Boston, Massachusetts

Balmy temperatures and bikinis on the beach were not the theme of our spring break this year. Instead we traveled from Athens to the windy, and still slightly winterized city of Boston where we had some amazing experiences. From meeting up with old friends and relatives and eating like we were on our second honeymoon to touring the historic city of Boston as well as the beautiful rocky shores of the northeastern coast, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Athens Plane (20 Seats!)

We began our journey by hopping onto a puddle-jumper at the Athens airport. The tiny propeller-plane had a mere 20 seats - 10 on each side of the narrow aisle. The lightweight plane felt like a feather in the sky compared to a typical jet. I was very grateful we had nice weather for both legs of the journey, because I imagine the fish-tailing of the plane would be greatly exaggerated under rougher conditions. We had a "fairly full" flight both legs of the journey; therefore, the pilot did not have to move passengers in order to balance out the plane like he did the last time Brian flew out of Athens.

After arriving in Boston, our friend Jen Anderson picked us up and introduced us to driving in Boston - quite an experience!! Much like Argentinian drivers, Bostonians modify the number of lanes which actually exist on the road to a number which suits their purpose. Furthermore, pot-holes the size of the Grand Canyon threaten to swallow your car whole, yet drivers still race through the streets as if they are driving air boats rather than cars. Fortunately, Jen was accustomed to driving under such conditions and navigated us safely to her apartment.

After dropping off our luggage at Jen's apartment and grabbing a bite at Anna's Taqueria (a wonderful burrito shop with HIGH-SPEED service), we made our way over to Cambridge to explore Harvard. The architecture of many of the buildings was awe-inspiring, especially the Freshman Boys' Dining Hall. The arching, dark wood ceilings reminded us of the dining room from Harry Potter. After exploring the campus, we headed to Burdick's, a well-known, scrumptious chocolate shop. There we discovered the true meaning of hot chocolate - not the watered down liquid we were used to drinking, but the thick, chocolate liquid which resembled a melted candy bar. Believe it or not, after a little more exploring we headed off to dinner on the North End, also known as the Italian District. After a fabulous dinner, we explored the North end a little more before making our way to Mike's Pastries, a well-known Italian bakery. Wow! The line out the door and the mob inside made it obvious we'd found the right place. Being first-timers, it was very difficult to see all they had to offer due to the swarms of people, but we found at least four desserts which we couldn't resist. All were incredible! We were excited to discover that you can order all of their desserts online.

The Mother Church

The next morning we headed to the Mother Church for the Sunday service. Although Brian had previously visited Boston, I had never been to the Church Center; it was truly inspiring. The readers were outstanding and made it very easy to stay focused on every word. After the service, we met up with some old friends from Principia; it was wonderful to find out what they were up to and how they were doing.

For the remainder of the day, we decided to head north to see some of the coastline in Maine. The geology of the beaches in the Northeast differs considerably from that of the Georgia coast. Whereas Georgia 's beaches are dynamic and require animals to be specially adapted for life without a substrate to attach to, the Northeastern beaches were extremely rocky in the majority of locations we visited. The waves were magnificent as they crashed against the steep, jagged shorelines and launched a foamy spray into the air. Driving along the coastline, we not only enjoyed the natural beauty of the area, but gawked at the huge houses which lined almost every square foot of the coast, among which was the President's vacation home in Kennebunkport, ME. On the way back to Boston, we stopped at Hodgie's Too, an excellent ice cream shop which is famous for its surprisingly large portions. Brian decided to order a small sundae until he discovered a small came with three huge scoops of ice cream!

Massachusetts' State House

The next few days, we set out to explore the ins and outs of Boston. One of the characteristics which stands out is the history prevalent in so much of the city. Buildings built prior to the 1800's abound; it's quite amazing to stand in an architecturally beautiful building and realize that this edifice was built when the founding fathers were alive. The Massachusetts' State House was one such building. Murals of famous historical moments embellished the walls, sunlight glinted through detailed stained glass windows, and tiny colorful tiles amassed themselves into intricate patterns between the more classic marble slabs.

