Dear Boston,

Over the weekend Rich and I road tripped up to Boston. I don't know if it was the city, Rich or both, but it was one of the best weekends I've ever had.
On Friday we drove up and arrived in time for dinner; we walked over to a bar called 21st Amendment and ate John Kerry's favorite burger (a 21st Burger with caramelized onions, onion rings, applewood bacon and swiss cheese). For me bars are judged partially by their music selection, and we agreed that every song played was great including the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Gin Blossoms all set in the old New England style establishment.
Afterwards we headed over to TD Garden to see Dispatch which was one of my favorite bands as a teenager. I was never able to see them live, so for my birthday Rich bought me tickets. He even surprised me by hiding a tour tee shirt in my backpack to find while I was getting ready! After walking over there we met up with one of my friends and some other people seeing the show for a few beers at Harp.
Unfortunately they wouldn't allow a camera like mine into the venue, but luckily we bought a disposable camera that garnered no objections. We also found out the hard way that TD Garden won't sell beers to anyone under 25 with an out of state license, but we made the best of it with lots of newly made friends to dance with and to get our beers for us. I could go on for days about how wonderful the concert was, and will, when the pictures are developed.

Getting ready for the show
After the show it was drizzly and cool outside and we walked back the the hotel, well Rich walked and I hopped around like an over excited bunny talking about how great it was. We finished the night with a drink in our hotel bar.
Rich chose our hotel The Parker House because he knows I'm a history nerd, and its the oldest continuously running hotel in the country and has had many famous guests and employees. Its where JFK proposed to Jackie Bouvier. Malcolm X once worked in the hotel as a waiter. Plus, its a little bit haunted.In the our first stop was the Mary Baker Eddy Library to see the Mapparium. No one is allowed to take pictures inside, but it is quite beautiful, strange and old with its outdated maps but modern like something from a science fiction movie with its magical blue glow and echo effects on the smooth glass.

Outside the Mapparium in the Hall of Ideas
We hopped on the T and headed back to Boston Common near our hotel and began walking the Freedom Trail, which is an excellent and inexpensive way to tour the historical sites of Boston. We walked from the Common to Faneuil Hall to Paul Revere's house and the old North Church with lots of other interesting stops along the way. A guide map only cost us $1!Park Street ChurchThis guy...
Bruins pride was everywhere we turned>Rich with Samuel Adams outside Faneuil HallIn Teddy Roosevelt's seat at the old North Church, famous for being the place where the signal was sent up igniting the Revolutionary War. So much history.My grandpa is a printer, so when we saw a print shop set up the way it would have been during the Revolution, I had to stop inFor lunch we headed to Quincy Market and met up with Rich's cousin at mexican restaurant where I picked up a few splinters in my hand from a wooden bathroom door. Luckily there was a nurse near the hostess stand that heard me, and spent 20 minutes doing a little surgery on my hand.
It was getting late so we hopped in a cab over to Harpoon Brewery. The last time I went it was for Oktoberfest and I had a fantastic time however, this time was very different. The staff was awful (it really takes a lot to get me to say something like that), they were totally insulting and I will never go back there or recommend their beer again. Rich was pretty upset by how poorly we were treated so we strolled along the water to Atlantic Beer Garden where we relaxed and recovered our good mood.

At the beer garden with the city in viewBy then I was exhausted so we headed to the hotel for a nap before waking up just in time for the Haunted Boston tour. Our tour guide Matt was a riveting story teller, tying the places we were standing to the spooky and sometimes gruesome history of it. The end of the tour was even in our hotel which supposedly haunted by deceased guests as well as the founder of the hotel.
The Massachusetts State House at nightMatt also gave us a recommendation for Stoddard's where we went for dinner and drinks afterwards.Sunday was relaxed with a nice walk around Somerville and breakfast at the Rosebud Diner. We found some thrift stores. the bike shop and a supermarket, which means we found all that we'd need to move there.

Dear Boston,
Thank you for being you. With your perfect early summer weather, cool enough for sweaters and warm enough for sandals being outdoors is heavenly. Your pigeons are aggressive, but your people aren't. You make small miracles happen by separating me and the Internet for three whole days. Boston, you make me so happy, relaxed and inspired. Thanks for one of the greatest weekends I've ever had.
Love,
Kal
PS-If you could help me find a job and a place to live, we could be together forever.