Going home

... And now... it's time to go home....

The girls took me to Boston...

Said quick goodbyes, and jumped out with my luggage.

At Boston Logan Airport

Goodbyes suck.

6 hours later....

A friend posted later that leaving is not the hardest part... it is the memories of moments that continually pop up after.  In all the trips that I have been on, this has been so true, and coming home is like coming down from an exhilarating high.... Reality is slow and your home has continued on, without any consideration for all that you just experienced.  

I have never gotten so close to a group of people so quickly in my life.  I had so many wonderful experiences this summer, I am sure that I will be retelling great memories for a long while.

Boston, MA: North End and Canolis

The North End... aka Little Italy.  My absolute favorite part of Boston.  

I saw the LoGrasso barber shop again, but lost it... again... I may or may not have extended family here. 

We accidentally found this spot on a quest for Canolis.  We saw some tourists with Canolis, asked if they were legit Canolis, and then where they got it.  They said these were the best they've had, and then they pointed us towards Bova's.  

.... And I got to introduce more people to Italian pastries and Canolis!!!

Camp: West Coast to East Coast

Found a moose toy from last year, so I decided to take him with me.  

Here we are in Santa Ana, CA at the John Wayne Airport.

Just waiting....

And here we are having a drink in the Dallas Fort Worth Airport.  Tejas.

And here, we caught the score to the Kings game, then ran to our next stop at Chicago O'Hare Airport.

Then finally, here we are in Boston, at 1am Eastern Time.... Just waiting for my bags, and praying they all made it through.  

Boston & NYC: Hostel living

This was the first time I have ever stayed in the hostel... and the first time I have heard of ones in the USA.  I honestly did not know we had them in the USA. You share space, shower space, and toilets, like a dorm.  So, if you have survived dorm life, you will do fine...

 The first hostel we stayed in was the Friend Street Hostel in downtown Boston... and personally, I enjoyed my stay, granted, it was a hostel.  It was air-conditioned, clean, had wifi, a common area, and about 50.00/per person, per night.

  

The hostel had a cute café next door, which offered hostelers complementary coffee and breakfast.  

It was, however, right next to some bars that got pretty rowdy... and loud. And... one of the nights we were there, there was stabbing right outside... heard the screaming, saw the bloody guy... popo came... all of the above.  Despite that, I would definitely come back.  

The second hostel we stayed in was the Whitehouse Hotel- New York Hostel, and the quality, in comparison, was, well, lacking.  It was a safe/cleaner place to stay.... at around 50.00 per night, per person, but did not have free wifi, was dirtier, not all the rooms had lights, no plugs in the room, and just as noisy.

But... I got to sing West Side Story on a Fire Escape.... so I was happy. 

Boston & NYC: Subways....

I am from California... in Los Angeles we have a very small and short subway system, and in San Francisco, there is the Bart.... but we have nothing in comparison to Boston, and definitely New York. Especially New York. 

Not too bad.

Now to New York- this is a whole other monster.  Crazy packed, and confusing, but the people were surprisingly helpful... On the way to JFK airport, so many people helped me out, it was crazy.  I got on the wrong train, while trying to carry two heavy pieces of luggage, but made it with time to spare.  New Yorkers are fast paced, but know how to help and when it is needed.  Thank you New York :)

And you wonder why people choose to take the subway.... $13 per car, just to enter the Holland Tunnel... 1 mile in a Taxi costs from $15.00-20.00.  A subway train ride costs $2.50.

Not to mention the traffic. 

Boston, MA: Boston Strong.

Boston... I truly loved this city... my favorite out of all the ones I have traveled to so far.  I hope that I will be back, often, because I felt like I was home here.  These are my kind of people.  Gotta get to know you more Boston.  :)

I added my prayer.  I did not have any ribbon, but I had some string that I had wrapped around my watch and wore all summer.