Finally! - the pictures from my trip out to Boston last month, complete with comments, can now be seen here:
http://nerp.net/~nhelder/photos/index.php?cat=27

Boston was an enjoyable place… everywhere you turn there’s this interesting juxtaposition of old and new… where the old is generally well preserved and well documented - with a history lesson seemingly in wait around every corner - and the new is very… intentional, with each building having it’s own architectural style yet still fitting in well with the rest of the buildings around it. I saw very few places where “old” equated to “run down” or where “new” meant just another brick rectangle built on the cheap, which made for a very neat city.

Another offshoot of this blending of old and new is that Boston seemed to have a vibe all it’s own - the sort of vibe where, if the city were completely devoid of other people and you were walking around, you could probably still feel it. There’s just so much history there - from the first settling efforts to fighting off the Brits to the industrial revolution to nearby M.I.T. and the future it represents - that it feels like you’re experiencing first hand a complete cross section of (European) American history just by walking around. (Which, needless to say, was pretty cool.)

About the only regret I have from the trip is that, one afternoon in the Boston Commons area the Church of Scientology was recruiting and even had one of their famous E-meters on hand, and I didn’t have myself tested. At first it didn’t register that that’s what was going on in the tent they had - there weren’t any obvious signs and they had a medical-style couch and I just thought it was a message place or something. After I figured out what it actually was though, I mostly held back because I didn’t think I was going to be able to keep a straight face while going through the whole process. In hindsight though, I should have given it a try - it might have resulted in an interesting blog post. ;-)

Outside from all that, I’d like to offer a special thanks to Shelly, a high school classmate of mine, for providing some great suggestions of things to see and do out that way and for hanging out on a couple of the evenings while I was there - I had a great time!

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