Bites of Boston!

Mega Bus

Our journey on the East Coast of the United States continued as we traveled from New Haven to Boston.  We planned ahead for this part of the trip.  Josh purchased tickets for us on the MEGA BUS!  This is a great way to travel between these two college towns.  Because we planned ahead, our tickets cost $1.00 per person.  YES!  You read that correctly - only $1.00.  Just be aware that you MUST plan ahead to get this great price.  Last minute decisions will not get you $1.00 tickets.
http://us.megabus.com/?gclid=CNacgtvO3sACFUxqfgodYi8Aww

Free Hotel

We were fortunate to be able to stay with Josh in New Haven.  Monica lives in an adorable house in Cambridge, MA with other young professional women.  So, we needed to find ourselves a hotel.  Traveling as much as we do has afforded us great hotel points.  If you don't have an frequent flier miles, hotel rewards affiliations or credit cards which offer travel points, you need to get connected immediately.  For the trip to Africa, we signed up for a Chase Sapphire card.  We chose this card because there are no fees for international transactions and also offer reward points for travel in the future.  Look into the many types of credit cards to see which one will provide you with the best deals.

We had enough Best Western Points to be able to stay all three nights in Boston for free.  We decided not to stay in downtown Boston but rather to take the train to Quincey.  This afforded us a little nicer view as our hotel was situated on the Neponset River.  It was only 4 stops on the train to our Hotel from South Station .  The other advantage to staying in Quincy was that we were only 1 train stop from the JFK Library - a highlight of our trip and the subject of a future post.

The hotel offered free breakfast, a full service restaurant with pub, and a lovely swimming pool.  The weather was quite nice while we were in Boston albeit a bit hot.  So, cooling off in the swimming pool was delightful.  We also enjoyed evening dinners out on the deck with a view of the river.
http://www.bwadamsinn.com

$1.00 Oysters

Monica had been pinning places of interest on our shared pinterest page.  Pinterest offers the ability for more than one person to access a board.  Monica and I share several boards.  You can follow our Taste This Place With The Gaileys Board at http://www.pinterest.com/dougienjoey/taste-this-place/.

One of our favorite pins is "The Updated Guide To Every $1.00 Oyster In Town."  Josh spent time looking at all of the restaurants and chose Carrie Nation, Restaurant and Cocktail Club.  Now, if you remember your prohibition history, you will remember the name Carrie Nation.  She was a member of the Temperance Movement which opposed alcohol prior to prohibition. She was a tall woman at six feet  and was known to have attacked taverns with a hatchet.  This restaurant bears her name but would very likely have been an establishment which would have incurred her wrath and hatchet!  The decor was very much like a speakeasy.

The cocktail club is  known for its creative signature cocktails and $1.00 oysters!  At that price, it is very easy to enjoy two dozen or more oysters!  The oysters paired very well with the  "Bees Knees" cocktail which combined honey. lemon, and gin.
http://www.carrienationcocktailclub.com

Bike on Down

Like so many other cities now, Boston has a bike share program called The Hubway. http://www.thehubway.com We started using bike share in Washington D.C. with Capitol Bike Share.  This is such a fun and easy way to see a city.  A 24 hour pass is available with just the swipe of your credit card.  You can ride as many times as you'd like during that 24 hour period by swiping your card again and obtaining a new code.  The cost of your pass includes unlimited rides under 30 minutes.  We used the Hubway to enjoy downtown Boston and rode to Harpoon Brewery.

Brew It Up!

Being blessed to live in the Pacific Northwest, we are spoiled with the large number of terrific microbreweries.  The East Coast is catching on quickly, however.  Josh met us at Harpoon Brewery for a tour of the plant.  Harpoon does a great job of combining education and entertainment.  We loved the personalization of the tour which included self-depracating Bostonian humor.  Tours also include a stop in the tasting room with more than a half dozen beers to try. The brewery began in 1986 because they "love beer and wanted more quality choices."  Get there early as the tours sell out quickly.  But, if the tour sells out - sit down in the beer hall and order up one of their amazing pretzels.   These are hand made with spent hops and you will find it to be the best pretzel that you have ever eaten.  Be certain to pair it with a pint of beer.
http://www.harpoonbrewery.com

