t mind it as much. Mostly. Thanks to a WONDERFUL friend (Julie) who lent me her log in information for audible.com, I was able to handle it better than usual while listening to a book on tape. The first full day of driving went by without too much of a hitch, we were able to check into our hotel right before dinner time, get to bed at a reasonable hour, etc. I should tell you at this point, Tuesday night we had re-packed and set up a suitcase with clothes and whatnot for the hotels so no, we did NOT unpack the entire car in Raleigh.
The next morning, I did a little work at the hotel while Christopher went with his rep on the customer visits. Thanks to another wonderful friend (Cindy) I had asked ahead of time for a late check out, so by the time I was leaving the hotel at 2 pm, I was able to head over to Durham to pick Christopher up from his last appointment. We then drove the next 4-5 hours into Alexandria and had dinner with my cousin Shannon and her son Tobin. It was awesome seeing them and their house. I usually see her at least once a year, but usually in Florida or Minnesota, never where she lives now. Over pizza, I very sneakily asked how difficult it would be to get from I-395 back on to I-95, already knowing from a peak at Google Maps that I-395 takes you through downtown DC, even though it’s out of the way. I had convinced Christopher to get up early and drive me through there so I could see a couple sights in real life. We are definitely planning a month in Alexandria/DC, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t be THAT close to Pentagon, Washington Monument, Capitol Building, etc., and not look at them. Christopher loves me, a lot. 🙂
After an amazing yet quick drive, we were on our way to Boston!! By 3 PM we were parked in front of the building and unloading our stuff. First lesson in Boston, PARKING SUCKS. Royally. We had already spoken with Christopher’s friend in Needham and he agreed to let us park our car there for the month. But unpacking was an interesting adventure in itself. They were re-paving the block we are living on so we couldn’t even get there. We went and parked in a resident spot just for a few minutes to get the keys and get the dogs inside (shh, don’t tell the Boston Authorities!). On our way back to the car, Christopher asked the men working on the paving if we could please park somewhere on the block because we were moving in. They agreed to let us, which was a miracle! An hour later we had everything unloaded, and after a quick stop for a much-deserved drink, we were on our way to Needham to hang out with Christopher’s friend Steve and drop off the car.
Long story short, we’ve been in Boston for a few days now and as I predicted – I am in LOVE!! The first couple days were cloudy and overcast and we still trudged up and down city streets exploring. It turns out Boston Common and Public Garden (Boston’s answer to “Central Park”) are about a half a mile away from us, so we definitely had to go there on our first full day.
Boston Common in October
Interesting tidbit to note – there is a dog park about a block and a half away!! It’s awesome because cities aren’t exactly known for their rolling green grassy areas, and even though Buster will pee on the tree planter right outside our front door, Maddie is a little pickier, and likes to take her time. So every time we take them out to go to the bathroom (which is at minimum three times a day) we take them to the dog park and let them run around and meet new friends! So far, we have only encountered respectful dog owners, which is a major plus.
Our trip so far has been so wonderful and eventful already! In fact, I will be changing this blog up a bit this week! I am going to continue my Monday morning posts to keep everyone up to date with our adventures and good times, but I’m adding a new post every Thursday to highlight my favorite places to go and things to do in each city we visit. I was going to wait a week to start it, but I already have enough things from the past few days to write a full blog about it!
Finally, here we are. We decided to leave on October 1st (swinging through a couple cities for Christopher to make customer visits), which means only a couple days left before we are on our adventure! As you know from reading the blog, this journey thus far hasn’t always been easy, but there have definitely been some teachable moments. It has been no different with wrapping up our loose ends.
First and foremost, we are traveling with our two furbabies, which is an adventure in and of itself! My friend Julie shared this AMAZING article she found with me – 7 Tips for traveling with a dog – and I took it to heart! Because we rescued Maddie, she was already microchipped, we just needed to get Buster chipped too. Plus it was already time for their shot updates, so a trip to the vet was in order! Christopher took them to their first visit, but forgot to ask them to microchip Buster, but it wasn’t a terrible tragedy, they needed to come back in for a booster shot in 2-3 weeks anyways, so he scheduled another appointment.
