Boston's Finest — Sophabulous.

Alright, so I’m a little late getting this up but I wrote this when I was at my one-month anniversary with Beantown (sorry...I had to), or as one of my favorite new friends, a passionate South-Bostonian, calls it “The States”. Otherwise referred to as “The Hub”, “The Greatest City in America”, “Title Town”, and most commonly “The City Where Nights Never Happen and Mornings Hurt Wicked Bad”. My overall impression-I absolutely love this city. Bostonians are a collection of the proudest, most friendly unfriendly people that I’ve ever met. I have always heard, from non-indigenous Bostonians, that the Boston folk are not the chummiest of the bunch. I very much disagree with that opinion. People from Boston don’t beat around the bush, they will tell you if you are an a-hole. But contradictory to where I’m from, a Bostonian will flat out say “hey, you are a peckerhead” and continue on with the conversation as if that was part of the usual formalities such as “hey, how ah ya? Youah peckah-head, but how’s ya mothah?”

Places I’ve been and things I’ve done thus far:

Fenway

This place is straight-up magical. If it’s not on your bucket list, it should be. First stop, Jason Aldean concert…giddyup boys. At the exact same time that I was shitting on my friend for wearing a “Make Amercia Great Again” hat I saw, in the row in front of me, a prototypical East Coast red neck- a rarer breed in the everyday Boston hustle and bustle but right at home at a Fenway Aldean concert. A young fella double fisting Bud Lights, handlebar mustache, cargo khaki shorts, Trump 2016 shirt, and the classic MAGA hat (which may be an acronym I just made up but I would be willing to bet that Trump fans are using that as a #hashtag because of spelling and words and other hard things). It was at that moment I realized that I was not at home anymore. Both Aldean and Kid Rock ripped it up and it was quite the experience complete with a whole lot of ‘Murica and fireworks.

A few weeks later we went to Fenway to watch one of the Red Sox ALDS games. You don’t need a ticket to the game to have a great time. We bar hopped around Fenway (every bar was paaaaacked) and watched the game on TV (arguably as good as actually going to the game).

My favorite pregame spots by Fenway are Baseball Tavern and Bleacher Bar. Baseball Tavern is four floors of complete and total madness before and after Fenway events (ballgames, concerts etc.). When the weather is nice, the rooftop is the epicenter of the shitshow and it is a low down and dirty good time.

Bleacher bar is so cool, it’s just so freaking cool. It’s a very unique bar underneath the bleachers at center field. There is a wall sized window that looks directly on to the field. There are several tables in front of the window that rotate customers once an hour. You don’t need tickets to get in and it’s an awesome spot to catch a Sox game!

Boston Public Garden

B-e-a-utiful. A must-do if you are in Boston. Bonus that we went with our Serbian friends from the Vineyard that were visiting because they make everything seem 10x more exciting than it actually is. So much history in one place-lots of awesome sculptures and memorials. Also strikes me as the place that a lot of locals take their senior pictures, Christmas cards, engagement photos (totally…me too).

Newbury

Awesome spot for shopping but even better for people watching. I sat outside at a coffee shop for a couple hours watching people walk by with bajillions of dollars of merchandise and let my imagination run wild with their life stories. For example, there was Rebecca with Chanel and Cartier bags who is trying to kick her prescription drug habit by switching to retail therapy. She is a stay at home mom with three daughters, a husband who is a Lawyer, and a French Bulldog named Margo (her favorite character from ‘As The World Turns’). I could go on but I will stop there.

Arlington (or A-Town)

Super dope suburb that I’m living and working in. Never thought that I would use the words super dope and suburb in the same sentence, especially with my irrational fear of the ‘burbs. Far enough from the city that you feel like you can breathe (and park), but close enough to take an Uber without needing to hustle on a corner to make enough to get back. I got excellent exposure to the community by working for a property management company in the area. On my first day of work, a convicted prostitute tried to rent out a small commercial space for a rub n tug shop…did I mention that I love this place? Arlington has a ton of history. It used to be named Menotomy. There was a battle there that was bloodier than Lexington and Concord….combined. I’m no history buff but that’s a pretty juicy info snack for the brain to nibble on.

Spy Pond

I don’t use this term very often but “YASSSSS QUEEN”. This pond is right off the Minute Man Trail (my local running spot) and it is knock-me-down-and-call-me-Sally breathtaking. When I ran up to this majesty the first time, I shed a tear either from being so out of shape or for how incredible this place is. I could easily sit on one of the waterside rocks and stare at this beaute for hours (Whitesnake-Is This Love? On a loop in the background).

Portland, ME

I got a very impromptu, very awesome nanny job with a family whom (I had never met prior) took me to Portland with them to help look after their 4 kiddos all under the age of 6 for a weekend. This was both exhausting and rewarding. Portland is a funky New England town with amazing scenery. We were there at the most perfect time to see all of the fall foliage. We took an afternoon trip to the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse, certainly one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen in my life.

Walden Pond

If scenic areas were hot girls this broad would be an 11/10. A huge pond surrounded by an abundance of shrubbery. My friend and I decided to step up our basic chick game from PSLs and Uggs to Instagraming pictures of fall leaves. After Thoreau investigation of the area (and a completely accidental wrong turn) we discovered that this was where Henry David Thoreau spent 2 years, 2 months, and 2 days living and writing (ba-dum-tss!). This time period inspired his work Walden. You can stand on the plot where Thoreau’s very modest living quarters were. This also inspired me…to Google how tall he was-5’7” described as a “medium to medium-short height for a man of his time”. Which sounds like a less rude way of saying, “fortunately he was a talented author because basketball was out of his wheelhouse”. I’m not sure my 5’10” frame would have loved that tiny sleeping space.

North End

Italian food in the hizzouse can I get a whoop whoop?! The North End is the kind of adorable neighborhood that you walk into and feel like the emoji with the heart eyeballs. It is a quaint and charming area with amazing Italian restaurants. I went to Carmelina's on Hanover street for dinner one evening. The wine and the Tonno con Pesto Siciliano e Fusilli was so good it was hard to act like a civilized human because I wanted to shovel it all in my face at once. I think that literally translates to Ahi Tuna Pesto Tastebud Party in Your Mouth.

I attended an improv show at Improv Asylum one Friday night. I wanted to check out the comedy scene in Boston and I read a lot of reviews that said this place was good stuff. I went to one of their "Main Stage Shows". It was pee pants funny. My face and sides hurt so badly by the end of the night from laughing so hard.

Recap

Boston-so far, so great and so ridiculous in the absolute best ways. So many wonderful and crazy things have happened, like taking a wrong turn and getting stuck on the Pike, getting yelled at by a lady-man at Dunkie's, taking my very fist successful solo T-ride, Pats games...and so much more. I still love it despite almost getting kicked out of an Uber Pool for admitting to being a Broncos fan. Stay tuned for my newest adventure.

Next stop: Thailand!! Wheels down November 10th, 2016.

Also big time thank you to the Goode family clan for housing and feeding me and making me feel like part of the family. I adore you guys!

Some more pics from my New England adventures....Enjoy!