Boston

Posted by Joel

I was going to wait for Natalie to post on this subject, but decided that since she's been busy with lots of things I'd go ahead and post. And, alas, I don't have pictures so you'll have to wait for Natalie to post for those!

Turbulence
I take Dramamine to curb my motion sickness when I fly. I haven't really had a problem. However on the descent into Boston we hit heavy winds. The turbulence was so bad that even the lady in front of us (who says she's never before gotten sick on a plane) was having trouble and had to fan herself to avoid throwing up. At first I was simply like "Wow, that's a lot of sudden drops", but it continued... and continued... and continued... We launched the inflight tracker that shows you a map of the area as the plane flies. I watched the plane shoot over Boston and then move far out over the ocean, and then turn around and begin the long approach. The plane couldn't move fast enough, and I sat there, with the blower full blast on my face, trying to keep my stomach from protesting too much. When we landed, everyone on the plane clapped that we were finally on the ground! It took a few hours to get over the sick-feeling.

Boston City
On Saturday we walked through Boston and saw the historic sites. Though it was cold in the shade, we still tromped around having loads of fun gawking like tourists. Fortunately we had Nick and Christina to tell us about all the sites. They're excellent tour guides! We saw Fennway Park (where the Red Sox play), rode the subway (Parker and Stewart drooled over the pictures), stopped and ate at UNO's Chicago Pizzaria, Stopped by the Boston Library, walked through Boston Commons, walked part of the Freedom trail and saw the graves of a few famous Americans, and, best of all, stopped at Mike's Pastries. YUM YUM! We then headed home. I really like Boston a lot!

Sunday Nap
On Sunday both Natalie and I took a nap. It's been years since we've been able to do that! I would say it was wonderful, and while I did appreciate it, I woke up super-groggy. It took a couple hours to wake up! We enjoyed an leisurely evening.

Monday at the Alcotts
Natalie got sick on Monday. Because of that we laid around a lot, read books, etc. We did take a pass from Christina and tour the Alcott's house. For those who don't know, Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women. It was a fascinating tour, especially since much of the actual furniture the Alcott family used was there, and you could see it in use with old, old photographs. The house felt like the crooked man's house with how much everything had warped over time, but they've done a good job on preserving it so it wouldn't fall apart.

Marblehead
On Tuesday we drove up to Marblehead. It overlooks the beautiful Atlantic Ocean, and Natalie got her first view of the ocean from the shore. We stood there, admiring the view, for a few scant seconds, before scamping back to get out of the frigid wind whistling across the brine-battered rocks from the ocean. Remnants of an old fort during the Revolutionary War perched there on the coast. We also stopped at a very old building and looked at a document that was written in the 1600's. It was very strange thinking back at how long ago that was. Natalie and I didn't realize it, but Nick spend a great deal of time in historic Marblehead for his college work, and we suggested we head back so we could have dinner by 6ish, and I think he missed being able to show us some of the historical areas he'd researched. Sorry Nick!

Headwind
Before we knew it, we said goodbye to Nick as he left for work, and then made our way to the airport. We said goodbye to Mia and Christina, and then flew home. Though the Turbulence didn't sicken anyone, we had a very strong headwind that kept us in the air half an hour longer than normal, and it took 6 hours to fly home.

I love visiting Boston and hope we can again soon! Thanks Christina and Nick! You guys are the best!