Boston: Trip 2...Plus SO much more!!

I have to say that I think I just had one of my top trips ever (sorry to Camille and all my Texas trips). I have always wanted to go back east and see what is was like. I've been to New York and loved it and I've already been to Boston, but to actually travel around was Amazing. It is so green out there. The color of the flowers are so much deeper then they are here in Utah. I spent a lot of time oohing and aahing over every flower I saw. The best ones were at Kristie's house. I've never seen a flower that actually looked so blue. Driving around was different. There are so many trees everywhere that you never knew when you were driving past a town. You only saw the big cities. Trees are everywhere, every hill and valley was covered in trees. You hardly ever see an open space. I think I will be a frequent visitor of New England!

So are you ready for it? Get comfortable...here it goes.

Monday night Jed, Jamon and I started out in the SLC airport where we were approached and asked to upgrade to first class so a family could sit by each other. They offered 3 for 1 upgrade which means all 3 of us upgraded to first class for the price of 1. I was very excited. The seats are much bigger and the sleep so much better!

Kristie (my old roommate who I visited the last time I was in Boston) picked us up and took us to her house. We got ready for the day and set out to walk the "Red Line," better known as the Freedom Trail. I did it in October, but it was still fun to walk it with the boys (I lovingly will refer to Jed and Jamon as "the boys"). We saw the State House, the Shipping Yard, Bunker Hill, the Old North Church, and all the many other attractions around Boston. On our way back to Kristie's it started to rain. We really had no where to go so we ran through the it, and ended up being drenched from head to toe. Good times!

Wednesday we hit the road. Kristie, who I will forever love and who I owe big time, let us take her car for a couple of days. We drove down to Cape Cod where we played in the ocean. While playing in the ocean I noticed some splashing which seemed a little odd to me. It kept getting closer and closer to shore. We just kept watching the splashes in curiosity when all of a sudden a seal peeked its head out of the water. The seal was on the hunt and the splashes were fish trying to get away from it. We saw it a few more times. It was so Awesome!! Highlight of the trip so far. After that we went to the Gayest town in America, Provincetown, MA. Not Happy Gay, but Gay Gay. I guess it's the favorite vacation spot for all of our gay friends. So many guys in speedo's and cowboy hats. I tried to get a picture of the boys together, Jamon didn't think that was very funny, although I thought it was. The boys were nice enough to by me dinner that night. No I didn't have sea food. I had what I like to call Farm food, Ribs! They were delicious. That night we drove to Rhode Island and found a quaint little hotel. Okay so it wasn't quaint. It was dumpy, but the price was right. We slept soundly and then headed to Providence. We saw the state capital and a few of the old colonial houses and then off to Connecticut. (We really had not reason to go to Rhode Island or Connecticut, but to say that we've been there, so we didn't do much.) Connecticut has one of the coolest state capitals. It looks like a castle. We also rode a Carousel that is something like 90 years old. Oh, what good times. Next it was on to some little town with some guy that did something good. I may not know what he did exactly, but his house and yard were beautiful. We just sat and relaxed for a while, and then it was back to home. Home being Boston.

We spent the 4th of July in Boston. We went to a flag raising, followed a parade of different armed forces, some past, some present, tried to listen to a reading of the Declaration of Independence (too many people and not a good sound system), watched the USS Constitution fire off a 21 cannon salute, and then had a 2 hour nap. After our nap we headed off to the Boston Pop's/Rascal Flatts Concert and the best fireworks show I've ever seen. We sat in the middle of the bridge and the barge that had the fireworks on it was in front of us. It was Amazing. I saw fireworks I've never seen before, smiley faces, 3-D boxes and shooting stars. Once again, Amazing!

What a day Saturday was. We went whale watching, and as one of my favorite preschool songs says, saw a "humongous whale spouting in the water" (yes I sang it, the whole song and all the other fish songs I know!). It was a little chilly, but it was worth it to see 5 Humpback Whales. They are so big. There were a few kids on the boat with us and I felt just like one of them running from side to side and pushing our way through to get the best view of the whales. It was all very exciting! After our excursion to the ocean we went to Legal Sea Foods. Its a very popular seafood restaurant and very expensive. This was the one time I did eat seafood, but it was only clam chowder, not what you were expecting, were you. It was yummy, a little to fishy for my taste, but still good. Next it was on the the Temple. This is the first Temple I have been to outside of Utah. And for those of you who have never been to a Temple outside of Utah, its the same. They don't change anything. We enjoyed our little session of about 20 people and walking around the grounds. They had amazing flowers.

Sunday we went to Church with Kristie and then we did my favorite part, the highlight of the whole trip, Maine. Ogunquit, Maine. I loved it there. We went on walk called the Marginal Way. Not sure why it's called this, but it doesn't matter, It was awesome. There was beach, waves crashing on rocks, the mist of the ocean, and of course my attire. I looked fantastic in my typical New England Clothing. I was very excited to wear it and had way to much fun posing for the camera. I don't know how else to describe it, but that it was so peaceful and relaxing. I could stay there forever. I didn't want to leave and I wish we would've spent more time there. I LOVED IT!

Monday it was off to Vermont where we went to the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory. I am now a fan of Ben and Jerry's! Next we went to the Sugar Bush Farms where they make maple syrup. We learned all about how they do it and I even bought some to share. You want some? Make the pancakes and I'll bring the syrup! After this we went to the Birthplace of Joseph Smith in Sharon, Vermont. This was a very peaceful area. One of the Senior Missionaries gave us a tour and told us all the troubles and miracles they had getting the memorial up. After he invited us to come to FHE. All the other missionary couples were there and a few of the local couples. It was a very funny night. We played games and ate treats with them. Of course being from Utah we all played the "do you know so and so game." I didn't really know anyone, but we tried. That night we camped and Camp Joseph, which is close to the monument. It was amazing. We had little cabins and we were able to start a fire. The best part though was that I saw for the first time fireflies. I know I keep saying this but it was so awesome!

Tuesday we were off to New Hampshire. We saw the state capital and then we headed of to the American Stonehenge. We saw it in a book and thought it would be cool, but it wasn't, or maybe it was, but it wasn't worth checking out for $10, so we didn't see it. It all seemed a little fishy to us, so we took a picture and headed off to the beach. We swam for a while and then headed back to Boston to catch the Red Sox game. What a great game. We were all a little worried that the Sox were going to lose. They came back in the 8th inning and made it a fantastic game to watch! The only downer about the game is that they didn't sell a foot-long hot dog for me to eat!

So that's it. Wednesday we spent forever in airports or on a plane and came home. Now I'm back in Provo, and I've worked a total of 10 hours in 3 days and I still feel surprisingly busy. Sleeping in is fantastic! I hope to go on one more trip before school starts, but we'll see what my finances are after I move and get my truck fixed.