People in Glass Houses...

So, in addition to my quest about getting healthy, this blog is about my doings and whatnot in the greater Boston area. This past week, The Boyfriend's parents came to town, and though this caused some upset in the Operation: Healthy area (more on that tomorrow), we managed to go into Boston a few times and have a nice time.

The two things we did that really stuck out were the two hours cruise aboard a 18th century- styled tall ship and the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

The tall ship cruise was through Boston Harbor Cruises, Liberty Fleet and we managed to get tickets for half off through Groupon, a worthy website offering all kinds of deals particular to your city. The ship was called Schooner Liberty Clipper, and was built in the '80s based on designs from the 1800s. It was enormous!! It had a motor, which was used to get out of the harbor, but from then on we sailed under wind power. Though the day had a pretty light wind, it was still cool to be inching along, knowing that it was 100% green power. It was especially cool because about half an hour out, we saw this big guy:



Apparently the Navy sometimes brings ships to Boston for about 18 months or so for repairs and then relaunches them to wherever those big things go. We just happened to be out on the day of a relaunching. It was amazing to see such an enormous ship, which moved so slowly getting out of the dock but then really picked up steam. Pretty cool!

Though you probably won't see a naval vessel pulling out of the harbor, the Liberty Fleet is still worth checking out. Be sure to go on a nice, sunny day, and bring a sweater, since it gets pretty windy and chilly out on the water.


Here's the ship we were on!

The other thing I would recommend is the Harvard Museum of Natural History. It is exactly how I would imagine a museum run by Harvard to be: small, in an old building, with artifacts and specimens cramming hundreds of shelves. The coolest thing was the exhibit of glass flowers. Basically, this father and son glassblowers teamed up with a Harvard botanist in the 1800s to create thousands of replicas of flora. Not just flowers, but grasses, trees, examples of pollen and reproductive systems blown up a thousand times. At first glance, everything looks so real; just like dried plants in a case. It takes a close look to tell that it's glass, and at that level you can really appreciate the detail in each piece. It was stunning.


This is just one example; head to the museum to see 4,000 others!

I have to say, despite the setback to my Operation, I had a really nice time with The Boyfriend and his parents. Hopefully this coming week can be normal and boring, especially in regard to my eating. ;)

ciao