26 July 2010
College Road Trip Day 3: Boston
Boston, MA! Birthplace of independence, and home to some of the worse drivers in the USA. (I lived here for 1-1/2 years, I have lots of experience with them...)
We were tourists today. We drove in from Springfield and landed in downtown Boston at 10AM. We headed for the Commons and parked the car and started to walk - the Freedom Trail. This pedestrian "red line" weaves throughout Boston highlighting the many places where the independent ideals were born, developed or thrown overboard. It was a beautiful day to walk around Boston - clear blue skies, warm with a bit of a breeze. The walking tour takes about 2 hours to complete, and by the end, we wanted nothing more than to sit down and cool off. The best way to do that is the "T" - Boston's great mass transit system.
We took the T out to Harvard Square, to join the throngs who want to rub up against academic history. (We did our best to avoid the many homeless who just wanted to rub up against you... ;-) The Harvard campus is HUGE! We estimated that between the main campus, law school and medical school you could probably fit the Oberlin and Amherst campuses with room to spare. This was not a school visit, but provided a nice level set against the schools we are visiting. But there was a school that is on the 'possible' list that we did visit: Tufts University.
Tufts is a Boston institution tucked into the NE corner of Cambridge, in a little neighborhood on a Boston hill. Turns out that the neighborhood IS Tufts - they own most of the houses surrounding the campus. Tufts was founded in 1852, and from the looks of it, the university is preparing for their 150th birthday in 2012 with many renovated buildings. But even with the construction, it is a beautiful campus setting, with a large front lawn reminiscent of the front lawn of my alma mater, Wheaton College (IL). The Admissions team must expect drive by visits, because they had a box attached to the building with a 4-color map, self-tour booklet, and registration card you could fill out. I'm glad we did!
We ended the day visiting our friends Mary and Mike Barwell. They are friends from Cincinnati that now live up in Concord, NH. We met at Woodman's Clam Shack in Essex, on the North Shore of Boston. When I was in seminary in the late 80's Woodman's was drive up place that had good, cheap seafood. Well now it has expanded greatly, to include sit-down dining, a raw bar and a dessert shack around back, but you still get your good, cheap food on paper plates served in a cardboard box like in 1988. Glad some things never really change in New England!
Visit: Tufts University, Cambridge, MA
No formal visit.
Trip Log
Location: Westfield, MA
Departure Time: 8:00 AM
Destination: Boston
Mileage: 150
Breakfast: Econo Lodge (Westfield, MA)
Lunch: Brueggman Bagels (Boston, MA)
Dinner: Woodman's (Essex, MA)
Lodging: Quality Inn (Lexington, MA)
We were tourists today. We drove in from Springfield and landed in downtown Boston at 10AM. We headed for the Commons and parked the car and started to walk - the Freedom Trail. This pedestrian "red line" weaves throughout Boston highlighting the many places where the independent ideals were born, developed or thrown overboard. It was a beautiful day to walk around Boston - clear blue skies, warm with a bit of a breeze. The walking tour takes about 2 hours to complete, and by the end, we wanted nothing more than to sit down and cool off. The best way to do that is the "T" - Boston's great mass transit system.
We took the T out to Harvard Square, to join the throngs who want to rub up against academic history. (We did our best to avoid the many homeless who just wanted to rub up against you... ;-) The Harvard campus is HUGE! We estimated that between the main campus, law school and medical school you could probably fit the Oberlin and Amherst campuses with room to spare. This was not a school visit, but provided a nice level set against the schools we are visiting. But there was a school that is on the 'possible' list that we did visit: Tufts University.
Tufts is a Boston institution tucked into the NE corner of Cambridge, in a little neighborhood on a Boston hill. Turns out that the neighborhood IS Tufts - they own most of the houses surrounding the campus. Tufts was founded in 1852, and from the looks of it, the university is preparing for their 150th birthday in 2012 with many renovated buildings. But even with the construction, it is a beautiful campus setting, with a large front lawn reminiscent of the front lawn of my alma mater, Wheaton College (IL). The Admissions team must expect drive by visits, because they had a box attached to the building with a 4-color map, self-tour booklet, and registration card you could fill out. I'm glad we did!
We ended the day visiting our friends Mary and Mike Barwell. They are friends from Cincinnati that now live up in Concord, NH. We met at Woodman's Clam Shack in Essex, on the North Shore of Boston. When I was in seminary in the late 80's Woodman's was drive up place that had good, cheap seafood. Well now it has expanded greatly, to include sit-down dining, a raw bar and a dessert shack around back, but you still get your good, cheap food on paper plates served in a cardboard box like in 1988. Glad some things never really change in New England!
Visit: Tufts University, Cambridge, MA
No formal visit.
Trip Log
Location: Westfield, MA
Departure Time: 8:00 AM
Destination: Boston
Mileage: 150
Breakfast: Econo Lodge (Westfield, MA)
Lunch: Brueggman Bagels (Boston, MA)
Dinner: Woodman's (Essex, MA)
Lodging: Quality Inn (Lexington, MA)
Labels: Boston, college, tourist
¶ 7:27 AM
Comments:
<< Home
Whenever I eat fried clams I think of that clam shack we went to. Nothing compares. I'm glad they're doing well, but i'd like to keep the shack in my memory.
Post a Comment
# posted by 
: 9:19 AM
: 9:19 AMSubscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home
