Boston the City

 The day had come!! 2 years after qualifying, and 25 years after learning about it and thinking it would be amazing to run it, I finally got to go to Boston to run a Marathon.

I was excited to go to Boston, we both were, because neither of us had been there and it's such a famous city.  We knew it would be cool, but we were surprised with how much we enjoyed it!  Neither of us love big cities, I really dislike them actually.  Too big and impersonal and you can't even see the sun if you're walking down streets of skyscrapers.

But Boston was super charming!  We didn't rent a car so we had to take the subway everywhere, and it was actually really fun!  Not dirty or unsafe like I was afraid of.  There are so many preserved historical buildings throughout the city that the skyscrapers don't take over.  Like you are walking down a street full of tall modern buildings, and you turn a corner and there's an amazing old cemetery or church or meeting hall. So yeah, Boston is my new favorite big city.

Here's us the day after the race.  We rented bikes and rode to the USS Constitution, it was fun.  And here we are with the Freedom Trail in the background!  Over 2 miles of trail between like 25 historical sights all over town.

On Sunday we took the train for an hour to get to church.  Eric wasn't super excited about going but it ended up being such a great Sacrament Meeting full of runners and Harvard and MIT students(the race was the next day). Running testimonies galore!  Afterward we took the train a couple more stops and walked around Harvard. Very cool.

Selfie overload!  The Old North Church (one if by land two if by sea) and my favorite building- the site of the Boston Massacre.  It has an amazing golden lion and Unicorn on top, and it's surrounded by huge buildings!

Cool colonial reinactment guys walking around, and another church I've already forgotten the name of.

Marathon stuff- my name on the wall of 20,000 runners, and me and Marcie at the finish line!

This is the last day- a delicious famous pizza place on the North End. SO good. Regina's.

Eric by a cool bridge and the place where the Celtics play

Me by a cannon on the USS Constitution called "brother Jonathan" haha

Trees in the countryside on the way to the race start!

We got to go to a Red Sox playoff game!!!! I even understood the coolness of such a famous baseball field like Fenway Park.  I don't love baseball, but it was actually SO FUN!!  Eric was in heaven, and the fans around us, although dirty-mouthed, were super friendly and high-fivey to us.  It was really exciting and fun. and they won!

Grasshopper weathervane, and the SWAT guys keeping us safe at the bus loading for the race.

Delicious Italian carbo-loading.

a Beatles coverband show!  Way fun!! and my favorite building again.

The street we stayed on!  about 30 minutes from downtown.  And Bunker Hill!!

a cool street market.

Boston Massacre sight and super cool narrow buildings and streets in the North End.

Ben Franklin statue and the Democrat Donkey with the feet standing in opposition.

graves of the victims of the Boston Massacre, and Ben Franklin's parents. I love old cemeteries!

Civil War Monument- there were a bunch of them!  It's so crazy, being from the West, all we have are WWI and II and Vietnam war monuments.  The Civil War is still in the memory of Boston!

Lobstah Roll and Lobster Tacos!! So fun to try.  

So many cool things.  Thanks Boston.

and the kids had fun with Grandma and Grandpa while we were gone.  Thanks again Mary and Brad :)