Our 5th anniversary trip to Boston has already come and gone...boy time flies when you're having fun! This was a fabulous and very busy trip! I managed to cram quite a few things in four full days, but I am glad we got to see all that we did. I plan to write five separate LONG blogs about our trip, so if you are bored by number two or three, I'M SO SORRY! I want to make sure I detail as much as I can for my sake and of course for my mom who wants to read about our trip and see as many pictures as possible!
The beginning of the trip did not go as smoothly as planned, and to be honest, I would say it went sorta like "The McGreeveys against Boston!" Let's start with the forecast. Every day, there was a prediction of heavy rain and floods threatening to drown out our plans. This is supposed to be one of the best times to visit Boston, but of all weeks, we were visiting during a time of unseasonably cold weather, rain and fog. I packed my suitcase full of winter clothes and hoped for the best! What else could I do?
You all know that I am not a fan of flying, and I was very nervous the night before we left. Miraculously I was able to fall asleep, but I was wide awake at 5 a.m. and our flight didn't leave until noon. I had seven hours to stew in my nervous insanity! I got myself up to do some yoga and pilates to release some nervous energy, and I had a 6 a.m. quiet time before waking Michael up. On a very exciting and positive note, I actually handled the flying pretty well and was much less nervous that I thought I would be. By the time we landed in Baltimore to get ready for our final flight, I was feeling pretty good. But the day wasn't going to get much better!
We arrive in Baltimore anticipating our quick layover and landing in Boston at 5:40 pm. To our great disappointment, our flight scheduled to leave at 4:15 was now leaving at 8:00 p.m. with the possibility of leaving later due to fog in the Northeast! Ugghhhh! We didn't panic though...instead we found an airport Mexican restaurant and spent $50 on three beers and mediocre Mexican food.
Our flight finally left Baltimore at 7:50 (almost four hours after we were supposed to land in Boston). We arrived in cold and foggy Boston at 9:45 p.m. in the company of many very angry travellers who were also pretty upset about their travel delay, only for things to get a little worse. Let me preface by saying that I never check my luggage. I prefer to carry it on because I know it will arrive safely. But we flew Southwest and you can check for free, and I thought it would be nice not to walk around the airport with my hands full. Well, our luggage had four extra hours to make it to Boston, and we waited and waited and watched the baggage claim carousel spin around and around until it came to a hault without our two red bags. Oh my gosh, my heart sank! We were four hours late, and I was so tired, and all I wanted were my pajamas and a toothbrush!
The best thing that happened all day was the fact that two more delayed flights from Baltimore arrived 30 or so minutes after our flight, and our luggage was on one of the flights. We finally made it to our destination around midnight, and I sank into bed praying for a better morning!
Michael and I stayed with my mom's cousin Jack and his wife Emily and daughter Lydia. They live in the South End of Boston in a beautiful four story brownstone (sorta my dream home) with great views of the Back Bay. It was great to have the opportunity to see my extended family who I have not seen in years. Not only did we get to catch up, but I think it is always great to visit places where you know someone because they always give you the best ideas for traveling around. They were great hosts, and their hospitality made the trip so much better than it would have been by staying in a hotel.
The beginning of the trip did not go as smoothly as planned, and to be honest, I would say it went sorta like "The McGreeveys against Boston!" Let's start with the forecast. Every day, there was a prediction of heavy rain and floods threatening to drown out our plans. This is supposed to be one of the best times to visit Boston, but of all weeks, we were visiting during a time of unseasonably cold weather, rain and fog. I packed my suitcase full of winter clothes and hoped for the best! What else could I do?
You all know that I am not a fan of flying, and I was very nervous the night before we left. Miraculously I was able to fall asleep, but I was wide awake at 5 a.m. and our flight didn't leave until noon. I had seven hours to stew in my nervous insanity! I got myself up to do some yoga and pilates to release some nervous energy, and I had a 6 a.m. quiet time before waking Michael up. On a very exciting and positive note, I actually handled the flying pretty well and was much less nervous that I thought I would be. By the time we landed in Baltimore to get ready for our final flight, I was feeling pretty good. But the day wasn't going to get much better!
We arrive in Baltimore anticipating our quick layover and landing in Boston at 5:40 pm. To our great disappointment, our flight scheduled to leave at 4:15 was now leaving at 8:00 p.m. with the possibility of leaving later due to fog in the Northeast! Ugghhhh! We didn't panic though...instead we found an airport Mexican restaurant and spent $50 on three beers and mediocre Mexican food.
Our flight finally left Baltimore at 7:50 (almost four hours after we were supposed to land in Boston). We arrived in cold and foggy Boston at 9:45 p.m. in the company of many very angry travellers who were also pretty upset about their travel delay, only for things to get a little worse. Let me preface by saying that I never check my luggage. I prefer to carry it on because I know it will arrive safely. But we flew Southwest and you can check for free, and I thought it would be nice not to walk around the airport with my hands full. Well, our luggage had four extra hours to make it to Boston, and we waited and waited and watched the baggage claim carousel spin around and around until it came to a hault without our two red bags. Oh my gosh, my heart sank! We were four hours late, and I was so tired, and all I wanted were my pajamas and a toothbrush!
The best thing that happened all day was the fact that two more delayed flights from Baltimore arrived 30 or so minutes after our flight, and our luggage was on one of the flights. We finally made it to our destination around midnight, and I sank into bed praying for a better morning!
Michael and I stayed with my mom's cousin Jack and his wife Emily and daughter Lydia. They live in the South End of Boston in a beautiful four story brownstone (sorta my dream home) with great views of the Back Bay. It was great to have the opportunity to see my extended family who I have not seen in years. Not only did we get to catch up, but I think it is always great to visit places where you know someone because they always give you the best ideas for traveling around. They were great hosts, and their hospitality made the trip so much better than it would have been by staying in a hotel.
This is the great view from their top floor in Boston. It's even beautiful in the fog!
A view of their top floor
Michael making breakfast one morning before we headed out to sightsee!
So Scarlett would kill me if she saw this, but another great part of staying with Jack and Emily was their dog Foley. He is a Welsh Springer Spaniel, and he looks like a big Scarlett. He was so sweet and cuddly, and I loved him. I guess good taste in dogs runs in our family!
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