I have been having a great vacation so far in New England. We had a very nice Christmas–lots of games and fun family time. Luckily for me, I had the opportunity to avoid post-holiday blues by traveling to Boston for a roommate reunion. We had a terrific weekend–very low key–that involved a lot of catching up, lazying around, and eating.

I’m not sure if this counts exactly as an adventure, because we didn’t really explore Boston very much. Most of the time we spent in Holly’s friend Ellen’s gorgeous apartment on Beacon Street. We did explore some restaurant choices near her apartment and had a brief visit to Quincy Market.

Of course, sightseeing in Boston wasn’t our primary motive for making the trip. We spent a lot of time catching up–after all, I hadn’t seen either Rachel or Gillian since graduation, which was hard to believe. It was really nice to see everybody, but I felt sad that we don’t have very many opportunities to all get together more often! I hope that can change a bit because it’s nice to be able to see your friends. I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures to share, as I managed to forget my camera! Actually, to be honest, I’ve become a lazy photographer ever since Jake got a new digital camera because he takes so many better pictures than me. And now he has an even NEWER camera…

Another thing that I realized after my trip was how much I really do like Minneapolis and what a great city it is! (I like it far better than I like Boston, but I don’t mean to offend anybody). Minneapolis is just much smaller, it doesn’t feel as crowded to me as Boston does (after all, there are only half as many people in Minneapolis), and I love that Minneapolis has so many outdoor recreational opportunities right within the city limits. Such as…cross country skiing at Theodore Wirth Park, or going to a nice clean beach and for a swim at any of the Lakes, tons of biking trails and parks to have picnics at or just to enjoy. You can even go cross country skiing AND see some polar bears at the Como Zoo! How terrific.

Anyways, now that I have started thinking about it, I realize there are lots and lots of things that I really like about Minneapolis and I’m glad that we aren’t planning on moving anywhere right away. Also, I feel as though (at least for New Englanders), the Twin Cities are a hidden gem that not many people know about. I’m glad we found it!