With a new career that allows me to travel more, I wanted to start spending some more time with family and showing them the world. One of my goals is to take my Dad to Alaska; however, he has never really taken such a long trip with me. The purpose of this weekend is to do a small trip together and see how he does. The plan is to take an Amtrak train from Cleveland to Boston, spend a few days exploring the city, then take a flight back.
The Amtrak train was a new experience for both of us. My time spent in Japan had caused me to have some rather high standards about train travel, but I had heard bad things about the US service. The train we were using followed a route from Chicago to Boston. In order to depart from the downtown Cleveland, Ohio stop we had to be at the station by 3:30 am. The total journey crossing Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts was supposed to take 9 hours but ended up taking 15 hours due to constant delays at each stop along the way. In a strange way, it was still an enjoyable journey due to the scenery of the North East. Dad had packed snacks and drinks which came in handy when the dining car closed from 3-6 pm (why during peak time?). We arrived at the Boston Amtrak station late in the evening, traveled to our hotel, and started our explorations the next day.
We decided to use a combination of subway trains and walking to explore the city. I also had purchased one of those City Pass tickets so we could visit a bunch of tourist locations for a combined price. Our first stop was the Boston Museum of Science. It was a delightful place to visit and one of the better museums I have seen. Next, we took a metro train to a stop near Faniuel Hall. It is amazing to see the location where a few hundred years ago people like Sam Adams were debating declaring independence from the British. We followed the”Freedom Trail” past the Old State House, to the Park Street Church, and finally explored the Boston Commons park. It was an incredible experience to see all the history lessons I had read in school come to life at these locations.
Feeling a little hungry we found another metro station and headed off towards the site of the Boston Tea party location. I had been told by a friend to try out a local seafood restaurant hilariously named “The Barking Crab” as well as pay a visit to the Aquarium. One of my goals on this trip was to enjoy some Atlantic Lobster or Crab. This place did not disappoint.
This is one of my top 5 favorite aquariums. They have a great variety of wildlife to learn about and most importantly, penguins!
Once again we hopped on a metro train and headed for the Prudential Shopping Center and the Skywalker Observatory. Besides the intended Star Wars pun, we wanted to get a good view from one of the highest points in the city.
Since it was nearby, we decided to take a visit to Fenway Baseball Park. Sadly, the park tours were not operating this day. I will have to come back here sometime later in my life and catch a game. I recall during my childhood watching Cleveland play against the Sox here (ended 1993).
With a few hours of daylight remaining. We headed back towards the harbor with the goal of taking a small harbor tour and visiting the USS Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides. Having worked in the Marine industry for more than 40 years, Dad was on point with a bunch of boat business jokes.
Overall, it was a fantastic weekend trip. The flight home was most welcome, but we don’t regret getting to experience Amtrak. Dad did great and was bragging to all our friends about how much walking I made him do. I look forward to treating him to a few weeks in Alaska next year.
