... where everybody knows your name...

let' s start by saying that i'm crying right now. crying because i'm not in boston anymore. i love that city. i love the shopping. the weather. the food. the trees. the shopping. the parks. the red line painted in the sidewalk that always lead to an amazing sight. the architecture. the tunnels. the shopping.

i began this trip with a friend and two strangers. and as i type, i'm feeling pain from the withdrawals. it really was that great.

we met up with my sweet brother and his girlfriend (who really is sweet and small - just like a cupcake.) for dinner a couple of times. such a funky pair. they took us on a great walk to the north end for some tasty italian. seriously - the best italian i've ever had.

we strolled home through beacon hill... another sight of beauty. we walked the freedom trail. saw paul revere's house, grave yard after grave yard (halloween... such convenient timing!), the big ships on the waterfront, and climbed the bunker hill tower.

the almost-transportation-engineer in me paid special attention to the stone cut curbing, old bridges, and cobble stone roads. not much ADA accessibility in this old city!

and then came halloween in salem. it's like going to new orleans for mardi gras... or time square for new years. this was the place to be. witches casting spells... ghost tours through the city... witch trial history ga-lore. besides being a beautiful city - i loved the this place for the energy. cha cha says the population of salem, ma is 42,000. that night - there were over 100,000 people on the streets. a-maz-ing.

and then ryan got a hold of my camera...

all types came out for this... and everywhere i turned, there were ka-razy costumes!

i could go on and on. brilliant costumes. only three sarah palin's. i thought there would be too many sarah's... so i opted for your friendly neighborhood mac counter make up artist.

umm... did i mention the shopping? our posh hotel opened up to newbury street through the chanel store. i think i cried, peed my pants, and fainted at the same time when i walked in the door.

our hotel. the taj hotel. i recommend it.

giorgio armani, 4 floors of banana republic, marc jacobs, chanel... and paper source. heaven.

after another day of sight seeing - cambridge (harvard, mit, and more shopping) we hit up the union oyster house - where i actually sat down to a plate of seafood... and enjoyed it... and later, a piano bar down by fenway park. crazy drunks. unmentionable sights... and four sober mormons who sang at the top of their lungs to every word of every song.

(right about this point in the trip was when i was pulled from a crowd of spectators to be used as a human prop for a street dance team stunt. the craziest black man flipped over five grown adults. amazing. video to come.)

and when it was all through... after we said goodbye to our swanky hotel, goodbye to the rental car, goodbye to the fancy pants shops, and beautiful gardens... we hopped on the plane and cried the whole way home.

but, alas... reunion tour 2009... asheville, nc to see the biltmore estate... or so says the nice stranger we met on the flight home.