Dim Sum

We continued our excursion by bus, this time.  Boston's public transportation is varied and easy to access.  We went to China Town where we enjoyed a late of dim sum at Hei La Moon.  The food is incredibly fresh and brought directly to your table on the quintessential dim sum carts.  Our favorites included the shrimp shiu mai and the pork dumplings.
http://heilamoon.com

Photo from Hei La Moon Web-site

Cambridge Cuisine

Utilizing The Hubway, we rode bikes north from Boston to the Charles River and then followed the river west to the Anderson Memorial Bridge.  This bridge takes you straight up to Harvard Square.  Our next posting will take you around Harvard - Monica's University.

Our last evening in Cambridge was spent at Bronwyn Restaurant.  It is located in Union Square in Sommerville and is an easy walk from Cambridge.  Bronwyn is also very close to subway lines if you don't feel like walking.  This is the place to indulge in german style sausage, sauerkraut, schnitzel, traditional noodles and a great selection of Austrian, German, Czech, and American beers.  This is a bustling restaurant with personality which matches the food.  Wait staff is personable and friendly while also being very knowledgable about the cuisine.  Do not overlook the gurkensalat (pickled dill & cucumber salad) and the riesling sauerkraut.  These enhance the bratwurst experience.
http://bronwynrestaurant.com

Arlo Guthrie provides our musical pairing:  "Massachusetts"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNc0VCfKuck

Next posting:  Harvard and Boston's Freedom Trail!

Let's Hike!

Above it All

When you love to eat as much as we do, physical activity is a MUST!  We have always been hikers and backpackers.  We grew up in Utah where the Wasatch Front has incredible hiking and camping opportunities.  We, then, moved to the Pacific Northwest where the weather makes year round hiking and camping possible.  Our boys grew up in the out of doors.  Doug and Justin have climbed Mount Ranier twice and Doug climbed Mt. Saint Helen's this summer.  Justin is planning a Mt. Kilmanjaro summit this December.

New Haven is not known for its big mountains.  However, it does have some beautiful "rocks" to climb.  Josh and Monica led us on a walk to East Rock.  We had a lovely walk through the quaint neighborhoods of New Haven.  Each neighborhood has its own small grocery store and wine store.  Residents don't need to get in a car in order to pick up a few small necessities.  Walking to the store is not only easy but one of the ways in which neighbors commune.

East Rock Park provides several ways of getting to the top.  It is accessible by car.  But, our choice is to walk.  You can take the route which winds around the hill - making it a slow ascent - or you can take the stairs and go straight up!  Guess which route the Gaileys took!  Straight up!  Jolene had knee surgery in June, so this was one of the first tests of the knee and her physical therapy!  Success!

The view is incredible.  You can see all over New Haven.  Being from the Pacific Northwest, we sometimes think that we have the most trees!  Well, remember, this is New England and the deciduous trees abound.

  

Photo from Wikipedia

At the top of East Rock is a beautiful statue.  It honors the residents of New Haven who gave their lives in the Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The Mexican War and the Civil War.

http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/parks/parksinformation/eastrockpark.asp

Sleeping Giant State Park

The next day, we drove 8 miles out of New Haven to the Sleeping Giant State Park.  This is the site of Mt. Carmel.  It is located in Hamden.

This is a picturesque mountain which has 2 miles of mountaintop which resembles a man lying in repose - a sleeping giant.  We took the scenic 1 1/2 mile trek up the mountain to the stone observation tower.  The tower is hidden behind lush greenery - you just happen upon it suddenly.  The observation tower grants 360 degree views.

This is a popular recreation area which has over 30 miles of hiking trails including 5 miles of the 23 mile Quinnipiac Trail.  Quinnipiac University is also in the city of Hamden.  Views from the observation tower are quite spectacular.  This is a perfect place to view Hamden and New Haven and their geological formations.
http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325264&deepNav_GID=1650%20

Our musical pairing comes from Fleet Foxes.  We were listening to this music while we were staying at Josh's apartment.  This will always remind us of our time in New Haven.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrQRS40OKNE

Next post:  We will take you to Boston where we will go on the freedom trail and eat $1.00 oysters with Monica!!!