Trip to Boston

 

At the beginning of March, my husband and I took a trip to Boston.  We needed to gather information in order to make our next big decision: which MBA program should Tyler attend?

We arranged to leave Lincoln with my parents here in Utah.  Four days and four nights is the longest chunk of time we've ever left him, and we all knew it was going to be difficult.  However, it didn't make sense to bring a toddler to a new place in which we relied on public transportation and didn't know exactly where we were going half the time.  We only had two full days on the ground, and it was important to focus on learning about the school, the area, etc.

The flight was quite easy without having to entertain a child, and I was thankful to just sit and sip the free juice.  I am visibly pregnant at this point, so all I had to do was waddle down the aisle to the end of the plane where the mini fridge is kept, smile and request a whole can of cranberry or tomato juice, and I was given whatever I wanted.  I liked that.  I also liked being alone with my husband.  It's fun to just be a "couple" with my man!

I have to admit we had a lot of trouble when we finally arrived in Boston.  The plan was to take the T (subway) to our hotel, which was next to a station.  The problem was which route to take, which bus to hop on to which station, and so on.  My directions from the hotel front desk were less than accurate, or at least they assumed we knew much more than we did.  Visitors!  We need every single detail!  But, in the end luckily we found another couple who were familiar with the area and who happened to be heading the same direction.  Thank you, Lord!  An hour's ride on the subway and a quarter mile walk to our lodging, all in the dark.  It took 12 hours from the time we took flight in SLC to the moment we stepped into the hotel lobby.  And that's why we didn't take our two year old!

Luckily we figured out the system pretty well in that first experience, and didn't have much trouble finding our way around after that.  I was impressed by how quickly we caught on.

The next day was entirely devoted to Babson, the school which would possibly bring our family to Massachusetts.  It's located about 15 miles away from downtown Boston, which is unfortunately far enough to be off the public transportation grid.  So we took a taxi.  Tyler was mentally weighed down, knowing that this was it-- one day to figure out whether or not he was willing to move his newborn twins, toddler and wife across the country.  I tried to be as supportive as possible, giving input and making observations.  Ultimately, though, I needed my husband to figure out which school he liked, and then I could wrap my head around which state to call home.

Babson campus is small but gorgeous.  Tall, ancient trees dot the lawns and tower over sturdy, brick buildings and meandering roads.  Graduate housing is nestled in even an even woodsier area.  I found it picturesque and welcoming, until we tried to locate a two bedroom unit.  Deciding to wing it and knock on doors instead of visiting the housing office, we found very few people home and no one seemed to know of any two bedroom apartments.  It turns out, there are only two, and they are first come first serve.  All in all, I had a bad feeling about that campus housing option for our family.  I felt lonely the entire time, and something was telling me it would be that way if we moved there.  At this point we're scouring the rental possibilities between Babson and Boston.

Tyler spent the afternoon at an event which included a question and answer session with alumni and current students, a speech by the president of the school, and a networking hour with other accepted students.  He talked a lot with a couple professors and even sat in on an elective class.  I tagged along through everything, hoping Tyler was forming an opinion.

We spent the next day in Boston.  With no plan and only the subway and our feet to get us from place to place, we visited nearly everything on the list.  And we took a lot of pictures!

The Library:

       

We soaked in the art, architecture and rare books.

She copied my hair style.  

Not the other way around.

I loved the rare books room.  Medieval manuscripts and original first editions which spanned the history of the printing press peeked out at us from behind protective glass.  We saw a specimen of John Adams' handwriting and looked up at his personal library (the top floor above us.)

Out on the town:

I adored this girl's outfit.  A lifelong lover of dresses, I'm especially fond of white ones!  For some reason I wanted to take pictures of every pretty dress I encountered, but I always asked because the stores at Copley Mall are quite snobby.  At Louis Vuitton, Tyler and I simply made fun of the prices and took turns trying on sunglasses.  $300 t-shirts!  For heaven's sake!  

In Boston Commons, we met a squirrel.  Then we realized the entire park was covered in squirrels.  They're awfully cute, and obviously used to being fed, because they approached us with little caution.

The Aquarium:

SHARK!

Myrtle the turtle is this big:

Dinner:

A restaurant entrepreneur at Babson recommended Craigie on Main as the one place we must eat while visiting Boston.  We walked up to the doorway, checked out the menu, and decided we didn't want to share a hog's head for $25.  Honestly, it did look lovely and someday we'll go when we can both enjoy their famous wine pairings.  However, we came across a more welcoming looking place called Cuchi Cuchi.  I had a feeling it would be fantastic, and I wasn't disappointed.  Waitresses and hostesses dressed like this:

(We asked and found out the employees have a huge wardrobe downstairs, or they can bring their own outfits.  How fun is that?)

The food looked like this:

And the absinthe tasted like this:

I abstained from alcohol, of course, but it was fun to see Tyler try this new drink.

Goodbye Cuchi Cuchi!  And goodbye Boston.  Until.....

The fall.

Yes, we decided to move.  It took a lot of back and forth and weighing of pros and cons, but in the end we are both people who would rather say we did than didn't.  We'd rather make a drastic change and put our hearts into making it worthwhile, than embrace status quo and wonder what might have been.

Wish us luck! 

(And go ahead, make fun of my harbor hair!)