I will be going back to my second favorite city on Friday and I couldn’t be more excited. Well, I guess I could say I was more excited the first time around simply because it was my first time going and I’d never experienced it before. Now, I’m incredibly excited because I know exactly what I want to do, see, and visit.
Some of my favorite memories of Boston took place at locations. I got to walk down Lansdowne Street and into Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox play the Astros (a great series featuring two powerhouse teams at the time). I visited Boston harbor and enjoyed fresh Boston lobster (and watched my girlfriend, Brianna, almost throw it up). I went to world-renown universities and was nearly brought to tears when I stood in front of the Harvard Library with my face pressed against the glass after the person at the entrance told me only students and alumni were allowed in.
Taking the T to each of these locations was even fun. Coming from Chicago, taking any of the CTA trains is a hazard that could be dangerous. Whether it be because of sheer ignorance or they were, in fact, safer, getting around using public transportation in Boston was incredibly simple. There weren’t confusing transfer of lines, everything was one way or another; real simple. We went to Boston Harbor and every other location and back without getting lost. Simple to navigate, difficult to leave.
I experienced two fantastic games at Fenway Park, went to a Harvard bar (and fucked up some smaaht kids), visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and hung around Boston University. It was an amazing time and I got to nerd out at each of the amazing universities. I feel I gained a few brain cells just from stepping foot on campus only to lose them once I made my way to the bars. The Harvard “Yahd” was incredible to walk through and seeing the various Harvard Houses was quite the experience.
We eventually made our way to the Boston Commons, a beautiful park that features statues, fountains, long stretches of lawn to lay out on, and beautiful architecture that surround the magnificent area. We had food, watched the swans in the ponds, observed the various people that were shuffling through the park, and even got to see a young couple taking their wedding photos.
The morning we had to leave to come back to Chicago was devastating. Our hotel overlooked the river and right across was Fenway Park, the main reason I’d wanted to come to Boston to begin with, and having to say goodbye to it all was heartbreaking. It was the best vacation I’d been on to date and I am so excited to be returning to that great city in a couple days.
We plan to go to a Red Sox game the night we land when they play the Baltimore Orioles. After having done a lot of sight-seeing last year, we know generally where we’d like to go this year. We can afford to be a little pickier. We will definitely return to Boston Harbor, eat more delicious food, enjoy some alcoholic beverages while experiencing Boston nightlife, and most importantly enjoy time to ourselves where we get to take a hiatus from work, school, and our other obligations.
Drew Schroeder 