Boston, Again

I was asked by another temp agency to come back to Boston to interview.  Prices and my budget being what they are, I couldn't afford the motel again.  Frankly, I couldn't really afford ANYTHING again.  Luckily, I have loving parents who agreed to put me up at the new Hostelling International - Chinatown, Boston Hostel.  

 My home away from home, room 417, Bunk 3. 

 This is my night time nook, which I used to store things so I wouldn't have to get into my locker during the night.  Luckily, I had a lock from my storage space last year.  I looked a little ridiculous to have a storage lock on this little pressed wood locker, but it worked!

 For my "Transfer Credit" friends, Suffolk University

 Parkman Plaza, in Boston Common, had these three statues that I felt really fit with my own personal life and goals.  Religion

 Industry

 and Learning. 

 Quite clearly, this is a sign announcing that I was at the Boston Common. 

 Ok, this placard was SO cool.  It was actually inverted into the stone base, and then some of the images were built up out of the inversion.  The most prominent was the man standing/falling near his already fallen comrade.  One hand is on his forehead, the other hand is outstretched out, see the picture below.

 For some reason, it just struck me so strongly, and reinforced my gratitude for all those who have served, and are serving, to obtain and preserve our rights and liberties.

 Another one for Transfer Credit; Emerson University

 This one is for my dad.  The pigeons were having their morning meeting before heading out to hit people up for handouts.  I took this picture for my dad because he LOVES pigeons . . . NOT.

 I woke up to a message from Alyssa asking how I found my way around Boston, with all the twisty streets and funny names for the streets.  One name she found particularly amusing, Boylston Street, so this one is for Alyssa!

 Ok, I may have gotten carried away with this next series, but bear with me.  Do you recognize this pond?  Have you ever read Make Way for Ducklings?  

 NOW do you recognize the pond?  It's the pond from the book.  The pond is located in the Boston Public Gardens.

 Meet some of the ducks

 The bridge with weeping willows behind it.

 A swan.  They are pretty, but I don't much care for them.  I don't know why.  Probably because I read The Ugly Duckling, and I feel like I'm still waiting to be a swan.  (jerks)

 

 I absolutely LOVE this statue.  Series of statues?  I love this thing.  It's a representation of the ducks from the book Make Way For Ducklings.

 Another view of the same statue

 I picked my two favorite ducklings and took close-ups.  Here is one,

 And here is the second one.

 All of the ducklings

 Ok, I seriously want to live behind this door.  The stairs go right down to the door.  As in, you open the door, and, in order to get out of the door, you have to step up.  So cute!

 I went to the North End for some authentic Italian cuisine.  I ate at Dolce Vita, which I guess is a relatively new restaurant.  I had Chicken Al Limmone with Penne pasta.  I had my very first cannoli for dessert.  The whole front of the restaurant was open to the street.  While sitting there, eating, this guy ran by.  I mean, he was BOOKING it.  I thought "I wonder why he's running so fast in street clothes".  Just as I finished that thought, a cop ran by, baton out, yelling for the guy to stop.  Boston is so cool!

 A picture of a Boston skyline from the North End Park.

 This tree isn't really my best photography, but it was raining pretty hard.  Give me a break.  This tree was in front of the apartment complex I might live in.  Still considering.

 My view at MIT as I sat studying for my interview.

And then I went to the bus station where I caught a bus home.  The end . . . for now.

Between My Boston Visits

I took some pictures in the week between my visits to Boston.  I also played with a few pictures I took while in Boston.

I love the sun coming through the clouds!

Foliage and mist across the field.  I took this picture out of the car window on the way to church. 

 I think the hydrangea leaves on the bush by the chapel are glorious!

 Here are some more pictures from John Adams' Peacefield gardens and the stone library.

 More clouds!  These are just fluffy clouds above the house, no sun coming through them, but still beautiful.

 Oh my goodness.  I cannot even BEGIN to express how much I missed this face while I was in Boston.

 Some leave I found on the ground.  I love how beautiful I think everything here in Vermont is.  I think it's the green background

 Oh, look, a bird for the BIRD

 ON RUBBER BOOTS TO KEEP MY FEET DRY!!  Have you ever seen anything more suited for me?

