Boston

I’m still here – I didn’t mean to go MIA.  I traveled to Boston last Sunday for a conference so let’s start there…

My flight was delayed a bit so I didn’t make it to my hotel until Sunday night and by that time, I was starving.  I ordered room service and settled in.

Monday was the first day of my conference.  I managed to find the building the conference was being held at – I am terrible with directions so considering this a victory.  The conference exceeded my expectations – I found it really interesting and the instructor was great.  The first day wrapped up around 5 so I headed back to the hotel.  I was really tired and not feeling great, but just assumed it was from traveling the day before.  I ended up ordering room service again because I wasn’t sure where any nearby restaurants were (Google maps wasn’t much help).  I Facetimed with the boys and A and read my book – it was nice having some down time.  I should also mention that I was in downtown Boston and loved it!

Tuesday, it was clear to me that I was getting sick.  But I was also determined to get out of the hotel.  Unfortunately, when I left the conference around 5 again, it was beginning to rain.  I made it back to the hotel and my phone started to alert me that there were storm warnings in the area.  So much for getting out of the hotel.  It was probably for the best since I wasn’t feeling well and was freezing – no matter how many layers and blankets I put on, I could not get warm.  I Facetimed with the boys again – they were also sick and then went to bed early.

Wednesday, the conference wrapped up around 2.  I had to check out of my hotel and into another hotel.  A bit of a long story, but I initially booked the hotel for the conference and later tried to extend my stay.  When I called to extend, the receptionist told me she’d have her supervisor extend the room for me.  And then the line disconnected.  I tried calling back, not sure if my stay had actually been extended, and was disconnected again.  I was calling from a land line so assumed something was happening on their end.  I called again the next day and explained what happened.  The receptionist this time was incredibly rude and told me she didn’t know why anyone would tell me I could extend my stay because the hotel was completely booked.  Well, I didn’t know either, but a simple apology would’ve been sufficient.  So I found a new hotel – the Hyatt in downtown Boston, which was within walking distance of the old hotel and SO MUCH better.  The hotel was beautiful and the staff was amazing and helpful.  So anyway, I trekked through downtown, dragging my suitcase with me and eventually found the new hotel.  I did get a little lost, but managed to find my way.  The weather was a bit strange – one minute it was sunny and the next it was cold, rainy, and windy (reminded me of Chicago!).  After checking in, I decided it was about time that I explored the city.  I walked through downtown and Boston Common, got rained on, and decided to head back to the hotel and wait for A to arrive.  I wasn’t feeling great, I was still freezing, but I wasn’t completely miserable.  A’s flight was delayed about an hour, but he eventually made it to the hotel some time after 9.

Thursday, not feeling well, but I was determined to power through.  I had a busy day planned for us and a stupid cold wasn’t going to stop me.  We started with a tour of Fenway.  The hotel staff suggested the best route to get there and we found it without issue.  We had so much fun checking out the park!!  The Red Sox were in the World Series, which made it that much more exciting.  We even got to see the World Series trophies from 2004, 2007, and 2013.  We struck up a conversation with one of the workers and A got to try on his World Series ring!  Such a great morning!

We headed back to our hotel, grabbed more Kleenex and cough drops for me, and made our way out again.  We walked around the Public Garden, which was beautiful and had lunch at the Cheers bar.  I remember watching this show as a kid/teen.  Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name…

To be continued…