The 4th in Boston!

This year I decided to spend the 4th of July Weekend in Boston visiting my friend there. I took the bus out after work on Thursday due to a delay w/ the bus, I almost missed using the T when I got there! (They stop running around 1230am.)

Since I was recovering from a bout of food poisoning it was already a weekend predestined to be laid back. Friday morning we watched Good Will Hunting and picked out the spots to find or see the spots we recognized. Then we headed out to find lunch via Trader Joes and then back to Sarah's for some SatC viewing! :) Soon it was time to head out to our firework viewing destination and our journey there was full of good people watching. So many people! We passed the area where people were gathering to listen to The Boston Pops and got free souvenir programs in the process! Then we walked past the park w/ the infamous bench from Good Will Hunting but alas that section was blocked off. No pic opps today! :(

The party we were going to was BYOB and since my stomach was being picky I thought that a chocolate stout sounded good. Of course it did - a Bud Light would have been easier to find but eventually we did actually find some! (Thanks go to my patient friend as we searched. ;))

So we get there and we hang out and mingle w/ other guests right up until it's time for the fireworks to start and then we begin our journey up this tangle of stairs to get to the roof. (No, this was not a roof party by any means - this was a roof we probably shouldn't have been on but it still had a great view! ;))

We could hear The Boston Pops in the distance and see the fireworks @ first but then for some reason the smoke would not clear out so it was a bit distorted after a while - however, that aside it was much better than standing in the rain and watching like last year!

Once the fireworks ended we hung out on the roof for a bit and watched the mobs of people spill out onto the street below what a sight! Then eventually we decided it was time to join said mob and make our way to my friend's house.

Saturday we started our day w/ a lighthouse tour....right after a quick breakfast @ Panera. :)

You can see pics from the 4th of July weekend w/ more details about the tour here.

After the tour we meandered a bit and wandered into the middle of lots of free samples connected to HarborFest! Wheeee! :) Then we met a friend of my friend's at The Times where we had the unfortunate experience to sit near an awful pub singer. (It truly was so loud and bad we asked to be moved - and believe me, we tried to tolerate it for a while...)

The HarborFest flyer mentioned a parade at the USS Constitution so we walked over there only to find that the museum was closing shortly as well as the ship so we quickly walked thru and then waited in the stands for the parade to start...late. (The museum/ship closed at 6pm - the parade was to start at 7pm.) The parade didn't end up being what we thought it would be - it was several groups marching in colonial gear and playing instruments. Since it was actually a bit cold for July we decided to bail after the umpteenth delay. Interesting at first, but ultimately disappointing.

From a distance I saw the Bunkerhill Monument - will visit it more formally on another visit!

Time to call it a night and then back to NYC in the morning!