Tag / Boston Tea Party Museum

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Travelling The 50 States – Massachusetts

Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 6th state to be added to the Union: Massachusetts

State: Massachusetts
Joined the Union: 1788
Visits: 6

The Bay State has been a more recent travel destination, with all six visits coming within the past five years.  In what I’m sure is completely unrelated news, Angelina has been attending Boston University since 2018.  This visit total would have been at least one trip larger, as I had plans to bring Michael in April of 2020, but the whole pandemic thing kind of put the kibosh on that.

My first visit to Massachusetts came in August of 2017, when I took a weekend trip to Boston to see the White Sox take on the Red Sox with Danny and Michael.  We arrived in Boston on Saturday morning, heading straight from the airport to the Museum of Science, where we spent most of the morning.  After a quick breakfast, we headed to our hotel, which was located in the medical district.  We checked in and relaxed for a bit, before deciding on going for ice cream prior to heading to Fenway Park.

The game went about as you would expect.  With James Shields on the mound, the White Sox did not put up much of a fight.  We were sitting down the left field line, with a good view of the Green Monster.  The seats, which may or may not date back to the stadium’s opening in 1912, were not really designed for people well over 6 feet tall, so there was a lot of uncomfortable shifting as our knees were smooshed into the seats in front of us.

The next morning, we went out in search of breakfast once again before gathering up our belongings and checking out of the hotel.  Our first stop was just down the street, at Harvard Medical School, where we posed for pictures.  From there, we headed to Skywalk Boston, their version of the observation deck at Sears Tower.  It was only on the 50th floor, so the effect was a little different, but we did get to see the majority of the area.  From there, over to the harbor to see the Boston Tea Party museum.  The two-hour experience took us through the town meeting where the “attack” was planned, on to the boat to throw the tea in to the harbor, and then through a movie and other artifacts from one of the most famous events in American history.  From there, it was off to the airport for the flight back home.

My next trip came the following year, when I returned to Boston in late October to celebrate birthdays with Angelina.  I arrived on the Tuesday before our birthday, enjoying a brief tour of BU and a nice dinner at Fogo de Chao with Angelina before heading over to the House of Blues to see Garbage.  The next day I took a tour of Fenway Park prior to Game Two of the World Series, before heading out to Cambridge to look around Harvard before heading home.

Just over a month later, I returned to Boston with my mom to see Angelina’s first synchro competition on Cape Cod and an ice show by the BU Figure Skating Club, seeing many of the same BU sites as my last visit.

In October of 2019, I once again travelled to Boston to see Angelina for our birthday dinner.  Unbeknownst to me, she had suffered a concussion the day before, so she was busy for most of the day.  After chilling in the hotel for a bit, I headed over to campus for a late lunch before waiting for her at a protest I happened across, trying to stop hate monger Ben Shapiro from coming to campus for a speech.  After dinner, she headed back to her dorm to rest, and I left early the next morning to return home.

After a two-year hiatus thanks to COVID, my next trip to Boston came this past May for Angelina’s graduation.  Danny, Michael, and I flew out on Friday and spent Saturday sightseeing around Boston with the family.  Graduation was Sunday morning, which we topped off with a dinner out on Sunday night before heading home on Monday.

My most recent visit came earlier this month, as birthday celebrations were finally allowed to restart.  I arrived late on Friday night, and then spent Saturday with Angelina and Emily, including a trip to the Museum of Science and a return visit to Fogo de Chao.  Sunday morning. they picked me up from the hotel and drove me to the airport, bringing my latest visit to an end.

Will I return?  I have to say yes.

