I've Never Been to Boston in the Fall. (Yes, I have.)

This past weekend was the first in a series of fun weekend trips we have planned in the coming weeks. This trip was to Boston to meet up with our friend Ahren and take some nice jaunts through history. And I mean that sort of literally. We walked the entirety of the Freedom Trail, which includes a ridiculous amount of historical sites, from spooky/awesome cemeteries filled with famous people to battle sites to the U.S.S. Constitution (which we didn't actually walk onto because there was TSA-level security. No thank you. It's a boat, not the freaking bedroom of the Queen of England).

The weather was less than ideal, but it felt somehow appropriate. It was drizzly and overcast and somehow that made it feel a little more 1700s-ish. Nonsensical, I know.

What was really cool about the Freedom Trail, aside from the overwhelming historical significance, was that the entire thing was marked by a literal trail of bricks, just meandering throughout Boston.

 

 

This is the beginning of the Freedom Trail!

Given my stellar sense of direction, I did actually get turned around a couple of times, even though it's as simple as following the yellow-brick road. Thankfully I had map-masters Ahren and Christian to keep me on the path.

We saw some amazing sites and monuments:

 

 

Doesn't Ahren look hard-core in this picture?

Cool mosaic that marked the first public school in the country. Notable alumni below.

If Ben Frank went to public school, I think it's the place to be. ;)

Bunker Hill

 

So on that note I'll end the photo onslaught. Hopefully the next trip (Montreal over Memorial Day weekend) will produce pictures with better weather. And more beer. :)

On the domestic front, it's strange when a truly happy and fun evening consists of cooking dinner (care of endless tips from my mom! Thanks!), dancing about to records (lately, Fats Domino), playing Scrabble (I usually kick Christian's ass, though he'll hate me for calling him out for it.) and watching Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The other most exciting aspect of our lives is deciding when to adopt a kitten (or kittens, depending on how mushy I'm feeling that day). We're planning on adopting a rescue cat from a local "Homeless Cat Rescue Project," and I'll have cat carrier and inhaler in hand. We even have a space picked out for the litter box, and another, more glamorous nook for a scratching post and an array of plush mice. I honestly feel that (besides moving cross-country and starting the most exciting job I can imagine) adopting a cat is one of the most monumental events of my recent life. Am I really equipped to be responsible for the life of another creature? We'll see. Things didn't fare so well for Agador Spartacus, my ill-fated beta fish, to whom I was unhealthily attached.

Stay tuned for pictures of the new house in the country -- it's almost finished! -- and the new cat, and of Canada. And if y'all are reading this in the brick house: I miss you Chad, Kathy, Alex, Cole and Avery! (My parents opted to go by aliases in this blog. I think it's fun.)