Marathon Momma: Marathon #28 - Massachusetts (Part Three)

I have broken out my review of the Boston Marathon and my trip there into three parts. To see more about the course, please visit Part One. To see more about the race organization and other pieces of my normal race review, please visit Part Two.

In this final post, I will talk about travel and what I did while in the city of Boston

I love the city of Boston. It is such a great place to visit. I actually almost moved there back in 2004 and even had two job offers, but quickly realized (when it snowed during my interviews) that I could never live in a cold, snowy city in the north. Visiting in the warmer months is great, though. My biggest regret about our trip for the Boston Marathon is that we didn't have more time (and money) to explore the city even more.

Transportation

Typically, I look for flights on one of those travel sites, and then once I figure out which flight is cheaper, I go to the airline site to actually book. This time was a little different. For the first time in a long time, I actually booked through the travel site, cheapoair.com. One of the reasons for that was that the cheapest flights were with different airlines going and returning. Since American Airlines and U.S. Airways merged (which I didn't know when I booked the flights), one way was on US Air and the return flight was American. At any rate, I booked through the travel website, incurring additional fees and causing confusion during check-in. With cheapoair.com, they don't send you an email the day before the flight, or when they do, it doesn't direct you to check in online. Also, our seats were not together. When I finally went to the airline website to check in online the day before, I'm so glad I went as early as I did. We were seated in completely different rows. Luckily, I checked in early enough that I was able to get us together on an exit row.

When searching for flights, there are two main options to fly to Boston. Boston Logan International Airport is the closest to the city, and has convenient ground transportation. Boston Manchester Regional Airport is another option, and is located in Manchester, NH about an hour drive from the city. The flights were much cheaper into Manchester, so I chose that option. The airport is small - about 16 or 18 gates - and it is easy to get into and out of. The rental car counters are right next to the baggage claim carousels, and the cars are just across the street from the airport, so no shuttle is needed. Delta has direct flights from Atlanta to Manchester. American/US Air has direct flights from Washington DC and Philadelphia.

I booked our rental car through Hotels.com. Manchester airport had all the other major car rental companies to choose from, but we got out car from Alamo. I chose the smallest car available for the cheapest gas, and also because I knew the two of us wouldn't have much to carry with us anyway. We ended up with some little yellow two door Hyundai that had only been driven 14 miles before we got it. Obviously it was clean and smelled new, but it definitely lacked power.

Boston is a walking city. Once we got to the hotel in Boston, we hardly used the car. The T (which is what Bostonians call their train system) in Boston is far superior to the Marta in Atlanta. You can get just about anywhere you want to go using the T. A 7-day pass cost $32 for both of us, but it was worth it. We took the T to the expo, to church, to the Boston College baseball game, to the gear check, to the post-race party, and to restaurants. I believe you can also take the T to the airport, if you are flying into Boston Logan. If you are going for the Boston Marathon, the T won't go as far as the start line. It looks like the commuter rail might get you there, but has such a limited schedule, that it didn't look like it would work for us. Rob did use the rental car to get to some spots a long the race course before he parked it back at the hotel and took the train once the runners got closer to the city.

US Airways/American Airlines was great when our flight got delayed on the way home. We were scheduled to have a layover in Philadelphia and arrive at home in Atlanta around 10:30pm on Tuesday. Our initial flight to Philly got delayed, because the plane coming into Manchester got delayed. With the new departure time, we would have missed our connecting flight in Philly. They originally re-booked us for a a flight leaving Manchester at 1:30pm on Wednesday. That wasn't going to work for me, because I had to work on Wednesday and had meetings in the afternoon that I couldn't miss. When we got to the counter, the man was very nice and found us a direct flight on Delta that left first thing in the morning on Wednesday, which allowed me to get home before lunch time and make my afternoon meetings. They put us up in a hotel overnight.

Lodging

I booked my hotel through hotels.com. I often use this site, and have never been disappointed. They have great reviews that help you decide what hotel is best for your occasion. I was looking for a hotel that was close to the city, on the T line, had free breakfast, and was not too expensive. I chose Holiday Inn Express Boston Garden. Rob was quick to tell me once we got there that "Boston Garden" (which is now called TD Garden) is a sports venue where some of the professional sports teams in Boston play (the Celtics and Bruins, I think). The hotel was just two blocks from the North Station on the green T line, which was the line we took most of our trip. The neighborhood seemed very safe, even in the dark.