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Mass Appeal

We wrap up the first half of 2020 by turning our gaze to the east and the state of Massachusetts.  These pictures come from two different trips our east, the first with Danny and Michael in 2017 to see the White Sox battle the Red Sox at Fenway Park and the second in 2018 to see Angelina skate with Boston University.  The first row has Angelina performing at the BU Skating Show followed by Danny in a small chair at the Boston Science Museum.  The middle row sets the scene with a cool looking Boston Red Sox sign, followed by Angelina with her friends at the free skate after the show and, finally, Danny with his now famous Lendall Pitts card from the Boston Tea Party Museum.  The bottom row has Angelina and her teammates competing in the Cape Cod Synchronized Skating Classic, Michael measuring himself at the Science Museum, and Danny and Michael in the stands at Fenway.

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The Still Growing 10,000 Step Club

Last year, as I was finishing up my third year with the Fitbit, I took my last look at the top 25 step days I’ve had since I first started tracking my steps way back in July of 2011.  At the time, I had surpassed the 10,000 step plateau 165 times.  In the past year, I have managed to add an additional 52 occurrences, my best year to date, for a total of 218.  With my fourth year using the Fitbit coming to an end last week, I thought it would be appropriate to take a new look at my top 25 step days over the past 7 1/2 years, featuring 10 new entries.

1: 4/14/2018 – 27,470 steps

My best single day total is our first new entry, coming this past April during a trip to New York to see Angelina.  The day’s excursions included trips to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, Central Park, the Guggenheim museum, and the Empire State Building.

2: 7/21/2018 – 27,278 steps

Another new entry, from July’s trip to Virginia, fell just short of the top spot, thanks to a hike up Catawba Mountain to McAfee Knob with Jeff and Val.

3: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps

After 5 years as my single day best, 2013’s trip to Disney World falls down two spots.  The day’s excursion to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom ended up with a total of approximately 12.5 miles.

4: 3/18/2018 – 23,780 steps

The third new entry comes from last spring’s trip to Las Vegas for the IBM Think conference.  The day’s totals include gallivanting around town, including a trip up to Caesar’s Palace from the MGM Grand to see Absinthe.

5: 10/24/2018 – 23,362 steps

We round out the top 5 with the fourth new entry, from last fall’s trip to Boston to see Angelina for our birthday.  While she was in class, I took tours of Fenway Park and Harvard, before meeting up with her for a late lunch and then heading to the airport for the trip home.

6: 3/22/2016 – 22,493 steps

My former second highest day took place during the ill-fated trip to Disney World in March of 2016.  The day’s excursion started at Hollywood Studios before heading over to Epcot Center with Jeff and Val.

7: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps

My now seventh highest total, and my highest at home in the state of Illinois, came thanks to the BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.

8: 12/29/2018 – 20,374 steps

The eighth highest entry, and fifth new entry, took place just over a month ago and the trip to Disneyland to see Danny perform with the Lincoln-Way Marching Band.

9: 8/5/2017 – 20,218 steps

The ninth highest entry came in August of 2017 on the first day of my trip to Boston with Danny and Michael.  After landing in town, we traipsed to the Science Museum, a breakfast joint, our hotel, and, finally, Fenway Park.

10: 7/14/2017 – 20,208 steps

We wrap up the top 10 with another trip to Disney World, this time a one day journey with Angelina to celebrate her high school graduation. Continue reading →

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The Ever Growing 10,000 Step Club

Last year, as I was finishing up my second year with the Fitbit, I took my last look at the top 25 step days I’ve had since I first started tracking my steps way back in July of 2011.  At the time, I had surpassed the 10,000 step plateau 116 times.  In the past year, I have managed to add an additional 49 occurrences, raising the total to 165.  With my third year using the Fitbit coming to an end last week, I thought it would be appropriate to take a new look at my top 25 step days over the past 6 1/2 years, featuring 7 new entries.

btn10K-41: 6/6/2013 – 24,988 steps

My best single day total continues to be from my 2013 trip to Disney World.  The day’s excursion to both Epcot Center and the Magic Kingdom ended up with a total of approximately 12.5 miles.  And yes, it still bothers me that I didn’t get those 12 additional steps to reach 25,000.

