Flicking the Beantown

I would say that Boston is “not bad.” If you watch Workaholics you have to watch the link. I was away at a Roofing conference in Boston these past two days which made me unable to post anything. Fortunately I came away from the trip with many new ideas for posts and this particular post describing the trip.

First things first, Boston has no minorities. The northeast is compiled of all whites and a few Asians. The other thing I would say is that everyone was extremely pleasant. I stopped into about 10 distributors of tools and there wasn’t one asshole in the entire bunch who wouldn’t give me the time of day or wasn’t helpful. I don’t know if this was dumb luck or what but I’ve traveled south many times through Baltimore and DC and this was never the case. Maybe it was because Spring was approaching.

I want to expand a bit on this trip. I woke up at 4:30 on Monday and was out the door at 5 to attempt to beat NY traffic. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to get over the GW bridge and I was pretty much on the highway scot free. My fist stop was in Danbury, CT where I had two stops and ate some Dunkin Donuts. After that I visited Hartford, Worcester, Lowell, and finally Boston. I got to Boston at around 3 and my hotel was in the heart of the city. Not knowing my way in Boston I quickly found my hotel and got settled before rush hour started. I decided to take a walk around the city to get my bearings and definitely needed the GPS on my phone to find my way back as I was directionally challenged after 30 minutes of walking. I got back and took a nap because I was exhausted from the day. I awoke at 7pm and looked for something to eat and buy some running gear for the next day because I completely forgot long pants and a shirt. Being by myself it’s hard for me to just make friends at local places so I ate at a food court in the Prudential center and turned in relatively early.

I got up at 8:15 the next day and went for a run around the city. Once again after roaming the public garden and then the streets, I had a hard time getting back to my hotel because of my unfamiliarity of the city. I was back at 9:30, showered, and got my things together to check out. The conference started at 1:30 and I had some time to kill. I walked the main streets of commerce down Boylston and also hit the wharf area. There is a whole lot going on in Boston and the city is remarkably clean. It seems like there are a ton of people too which surprises me that Philly is bigger. The same way San Antonio is big population wise but the city is dead. I’m sure it counts suburbs as part of the population in these cases. Anyway, once the conference started I did my thing and it was worth the drive as relationships can’t be created any other way. At 5:30 I was finished and headed back home. I don’t mind driving much but I’ll add that NY drivers are the absolute worse.

I really like trips like this because they give me a chance to let my mind wander a bit. I have a flexible schedule and can think about ideas from a different locale. I spent a half hour in the book store writing down different books and thoughts that pop in my head. I also get a chance to do some reading while away which is much more peaceful and leisurely. These trips are more than just business but also bring a sense of relaxation and a feeling of satisfaction that you aren’t just stuck in one place. They are a must for the mind.

Nice slate roof.