Wednesday in Boston and then we head home!

Wednesday was our last day in Boston.  We had a full day to sitesee, though, as our flight did not leave Boston until 8:15 pm.  We used the hop-on, hop-off bus again plus the Metro "T" subway system to get around.  Started off by taking the "T" over to Harvard College......or as it's called around Boston, Haaavaaard!  Beautful campus.  Next we hiked up to Bunker Hill monument and climbed all 294 steps to the top.  With that we worked up an appetite so headed back to the North End where we knew of a wonderful bakery called Mike's Pastry...THE place to buy cannolis. We had never had one before--they were good, but maybe you need to have Italian blood to really, really love 'em.

Having travelled the narrated hop-on, hop-off tour bus for 2 days, we pretty much had our history lesson of historic Boston.  It was a great way to get around.

Very tired after our fun-filled days, we arrived safely back in Colorado about 1:00 am (or 3 am east coast time).  Our seatmate on the plane had run the marathon and so the conversation was all about running and marathons.  Her next race is an Ironman Triathalon where she will swim 2.5 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run a marathon.  WOW!  Hope Terry doesn't get any ideas about that (although any race involving swimming will be quickly dismissed by him)....Whew!

The next couple months will be busy ones for us as we say our goodbyes to Montana, pack up and move to Colorado, and start retirement!

Harvard

Bunker Hill Monument

Cannolis at Mike's Pastry

The bridge by Bunker Hill

This was being built 10 years ago when we were in Boston

Stopped by and had a drink with our friends at the Cheers Bar

Our last walk along the streets of Boston

Tuesday is a siteseeing day in Boston

We spent the day being tourists in Boston today.  Used one of the 'hop-on, hop-off" tour buses and saw a lot of the sites around Boston including the MIT campus, a harbor cruise, the USS Constitution, and, of course, the many historic spots.  We ended the day by attending the Blue Man Group performance in the theatre district.  It was a fun-filled day!

Fenway Park - Home of the Boston Red Sox

Boston skyline from a harbor cruise boat

The USS Constitution

Historic buildings among the city skyscrapers

Spring in Boston

It was a great race day!

We were up bright and early to get Terry down to the Boston Commons area where a fleet of school buses were lined up to take the runners to the start line 26.2 miles away.  Twenty-four buses at a time transported the almost 26000 runners.  It's Patriots Day in Boston, a school holiday commemorating Paul Revere's ride many years ago, therefore, the buses are available.

I watched the start of the race on tv in the hotel room and then headed out to catch Terry at the 16.8 mile mark of the race.  Thousands of other spectators did the same thing....the Metro "T" was packed full each time I rode it today.  We had signed up for automatic text messages to be sent to the cell phone when Terry crossed certain points in the race.  Never got a one!  BUT, Jen stepped up and watched the progress on her computer and would text me when he passed a checkpoint and report on Terry's pace.  He started out fast...a 7:22 pace and gradually slowed throughout the race (and the heartbreak hills) to a 7:58 per mile pace, for a finish of 3:30.07.  Way to go Terry!  He was Number 117 in his age group.  Not bad for an old 'bulldog'! 

Tonight we celebrate by going out for a steak dinner.  It will be time to relax and reflect over the day's events.  We both will have stories to share!

Ready to board the bus to the start line.

A 'few' others are riding the buses, too.

The family meeting area.  Where's Terry?

Everyone looks alike with a mylar blanket wrapped around them.

Found him!

Sunday in Boston and we're ready for the race!

Today we headed over to the Expo to pick up Terry's bib number and timing chip.  After a little shopping for marathon souvenier clothing, we walked around the finish area a little bit.  500 Boylston Street is the building where the Boston Legal tv show (one of our favorites) was to have its office.  Didn't see Denny or Alan sitting out on a balcony anywhere!!  We also went into the Boston Public Library.  It was built in 1888 and has beautiful architectural designs.  After an afternoon rest we headed to Boston's Italian neighborhood and enjoyed dinner at Giacomo's Restaurante.  I read it was the best Italian restaurant in Boston and so did a lot of other people.  We were there before it opened at 5 pm and still stood in line for a little over an hour before getting seated.  The restaurant holds only about 35 people.  It was worth the wait....EXCELLENT!

Terry is ready for the race.  We have to get up and over to the bus pickup point no later than 6:45 am tomorrow morning. It's a 15 minute subway ride away. I will return to the hotel and watch the start of the race at 10 am on tv and then leave to catch Terry at the 16 and 25 mile points of the race.  By the time I make it over to the finish area, Terry will be done and waiting for me. 

No sign of Boston Legal's Denny Crane.......

                   The finish line

We've arrived!

Our travel today was uneventful as we flew from DEN to Boston.  We took the "T" subway from the airport to our hotel, which is right across the street from Fenway Park.  We had to make our way through the baseball fans as there is a game tonight.  Red Sox vs. the Rays, which we think is Tampa Bay, but since we're not baseball fans, that is a guess.  As we entered our room, we heard the national anthem being played at the stadium.

It's currently raining, but forecast remains partly sunny and mid-50's for race day, Monday.  The local news reports that some of the elite runners as well as others coming from outside the US are having trouble getting to Boston due to the Iceland volcano that is causing air traffic delays across the Atlantic.

We're happy we made it safe!

Fenway Park from our hotel window

Boston here we come! But first we stop in Colorado!

We're headed to Boston for the marathon but chose to fly out of DEN so we had a good excuse to visit the kids.  We returned Bridger-dog today.  He was happy to see his family and they were happy to see a slimmer Bridger.  His visit to the "Fat Farm" in Montana with daily runs around the lake slimmed him down about 5 lbs.  He's ready to join Lisa on runs now as she takes the baby out in the "Bob" stroller.

We were excited to see little Enzo again.  He's 4 months old now and is all smiles.  Between Grandpa Terry and Grandma Joyce, he's getting a lot of cuddling time.

Enough with the pictures Grandma!!!

Tomorrow we fly to Boston