...more today than yesterday...: Boston, MA

In the fall of 2010, on my way to a conference I was bumped off a flight in exchange for a substantial voucher. I told Ty to pick anywhere Southwest flew for our next vacation, and he quickly came to the conclusion of Boston & Northern New York. We researched & planned, and before we knew it, it was time to get on our flight - that ended up costing each of us just over $1 out of pocket each way! =) Our first stop was Boston. We arrived in Boston anxious to start our adventure and headed straight for the rental car company. As we pulled up, we noticed there weren't many options in the lot - turns out their shortage was our advantage! Because we had pre-reserved, we were guaranteed a vehicle, so we ended up getting a free upgrade to a Cadillac STX with less than 600 miles on it. Ty was thrilled at our good fortune!! Once we were loaded up in our stylish ride, we attempted the chaos that is Boston Traffic. Oh. My. Goodness. I've lived in some pretty major cities and have visited other large metropolises. Nothing compared to Boston. We finally got out of the airport area and into downtown (quite the feat in and of itself... Mapquest maps look great when you're sitting at home, but it's a whole different story when you're on the new and unfamiliar paths!!!), where our biggest foes were the pedestrians crossing the street wherever and whenever they pleased! Drivers downtown were fairly friendly - which was good since we had to share the large open space that was one road with no lane markings! (Really? No lane markings?? We had no idea whether it was one lane or seven at times! Guess and pray hard was the solution to that craziness!) and FINALLY it was exploration time! We began with the 2 1/2 mile "follow the red brick road" Freedom Trail, which is full of an amazing amount of history. We were so in awe at the history we were getting to observe. We saw:
- The Boston Common
- The State House
- Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground, King's Chapel, including some of the most famous grave sites of our nation's fathers, including Samuel Adams.
- Benjamin Franklin Statute
- Boston Massacre site
- Paul Revere House

After our tour of our nation's beginnings, we enjoyed a true Boston pub meal, including fresh seafood for my husband, and some local brews for both of us! On our tour, we walked through Boston's "little Italy" and saw loads of people walking around with boxes from "Mike's." We decided it must be good if we saw that many people displaying evidence of their fondness, so decided to keep a look-out for it. Our keen eyes (and maybe some help from our friend the Internet & mobile map - seriously, what did people do before smart phones!) eventually found the mecca. The back wall was filled with trays of goodies, and the display cases were stuffed with more canoli varieties than you could ever imagine. We each chose our favorite flavor and headed back on our adventure. Later that night in our hotel room (we were WAY too stuffed from the pub food to eat our canoli down town) we were able to indulge in one of the most delicious treats ever! Crispy shell, smooth creamy filling, not too sweet, but just enough. Scrumptious!! The perfect way to end our first day.
Downtown Boston: