Recap of Boston, MA

"For no matter how they might want to ignore it, there was an excellence about this city (Boston), an air of reason, a feeling for beauty, a memory of something very good, and perhaps a reminiscence of the vast aspiration of man which could never entirely vanish." - Arona McHugh

My most recent trip was to Boston, Massachusetts and it truly was excellent. Founded in 1630, Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States and encompasses the roots of our nation and a memory of the beginning of our country.

My trip began on November 7, 2018, when my friend, Alexandra and I drove to Minneapolis. We were traveling to Boston because we were attending the National Honors Convention but we wanted to explore the city before it began so we flew in two days early. I organized the flights and the Airbnb because I enjoy planning vacations and it serves as a stress reliever.

Day 1:

Our flight left at 5:45 a.m. on the 8th so we stayed in a hotel which allowed us to leave my car there and shuttled us directly to our airline drop-off. I really liked how easy and stress-free the hotel’s shuttle service was with the Country Inn & Suites in Bloomington, Minneapolis.

We arrived in Boston around 11 a.m. and had to figure out how we would be traveling to our Airbnb. In Boston, there is a subway system that runs throughout the city, however, to take the subway from the airport you must take a shuttle (which we didn’t learn until later). Taking the subway with our luggage sounded a tad complicated so we order a Lyft which worked very nicely and allowed us to see the area that we were staying in.

Our AirBnB was not in the heart of Boston, but rather it was located in East Boston which is a Hispanic area. We were not allowed to check into our Airbnb until 3 p.m., however, the hosts allow the guests to leave their luggage in the kitchen as to not burden you while you explore the city before check-in. Alexandra and I walked to the subway which was about 7 blocks away from the AirBnB and took it into the historic area of Boston for an afternoon of exploration.

First, we walked through Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Both of these markets are a “must-see” when visiting Boston. They contain over 15 different restaurants and food kiosks. The two markets are also the locations for many clothing, jewelry, beauty, shoe and beauty stores. We did not purchase anything on the first day but we returned the next day to go shopping.

After leaving the markets, we walked past the Old State House. It is at the intersection of Washington and State Street, is a historic building that was established in 1713 and was the location for the Boston Massacre. If we had had more time I would have loved to walk through the Old State House because it contains stories from the founding fathers as well as ordinary people who experienced the Revolutionary War.

We continued following the Freedom Trail and walked through the Granary Burying Ground where Benjamin Franklin’s parents and John Handcock are buried. It is quite unique that you can be in the center of a bustling city and there is a grassy, cemetery, full of trees that are hundreds of years old. After weaving our way through the cemetery, we made our way past the Old North Church and into the Boston Common.

One beautiful aspect of Boston is the season of fall last quite a bit longer than the fall is in the Mid-West. This could be seen as we were flying into the city and at Boston Common because the whole park was ablaze with hues of yellows, oranges, and reds.

By this point, we were quite hungry so we were on the hunt for a late lunch. In hindsight, we should have gone up to Beacon Street because there are some very unique restaurants there. But instead, we ate at a little local deli on Tremont St. where I ordered a tasty vegetarian sandwich and chicken noodle soup. After our bellies were full we continued exploring the area and found an adorable little cupcake shop called Sweet, where we enjoyed delightful cupcakes. (I ordered a maple cupcake and Alexandra ordered a salted caramel cupcake.) Fun little tidbit: When I was little I always said that my dessert drawer in my stomach was always empty so this cupcake shop satisfied that.

After both our food and dessert drawers were full, we walked back to Quincy Market, then continued past it on Union Street and onto Marshall Street where we ran across Bell in the Hand Tavern. This tavern is America’s Oldest Tavern and the first pour was in 1795. I had a delightful Wachusett Blueberry which was locally made in Westminster, MA. We sat next to a flag that had 40 stars and celebrates the addition of North and South Dakota to the US. It is so rare because it was only correct for six days until Montana joined the US from November 2nd, 1889 to November 8th. We ventured to the harbor where we watched the sunset which was truly breathtaking.

We returned back to our AirBnB with the intent to leave in two or three hours for dinner but we both fell asleep in the living room. The best part of my nap was that I fell asleep in their little swing. After waking up we really didn’t want to leave so we ordered Urber Eats from Volare which is an Italian restaurant. Alexandra ordered Ravioli di Astice which was (according to her) an incredible ravioli lobster pasta and I ordered two appetizers, arancinette, and lobster arancini. The lobster arancini had Lobster, saffron, mozzarella riceballs, and a vodka tomato cream sauce. The Arancinette was a risotto fritter rolled with bolognese, mozzarella cheese, and tomato-basil dip. I enjoyed the lobster arancini more because I didn’t like the flavor of the bolognese as much. However, everything was incredible and so conveniently delivered to our door. Additionally, I liked the portion size for the appetizers because it was a perfect amount of food and didn’t leave me feeling overly full.

As we are finishing up dinner, our housemate came into the kitchen and introduced herself. Her name is Karen and she is from Japan but is doing the Disney foreign exchange program for a year. She has traveled a great deal throughout her life and had such interesting stories to share with us. Around 11:30 p.m. our other housemate arrived and her name is Rachel and she was touring the universities in Boston in the search of finding a graduate school. Having the chance to get to know two women who live very different lives from the one that I live was one of the highlights of my trip because I love hearing people’s stories and sharing life experiences. Hearing other people’s stories makes me realize that no matter what country you are from or what your background is, there are fundamental feelings and similarities that we all share.

Day 2:

The morning of the 9th Alexandra and I were on a mission to find Acaí bowls. We were disappointed by a few juice bars but we succeed in finding tasty smoothie bowls at Cocobeet. I ordered the Chocolate Protein Bowl which had Almond Butter, Orange, Strawberry, Avocado, Dates, Brown Rice Protein blended with home-made Cashew mylk. Topped w/ Berries, Banana, Cacao Nibs, Pecans, and Toasted Coconut Shreds. It was very rich and satisfied my chocolate craving that is omnipresent.

Unfortunately, Thursday was a tad cooler than the previous day (which I was not expecting when I packed for the trip) so we went shopping at Uniqlo. I absolutely loved the outfit that I purchased from the store because the fit was perfect, the quality of the material was so soft (and warm) and the style was adorable. After putting on clothes that fit the weather more appropriately we continued our exploration of Boston. We wandered through the neighborhoods of Beacon Hill where we met the sweetest elderly man who was blowing leaves and offered to blow some of the leaves into our pictures. Based on directions he gave us, we continued walking until we came across Acorn Street which is on the top 12 things you need to see while in Boston and is the most photographed street in all of Boston. It is a small cobblestone street that is tucked between beautiful Boston townhomes and has tree branches overhanging. Just past Acorn Street, we found Louisburg Square which was a tiny little green park in the middle of an expensive neighborhood.

After our exciting walk around Boston, we returned to our AirBnB and then took a Lyft across town to downtown Boston where our hotel was for the conference. Later that night, a group of us went to the Boston Symphony which was a premiere and enchanting experience. Once we were done with the symphony we were absolutely famished so we ordered late night pizza which was very tasty.

Day 3:

On Friday we performed our Readers' Theater performance which was incredibly moving. The Readers' Theater that we performed is titled ‘Dreamers: Our Origin Stories’ and it is a compilation of over 12 people’s origin stories woven together by a South Dakota State student. The introduction captured the audience with a strong opening message. The introduction states, “Whether filling out a college application or starting a relationship, how we define ourselves is filled with uncertainty and fear of acceptance. Rather than an intriguing journey of self-discovery, explaining who we are is now a political minefield. Yet, we are all immensely different, and this uniqueness should be a reason to celebrate, not a means to divide”. The Readers’ Theater weaves through the lives of people who had roles as a revolutionary, a fighter, a learner, a thinker, an explorer and so much more. The Readers' Theater concluded with the moving statement that, “Our stories remind us that there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but is right. But because our stories are individual blocks connecting the American quilt of diversity, our differences have turned our labels into opportunities. Yet these stories do not run in straight lines parallel to those of our neighbors, they are intertwined, twisted and complicated, much like life.” I felt a strong sense of pride and patriotism while presenting this incredible piece of art. I truly believe that the message that is embodied throughout the Readers’ Theater is a crucial message during our current political climate as a nation and as a global community.