2: 3/22/2016 – 22,493 steps

My second highest day shares much in common with my #1 day, taking place in Disney World in March of 2016.  The day’s excursion started at Hollywood Studios before heading over to Epcot Center with Jeff and Val.

3: 7/27/2013 – 20,592 steps

My third highest total came nearly 2 months after my highest, thanks to the BTN 5K and a, for lack of a better word, misunderstanding about where I should be picked up after the race.

4: 8/5/2017 – 20,218 steps

The first new entry came last August on the first day of my trip to Boston with Danny and Michael.  After landing in town, we traipsed to the Science Museum, a breakfast joint, our hotel, and, finally, Fenway Park.

5: 7/14/2017 – 20,208 steps

Our second new entry came last July, as Angelina and I took a day trip to Disney World to celebrate her high school graduation.

6: 9/19/2017 – 20,028 steps

The third straight new entry, which helped to double my total of 20,000 step days from the previous 5+ years, had a myriad of activities.  First was the latest edition of the Sprint and Stride, followed by a trip to Best Buy with Val to buy a new TV, then off to her apartment to install the new TV, and, finally, Season Ticker Holder Family Night at Wrigley Field.

7: 11/11/2017 – 19,590 steps

Our fourth straight new entry came thanks to last fall’s trip to California to see Angelina skate.  This day was spent in Anaheim at Disneyland.

8: 6/2/2016 – 18,725 steps

Day #8, which dropped 4 spots, comes from June 2016’s trip to Universal Studios.  Our first full day at the park, we split the day between Universal and Islands of Adventure, taking in all of the different Harry Potter options.

9: 6/4/2016 – 18,617 steps

Our next entry is also from the June 2016 trip to Universal Studios.  The day included another trip to Islands of Adventure, and would have ended up even higher but for an afternoon trip to the hotel pool.

10: 6/21/2017 – 18,290 steps Continue reading →

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Fitbit III: Week 28

A ho-hum week, bolstered by one tremendous day on Sunday.  The week got off to a good start as I finished up my trip to Boston with trips to breakfast, Skywalk Boston, and the Boston Tea Party museum before heading back home.  Due to the weekend away, I took Monday off from work and still somehow managed to come in just over my daily goal of 6500 steps.  Tuesday was back to work, and I put together 8200 steps for my second highest total of the week.  The remainder of the week didn’t even surpass 7000 steps, though each day was above goal.

Total steps: 58,516

Daily average:

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Where Everybody Knows Your Name

This past weekend, I finally got to use my birthday gift from last year, a trip to Boston to see the White Sox take on the Red Sox with Danny and Michael.  The trip started early Saturday morning, with a trip to O’Hare to catch a 6 AM flight.  After arriving in Boston, we took a bus and a train to get to the Museum of Science, where we spent most of the morning.

With food on our mind, we wandered back over towards where we got off the train and found ourselves in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, where we ended up at The Paramount, rated as one of the 10 best breakfast spots in Boston.  A long wait through the oddly run restaurant, where you order and get your food prior to being seated, ended up in a decent meal.

After eating, we headed to our hotel, which was located in the medical district.  We checked in and relaxed for a bit, before deciding on going for ice cream prior to heading to Fenway Park.  Like nearly everywhere else we went, the ice cream shop was a little hole in the wall, but it certainly served its purpose.  From there, it was short walk up Brookline to the ballpark, which was… a little underwhelming.  From the outside, you could barely tell that it was a stadium.  Michael even asked where it was as we were standing outside it.

The game went about as you would expect.  With James Shields on the mound, the White Sox did not put up much of a fight.  We were sitting down the left field line, with a good view of the Green Monster.  The seats, which may or may not date back to the stadium’s opening in 1912, were not really designed for people well over 6 feet tall, so there was a lot of uncomfortable shifting as our knees were smooshed in to the seats in front of us.

After the game, we went back to the hotel and called it a night.   Continue reading →