Week 4

Ashley had an absolutely terrific time with her mom and Summer enjoyed meeting all of the relatives. Thank you so much for having us!!
On Tuesday night, we went out to dinner in Beacon Hill with Tim and his sister, Corey. We talked about studying abroad in Granada, as Corey had studied there a few years ago. It was nice to experience Boston food with our the locals.

The Paramount with Tim and Corey

Wednesday called for hanging out at Amos' house with some of his high school friends. We are really expanding our social network! On Thursday and Friday, we met up with friends and had a great time exploring Harvard Square. Then on Saturday, we headed to Newport, RI where Amos has a house on the ocean front. We enjoyed another weekend of boating, tubing and playing in the water before touring the beautiful city of Newport. There, we saw the famous historic Newport mansions and shopped on Thames Street, an adorable shopping district on the bay.

boating

Newport, RI

A Visit from Robyn

Ashley's mom, Robyn, arrived in Boston late Thursday evening. The next day, we took a walk through Quincy Market before heading downtown to the TD Center to see Keith Urban. It was a fantastic concert and we even made new friends with Sean, the guy sitting next to us. 

Keith Urban

On Saturday, we drove to Lebanon, Maine where Ashley's aunt's family has a cabin on the lake. We had so much fun with her family out on the boat, tubing, and taking jet ski rides. 

the cabin

So happy you're here!

That night, we met up with Liz and took part in late night boating and wake surfing with some friendly Mainers.  Sunday called for more fun on the lake and of course some yummy lobster and clams.

Hanging with Lizz and her friends

Maine's finest!

On Monday, we returned to Boston and went on a Duck Tour. This replica of a World War II amphibious vessel drove both on land and in the water as we explored the historic city.

Ashley driving the Duck on the Charles River

For dinner, we ate on the bay at The Barking Clam for some classic New England chowder.

mmmm

Fourth of July

On the 4th we watched the 265th Bristol, RI Fourth of July Parade- the oldest one in the country. Groups came from across America to march in the parade and show off their patriotism. 

After, we went for a quick Atlantic dip off the Granoff's dock and headed back to Boston.
That night we watched the Boston fireworks from Amos' Back Bay apartment, an eye level and dead center view of the show. It was by far the most spectacular display we had ever seen-completely out of this world. Later, we finished the night out in Harvard Square with Amos and his brother and friends.

Incredible!

Stew, Tim, Amos, Rudy, Ashley, Edie, and Summer making up the DU east coast crew for the 4th

Week Three

-We hung out with Amos, Rudy, Tim, Stew, and Jason, all friends from DU, on Monday night after work. Then on Tuesday Summer enjoyed her first spinning workout class and we ended the evening by watching Good Will Hunting. Spectacular movie!
-On Wednesday we did some after work yoga then had a relaxing evening at Amos' house with his friend, James, and sister, Fran. 
-Thursday called for a short day at the office and in the evening we met up with Stew and Becca, a DU friend visiting from Wisconsin for the weekend. We walked to Walden Pond, where Thoreau wrote the book Walden, from Stew's house and enjoyed a little swim in the beautiful lake. Later the night we watched The Departed to complete our Bostonian cinematic ventures.
-Friday we took the T to Downtown Crossing, the center of the city, and began on the Freedom Trail.  We saw Park Street Church, where My Country Tis of Thee was first sung and the first missionaries left from to go to Hawaii; Old Granery Burial Ground where Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, John Adams are all buried; King's Chapel; Old South Meeting House, where the secret signal was given by Samuel Adams to the men to begin the Boston Tea Party; Old State House and Boston Massacre Site; Faneuil Hall; Quincy Market; the North End (Little Italy, where we had the most delicious cannolis of all time); and Old North Church, where Paul Revere started his midnight ride.  That night we went out downtown with Amos and his friends and stayed at his apartment in the Back Bay.

Summer Street! At Downtown Crossing

Cannolis in the North End

Paul Revere and Old North Church

completed the Freedom Trail!

-Saturday we successfully navigated from downtown to our house sans GPS.  Then mostly just laid on our deck in the sun and ate otter pops.  In the evening we headed out to Rhode Island to begin our Independence Day celebrations with Edie!  We got there around ten, and checked out the local carnival then headed to bed.
-We started today sailing with Edie and her dad out around Hog Island, about a two hour adventure.  Learned a little about reefing sails, tacking and jibing.  Then we rode bikes out to the park where there was live music and people everywhere enjoying the long weekend. This town, Bristol, is 4th of July crazy.  It has the oldest 4th of July parade in the country and has been deemed the most patriotic town in America.  Red, white, and blue lines replace the usual yellow ones in the middle of the roads and every house is decked out completely with flags and USA shwag. (Summer is having mainland culture shock and loving it.) We're getting ready now for Edie's family's party of about 30 people where we'll watch the fireworks show over the Bristol harbor and are excited to continue the celebrations tomorrow!