New England ~ Concord, Lexington, Maine ~ Tuesday

On Tuesday morning we rented a car {a first for us} and headed out of Boston. Our first stop was Lexington and Concord. This was one of the areas that Jason most wanted to see, he loves history. Not that I don't, I just prefer relaxing on the beach ;-)

where the battle started

i loved this tree

the lines that are mowed in the grass indicate the routes the troops took

gorgeous view

such a gorgeous day!!

After we visited Concord we headed to Salem. Again, it was somewhat on the way and since we were so close we decided why not. Salem was a cute and accessable little town. It was easy to walk through and led to an enjoyable afternoon.

probably as close as I'll get to seeing my name on a sign

Tallship Friendship.

In the Captain's Quarters

Sailing ;-)

After touring around Salem we headed North to Maine!! Maine is definitely somewhere I would like to go back to someday. It definitely reminded us of the Oregon/Washington Coast, maybe that is why we enjoyed it so much.

we made it to the Atlantic!!

Enjoying the chilly beach!!

Our hotel ~ Atlantic House Hotel

New England ~ Boston ~ Monday

Freedom Trail and Harvard.

Monday was a gorgeous day in Boston. The sun was shining, the humidity was gone thanks to Hurricane Irene, and we enjoyed a long - long walk following the Freedom Trail and then taking the T out to Harvard. It was so nice to just follow a line in the sidewalk to get to where we were going. We did do a few things of the "trail" but it was so easy to get back on that it didn't matter.

Aftermath of Hurricane Irene

On the swan boats :-)

so fun

one of the many churches

Jason loved this little corner

Holocaust memorial

Paul Reever house

Trinity Church

Not that I like the bible - but I like the composition of the shot

follow the trail

Our first Canolli...

We had such a nice time walking around Boston. One thing that made it really enjoyable was we downloaded a free walking tour from iTunes and had it while we walked around. It was so nice not to have our noses stuffed in a book and be able to look up and enjoy the views! Most of the attractions were free or a donated was asked. Some we gave to, some we didn't.

After walking miles on the Freedom Trail we decided to hop on the T and head out to Harvard. We figured if we were so close we might as well :) That was another nice thing about Boston - everything is so close.

Harvard was kind of like I excepted it. We walked onto the campus and there was just groups of people sitting around on the grass talking - just like in the movies. It was quite strange to get off the T, walk across the street and be on the campus. Though Jason and I both went to college in the middle of wheat fields - so that is a new concept for us. We didn't stay there for too long. It had been quite a day and there wasn't really much to see and we weren't allowed in the library...so we were really only there for about 20 minutes. Enough to say we've been there...

the T at Harvard

just like in the movies...

The Harvard Library

New England ~ Boston ~ Sunday

Hello Hurricane Irene!!!

It really wasn't as bad as I was thinking it would be. But it was rainy, windy, and caused a lot of places to be closed. We didn't venture out far from our hotel but we did get out for lunch and dinner. There was a few restaurants still open and they were pretty busy but everyone was pretty relaxed and just realized this was the situation we were in and dealt with it. It might have lead to a few extra drinks...but that was okay!

I have never in my life seen a question mark for a weather report.

Our hotel's restaurant gearing up for the storm!

walking around during the 'hurricane'

we thought it was funny that a dentist is next to a candy shop...

We really didn't take many other pictures on Sunday. We ate out for lunch and dinner at restaurants on Newbury street, we watched some TV, and had some nice quality time to spend together. It actually was a nice change of pace :)

New England ~ Boston ~ Saturday

The trip to New England started out a little worrisome for me. See, there was a hurricane heading to the same coast line and possibly the same city that we were. After much anguish and the making of a hurricane preparedness kit...we were on our way!!

Packed and ready to go!!

You might be wondering what was in my hurricane preparedness kit. Well, the list follows. Peanut butter, saltines, kleenex, candles, lighters, batteries (AAA and AA), 2 flash lights, dried fruit, fruit snacks, granola bars, deck of cards, book light.

I was NOT about to be stuck in a city I didn't know, in a hotel, with nothing to eat - do - or see. Jason thought I was crazy but I will tell you we used EVERYTHING in that pack...even if not during the hurricane ;-)

Our flight was decent. It was on time, the guy sitting next to me was skinny and Jason and I spent most of the time listening to a Podcast that he loves...and now I like.

Podcast from a Seattle radio station that Jason loves.

Upon arriving in Boston we took an {expensive} cab ride to our hotel, The Newbury Guest House. We actually really liked our hotel. It was a few blocks from many subway lines and we could walk just about anywhere. The one thing we didn't like was the breakfast - it was pretty terrible. After a quick rinse we were off to dinner and hopefully the Red Sox game. We'd been hearing since we got there that the Sox game might be cancelled because of rain but then when we were at dinner they announced that they were going ahead with the game - and we figured we better go!! We had dinner at Cafe 47. It was amazing...thanks Laura for the recommendation.

After dinner we started the drizzly and humid walk over to Fenway Park. Since the storm was coming we had a very interesting, unique, and different experience at Fenway then we would have had any other day, ever.  There was, by my estimates, under 10,000 people there and Fenway can hold over 35,000. We ended up sitting a portion of the game with May, Matt, and their family. We sat under cover...which was nice. The game was a rather slow one, with a few rain delays, but we figured if we were there we might as well make the most of it. We walked around the park, we sat in a few different spots, and just enjoyed being there!

A composition of all the emblems from the Sox history.

The view where we sat with Matt and May

Fenway original seats

The green monster.

Us at Fenway!!

We went and sat down in some seats by first base.

We probably could have gotten closer but this was okay :)

so true. It was a very special place to be.

View from the bottom of the bleachers.

Outside Fenway - heading home. It was 11pm and we were tired!!

Jason outside Fenway.

here goes nothing...

we love country music!!!!

So me and my country-music-partner-in-crime Sabrina attended our first ever multi-day country music festival. It was hot, fun, and dirty!!! And we can't wait to do it next year!!!

Happy Birthday and a country meet-and-greet!!

On Sabrina's birthday we headed out to the Dierks Bentley & Josh Kelley concert. It was Sabrina, myself, and Sean - a friend of Sabrina's.

Before the concert we were wondering around and entered our names into a drawing to win meet & greet passes. Sean won 2 passes to meet Josh Kelley and kindly gave them to Sabrina and I!! We were super excited!

waiting to get to meet Josh Kelley!!

Josh Kelley's signature.

We didn't really know who Josh Kelley was but we are always up for meeting country artists...you never know who is going places and might be big someday - like when I met Taylor Swift, twice!!!!