Hello and welcome to episode 199 of Travel Stories from the Back Again And Gone podcast.
Recorded in the beautiful home office of, Chateau’ Relaxo, FL. Tonight it’s reviewing seven days in Boston. If you are a new listener welcome, if you are a returning listener welcome back.
Tonight I am partaking in a 1300 Mile Brewery IPA, weighing in at 7% ABV brewed just West of here at the Brew Hub in Lakeland, FL.
The CEO and I took our first real vacation in five years. A vacation that didn’t involve caring for or moving a relative. Our destination was Boston for seven days. For me, I was spending seven days without my laptop my first non-working vacation in the last 20 years.
As our vacation strategy has been in recent years, all transportation would be by taxi or ride-share. This saved us at least $500.00 which is roughly the cost of a seven-day rental plus the $40.00 per night for hotel parking computed to well north of $700.00. Using taxis, rideshare, and the train our transportation cost, plus tips was right around $150.00.
All of my trips to Boston have consisted of flying into Logan and then driving away from the city towards a customer's location. I knew nothing of Boston, I had no idea what to do, where to eat, or where to stay.
The CEO put on her travel guide hat and handled the what to do part. The where to eat was going to be based on local recommendations backed up by Google reviews. Where to stay would be my contribution.
We’ll get into what we did and where we ate part in a few minutes. Let’s start with the where to stay, my responsibility.
I went into this blind since I’ve never booked a room in Boston other than the Hilton connected to the Logan Airport.
I’m here to tell you that Boston hotels during June, during the NBA playoffs with a team in the running, are expensive. So I decided to drop several hundreds of thousands of points for the first five nights, our sixth night was at the Logan Airport Hilton thanks to an American Express certificate. One saving grace is with Hilton if you book five consecutive nights at the same property you only pay for four nights and the fifth one is free.
The hotel of choice was the Hilton Back Bay, When it comes to a full-service Hilton the Back Bay was on par with the other full-service Hilton’s. Full-service breakfast, dinner area, a solid fitness center, and a bar….. what else could anyone want?
Looking back I wished I had booked at a different location as Back Bay was a bit too far west for my liking. One consideration for the distance was that our hotel was located close to the transit system, or as the locals say “The T”.
The flight was booked on Delta, not Southwest, and here’s why. I had been vowing to drop my American Express Green card for the last few years and guess what I did, only to replace it with the Delta SkyMiles American Express Gold Card.
The Delta SkyMiles Gold Card gave me two things in addition to the 65,000 miles I’ll get after I hit their spending threshold within the first 90 days. We had an assigned seat and two free checked bags. The planes on both legs of the trip were new, with less than 2000 air miles on each plane.
It’s been several years since I’ve flown Delta but the plane had free WiFI and a solid choice of seatback entertainment.
When it came to food here are the highlights. These are only the best of the best of food stops through Boston.
* Pho Basil on Massachusets - We ate here twice. On my first visit to any Thai restaurant, I always order Pad Thai Chicken. My rationale is if they can’t pull off this Thai staple then they’ll struggle with everything else on the menu. Pad Basil nailed the correct ratio of chicken, noodles, and sauce. It was so tasty that I ordered it on our return visit.
* The Barking Crab on Sleeper Street. - We started with the hot crab dip and a round of Harpoon Take 5. The dinner orders were all over the place. I went with the naked lobster roll and here’s the reason….. it’s easy to alter the taste of lobster with salt, pepper, celery, lemon juice, and mayo. The Barking Crab naked lobster roll is nothing but drawn butter and lobster on a fresh bun. And it passed the taste test with two thumbs up.
* Dirty Water Dough Company on Newberry Street - Ended up here on the recommendation of our Sam Adams tour guide. Went with a large cheese pizza, because I believe that is how you can honestly rate a pizzeria. Just for kicks, we also ordered a small Fenway which consisted of, Boston Fenway franks, hence the name, shredded mozzarella, Romano cheese, sauerkraut, cheddar, mustard, white onion, and sweet relish. As odd as it looked, it truly did taste like a hotdog, All of us were absolutely surprised at how good it was. We stopped back in for a couple of slices during one of our afternoon walkabouts.
* Dillan’s on Boylston Street - If you’re looking for a great patio bar when the temperature is 70. Then this is the place. My dinner choice after several previous days of pizza was, The Big Papi Roni, Pizza. This was a wondrous culinary delight. Fresh pizza dough. pepperoni, hot honey, ricotta, and mozzarella. It seems like a lot, but it was perfect.
