Aside from insane traffic ...

Boston is a wonderful city.  While in college, flying back to Syracuse from Florida, I happen to find myself on a plane with very few passengers, less than a dozen.  The flight attendent broke-out the drink cart and passed around any beverage we requested, alcoholic or not.. In those days the drinking age was 18, and there was nobody under the legal drinking age aboard. It was circa 1982 and things were very relaxed regarding air travel.

With the flight staff included, except for pilots, it wasn't long before this small group of partiers began talking about places they would rather go instead of Syracuse, New York., our planned destination  When somebody mentioned Boston, all those aboard expressed agreement.   It was so overwhelmingly unanimous, and so jubiliently expressed, that one sane flight attendent had to insist we gather our senses before mutiny was declared.  I had never been to Boston at that time but knew friends living there and would have gladly gone to visit.  Alas, we soon landed in the frigid no man's wasteland of update New York.

Eventually, I visited Boston and then moved here.  I've lived many places in the Bay area and driven all the crazy highways throughout the hub.  I've even mastered the one-ways and no-ways of downtown traffic!

Tilt-shift photo of Boston's waterfront

Boston is a walking city.  Unlike New York, you can actually see a great deal of the city by foot in a day or two.  People are friendly, restaurants are good, and there is always exciting events and lesser known activities to partake of.



One of my favorite things to do in Town is to walk along the waterfront.   There is often live music playing, plenty of outdoor eaterys to enjoy, and no shortage of watering holes where new friends are made.



Summertime is great for a harbor cuise or a visit to the maritime museum where Old Ironsides is moored.



Each year ending with a '2', ala 1492, 1992, 2002, ..., tall ships from around the world come to Boston for a week long celebration.

When I first relocated to Boston, I had a job interview set-up with Ziff-Davis Publishing.  Their offices were in the Prudential Building, "the one with all the atennae's on top", I was told.  Well, on the day of the interview the cloud cover was so low you couldn't see the tops of many buildings in the City and only two of them were actually legitimate skyscraper monoliths.  I didn't know the John Hancock (seen below) from the Pru (vantage point) and had no concept of how quickly a car is towed away when not legally parked at a satisfied meter!

Another favorite spot is The Cape, of course.   I try to bypasss Cape Cod and make a shot over to Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket where the traffc is less overwhelming and many things are within walking or biking distance.



With bicycles, you can hop the commercial ferry bringing trucks to the islands.   No lines, no waiting!  :)