Boston Trip

WooHoo! I made it back yesterday from a week long trip to the Boston area for work.  It was definitely a trip of firsts for me, that's for sure! It was my first time flying (ever) and my first time going to a bigger city alone (ever)...AAANNNDDD I'm 30... It was definitely quite the experience, that's for sure.  

My flight went from Kansas City International Airport to Boston Logan International Airport with a layover at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.  For some of the horror stories that I have heard about flying, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had heard others say.  It was definitely a daunting journey when I have never been in an airport or traveled out of the region.  Chicago O'Hare and Boston Logan were a huge change from Kansas City...definitely more terminals and gates to find my boarding flight at! 

After departing from Kansas City at 10:15 Sunday morning, layover at Chicago O'Hare, arrival at Boston Logan at 4:15pm, trip on the Logan Express to the bus stop in Framingham, a short trip on the Crowne Plaza shuttle, and finally arrived at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Natick around 6:00 Sunday night.  Once I checked in at the hotel, I checked in with Mom, unpacked, cleaned up a little and grabbed a bite to eat and a beer at The Pantry, the hotel's cafe, and then called it a night.

Monday through Thursday consisted of training from 9:00 until 5:00 and training on Friday from 9:00 until 1:00.  Monday night was a night in the hotel and eating at The Pantry.  Tuesday night I ventured out to a place recommended by the shuttle driver, Bella Costa, an Italian Ristorante, which had phenomenal Chicken Parmigiana and also Caramel Pecan ice cream.  Wednesday night I went to the Natick Mall and used the huge mall to get some walking in.  It had stores in it that typically are hours from home for us and too expensive for my taste.  Some of the big names were: Tiffany & Co, Macy's, Michael Kors, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Apple, Microsoft, Swarovski...the list goes on.  That night I tried out P.F. Chang's, and really liked their Sesame Chicken (and their Organic Agave Margarita)!  Thursday night I went back to the mall to eat at The Cheesecake Factory, another first time experience...all I can say is AWESOME! I really liked their Parmesan Herb-Crusted Chicken and of course had cheesecake...Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ribbon cheesecake.  Friday evening I went back to the mall to eat at The Met Bar & Grill and tried their Day-Boat Fish & Chips which was great...and then I walked the mall a little bit before heading back to the hotel.

Once I made it back to the hotel I printed my boarding passes for American Airlines and started the daunting re-packing process.

Yesterday (after a lack of sleep) I got up, showered, checked out, taxied to the Logan Express, flew from Boston to Chicago (after a slight delay), flew from Chicago to Kansas City, picked up by my parents and finally made it home yesterday afternoon.  

The trip wasn't nearly as bad as I envisioned it to be and not opposed to going again (especially since I already know I will be back in Framingham for training again soon).  I just won't be moving there to live anytime soon... I don't believe I could be paid enough to live there and deal with that crazy traffic all the time!

All-in-all it was a great trip, but definitely glad to be home! I am dreading the return to work tomorrow morning after being gone for an entire week! UGH! It will most likely be an early night for me tonight!

I did snap some pictures with my phone during the trip...

(The ride to Kansas City International Airport was a little hairy with snowy roads and low visibility.)

(Blurred out boarding pass in the foreground...trying to find my gate at Chicago O'Hare!) 

(Retro look and feel in The Pantry at The Verve Crowne Plaza hotel.  They had old Julia Childs shows playing at either end of the cafe.) 

(Very quickly I decided this place was very photo worthy.) 

(The Pantry's plating was cool.  Loved the mini fryer basket for the fries.) 

(I was glad to see some good ol' Missouri representation on the menu with the Bud Light! Made me feel more at home!) 

(Not the best representation, but this was the view from my hotel room.  A bunch of their snow had sunk, but there were still massive snow piles around town.  Luckily they didn't reach their record seasonal snowfall while I was there.  Basically they were a couple inches shy by the time I left.) 

(The hotel's little ice cream shop, Emack and Bolio's, became my morning savior.  They served Starbucks and I stopped by almost every morning for a Venti Caramel Latte.  It made training a little more tolerable!)

(This was the most dressed up that I got the whole time there, considering my lack of carry-on luggage space...) 

(The pagoda lantern lights in P.F. Chang's were definitely picture worthy.) 

(The "trees" in the Natick Mall that extended from the floor of the lower level to the ceiling of the second level.) 

(The monstrosity of an entrance into the Natick Mall.) 

(Not the best of pictures, but now I understand why our EMR system was so expensive.  This place had granite waterfalls on either end of the entrance and this is just one of their facilities.) 

(A picture to note the last day of training ...........and....... there's the Caramel Latte....) 

(Buh bye Boston!) 

(Banking out over the bay/Atlantic Ocean and the only thing that I could see was air and ocean was a little nerve wracking...) 

 (As we were descending into Chicago O'Hare, I looked out the window and noticed the shadow of our plane on top of the clouds and noticed a halo encompassing the shadow.  It was enough to send chills at the time.  Taking a quick look online this morning, they are a little more common than I expected and are called a "Glory".  But still awesome to see nonetheless.)

 (So happy to land at Kansas City International Airport! Home Sweet Home!)