We also toured the U.S.S. Constitution (also known as "Old Ironsides"), the oldest commissioned warship in today's Navy; yes, it still sets sail once each year to maintain its commissioned status. This ship was one of six built in 1790 to stop the British from capturing our merchant vessels and forcing our sailors to serve in the British Navy. The masts and rigging alone were enough to make your jaw drop, but imaging ourselves as sailors in the early 1800's aboard that ship was another story. For example, water on the ships was collected from lakes and rivers into huge barrels which were often unopened for six or seven months. Can you image the concentration of bacteria and other microorganisms after this amount of time? It's no wonder sailors often referred to the water as "live water." Another amazing feature of the ship was its weight. When comparing the Constitution to a Navy destroyer twice its size, the Constitution weighed 150 tons more!!! The difference in weight is partially due to the extremely thick hull of the boat, which was constructed from three layers of solid oak. The interior layer of oak was extremely dense, whereas the outer layer served as more of a cushion. The outer layer tended to absorb some of the impact of canons, which made them bounce back into the ocean, leaving only dents. When British sailors firing on the ship witnessed this phenomenon, they rightfully commented that her sides seemed to be made of iron; American sailors who overheard these comments coined the name "Old Ironsides."

Other historical locations we visited or walked past included the Old State House (where the Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians in 1776), the site of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere's Home (constructed in 1680), the Holocaust Memorial (a glass monument with the numbers of all of the people who were killed in concentration camps during WWII - an enormous number of people), and many others. We both walked away with a more complete understanding of post-Revolutionary history.

On top of our historical visits, we became kids again as we oohed and aaaahed during an impressive electrical show at the Museum of Science. Boasting the largest Van de Graaff generator in the world, the museum was able to put on quite an exciting electrical show which cleared up many of the misconceptions we held about electricity. For example, we were asked whether or not we were truly safe in our cars during a lightning storm and why. Almost everyone in the room believed they were safe due to the rubber tires. WRONG!!! You would need tires over one mile thick to protect you from a lightning strike to your car. However, you ARE in fact safe if your car has a metal frame. A metal frame? That doesn't seem logical because metal conducts electricity well. (At least that's what we thought.) To prove this point, the woman giving the presentation climbed into a solid metal cage inside the area where lightning bolts were flashing. BOOM! Bolts of lightning hit the cage repeatedly, but she kept talking. True, she had shoes on, which left room for skeptics to doubt the metal had truly protected her. However, the next demonstration left no room for doubt. The presenter then explained that when electricity hitting metal only travels through the outside of the metal, nearest the strike, rather than all the way through the metal. This is known as the "skin effect." Therefore, if you are touching the metal on the inside of the cage or the inside of your car frame you will not be electrocuted. She demonstrated this as well by putting her hand on the inside of the wire cage she was standing in. More bolts of lightning bombarded the cage, deafening the audience and striking right by her hand, but the electricity stayed on the outside of the cage! Quite amazing; the graphic demonstration made it even more convincing.

The effects of having a negative charge building up in a person were also demonstrated in the show. A little girl stood on a plastic stool next to a much smaller Van de Graaff generator. She placed her hand on the metal globe on top and immediately began being bombarded by electrons. The longer she left her hand on the globe, the more negatively charged she became. Just like the same ends of a magnet repel each other, when the body has excess negative charges, the negatives repel each other and try to spread out as much as possible; this resulted in the girl's hair standing up in all directions! It was quite comical.

Longyear Museum: Brian & Ruth Weaver

On the final day of our journey, we traveled to the Church Center to explore the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity as well as the Maparium. After visiting the Longyear Museum earlier in the week, which included beautiful displays on Mary Baker Eddy's life and the early Christian Science movement as well as references to other historical events occurring during the same time, it was nice to return to some similar information as well as exploring a more spiritual side to Mary Baker Eddy's life. Also of great interest was the display on medical remedies during the late 1800's and early 1900's as well as the video portraying an interview Mary Baker Eddy held with a journalist near the end of her life. In addition to the library, we enjoyed the tour of the Maparium, a huge stained-glass globe in which you stand and view the world as it was in 1930; both the map and the acoustics were incredible. Even a whisper can be heard clearly throughout the Maparium. Before heading back to Boston, we met up with some friends and headed to an Indian restaurant on Newbury Street. Although Indian food in our home town was not even close to my favorite, the buffet at Kashmir was outstanding. We all really enjoyed the meal, and more importantly the opportunity to catch up with each other. :-)

Although we certainly didn't include all parts of our trip in this synopsis, these were some of the most exciting parts of our trip. If you ever decide to travel to Boston & need some ideas, please feel free to e-mail us or give us a call.

-- Molly & Brian Lawrence

The Big Dig: Storrow Drive Connector Bridge