Bostonian Intent

I've always wanted to go to Boston.

The influence of American television culture on my childhood highlighted the historic importance of the area, via cheery and cheesy kids' television programs, such as The Brady Bunch and Bewitched, both of which I adored. The references to Massachusetts were subtle and, on reflection, only featured in one episode of each series, but clearly I was paying full attention, in an era when there was no auto-replay option...

As a tweener beginning to buy celebrity rags from the corner store I learned that the teen actress Brooke Shields went to Yale (half way between NYC and Boston). Over time I learned that Harvard and MIT were in Boston (or at least adjacent, in the township of Cambridge) - all Ivy League educational institutions that were, and still are, held in the highest regard globally.  It's amazing how these adolescent learnings can have life-long impact.

As a 'grown-up' and an educational publisher the first global Manager's Conference I ever attended was in Madison, Wisconsin, via Chicago. I was overwhelmed and impressed by the mammoth character of these places, and the warmth of the people I met. I liked the fact that they had political conscience, and would talk about democracy at the end of each day of meetings, generally while at the bar.  At that first conference I found that I connected really well with the small cohort of publishers from the Boston office. At that point in time, back in late 2001, I made up my mind that one day I'd make my way to Boston, Massachusetts, one way or another. Fifteen years later, I'm finally converting that goal into reality.

We're spending five nights there, staying in a private apartment at Beacon Hill, directly opposite the starting point for the famous Freedom Trail tourist walk. Our accommodation appears quite elite, though compact of course, and the building has a dedicated doorman, which will be an extraordinary novelty for a little Australian family like us. Again, it's an Air B'n'B find, and promises to be rather special indeed (yet still about 25% cheaper than our match-box sized hotel rooms in Manhattan seven years ago!) And we'll have our own full kitchen in which we can whip meals up in, to save some dollars.

I've got a range of places across the city I want us to explore on foot, like Back Bay for instance, but for me it's not about any particular part of Boston - It's just about being there and soaking it all up. Some people have told me it's grey, drab and stuck-up, but I find the drab part hard to believe. In any case we're there in June, so it should be warm enough. For us the Boston experience will be hot on the heels of a few days in sultry and slow-moving Savannah, so we're bound to find the whole trip completely mind-boggling, not just the Bostonian component.

I do anticipate Boston to be the most intimidating of places, in context, but that's fine. If I can't handle the challenge at mid-life, when can I? I view it as part of my PhD preparation, frankly. This whole trip is about deeply historic cities. I am certain I'll arrive home (to my historic city) monumentally inspired.

While we're there, we are planning a day trip by ferry to visit nearby Salem, the historic open air museum township settled in 1626, and made tragically famous by the witch trails of 1692. It seems like there's far more there than any history student (such as myself) can possibly digest in just one day, so I'll be making a list, and checking it twice.

I'll be taking photos: hundreds and hundreds of photos, so will work out a way to feature them here, or via a link to another site. I haven't decided on the best forum for images yet, but I'll get there. We still have 3.5 weeks before we fly... Plus a truck load of work to get done in the meantime! Not to mention preparing a list of things to see and do around here for our house sitters. Yikes!