My Boston Marathon

Writing about the "City on a Hill" brought back memories of adventures in the city last month:

When we were in Boston for Josh's interviews, we happened to be there at the same time as the traditional Boston Marathon. Everyone in Boston considers this to be the "best day of the year" and the city was alive with enthusiasm. Marathon Monday is held annually and it is treated like a holiday. Spring has finally arrived in frigid New England and most Bostonians take the day off.

Over 20,000 people register for this event!

So when Marathon Monday 2011 rolled around, me and mom wanted to check it all out. We had to make a quick stop by Whole Foods before we headed to the Boston Commons to see if we could witness any of the crazies in action.

The short path between Whole Foods and the Boston Commons is through the lovely Beacon Hill neighborhood. I thought this would be a fantastic stroll since the neighborhood is famous for being quaint and full of history. I felt like I was living a dream - walking from my favorite shopping place to a beautiful park in the middle of a historic city. How fun.

Well it wasn't fun. Not really. The neighborhood is named "Beacon Hill" for a reason. The street we decided to take was called "Joy Street" (ironically) and it was a steep uphill climb almost the entire way. Sure there were adorable brownstones with picturesque window boxes, but there were also narrow paths, bumpy brick side walks, and... steep hills to climb.

An online gallery with beautiful Beacon Hill photography
http://www.pbase.com/dellybean/beacon_hill

Joy Street

A similar street in the neighborhood

So I attempted to push Addison's stroller up Joy Street wondering if I would die of exhaustion before I made it to the end. I ended up stopping to take several breaks since I was so out of breath and found myself remembering the gym membership I pay for but never use. Meanwhile, marathon runners were cruising around me - draped in their mylar blankets with huge smiles on their faces. I considered turning to one of the smiley runners and asking them if they would mind taking a turn with the stroller so we could make it the last two-tenths of a mile to the Commons.

Marathon runners in their space blankets.

Although I am sure they would have obliged, I decided to keep quiet and kept going on my own. The Commons were beautiful and it was great to see so many people who could now proudly put the "26.2" bumper sticker on their car. It was extra cool to think that maybe next year we would be living in Boston during this exciting event. I will have to start looking now for a place to sit so we can cheer on the runners in April of 2012.