One If By Land, Two If By Sea

What a wonderful, action-packed brithday weekend! I just loved having Lisa come to Rhode Island to see my stomping grounds and having Dan join us in Boston. And on top of that, we did a ton of exploring... Boston on Friday, Newport on Saturday, and Providence on Sunday. I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog (eee!), but I can't be up too late tonight. (Tomorrow morning I am going to Arizona to help Mike with a couple of immunization training sessions.) That being said, I'm going to stick to writing about Friday night on this post.

I took my very first vacation day from work on Friday (I love my job, but I needed a break), slept in (my favorite), and then picked up Lisa at the airport. For an airport its size, the Boston Logan Airport is very easy to navigate. I mean, I have gotten a little turned around half of the times I was leaving the airport, but I think I've got it down. Lisa and I met Dan in the South End for lunch, then began our quest on the Freedom Trail.

The Freedom Trail is a 3-mile, self-guided tour that highlights 18 Revolutionary War landmarks. Starting in Boston Common (the nation's oldest park), a red-line on the sidewalks directs you through one of America's most historic cities. (I *love* that it is so easy to walk around in Boston... everything is very compact but somehow doesn't feel congested.) Rather than go into detail on every stop, I think I'll tell this story with pictures.

An outside view of the Boston Public Library... We didn't make it inside, but I've read about all of the neat things they have there. I'll have to go back there by myself.

A view of Boston Common- so refreshing to see some green in the city

The Massachusettes Statehouse is next to Boston Common

Dan's hero, Benjamin Franklin

This looks like it belongs in the movie National Treasure

Old South Meeting House

There was a firetruck and a decent size crowd, but we never figured out what was really going on

Paul Revere's house is on the left. We took a tour of it, but they wouldn't let you take any pictures, even without the flash. It always blows my mind to think about how people used to live.

We stopped in the North End to visit a must on Dan's list, Mike's Pastries. I was skeptical at first (we all know how much I love sweets!), but the canolis we had were to die for.

Can you believe that this is a picture of marzipan? They could have passed for real fruit

We cut back through Boston Common after getting off the train, and I saw two things I love...

1. Hostas

2. Weddings- the bride was gorgeous (we saw her at the hotel across the street later)

I love the old and the next are right next to each other... isn't this a great picture of Lisa?

Ok, I know I am missing some details, but I am falling asleep at my computer. I will write more,soon!

Goodnight...