I’ve been wondering about this one for a while. I could
start at the beginning – the first time I was in Boston with my dad on my way
to start school in Virginia. Or talk about how my dream in high school was to
go to school in Boston. Or the millions of awesome little things I experienced
when I finally did go to school there. But how do you boil down to a few words
a place that captured your heart and soul? I realized there is way too much to
capture it all, so I’ve decided to go with my first themed adventures.
September: Apple
Picking in Western Mass
My graduate school sponsored an apple-picking trip. I’d
never been before and decided that this would be as good a way as any to get to
know some people. It was wonderful. The weather cooperated and the ground
wasn’t too soggy after relentless rain leading up to the trip. They told us we
could eat as many apples as we wanted while picking and gave us a bag that we
could fill. I don’t think I even knew there were so many kinds of apples before
this trip.
I should also confess, before this trip I didn’t think I
liked apples. Turns out I just hadn’t tried any of types I do like J Discovering I liked
apples was definitely a highlight (and relief) of the trip. So was having
apples to eat for what seemed like forever.
One of the other highlights of this adventure was learning
the art of eating an entire apple. I had heard stories from my Grandma Miller
eating an entire apple – seeds and all – because she was too embarrassed to go
throw away the core in Elementary School. I’m not sure logistically how she did
that, but I learned that eating straight through was the way to go. The seeds,
core and the fuzzyish part at the bottom are not the best part so it’s awesome
to have delicious parts to get back to…
October: Salem
If you have the chance to go to Salem around Halloween time,
I highly recommend it! Interesting characters, who love all things Halloween,
tend to congregate there in general, but it is more pronounced at the end of
October to be sure.
It rained. A lot. I’m glad that didn’t stop my friends from
following through on our plan to go. We wandered around town, through a
cemetery, into some crazy shops, and ducked into a ship for a haunted ship
ghost story adventure. Let me tell you, the increased rocking of the ship due
to storm outside sure added to the mystery and tense feelings of that
adventure. The best part = walking through the dark cemetery in the rain.
Side note: I also wanted to go to the pirate museum. It was
closed while we were there, but the outside was super intriguing. Unfortunately
I never made it back to Salem, but someone should go and tell me about it!
November: Plymouth
Rock
I can’t lie – the rock is anticlimactic. But the plantation
was a blast. (I really did enjoy both, but I’m glad the rock wasn’t the whole
trip). My favorite part of the plantation was the live reenactments. The job of
the people on the plantation and the ship is to be in character. We made it our
job to test them. We came up with the most ridiculous questions and absolutely
loved the quick, clever, in character, responses. I wish I could still remember
some specific examples…
December: Santa
coming in on a Lobster Boat
Picture Marblehead Massachusetts: Quaint coastal town, small
population. It’s winter, the biting wind is blowing in off the ocean. Crowds of
people are waiting to see Santa come in on a lobster boat. And suddenly, there
he is! The crowd cheers!
Then Santa and Mrs. Clause head up the parade that goes down
main street and includes the local cheerleaders (and lasts five minutes :). It
was amazing. We continued the festivities by buying some homemade apple cider
from a local church and then checking out the gingerbread house contest at a
historic landmark. All in all, a wonderful adventure!