The hotel was extremely hospitable. The staff was very friendly and helpful. When we got to the room, there was a little note on the desk welcoming us and thanking us for staying with them for the Boston Marathon. There was a gift basket full of runner friendly food and two bottled waters, all free of charge. I don't even remember saying I was going there for the marathon, so I'm not sure how they knew, but it was such a nice surprise. They even had custom-made cookies that said "Finishing Boston" and "2015 Boston Marathon."

When I review hotels, there are typically two things I really consider: the comfort of the bed and the space and amenities of the bathroom. The room they gave us was very spacious. It had a sitting area with a TV, desk, closet, sink, mini fridge and microwave. The king bed was tucked away in a little side room area and had its own TV. The bed area was cozy and seemed more private tucked away like it was. The bed had both "soft" and "firm" pillows, and the bed itself was very comfortable.

The bathroom had just about all the amenities you could ask for. In addition to the separate shampoo and conditioner bottles, it had lotion and makeup remover cloths. (I specifically mention the separate shampoo and conditioner bottles because I hate hotels that have just the "conditioning shampoo," which neither shampoos nor conditions. So having them separate is very important to me.) The towels were big and absorbent.

While there were some definite positives in the bathroom, there were some downsides to the bathroom as well. The counter space was lacking. I had to put my makeup bag on the back of the toilet because there wasn't much counter room. The hairdryer was possibly the worst hotel hairdryer I've ever used. It was so short that my stray hairs would get sucked in the back, pulling them out. And it was extremely loud, probably because it was so small. Finally, the exhaust fan was so weak, it didn't do a good job of removing the heat from the shower off the mirror so you could see yourself when getting ready.

The hotel had a free continental breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, cereal, bagels, muffins, yogurt, fruit, oatmeal, and make-your-own pancakes. You had better get there on time though, because the last day we were there, we didn't come down until 9:30, and it was slim pickin's. Either the item was already gone or we took the last serving.

The hotel had a table set up on Marathon Monday with several complimentary items for both the runners and the spectators. They had Gatorade, bottles of water, cookies, granola bars, band aids, Chapstick, and other items that might help along the way. They definitely catered to the runners and spectators of the race. I would definitely recommend this hotel for anyone wanting to run or watch the Boston Marathon.

The other hotel we stayed at, unexpectedly, was the Holiday Inn near Manchester airport. When our flight was delayed, American booked us there for the night. We were only there for a short time, so I can't give as thorough of a review on this hotel, but it was nice enough and close enough to the airport, that I would recommend it if you had to stay near the airport.

This room was a standard hotel room where the desk, bed, and TV are all in one area. The bed was comfortable, and again had the soft and firm pillows. There was a mini fridge, but I don't remember seeing a microwave.

One thing I really liked about this hotel was that the bathroom vanity was outside of the bathroom, so one person can be showering while the other is getting ready, and the mirror didn't fog up. The vanity had much more counter space than the other hotel. The hairdryer was bigger and better (although still not top notch). They had the separate shampoo and conditioner bottles, and the towels were big and absorbent enough.

Attached to the hotel was a diner. The hotel didn't offer free breakfast, but the diner was close if you wanted to purchase dinner or breakfast. We ate dinner there. The prices are reasonable, and the menu is extensive - as most diners are. Rob got breakfast for dinner, and I had a bison burger and clam chowder. The clam chowder was delicious, and the burger was okay. For dessert they have a huge menu of "homemade" goodies. I got a grasshopper pie, which consisted of mint chocolate chip ice cream in a chocolate graham cracker crust with whipped cream on top. It was delicious!

Food

Speaking of food, Boston had a lot of great places to eat. Being on the ocean and close to Maine, there are a lot of seafood places that boast about having the best Maine lobster. There is a road in the North End along the Freedom Trail that has Italian restaurants lining the entire street. Most of them are family owned by real Italians. There are also a lot of cute little places hidden around the city. We asked locals for recommendations whenever we could, and ended up at a lot of great places. One thing to note, though, is that a lot of the good places do not take credit cards. We had to change our plans once because we didn't have any cash at the time.

When we arrived in Boston and checked in, it was just about time for the Atlanta Track Club happy hour at The Charlesmark Hotel on Boylston Street near the finish line. The hotel had a cozy little upper room with tables, couches and a counter where they set out appetizers. We mingled, met some people, and had a drink before leaving to find some dinner.

