Boston
Jan 25, 2010 
11 Comments
Shayne and I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Boston where we attended WordCamp Boston ’10. As soon as we arrived, we wished a) that we had scheduled a much longer stay and b) that we had brought the kids. While we enjoyed having some alone time, we were constantly wishing we could share each experience with them. In the back of our minds, we are planning a family vacation there this summer. Until then, though, let me share some pictures with you from this weekend.
We took off walking from our hotel in Cambridge on the MIT campus and soon found this interesting sculpture. I can’t find any information about it, so if any of you know anything about it I would love to hear from you! **
I really enjoyed all the unique architecture that you just don’t find in North Texas.
Unfortunately, we only had a few hours to explore the city, so we just saw what we could of Freedom Trail.
Our main goal was finding Paul Revere’s house. I have to admit that when we arrived there, I got a little choked up as the hugeness of its history hit me. Wow. Paul. Revere’s. House.
Paul Revere. He lived. He lived in this house. He had eight children with his first wife who died at the age of 37. He remarried and had eight more children.
And I think I’m stressed out trying to type this blog post while my three-year-old daughter runs around on hardwoods in clackity princess shoes.
Sheesh.
Here’s what was originally the back door, but is now the main entrance. Imagine Paul Revere coming home exhausted from a long day, walking in and being greeted by his wife and many children. It really brings history to life. I regret, but respect, the fact that photography is not allowed inside the home. If you ever have the chance, please go. It’s definitely worth seeing.
This is the street that runs in front of the home. Old school, for sure and still in use!
We followed Freedom trail a bit and ran into Paul himself.
He didn’t have much to say, so we moved on toward the Old North Church and along the way we saw this:
A dog tag memorial for the troops that we have lost in Afghanistan and Iraq. When the cold breeze blew, the tags made a very solemn wind chime.
We visited St. Francis.
We arrived at the Old North Church, where Paul Revere hung lanterns to warn that the British were coming. I closed my eyes and could almost hear his horse’s hooves as he made his famous ride.
I stepped inside briefly and snapped a picture of this incredible organ.
The sun began to hide behind the clouds, the cold breeze picked up and we were far from our hotel. We began our walk back and I snapped a few pictures along the way.
The Custom House Tower…
The Flat Iron building.
The iced-over Charles River.
Back at the hotel, I snapped this picture of an incredible sunset from the window of our room.
That evening we enjoyed a speakers’ dinner at Middlesex Lounge for WordCamp Boston speakers and enjoyed meeting so many incredible minds and interesting people. It got us warmed up for the actual event the next day. I didn’t lug my camera along to the lounge and I only took a handful of pictures at WordCamp.
One of Shayne’s presentations underway…
And a surprise event in the afternoon that involved Shayne in a Sumo suit…
And a very comical throwdown between Shayne and Jonathan Davis, the creator of the Shopp plugin for WordPress. Because Shayne was representing the WP E-Commerce plugin, and because there is a wonderfully friendly rivalry between the two plugins, the WordCamp organizers thought it would be fun to let them hash it out in a Sumo match.
Fun, it was.
Fun, indeed.
Okay, so it was hysterical!
Things got a little crazy!
And down they both went.
So, to sum up:
Boston was incredibly interesting and wonderful and we’ll be going back.
You need to go to Boston if you never have.
WordCamp Boston was incredibly well organized and wonderful.
You need to attend a WordCamp near you if you never have.
I want more clam chowder.
And a question for you guys: If you are from the Boston area or are just familiar with it, what would you suggest we do as a family when we go back for a longer visit?
**I was given information on the sculpture in the first picture. James Tyler created it in 1986 and named it Tower of East Cambridge Faces. In an effort to capture the cultural diversity in East Cambridge, he took photos of 50 random people around town and then sculpted them in bronze. Very interesting. Thank you, Sadie!
abbiesanderson
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abbiesanderson
First off, excellent photo recap of your trip. I so wish I could have been there. It looks awesome!
Second, and way more importantly, thank you so much for the photo of Shayne standing on his head in the sumo costume. You absolutely made my day!
Best. Picture. Ever. Wish I would have set my shutter speed faster!
I appreciate shayne differently after seeing him in the sumo suit.
Who wouldn’t? Shayne + Sumo = awesomeness.
Hi Abbie,
Great to have you and Shayne in Boston for #wbcos!
Next time you make it out to Boston, need to check out the north shore (Rockport, Gloucester, Newburyport, Salem) and maybe if you guys are super daring, give Martha’s Vineyard a shot — it is the most relaxing place on earth.
All the best,
Chris
Chris, we really enjoyed meeting you! Thank you for going the extra mile for us and for helping make #wcbos so awesome.
Thank you for the suggestions. We really look forward to heading up there again!
I so wish I could have been there with you guys…maybe this summer we can plan a family weekend or something as well. I’d love Blondie to see it!! I’m glad you had so much fun though…and isn’t Old North Church INCREDIBLE on the inside? I seriously did NOT expect what I found….so beautiful!
The church was very, very coo. I would love for us to get together there!
Ahahahhahahahah Excellent! Loving Shayne in the suit! Hand stands in a sumo suit, man hes buff!
It really just doesn’t get any better!