Taking ONE dog to the vet is super fun (right…), so taking two dogs is the best day EVER. Buster is too smart for his own good and knew where we were right away and whined the entire time. He even shook a little, poor baby was so scared. Maddie on the other hand wanted to smell and lick everything. Luckily, our vet is AMAZING (Westmonte Animal Clinic for those of you in the Seminole County area) and they are so patient and gentle. About 30 minutes of successfully NOT pulling my hair out (I know, I’m awesome), the pups and I were ready to head out and go back home. I should add how much they LOVE the car. Seriously. It must be a dog thing….
And now, both dogs are linked up to their microchip systems (they are each on a different website, OF COURSE), and every month, as soon as we reach our new temporary home, I will go in and update the address we have on file. That way if God forbid something happens to them and we need to go in and say they are lost, it will alert vets and shelters in the area where we are, rather than back home – since that wouldn’t do us any good.
Maddie – short for Madeline StuartThis is Buster – short for Buster Brown
The second and third loose ends were to sell my Volvo (I’m still a little sad about that one) and Christopher’s motorcycle (he’s probably still sad about that one). Just like with renting our house, we hit up friends and family first to see if there was interest. There was, of course, we have awesome vehicles, but nothing worked out. Which was okay, we still love ALL the friends that these deals were discussed with, so don’t worry if you are one of them and reading this. I PROMISE.
The time had come to list them on craigslist. We got many emails and phone calls for both, but no serious takers. We had a few people come out to look at them, but again, the only offers we would receive were way too low at the time. And then before we knew it, it was time to move into my dad’s, and instead of having ONE vehicle (like we had planned) we still had THREE. This was getting MESSY. The day Christopher and I (and our amazing family) went back to the house to clean it up for the renters (Packin’ It Up – Part 2!) we had a couple come out to look at the car from Melbourne.
After a test drive with Christopher, they asked us if we could deliver it to them in Melbourne. Why couldn’t they take it that day, you ask? Ahh, yet another kink in our plan. We had paid off the car at the beginning of the month in September, and every day I had called the DMV to see if the title had been released to the state yet. And every day to that point, it had not. I knew the bank had already released it on their end, so I knew we were waiting for the third party company to move the document through the state, but GOODNESS!! So, anyways, we didn’t have the title that day, therefore, we couldn’t actually sell it just yet. The next week the only day I had free to drive out was Wednesday, so we agreed that I would drive out that day (and my amazing cousin would meet me out there and bring me back, and he lives in Port Orange!) and do the exchange. She had given us a check deposit, just so we knew she was serious.
So Monday I called the DMV again, and still no title. I can’t even tell you how worried I was at that point! Tuesday I had planned to spend the entire day in Lake Mary (about 45 minutes away from my dad’s house) because I had two doctor’s appointments scheduled (both in Lake Mary). After my first doctor’s appointment I called again. This was my last chance. Not really, because I could have gotten it Wednesday morning, but dangit, I was already out and had time to kill. IT WAS RELEASED!!!! I drove straight to the DMV, got my title, emailed the woman purchasing the car, and got very excited at how well everything was turning out. She called me, and told me where to meet her, and everything was perfect.
And yet, the next day, I got lost three times trying to get to her. I thought she had said the McDonald’s off the Melbourne exit, but she said the MALABAR exit. Two totally different things. So then I had her send me the address for the McDonald’s she was at (oh how I love having GPS right in the phone), and somehow it took me to the middle of nowhere. Turns out the street she was on had some specific cardinal directions. Long story short, I FINALLY found her (an hour after I was supposed to meet her), and we sold the car and everything was great.
The motorcycle’s story isn’t quite as dramatic, but after a particular guy called and asked for more pics, he drove all the way down from Gainesville to purchase it. And of course, while he was on his way, we had a hard time getting the motorcycle to start. It normally runs pretty well, but it has its problems (don’t we all??), and this night (yes it was night time now) it was pulling out all the stops. So Christopher is charging it, and it starts RAINING. When the guy is about 30 minutes out, Christopher calls him to warn him that there is a chance we won’t be able to get it to start, but we are trying. The guy was very cool, and didn’t seem to mind to much. Sure enough, right as the guy turned down the street for my dad’s house, Christopher gets the bike started up. The guy was happy, the motorcycle was sold, and we went inside to do a happy dance for the final MAJOR piece in the loose end puzzle.
Stay tuned next week to find out how our first week and weekend of traveling goes when we get to Boston!! Don’t forget to follow the blog!
The adventures of me, my husband, and our two dogs as we pack it up and journey the East Coast for one year.
The Babbling Nomad 