Boston

November 6-7, 2018

TL;DR: We had a fast and furious visit to Boston, but soaked up as much history, walking, and food as we possibly could.

The sights

Neptune Oyster Bar

Enjoyed a “made to order” clam chowder that was delicious. Great tuna tartare and oysters (which were buttery, citrusy, and salty, respectively). Also treated ourselves to a huge plate of mussels and grilled bread.

Bell in the Hand

Oldest tavern in Boston and definitely worth a stop. Lots of different bars and spots to sit.

Cambridge

OK so yeah, Cambridge is pretty charming. Also home to Bagelsaurus and one of the best bagels ever (see Roadfood), so definitely worth a visit. Walked around and got a good feel for the sites and colors, which were in full fall mode.

Freedom Trail
Ended up walking most of this, which afforded us an awesome look at Boston and its history. Started with Beacon Hill and the Bunker Hill monument.

Then over to the USS Constitution AKA Old Ironsides (named as such because the cannonballs would bounce off!). Very tiny living spaces triggered a little claustrophobia for Jess.

Next stop was to walk across Charlestown Bridge to get to Copp’s Hill burying ground, where all the merchants, artisans, and craftspeople who lived in the North End are buried.

Then to Old North Church, “the site that launched the Revolution,” built in 1773 and known for the midnight ride of Paul Revere and “one if by land, two by sea.”

Then we went to Paul Revere’s house and sat outside in the courtyard dedicated to Paul’s wife (but somehow failed to take a picture!).

Stopped by Faneuil Hall, “the home of free speech,” the Old State house, the old corner bookstore (where intellectuals used to congregate and what is now a Chipotle), the Latin school, and the King’s Chapel. Then the Granary Burying Ground, where Ben Franklin’s parents, Paul Revere, Sam Adams, and many more are buried. There are also a ton of in-costume folks giving tours around Boston at any given time, which is thoroughly amusing.

Just a little eerie, eh?

Waved at the state house, and then were at Boston Commons, where we stopped in 21st Amendment (thanks for the rec, Elizabeth!) for a drink. Really cool spot with fun posters and old paraphernalia.

Back Bay

Walked down Commonwealth Avenue, where there’s a really pretty park running down the middle (sort of like Nopa in San Francisco), and into the Back Bay neighborhood, where we got oysters and crab claws at Saltie Girl, chips and queso at Lolita, and dinner at Buttermilk & Bourbon, where they changed Jess’s perception of meatloaf. Also got pumpkin bread soft serve on a pretzel cone with pumpkin bread, which was amazing.

Details, details, details

In the North End, Shake and the Tree is a really cute shop with amazing embroidered pieces.

Did about 10 miles of walking from Cambridge to the Freedom Trail and Boston Commons. Super cool, historical experience.

The weather channel here has a forecast for raking leaves. Amazing.

And then this happened…

Jess left her phone in the Lyft… thankfully the guy was super quick to bring it back and did not give us a life lesson like the one in Pittsburgh.

Now we know

Lyfts from outside Boston into Boston are expensive and take a long time. Going into Cambridge is significantly cheaper and quicker.

There’s a right way and wrong way to pass a truck. But apparently they’re still both wrong?

Road food

The everything bagel with honey-rosemary cream cheese at Bagelsaurus in Cambridge is one of life’s great things.

You can’t be in a hurry and may have to squeeze into your seat, but if you ever pass through Providence, RI, Kitchen’s croissant French toast, butter-crisped muffins, and bacon hash make it worthwhile.

Where we stayed

Nights one and two: The driveway at Stewart and Brenda’s (from Boondocker’s Welcome)

Boston and its surrounding areas are not at all RV-friendly, so we decided to stay a bit outside the city and Lyft in. This meant we could only really afford one day (Lyfts were about $30 each way), but we made it count. We stayed two nights in the driveway of Stewart and Brenda, who are part of Boondocker’s Welcome. They had a huge house in a residential neighborhood, with a pop-up garage in the back that apparently used to house a big class A RV. Stewart offered to let us plug in but we didn’t really need it. Overall a super easy, pleasant experience. Thanks to Stewart and Brenda!