 My nephew, Skylar, at his first soccer game, showing off his moves.

 The maple tree in the yard is beginning to change!

 Another double rainbow.  Come on, folks, can't you see both?

It's hard to catch the colors in as much vibrancy as they actually have, but here is one attempt.

BOSTON!!

Last week, I went to Boston to pound the pavement in my search for a job in the area.  I took the MegaBus down and back, and stayed in Braintree while I was there.  Here are some pictures that I took on my journey.

The sunset as we crossed into the Boston city limits

The first thing I saw when I left the bus station.

The overpass I crossed each day on the Red Line of the T as I headed into the city.

Boston's Old State House

Two pretty cool buildings with a narrow alley between them.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Rapid Transit (T) Routes Map.  Must memorize at some point.

The view from my motel balcony.

Saltwater.  I saw it, and I thought my heart would burst, I was so happy to see ocean water!

This was a cool piece of art work hanging over an intersection near Boston Common.  It was made with mirror-type materials.  It was BEAUTIFUL!

A fountain on the Boston Common side of the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial

Boston State House

The front side of the Robert Gould Shaw memorial

Boston City Hall, with flags

Faneuil Hall, where Wait, Wait, Don't Tell me has performed several times. 

Quincy Market.  It's pronounced Quin-zee, not Quin-see.  Here's why:

Why Do We Pronounce it 'Quin-zee'?

Why do we pronounce Quincy 'Quin-zee' when just about everyone else in the country refers to it as 'Quin-see'? There are 19 other Quincys in the U.S. but they pronounce it 'Quin-see'. Can they be right and we be wrong?

Not according to Quincy's late city historian, William C. Edwards who never budged an inch whenever the argument ever came up. And it still comes up.

The reason we pronounce it 'Quin-zee' is very simple.

The original Quincy family which settled here at Mount Wollaston pronounced it 'Quin-zee', including Col. John Quincy after whom Quincy, Mass. - the first Quincy - was named in 1792.

Colonel Quincy was the great grandfather of sixth President John Quincy Adams.

Apparently, all 19 other Quincys in the U.S. were named after John Quincy Adams. And, apparently the early settlers of those communities thought John Quincy pronounced it John 'Quin-see'.

Anyway, that is how Edwards explained it. Seems like a sound argument.

Reprint from the Quincy Sun, 'Historic Quincy' Supplement, June 27, 1996

Lobster in Quincy Market (pronounced Lobstah).

Durgin Park!  A family tradition since my grandparents on my dad's side went just after they got married.

Durgin Park cornbread.  I got it because, I have recently learned, my nephew, Skylar, LOVES cornbread.

I got the Yankee-style pot roast.  It was amazingly delicious

Lobsters say no to pot . . . and if THEY know to say no, I do too! :D

Yep, that Blue Line train is headed for Wonderland!

The firetrucks were out being washed when I was walking to the library in Braintree.  Yes, I went to the library on vacation.

This is a fountain in the courtyard at the Boston Public Library so . . . Yes.  I went to two libraries.

A cool church

A picture I took from the back side of the Old State House.   

A sign on the side of the Old State House.  Oh, interesting fact, there is a T Station in the basement of the Old State House.

I decided to get on the train for Wonderland.  I got off one stop before Wonderland.  The stop was . . .

Revere Beach.  I HAD to go to the ocean.  My one regret: I didn't have a swimsuit

Ocean, ocean, ocean

More ocean

A shell on the beach

Wet, sandy toes in the ocean!

A Church that has been converted into condos on Broadway Street in South Boston

Had dinner here on Friday.  On Broadway, in South Boston

A misty-morning farewell from the train platform in Braintree

Adams academy, see next picture

How cool is that? 

This bust of John Hancock was in the yard of Adams Academy.  It doesn't seem that big BUT, check out the next picture

It was a HUGE bust.  (Insert immature laughter here)

The stone library at the Adams Historic Park in Quincy, Massachusetts.

And I did it all in three days.  I can hardly wait to go to Boston again tomorrow!