Annual Bucket List Update

With some nudges from my oldest son, I went on my first solo travel excursion in August.

It was full of firsts and I am very pleased to report, was very enjoyable.  My list contains travel which includes parts of the U.S. I have not seen as well as other countries.  

This year I chose Boston, Ma.  I am a bit of a history buff so it was on my list of east coast places to visit.  My friends asked if I was from there, had friends there or had family there. The answer to all three is no.  In the interest of full-disclosure,  my daughter-in-law told me as I was about to depart that she had a cousin there if I found myself in need of assistance.  

I do not usually plan extensively beyond time and location but life has taught me that having a place to stay makes the trip less stressful.  I chose a location from one of the owner leased vacation accommodations and was delighted.  I was in a one bedroom condo in Boston's south end. 

I so enjoyed strolling the streets, finding small, intimate restaurants and taverns to visit, and just taking in the ambiance of the city.  I walked unless my destination was over a mile and was amazed at all I discovered.

I visited the Freedom Trail, did a land/sea sightseeing trip around the city, took a ferry boat ride to Provincetown, and I visited the JFK Museum and the Boston Museum of Art.  It was a full four days that was so leisurely in comparison to my norm that I came back in a fully zen state.  

The Freedom Trail caused me to reflect upon our origins as a nation.  I visited the second oldest cemetery where Paul Revere is buried as well as the Boston commons which has an abundance of unmarked graves.  There is just something special about seeing the headstones of people who died in the 1600's and thinking about what I know about that era.   I am pleased to report that Boston is full of friendly people who are very helpful and who did not seem to notice my Texas accent.  

On the day I took a ferry boat ride, a "nor'easter" blew in and stayed with me most of the day resulting in a lovely drenching as I returned to the ferry.  The result of all that rain was that I had two very enjoyable experiences of meeting locals and having extended conversations with them.  If one maintains a focus on the positive all is lovely.  

Firsts are so much fun and so invigorating!  I can see no reason why anyone should wait for the right tour group to start checking off destinations they want to visit.  Every day of the trip was remarkable for one reason or the other.

Namaste!