My Son Snehith's Boston Trip

My son's Boston trip from his Blog



Thursday 21 April 2011: Prelude

The day started sunny and bright, for a change in Rochester. People were on the streets, and there was activity all around. At the workplace, there was little work, and even for people who were usually busy, the day was a breather. It was thursday, and it was the last day before the first long weekend of the summer.Colleagues from work had planned to go to Boston for the weekend, and i requested them if i could drop along, in case they had a seat left in the car. They obliged, and off we were set in the evening, bags and food packed, and i full with my camera battery and my enthusiasm levels at the peak. It was my first holiday in the USA, and i was looking forward for it or what ! We started around 6 in the evening, with the light stil on, and we had a good drive with songs playing all along as the car zipped through the country side, some beautiful locations as these passing by.This part of my life is called "Boston'd".

Friday 22 April 2011: Boston'd - Day 1

We had reached Boston by around 2 AM, stopping at various service areas and enjoying the good feeling of driving on the freeways of the country. We checked into the hotel and lay flat, only to wake up by 6 AM and get ready to kick off our vacation.It was one of the brightest mornings i had seen since i have been to the US, and one of the heaviest breakfasts i had as well. We set off with the help of navigation maps to the nearest subway station, and then headed to downtown. The subway was called the "T" ( Similar to the "L" ) in Chicago. In a way it was quite different, for it seemed to be older, for the trains were rusty and noisy, but some stations were as high as 3 floors below the road level, which we do not get to see in Chicago.Once we reached downtown,we looked around the place. We could see the Prudential tower, the John Hancock Building and the State house. Our first stop was at the Prudential centre, where in we visited the skywalk observatory to have a bird's eye view of the city. The weather helped, and we could capture some breaktaking views. It being a Good Friday, we could see a lot people dressed up fancily and walking around at the place.Next stop was at the Musuem of Science, where we spent a good 2 hours in the exhibit halls. enroute to the place, we could see the Zakim Bridge across the lake as well. Once done, we took the train back to the hotel, and were done for the day. Not before we had some good biriyani at a nearby Indian restuarant !We were tired and excited for the next day at the same time. For we had booked the Boston duck tour the next morning !

Saturday 23 April 2011: Boston'd - Day 2

Cometh the Summer, Followeth the rain - I made that up.Yes, just when we were happy that the summer was finally here, and especially when we were on a holiday, did the rain come to haunt us. I guess it did not take the freeway for it did not want to pay for the toll. Anyways, the thing was the we got ready and were out taking the same subway back to the city ( which by the way we were proficient enough by the end of the 3 days ). We took the duck tour at 10 AM. This was basically a bus that took us around the important landmarks in the city for an hour and the half, and then the same bus would become a boat ( quack quack ) and make a round in the river for a while as well. The driver-aka-guide was the entertainer, and he made the trip enjoyable with some funny and some naughty remarks,comments and facts. We were told about the Boston massacre, how the it was originally in the shape of a mandolin and how land filling was gradually done to fill up for the areas and to make it the city which we currently have. We were all similing at the end of the tour, only to see the rain getting heavier.Had lunch at Panera bread and then headed straight to the bay, to the England Aquarium. Since it being a saturday, there was a huge line for the tickets, and then we had the unending drizzle, so the time spent for getting in was a good 1 hour at the minimum. We then spent most of the afternoon at the Aquarium. I was amazed by the penguins, the unending species of fishes and water animals that had been present. A very colourful place and every photographer's delight, to click the jely fishes, the penguins, the sea horses, the sharks ,the umpteen varieties of fishes of different shapes and sizes, and of course the friendly neighbourhood seals :) A tiem well spent, and was the fisrt aquarium visit in my life :) Will remember it for a long time ! We then headed to one of the most known names in Boston, called the Quincy Market. This place supposedly was the one stop shop for people in the area a hundred years back, but now is a famous destination for foodies and shopoholics. Foodies because the central Quincy Market building has stalls for all kinds of cuisines from around the world, while the north and south market on either side of it have all the known names in the american retail industry. The evening was spent there, and by the time we were back to the hotel, it was 10 AM. And it was time for some coke and some sleep, for we still had a planned itenary for the next day !





Sunday 24 April 2011: Boston'd - Day 3

This would be remembered as the day of firsts for me. My first sea cruise, my first sea sickness and the end of my first vacation in the US [:P]. The day started bright and sunny thankfully, and as and when it passed by, it got cloudier, but thankfully was very less rain. We took the trip to the Whale watch. It was a 3 hour cruise on the North Atlantic sea, hoping to catch a whale or two in their usually found habitat at this time of the year. The cool sea breeze and the rocking boat (ship? ) was a kind of Dejavu, for i had dreamt about this once ot twice.After finishing up with the cruise, we went back to Quincy market to have our lunch, and from then took the subway again for one of the famous univeristies in the world, the MIT. We were awestruck with its campus and the view of the coty from the main buildings and the dome. Lucky are the students who study here, and they deserve it too ! We took pride in just taking pictures in front of it :)We wanted to take the train further to visit the Harvard University, but since it was already getting late, and we had planned for a early start back home so that we can catch up some sleep before the monday, we left back. We had packed our bags early morning, so we were all set to leave once we got down the train at the station.The GPS helped us revise the places we visited by taking us through its own navigation algorigthm for the shortest route to the freeway, which involved only rights. So we were mostly spirllaling our way through the city, before moving out.The weekend ending, means heaving traffic on the freeway, and we were stuck in it for almost 10-15 miles before we sped our way. We reached back home by 2 am, and al we could think of was only sleep !!A vacation well spent, and with a good company, i ticked off another city in the USA !
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