Between the Bell in Hand Tavern and the Union Oyster House on Marshall St. One of my favorite areas of downtown Boston.
As summer comes to an unofficial end this Labor Day weekend, I realize I’m long overdue in recapping my visit to Boston this past spring on Memorial Day weekend. It was a quick three night visit that quickly became a highly enjoyable trip.
We left home super early Friday morning giving us almost the entire day in Boston once we arrived. One of the first things we did was venture over to Boston Common and follow the Freedom Trail, which we did within a few hours. The trail provided an easy way to explore through the city on what turned out to be a gorgeous weather day. Our first two days in Boston was mostly spent exploring the city on foot, including stops at the iconic Cheers, the Bleacher Bar (situated beyond the right-center field walls at Fenway Field), and many visits to Boston Common. We also took the train out west and walked around the Harvard campus.
On our last full day there, we rented a car and ventured north into New Hampshire towards Short Sands Beach in Maine. It’s a good thing we had no plan to swim up there since the weather there was cloudy and quite chilly in the 60s. We still had fun exploring the beach town, which reminded me of a few Michigan beach towns off the shores of Lake Michigan.
Short Sands Beach in Maine.
On our way back we made a quick stop in Salem, which was pretty cool. With my love of fall, cool weather and the Halloween spirit, I think a long weekend in this town a week or two before Halloween would be pretty rad.
The night we ate at the Union Oyster House, several men came in dressed in various army costumes, some representing the colonial soldiers, others representing British soldiers. There were a few other examples of similar occurrences playing off the Revolutionary War theme that we encountered that weekend. I’m not sure if that is a semi-usual thing or if it was timing since it was Memorial Day weekend.
And because it was Memorial Day weekend, we were able to witness the 37,000 flags planted throughout Boston Common. Seeing that many flags so close together and what it represented was a touching sight.
A sample of the 37,000 flags in Boston Common, Memorial Day Weekend.
Downtown Boston certainly has a different overall look and feel compared to what I’m used to in Chicago or from what I experienced last year in New York City. While the streets of Chicago and downtown Manhattan are laid out in grid style, Boston has more of a free-flow to it. It’s hard not be appreciate all the history that the city has provided.
I absolutely loved Boston and would not hesitate to ever go back. Now having been to Boston, New York City and Washington D.C., I feel the next eastern city I need to see next is Philadelphia.