We walked up Boylston Street to find a place that had an open table. There were runners everywhere, and most of the restaurants were packed. We ended up at a sports bar called McGreevy's. I had a turkey club, fries and a cup of clam chowder. You can't go to New England without getting the clam chowder, and you can't find clam chowder anywhere else as good as they make it in New England. As expected the chowder was delicious. The rest of the food was typical sports bar food - nothing to write home about (and so I'll stop there).

On Sunday, I had to eat my traditional pre-race meal for dinner - IHOP. We found one along the T in Harvard. It was your typical IHOP, so I won't make many comments about it. After dinner we walked around the Harvard area. We found a great little bar that didn't take credit cards, and stopped for a drink (Rob) and a chat (both of us) with a nice couple who happened to have graduated from Georgia Tech and were in Boston working. They gave us some tips on things to do and places to eat.

On Monday after the race, we went to the North End in search of some good Italian food. It was raining pretty hard, so we ducked into a little place close to the beginning of the street. It wasn't the one that had been recommended to us, but it was still good. I would give it a 3.5 on a scale of 5. The food was good, but the "server," who I think was actually the owner, was probably a better manager than server. The meal came in traditional Italian fare, with course after course. We opted not to have an appetizer, so our first course was salad and bread. Then came the spaghetti pasta course. Then the main course (I had stuffed eggplant and Rob had veal Parmesan). Then dessert (which we again opted out of). Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the place, and their credit card machine was broken, so we paid cash.

Tuesday we went for a walk. We stopped at Mike's Pastry shop for a morning snack and got a Boston cream puff, chocolate covered cannoli, and a peanut butter brownie. Rob said the brownie was "okay," but I thought the cream puff and cannoli were delicious! We then asked a local for the best place to get a good burger. He said it was a bit of a walk, but recommended Jm Curley. So off we walked.

20 minutes later, we were at Jm Curley just in time to beat the lunch rush. They have a very small menu with about five basic main dishes and about as many side dishes. They also have a full bar. You can get their burger with various different "toppings," which include a fried egg and French fries, if you so desire. I got mine traditional, and it was very good. I also had French fries on the side, but was disappointed that they didn't have Ranch dressing to dip them in. I loved their house rules that they had posted on the wall.

Attractions

Being a big city, there are plenty of things to do. They have just about any professional sports team you might want to see. They have plenty of history that you can explore in many forms. They have many colleges you can visit. They have city tours, including one where the bus turns into a boat and goes out into the harbor during the tour.

We laid low and didn't do anything fancy. With the race activities planned, there wasn't much extra time anyway. We went to the Old South Church for the Blessing of the Athletes on Sunday morning, went to the Boston college vs GT baseball game on Sunday afternoon, and walked parts of both the Freedom Trail and the Harborwalk on Tuesday.

Old South Church

Program for the service

Athletes standing for the prayer/blessing

Bagpipes

Old South Church is the church that is right at the finish line. Every year the Sunday before the race, they have a service which includes the "blessing of the athletes." The have a bagpipe player that plays a song. They have all the athletes stand, and they say a prayer over the athletes. The whole service has a running theme.

The Boston College baseball field is much smaller compared to Georgia Tech's field. They didn't even sell tickets. The game was free, and you just walked in and found a seat on the bleachers. The press box was the top row of the bleachers behind the home plate. People tailgated the entire game by driving their car up on the football stadium's parking garage, which overlooks the field. The scoreboard reminds me of a high school football scoreboard. The whole game was very low key. It seemed like there were actually more fans cheering for Georgia Tech than Boston College. Too bad Boston College won.

The Freedom Trail is a walk through the historical parts of Boston, supposedly on the same route that Paul Revere took to alert the town that the British were coming. The city does a nice job of mapping it out, as there is a brick trail that you can follow the whole way. It takes you past historical landmarks like Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, Faneuil Hall, Quincy market, past the capital building, into Boston Common (the big city park), and past other historical buildings. They have placards on most of the buildings telling you what happened at that building and why it is significant.

Old North Church

Historic North End

Paul Revere's house

The little square behind Old North Church

Capital building

Boston Common

Rob talking to some famous basketball guy

I wonder what he was thinking

The Harborwalk is a sidewalk along the harbor. There are signs that direct you around the backs of buildings so that you stay along the harbor as you walk. We were fine for about two miles, and then ended up getting lost when an old drawbridge was blocked off and the next closest sidewalk took us to the city. It was pretty while we were on the walk, but it could use a little more signage to direct you once you get close to the financial district of the city.