Raining Buckets

Today I got off to a bit of a slow start and caught up on the news.  I decided to clean out my bag a bit, which meant I decided to get rid of (drink) the glass Coke bottle you get at the end of the World of Coke tour in Atlanta.  Given its presentation, I figured this had to be some really good soda.  I chilled it nicely and then drank it over ice.  It was pretty much just a Coke.

Meanwhile, it had been raining all morning, and hard at that.  I still don't have a truck until tomorrow morning, so I decided my options were either to stay in the hotel all day (exciting) or catch a train downtown again.  I chose the latter, and sprinted from the hotel to the train station in a hard downpour.  The train parking lot was in the process of becoming a lake.

In downtown, I wandered over into North End for a while and grabbed some lunch followed by gelato and tea.  The latter combination was very tasty.

Shortly thereafter, I met up with Molly and Marco and planned to help Marco inventory shoes in the back of the truck we have access to.  We scrapped that idea quickly due to the rain. Instead we drove around Boston somewhat aimlessly in Marco's rental until deciding we were hungry.  We ended up at Legal Sea Foods, which is a really tasty, upscale seafood place.  I got the crabcake combo, which was extremely flavorful.

After dinner, I took the train back to the hotel.  The dinner wasn't sitting particularly well with my stomach, so I did what any perfectly sane person would decide to do - I went for a 5 mile run in the rain.  It was actually really refreshing.

Also of note, something is screwy about these hotel elevators.  There are two of them, and the floor buttons are on opposite sides in each.  I've probably ridden them 20 times in the last few days, and not once have I turned to the correct side that the buttons are on.  That's even after I made a mental note of which side they were on and in which elevator.  I swear they're changing sides on me or something.

Tomorrow we drive to Webster, MA and set up for Saturday's expo.  It's been fun, Boston.  I'll be back.

Boston: Beer, Rain, Book, Lightning

Today's route (only about 9 miles today):

After switching hotel rooms, I headed out to catch the train and got off a few stops before downtown to check out the Sam Adams (Boston Beer) Brewery.  Besides the fact that I like their beer, we did a big project on the company last winter term, so it was fun to visit. 

I got to sample a couple of unreleased beers and vote on which one should go into production.  They were both good, but the Witbier got my vote.  

The tour explains all the intricacies of making beer, and I got to smell fresh hops and taste 3 different types of malt barley, one of which tastes like grape nuts.

And then of course the tasting room, where we sampled the famous Boston Lager and their Summer Ale.  I also learned more about the Utopias, and will have to try it sometime when I can find it and feel like spending $20 on a drink.

Then I wandered all the way north into downtown.  On the way I wandered through the Theater and Chinatown districts and checked out the Beacon Hill area more fully after yesterday's excursion.  I also sensed rain was on the way, so I bought a book.  I would have eaten at this restaurant simply because of the clever name, but I wasn't hungry at the time.

Boston is still a really cool looking city, even on a rainy, cloudy day.

And then it started raining, so I sat down under cover and read an entire Grisham novel cover to cover in about 4 hours.  It's a little bit of a deviation from classic Grisham, but with the same ability to tell a good story.  It's about a 3rd string NFL quarterback a little too full of himself who finds direction in life by getting sent to play on a no-name league in Italy.

After finishing, I grabbed some clam chowder in a bread bowl, and having nothing else planned for my time downtown, I headed towards the train station.  On my way, I had an attractive girl ask for directions somewhere, and I told her I couldn't help until suddenly it hit me I was carrying an iPhone.  I headed back the other way a couple blocks and found her and managed to give easy directions (well, the phone did most of the work).  After that detour, I had to practically run to catch my train.  Upon getting back to the hotel, I've been treated to a really nice lightning storm out my window.

Tomorrow holds in store... something.  The truck should be ready for pickup, and I still hope to meet up with Brownie before leaving Boston.  Other than that, who knows.

Photo Blogging Boston

After dropping off the truck, I took the train downtown.  Between noon and 10PM, I logged close to 20 miles on foot walking all over downtown, Charlestown, and Cambridge.  After just a day, I really like this city.  It's definitely the kind of place I could see myself living.

The route

The view coming out of the train station

The Freedom Trail - I followed it off and on through downtown into Charlestown.  I like how easy it was to stumble upon.  I saw the red bricks and figured it must be the walking tour.

Boston State House across from Boston Common

A really good street performing 5 gallon bucket drummer being upstaged by a little kid showing off some sweet dance moves in Crocs

Cobbles in North End - Made me think about cycling

A typical North End street.  I really like that part of the city.  Feels very historic and European, plus tons of good-looking eateries.

U.S.S Constitution

U.S.S. Cassin Young and my finger.  I walked around the boat for a while.  Kind of odd/cool that it's managed by the National Park Service.

Bunker Hill Monument - looks familiar, right?

...and the view from the top.  Worth the muggy 294 stair climb.

Wandered over to Cambridge to check out Harvard and MIT.

The Downtown view coming from Cambridge.

If you ever get the chance, watch a group of geese hurriedly eating grass.  More importantly, listen.  It's really funny.

And I saw tons of people wearing Crocs.  Then I ran into the Crocs retail store.  Almost as big as the New York Store.

Tomorrow I plan to head back into Boston and perhaps spend money to do something (aquarium, boat tour, museum of fine art?).  Hopefully I can meet up with Brownie since that didn't work out tonight.