uss constitutionI was selected with some others from the school district I work in to attend the national PE conference. The conference is held every year. I have been one other time, my first year teaching when it was held in Salt Lake. It is a huge conference and I was excited to go as a veteran teacher and also to see Boston.
We flew in late Tuesday night and were met at the airport by a shuttle and the news that two of the city transformers had blown up in a hotel close to wear we were staying. Luckily it was not our hotel so we weren't evacuated but not so lucky there was no electricity for a 2 mile radius which happened to include our hotel.
It was midnight by the time we got to the hotel. They moved me from room 30 something to 1304 so I only had to haul my luggage up 13 floors:) Let's just say I am not a light packer. The thought of not being prepared makes me nervous. I hauled a very heavy suitcase 40-50 lbs, with a backpack stuffed to the brim on my back, up all those stairs. I was slightly winded when I got to my room. My phone was almost out of power so it made for an interesting first night. I just slept in the clothes I traveled in.
The next morning there was still no power. I was one of the lucky few that woke up early and got a hot shower...yo yeah! Once the reserve was gone it was cold showers for a few days. All meetings for the day were cancelled so we headed to explore the city.
We walked the freedom trail.
State Capital and Bunker hill
It takes you through lots of historical sites: The capital, numerous churches that were used for meetings during the revelution, the church where the Boston tea party was planned, the Boston massacre site, Paul Revere's home, two really old and cool graveyards, past the USS constitution, and then finally Bunker Hill.
We stopped along the way at a famous Italian Pastry shop: Mike's Pastry and bought cannoli's. They were huge and delicious!
The walk through Boston was 7-8 miles and took the majority of the morning. After we went to The Oyster House, one of the oldest restaurants in Boston. I had clam chowder and it was delicious.
Wednesday evening Emily came and picked me up and showed me around Boston. We went to the Harvard campus and walked around for a while. She was an excellent tour guide.
We touched John Harvard's golden shoe for good luck. I am counting on it now!
Emily also drove me by the Boston Temple so I could have a look.
It was super fun to see Emily and catch up for a few hours.
Thursday morning there was still no electricity. I started the day by a slow jog on the freedom trail. One member of our group missed it the day before so we guided her through all the sites. It was a great way to start the day.
We got back to the hotel and everyone in our group was headed to Fenway for a tour. We took cold showers and then jogged much more quickly over to the park to join the tour. It was 2 miles. By this time I was a little tired of running and wondering why on earth I felt like I needed to shower before going...remember the shower was very cold.
But we caught up with our people! Oh and this is the point where we found out the conference was cancelled.
Fenway Park. I am no Red Sox fan but it was cool to learn the history of the park and see the oldest baseball stadium in the country.
I was so happy Robyn was around this day. She teaches at a high school and she has sooo much energy and she is super fun. We really annoyed the tour guide with all of the pictures we wanted. But for $12 per person you should be able to touch the dugouts. (We got yelled at for this)
One entrance to the park.
We posed in front of every spot you could.
Good times. Then we headed over to the Garden and looked around at where the Celtics play. After that it was naps and meeting everyone for dinner.
Friday we jogged along the Charles river. It was a really nice jog and we got to watch all the rowers. The we showered and headed to China town.
They had a cool entrance. Then we walked to the bay so we could eat at The Barking Crab!
Featured in man vs food and drivers, diners, and dives. They have 12 pound lobster.
The 12 pounder costs $289...what the ????
I stuck to fish and chips which were delicious by the way. I think the best I have ever had. I could only eat half of the meal.
Overall it was a crazy week. I didn't count the number of times I walked up 13 flights of stairs but it was more than 10 times. Finally Saturday morning full power was restored. My legs were exhausted by the time I got off the plane last night. I am seriously too tall to fly. My legs hit the seat in front of me the entire time. Very annoying.
Dan welcomed me home by saying, "On behalf of the Utah tax payers I would like to welcome you home from your paid vacation." A little crazy. Luckily we went on a grant. I was actually sad we missed the conference because there were some things I was looking forward to. I am also ticked I could not get anyone to go to Les Miserables with me. No one in my group was interested. LAME!
