What Else Will I Do in the Boston Area?

First off – did you know that our wedding is going to start at noon? We realized that the time…

First off – did you know that our wedding is going to start at noon? We realized that the time isn’t printed on the invitations a while back, so I put the time on the reply card. I wanted to make sure that’s clear.

You have probably wondered what sort of thrills and excitement await you in our lovely city of Boston, Massachusetts. Well, wonder no more! While the Saturday of your visit will be spent indulging us two nerds in our sweet matrimonial goo, you will no doubt be antsy to get the hell away from us. Here is a handy list of things to do in the city that are guaranteed fun, as well as useful local information…


HOW WILL I GET THERE?
If not by car, then by plane, probably. Boston is served by Logan International Airport. I suggest flying directly into Boston rather than going to Providence. In our own personal experience, we find it’s not worth it to save the money from flying to a smaller airport. It’s a longer trip to Boston and a longer trip to us by car. Don’t bother. You’d have spent that fifty bucks on something else anyhow, like a rental car.

Speaking of which, if you’re renting a car, and it’s your first time driving in Boston, I strongly suggest you spring for a GPS system for the car. Hertz offers them with rentals. I like Hertz a lot – they offer discounts to AAA members (and if you’re not a member, why not? You can use your card to help out friends who have car trouble, not just you or your own car, and you can get lots of neat discounts on stuff) and I’ve yet to have a bad Hertz rental experience, personally. If that NeverLost thing is offered to you, TAKE IT. Ask for it. Insist on it. Boston is an incredibly hard city to get around if you’re not familiar with it to start with, and you will get lost, and you will get angry and frustrated.

I’ll cover this later on, but also be warned that Boston is a really crappy city to park in. However, if you have a handicapped placard or plate, this is another story. Another neat thing about Massachusetts is that you don’t have to pay for parking meters if you’ve got a handicapped placard. This is great if you want to go to a Sox game… you can park right in front of Fenway Park, which is something my dad did once to the amazement of his best friend. =D

WHAT’S THE WEATHER LIKE?
Shitty. Humid.
AccuWeather forecast for the Boston area.

WHAT WILL I DO WITH MY KIDS?
First off: as an MIT employee, I can score discounted tickets for various attractions and amusements. Please check out the website of the MIT Activities Committee, or MITAC, here:
http://web.mit.edu/mitac/events.html
I recommend the following places as being worth your time:

  • Children’s Museum
  • Museum of Science
  • New England Aquarium – super fun!!
  • Planetarium at the Museum of Science

All of these attractions have special pricing (see MITAC website!)

The wedding hotel is located in Norwood, MA, which is a suburb. It’s about as suburby as it gets. If you choose to stay there, I will say that there’s not a whole hell of a lot to do, quite honestly. Well, you can choose to go to the town centre of Norwood, actually – it is pretty interesting, but probably best suited for… parents?

If you choose to stay elsewhere, there are lots of other hotels in Norwood, but if you can swing it, it could indeed be fun to stay in the city. I can recommend the Westin at Copley, the Marriott Copley Place, and the Sheraton Towers Boston. If money’s no object, there’s also the gorgeous Marriott Long Wharf, and a Westin that also overlooks the Harbor. Beautiful!!!

WHERE WILL I GO GET TORE UP ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THIS IS A DRY WEDDING?
Bukowski’s in the Back Bay, or Bukowski’s in Inman Square.

WHAT CAN I DO IN THE GREATER BOSTON AREA, OR EVEN IN SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS?
If you do just want to stick to what’s nearby (relatively speaking), as in Southeastern Massachusetts-ish/Norfolk County, here are some of my favorite haunts:

Bubbling Brook Restaurant and Ice Cream stand – It is a 10-15 minute drive or so from Norwood, longer from Boston. The food’s pretty terrible, but the ice cream is a thing of legend! Their soft serve is not to be missed. It’s in a neat wooded location with a lot of mosquitoes and long but fast-moving lines.

Mendon Twin Drive-In – I love this place! $20 a car scores you two first-run movies! The snack bar makes a great raspberry lime rickey. Also not to be missed are the Wing Dings (delicious, crispy fried chicken wings) and the popcorn chicken. Er, feel free to pass on the tacos and nachos, though. They’re not so great in my experience. It’s about an hour from Boston, give or take. It’s a fun drive, though, and a really neat thing to do around here.

Fuller Craft Museum – this is a neat art museum near our house. It’s right next to a lake (full of wonderful geese, swans, and ducks!) in a very tranquil setting (considering it’s by a main roadway in Brockton, heh).

IS THERE ANYTHING GOOD HAPPENING THAT WEEKEND?
Shoe betcha!

Boston Globe event listings for August 23, 2007
Boston Globe event listings for August 24, 2007.
Boston Globe event listings for August 25, 2007 – I include this because I’m not sure what else will be going on after 4PM.
Boston Globe event listings for August 26, 2007

This should hopefully get you started. Any questions, please, just ask!

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