Boston/New York Trip

This is going to be a long post, but I want to make sure I record as much of the details as I can about our trip. We flew out to Boston on the 16th so Mike could run the Boston Marathon. We spent all day of the 16th at the airport and on planes. It was nice when we finally got there. We then drove up to Danvers, MA (which is really close to Salem) and spent the night. The motel we stayed in had bad reviews but it was honestly really cute and quaint. I think it was our favorite out of all the places we stayed.

The 17th we got up and drove to Salem where we took the commuter rail into Boston. We met up with his parents and went the the New England Aquarium. It was really neat. I really enjoyed watching the penguins. I could have sat and watched them all day. After the Aquarium, we went and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, then headed up to Salem to spent the rest of the day. I am totally into Salem. That is where the famous Witch Trials took place. We also got to do a Ghost Tour in Salem. That was a lot of fun. I managed to forget my camera this first day so Mike had to take all the pictures on his camera.
The 18th we headed into Boston and Mike was able to pick up his race packet. We then headed on the Course Tour which was basically a tour that took us along the entire Marathon Course. I was surprised because it was really scenic. I had pictured the whole race taking place in the heart of the city, but it starts outside of town. After the course tour we went on a Duck Tour. That was a lot of fun. They were buses that were also boats. So the tour takes you on land and in the water. I really enjoyed it.

That Night we met up with his coworker and his family for a Pasta dinner. It was neat that his Coworker was there to support him. It was funny though because we randomly ran into his coworker the night before in Salem of all places. He happened to be at the same Museum/Gift shop we were at.
This was at the start line in Hopkinton.The picture below is of the Duck Tour Vehicles we rode.



The 19th was the day of the Marathon. I had to get a picture of Mike before the race and after the race. We were in Framingham watching for him. I couldn't believe how many runners there were. I ended up missing him and not seeing him. His parents (who were across the street and down a little ways) got to see him. I was kind of bummed I didn't see him. We then rode the train to the finish line although we could not get anywhere near the finish line. We got to an area where they had a big screen setup so you could watch people on the screen cross the finish line. Also you could see them running past (but a couple blocks away). So we watched and his sister and I both saw him run past. He ran it in like 3:21. We then went to the family meeting area and met up with him.

One thing that was neat was the shirt he ran with. It had my mom and his cousins pictures on it and said "When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure." Then it said "In Loving Memory of Ian Bonavita and Connie Bone". His cousin died at age 7 of Leukemia and the day of the Marathon would have been his 18th Birthday. It was fitting to have my mom on there since she got sick the day he qualified for Boston. It was neat he ran with that shirt. He said he got a few comments from people saying things like "Ian and Connie are both proud of you." I know they were honored that he ran with that shirt. His mom made up shirts for the rest of us that were green and said "Team Mikal" and "Kickin' Asphalt". It was fun!

One of the interesting things Mike said about the race was when he got to Wellsley College. He said there were tons of girls holding signs saying "Kiss me, I'm a Senior" (or Junior or whatever). Anyways he said a bunch of guys threw on the brakes and ran over and kissed the girls. He also said that there were crowds the entire way and there were so many people and runners. Oh and he also said when he rode the bus to the start line, he ended up sitting next to, and striking up conversation with a fellow Utahn. Crazy how that worked.

The 20th we got up and headed to New York. My moms cousin lives in New Jersey (right across from New York) and invited us to come stay with them. So we geared up the GPS and headed out. It was pretty scary driving thru New York trying to get to their house. We really relied on the GPS. What was hard was when we were in the middle of New York when the GPS lost its signal. Somehow we managed to make it ok and got to their house. They were nice enough to take us into New York and give us a little tour. I got rather car sick while weaving in and out of traffic. The drivers in New York are crazy! I couldn't believe how crazy it all was. They then dropped us off at the Empire state building. We went up to the top to their observation deck. It was incredible seeing New York from that perspective.

We then wanders to the site of the World Trade Center towers stood. They have a little tribute museum sort of place. It was neat going and see all of that. They are rebuilding stuff there but we got lots of pictures from the construction site.

This was pulled from the rubble and is part of a plane window. It was crazy some of the things they pulled from the rubble that was still partly in tacked.The 21st we headed back into New York. We walked thru Time Square and then walked the whole length of Central Park. Time Square is just so incredible! We even went into the M&M store as sort of a tribute to my mom. Central Park is huge and very gorgeous! It is hard to believe there could be such a park in the center of such a huge city. We spent the night of the 21st in New Haven, CT. We were a little nervous of our hotel since it had bad reviews, but it turned out to be rather nice. Its funny because one of the hotels we stayed in had good reviews but when we got there our sheets had hair and dirt in them, like they had not been changed. It was late so we slept there anyways. The next day I called to have them change the sheets so we could sleep in clean sheets that night. Well I was told the housekeepers had left for the day and that the front desk guy would not have time to change them. So we ended up picking up clean sheets from the front desk and making our own beds. It was ridiculous! I was so mad at that place!

Anyways so we got up the morning of the 22nd and headed back to Boston. We then met up with Mikes parents and did the trolley tour and a harbor tour. We also went to the top of the Prudential Center to their Observatory.

The 23rd was the day we all headed home. Mikes parents and my Dad were on the same flight leaving at like 6:30 AM. Mike and I didn't fly out until 5:25 PM so we had the majority of the day to wander around Boston on our own. We had breakfast and lunch at Quincy Market. That place is unbelievable with all the food choices. We also wandered to the Holocaust Memorial and over to Haymarket, for the Farmers Market. That was neat to see. We also finished the rest of the Trolley tour that we didn't get to see the day before. As well as headed to Mike's Pastrys. That place is good and very popular. Every time we would try to go it had huge lines going down the block. This time we went fairly early in the morning so there were not lines yet. It was good!
This is a picture of the Holocaust Memorial. There is steam that periodically rises from the grates and up thru the glass towers. The glass is etched with millions of numbers that Jews were assigned. It was neat.

All in all, it was a good trip. It was nice having Mike's family there and also my dad. I am very proud of Mike for his accomplishment of running the Marathon. It was a neat experience all around. I am very glad we got to go!