After performing, Alexandra presented her research about vaping, we took the subway so that we could tour Harvard. Upon returning back to our hotel (which was connected to a mall) we went to Eataly (a market in the mall) where we picked up organic chocolate milk, fresh bread, and raspberries and had a chocolate milk date in bed while we watching Christmas movies.

After a nap, we went to dinner at Sonie with the parents of a South Dakota State student who live in Boston and were absolutely engaging conversationalists and generous hosts. Sonie’s is a popular restaurant on Newbury Street that serves a wide range of international cuisine. The group split two delicious appetizers: smoked salmon rangoons and red lentil hummus with pita chips. I even tried an oyster which was a little too slimy for my likings. I enjoyed a Faroe island salmon with roasted beets, orange, and mustard greens and a specialty mule.

Day 4:

We started Saturday, by attending a creativity workshop that examined the importance of shifting how we think about failure. From the workshop, we learned that failure should not be thought of negatively but rather as a springboard to resiliency. One of the activities that we did was called the “failure autobiography” where you record your personal autobiography by examining all the things that you have failed at throughout your lifetime.

I did not finish my “failure autobiography” but I wanted to share the portion that I did complete: Rachel Elizabeth Eickhoff was born on May 21, 1997. She failed to become potty trained until her little sister (who was two years younger) became potty trained and then Rachel got competitive to beat her at learning how to go to the bathroom and received a prize Barbee Doll as a reward. Rachel failed to learn how to read or sound out words properly until the tenth grade because she was dyslexic. Then through a rigorous program, she learned how to properly read and it helped her prepare for her score on the ACT. Even though Rachel failed to form close friendships in her grade in high school, she built incredibly relationship outside of her grade and outside of her high school and these people continue to be her lifelong friends…. Even though I did not complete my whole life story, I do think this is an intelligent way to look at failure especially in a world where we so often only publish and post about the moments we’re most proud of.

We presented our Readers' Theater for the second time and then I helped facilitate a discussion about gender difference in the workplace. We then went to a late lunch at the Boston Pourhouse where I ordered a tasty Jambalaya (that had a few too many onions) but was otherwise delicious and a Rejuvenator which was a delightful combination of Pinnacle Mango vodka, Gatorade & Red Bull. The service was not very impressive but the prices were incredibly inexpensive and the food was delicious.

After sitting through an hour long award ceremony, where my cousin won third place in her poster division, Alexandra and I had a wonderful “date night”. We went to the Top of the Hub restaurant which was on the 52nd floor of the Prudential building and had the most incredible view of the night lights of Boston. We were still quite full from the Pourhouse so we ordered desserts and cocktails. I had the créme brûlée that was heavenly and paired well with my Chocolate Espresso martini and Alexandra ordered the Boston Cream Pie with Hendrick’s Pineapple Sour.

While packing Alexandra and I enjoyed an Apple Cider that was locally brewed called “Feels Like Home” while watching a Harry Potter movie marathon. Our flight left early Sunday morning and we shared a ride with another SDSU conference attendee back to the airport at 3:30 a.m. and that concluded our Boston Adventures.

Attending the National Honors Conference was such a blessing and a phenomenal experience to be able to participate and represent South Dakota State University in the 2018 Readers Theater.

Overall, Boston captured my fascination for the history that is contained and the beauty that is tucked around every cobblestone street. As Arona McHugh highlighted, there really was a feeling of beautiful and aspiration that permeated throughout Boston and it was absolutely intoxicating. I look forward to returning again in the near future and absorbing more of America’s history.

With love,

Rachel Elizabeth