One of the gifts that I gave Candace for her Valentine’s Day was she got to pick anywhere in the nation to spend my birthday. (Which happened to fall on Easter this year.) After thinking about MANY options, she finally decided to go to New England. She was curious to see why Boston was a solid number two on my list of favorite cities.
Well, we just got back a couple days ago and this is the jist of our trip.
Hartford, CT- We flew into Hartford because it was right between New York City and Boston. We wanted to see both of those cities so we thought that it would be a nice base location. That is about all it was for us. We didn’t really take any time to look at Hartford.
New York, NY- I do like New York, but only for a short amount of time. Candace and I got there in the early afternoon and it was already bustling. Our first stop was the Apple Soho store. It was kind of hard to locate on the street. New York has a policy that if a building is determined as historical then you can not change the outside of it (even though you can gut the inside and do whatever you want in there.) The Apple Store was on Greene St, in the old Post Office building. Other then the big windows looking inside, the only thing Apple was allowed to put on the outside was a hanging metal sign with the apple logo. To be honest, the simplistic look increased the charm. The store was very busy!!
We took the subway up to Times Square. It too was very busy. Personally, I like all of the action. Even though it was cold, the naked cowboy was there singing songs and taking pictures for the crowd. That fella gets alot of attention. He is alot buffer then then last time I was there. Still disgusting. Candace took a picture with him. That was funny.
After driving around for a bit trying to find the Hot Dog joint mentioned in “Fools Rush In”, we finally decided we had enough of the hustle and bustle of New York. We took a few detours to get out of Manhattan and took drives thru the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Long Island.
Boston, MA- Oh how I love this city. Second only to San Francisco, this place really does something to me. I love the history and even more I love the personalities there. The Boston natives are so easy to talk with. You can crack a joke at their expense and they’ll do it right back.
Candace and I took some time to see all of the historical parts of Boston. We walked where the Boston Massacre happened. We tip-toed thru the graveyard that Sam Adams, Mother Goose, John Hancock, and Paul revere were buried. Speaking of Paul Revere, we went across the little water way and saw the exact view of the chapel that Paul Revere had before he borrowed a horse and rode off into the night and triggered the shot heard round the world. I was glad to hear that the city of Boston had a law in place to protect that view. There can be no buildings built in that area that will obstruct the view of the chapel. We moseyed around the Boston Commons and saw the original Cheers Bar. We visited Fenway Park and saw the old and worn out stadium. It was announced recently that the Boston Red Sox would continue to play in Fenway even though it was worn down. I was very glad to hear that. The magic of that area is amazing. We hurried thru the Boston Aquarium. This is the most visited site in Boston. Even though the animals were really neat (penguins, sharks, sea turtles, etc) I didn’t like the feel of the place. It was dark, kind of musty, real crowded and people packed in. More then once I wanted to give some of the kids a REAL good view of the sharks.
I really like Boston and suggest it as THE destination on the East Coast.
Enfield, NH- My Uncle and Aunt live in Enfield as he goes to Dartmouth College. This is the second time I’d visited and I like it there alot. For dinner, we went to the Enfield House of Pizza. A humble joint, but good food and the only place to eat at 8pm.
Sharon, VT- This is the birth place of Joseph Smith. I went here last year and was really caught up in the Spirit of the place. I was expecting it again this time but was again overwhelmed by it. The monument was erected about a hundred years ago to remember the Prophet. When you stand there, you can really feel how the heavens must have cheered to see his birth happen. They knew that finally the Gospel Of Christ was in action to be restored. When I say “they” I guess I should say “we”. I believe that i was there too cheering. When you stand there, you really sense that no one , except Jesus himself, has done more for all mankind. I love that feeling. The scriptures teach it, that location (among others) confirms it.
Providence, RI- I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this city. I had never been to Rhode Island and I didn’t know what to expect. As Candace and I drove into the city, it was strangely empty. Like most major cities, the downtown business district shuts down for the weekend. Here we were in the middle of a state capitol and there were rarely more then 15 people within site. It was awesome. The city itself looks alot like a mini Boston. The buildings are old and classic. Candace and I found a great deal on a hotel right downtown and then just walked around a bit. There is a big waterway that runs thru downtown and the city has done an awesome job of keeping it visible. There are walkways, bridges, benches, bleachers and plenty of places to just enjoy the river. I really liked it. Candace and I had a nice birthday dinner of Pulled Pork and for dessert they had these homemade cinnamon and sugar donuts with a strawberry syrup dip. Now that was good!!
That was our trip in a nutshell. It was fun. I added two new states to my list for a total of 28 states, or 54%. You can see the updated map here.
Also, I have put a few of our pictures online if anyone wants to see them. You can click on any of the thumbnails and it will load a bigger picture with a description. Find them here.
If any of you have comments about any of these cities, I’d like to hear them.