Boston, Massachusetts

Hartford, Connecticut

Hudson River Valley, New York

In June, just a couple of weeks after I got back from Utah, I flew to Boston for another trip with Rachel.  We took 2 1/2 weeks and drove all around the East Coast.  I flew in on a Wednesday night and on Thursday I started with a day in Boston.  I walked around Back Bay exploring the neighborhood.  I loved it, it is really similar to my other 2 favorite Boston neighborhoods, The North End and Beacon Hill.  I loved how they all had so many similarities, but some few small differences that characterize each one.  In Back Bay I loved the wrought iron fenced in gardens in the front, the 3 sided bay windows and stairs up to the front doors.  After Back Bay I went to the Trinity church that has 20 Tiffany stained glass windows that were all so amazing.  I especially loved the folds in the fabric, they were 3D and so cool, and there are parts that look like pieces of tissue paper in the glass, but are really thin pieces of colored glass in the clear class.  So pretty!  It was pretty warm by then so I got a frozen lemonade and sat in the Public Garden for a little bit.  I love all of the different props they put on the “Make Way for the Ducklings” statues.  I really want to see the Easter Bonnets some day.  I walked around Beacon Hill a little bit in the afternoon before meeting Rachel in the North End for dinner.  The restaurant I really wanted to go to, that we went to at Christmas, was booked up so we tried a new one instead.  It was pretty good but the other is still my favorite.

Rachel worked for the first part of the day on Friday, so I walked down to the Cemetery by her house and they had a bunch of little flags around.  We left in the afternoon, our first stop was in Hartford, CT where I went to the temple.  I really liked this one too, I loved the fountain, lamps and the details on the steeple.  We drove to Hudson River valley that night and stayed there.  We spent Saturday exploring the area, and visited a couple of the old mansions.  We went to the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park  and the Lyndhurst Mansion.  I loved Lyndhusrt.  I loved the exterior, it looked like a castle, and then the view out the back with the river.  And the rose garden! So many different colors and kinds, it was so beautiful.  That night we drove down to New York City for the next week.