Since no booze April is in the rearview mirror here’s the Boston beer list.
* LightRunner 6.4% ABV - Medusa Brewing Company Hudson, MA
* Citrus Squall 8% ABV - from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Milton, DE United States Dogfish is part of the Boston Beer company so it counts as drinking local. Plus this beer was consumed on the Boston Ferry while I was on the way to Salem, MA.
* Green Ahead IPA 7.2% ABV - Newburyport Brewing Company Newburyport, MA
* The Substance IPA 6.6% ABV - Bissell Brothers Brewing Company Portland, ME
* Road 2 Ruin Double IPA 8% ABV - Two Roads Brewing Company Stratford, CT
* 87 IPA 8% ABV - Night Shift Brewing Everett, MA
* The Lazy Frog IPA 7% ABV - Offshore Ale Co. Oak Bluffs, MA
* Take 5 IPA 4.3% ABV - Harpoon Brewery Boston, MA United States
* Cloud Candy IPA 6.5% ABV - Mighty Squirrel Brewing Co.Waltham, MA
* Built To Spill IPA 8% ABV - Foam Brewers Burlington, VT
Noticeably absent from the list is any beer from the Samuel Adams brewery, and the reason is that being a tourist we did the brewery tour, more on that in a bit.
What did we do, I'm glad you asked.
First up was the Boston Movie Mile Tour. This was an hour-and-a-half walking tour led by a local actor. Here is just a few of the highlights.
* We saw the famous park bench from Good Will Hunting
* Saw one of Jack Nicolson’s mob hangouts in The Departed
* Walked the street of the Blown Away car crash
* We visited Boston Public Garden, where iconic park benches set the stage for unforgettable conversations a la Ted and Good Will Hunting.
* We stopped for a drink at the legendary Cheers™ bar. The bar is a remake of the Hollywood set complete with the lighting rigs. If you plan to top in, no one will know your name, but the place will be packed and you will be served quickly.
* We learned about the historic State House building and its surroundings. These sights were part of Ally McBeal.
* The last stop was one of Boston’s most historic homes and was featured in The Thomas Crown Affair.
One last fact is that many of the movies you see that feature Harvard University are not filmed at Harvard. Love Story, the 1970 hit was the last movie filmed on Harvard grounds. The reason for the cease is that the filming of Love Story caused significant damage to the campus.
The next day it was the Boston small group walking food tour with tastings…. right up my alley.
* The first stop was for a Cup of Clam Chowder at the Union Oyster Housewhich is America’s oldest restaurant. This was JFK’s favorite spot and he always requested the same table and is now noted with a hanging plaque.
* From the Union Oyster House, it was a quick walk to the Boston Public Market a Lobster roll from Red’s, the Barking Crabs offering was much better.
* While at the Boston Public Market, we also sampled some Boston Baked beans. Honestly. They weren’t that spectacular.
* From there it was over to Regina’s in North Boston for Italian Pizza. One of the best pies I’ve ever eaten, but dirty water dough is better.
* The last stop was Modern Pastry for a Mini Cannoli. When it comes to cannoli’s I’m very neutral I would not go out of my way for one, yet I won’t turn one down if offered. Modern Pastry was packed with a line out the door. The good thing about being on a food tour is you get to skip the lines, just like the fast pass at Disney.
The food tour was a solid 5 stars out of 5 stars.
The next stop was the Samuel Adams brewery tour which lived up to the online reviews. As with most brewery or distillery tours the tour guide can make or break the experience. Brandon was our guide and he was awesome. We paid for the extra beer sample and I recommend doing the same. Please exit through the gift shop, which wasn’t too expensive and we left with a few items for the Chateau’ Relaxo home bar. The tip-in is that there’s an onsite bar where you can sample most of their offerings on draft.
* Wicked Hazy 6.8% ABV
* Jamaicaway IPA 7.2% ABV
* Dark Saison ABV unknown
I have done countless brewery tours, and this was one of the better ones and not that expensive.
We also did the Salem Guided Witch Tour. This required taking the Boston Ferry to get to Salem. The Boston Ferry is the real deal, complete with a full-service bar. Somehow no one gives you the side eye if you're drinking beer on the water at 9:30 AM.
When it comes to witches I am 100% indifferent, but the CEO booked the tour. First off, Salem has one industry, and it revolves around an event that took place over 300 years ago. Our tour guide was great as she offered many interesting facts about Salem. One of the planned stops was the Salem Witch Museum. Here’s a tip if your tour guide waits outside it’s a sure sign that whatever you’re walking into is about to suck. The museum was lost on me. The mannequins/statues were childish and looked like they hadn’t been touched up since the museum first opened.
Now when it comes to Salem, what a cool town. The architecture is amazing, the food wonderful and the people are super friendly.
Some interesting Boston facts.
The Ted Williams Tunnel is the deepest in America, approximately 90 feet underground. If you’re driving through a Boston tunnel and you notice green tiles, you are under the earth. If you see blue tiles you are driving underwater.
* Boston boasts a lot of firsts.
* Boston Harbor boasts of the first-ever American lighthouse.
* The first Dunkin Donuts was located near Boston
* The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Boston, which makes sense because Plymouth Rock is only 15 hours southeast of Boston.
* The Oldest Major League baseball stadium is in Boston
* The first public beach in the United States of America was opened in Boston. Somehow I thought that would’ve been in Thank You Florida.
* The first American subway was inaugurated in Boston
* Boston is the only State capital in the United States that is located on a coastline
* The Oldest Major League baseball stadium is in Boston, which is Fenway Park
Now one additional interesting Boston fact is that weed is legal. There were two dispensaries less than a ½ mile from our hotel. Legal weed means you will notice the odor of the devil’s lettuce as you walk the Boston streets. In Boston, weed is a 1.7 billion with a capital B dollar business. Pay attention Florida.
Boston is clean, with very little littering and we didn’t see much homelessness.
The takeaway is that there’s a lot to do and we did most of it in under seven days.
Let's move away from Boston and discuss things that make you go Hmmmmm.
Union tells pilots to stop using words like “Cockpit” and other “negative” terms.
For example:
* Instead of “Ladies & Gentleman” use words like members, guests, or everyone.
* Instead of referring to the flight attendants as the “girls in the back” use words such as cabin crew, flight attendants, or inflight crewmembers.
* Don't say Mother/Father say parents, guardians, or family.
* Instead of saying husband/wife or boyfriend/girlfriend say Spouse/partner or significant other.
First I can only imagine the bill the union's legal team put together. Has it come down to this? Are we so offended by common words such as ladies, mothers, gentlemen, or fathers? I’m bald by choice, fat by dietary choices, and white due to genetics. If someone used the term. That bald fat white guy, it would not offend me. Not at all, it would indicate that they took notice of me. Notice, that I did not even mention pronouns. Yes, this is the world we live in.
Try this one for size, hotels, are adding a gratuity for minibar purchases. This happened at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport in British Columbia and was posted on Live And Let’s Fly. The patron grabbed a $12.10 of Eviane Spring Water and Evian is naive spelled backwards. He was hit with a Refreshment Center Gratuity of $1.30. A gratuity for opening and removing a bottle from the minibar. Most everyone knows my stance on minibars, they are a ripoff. It’s more of a ripoff if I pay a gratuity on a drink that I served myself.
In Vegas, I will gladly pay the $10.00 per day charge for a minifridge and I will stock it with beer, snacks, etc. from the CVS just down the street.
This is one of those posts where the comments are gold. InLA commented - When I check out of a hotel and they ask me to give them a 5-star review. If they have charged any kind of mandatory access/amenity/destination/resort/etc. fee, then I tell them that my review requires a “5-star review access and convenience fee” that is equal to the total of their fees because it’s going to take time for me to write the review and my time isn’t free. They look totally confused and it takes a while for it to sink in. Well done InLA.
Finishing up with this. In 2024 I’ve had the opportunity to fly in and out of several brand new terminals. MCO’s terminal C and Laguardia’s terminal C. In both terminals, I noticed there was a bunch more walking compared to some of the other older terminals. I distinctly remember going down and then back up several escalators at LaGurida, essentially ending up on the same level that I was before using the escalators.
It seems that X or Twitter user @LHSummersposted this. “I have just traveled thru the new LaGuardia airport. It confirms a theory of mine. The newer the terminal, the less convenient it is to use because all the walks are longer. I wonder why?’
@LHSummers got a bunch of answers to his question, which many made sense.
* Planes are larger and their wingspans wider. Hence the newer terminals are larger to accommodate these things.
* Revenue. This one makes the most sense and View From The Wing spells it out in greater detail.
* The more revenue terminal shops make, the more they can charge in rent Supply and demand.
* Concession deals are generally structured so that the terminal owner takes a percentage of revenue as well
* Where there’s a dominant airline especially, the airline will often share in concessions revenue as well.
It’s always about money!
Well, there you have it Episode 199 seven days in Boston.
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As I always say, travel safe, stay safe, and thanks for listening.
