Beyond The Miles Travel Blog

Running and Kayaking in Big Sky Country

A couple of years ago, I ran one of my favorite half marathons to date, Missoula Half Marathon in Montana. I never thought of going to Montana and definitely had never heard of Missoula, but I heard it was the race to run in Montana so off I went for a week long summer vacation to Missoula and Glacier National Park.

I got on the plane in hopes of actually finishing the race, even if it meant crawling. I had been dealing with a pretty bad case of plantar fasciitis for the past few months and really probably shouldn’t have been running a half marathon. But I had been getting ART done on my calf and foot for a couple of months and the doctor said that hiking would actually be something that would help, so since that’s what I had planned for after the race in Glacier National Park, I figured what’s the harm in heading across the country and attempting the race.

I took a very early flight into Missoula on Saturday morning and headed straight downtown to pick up my race bib for Sunday morning’s race and walk around and check out the area. Missoula was beautiful, nothing but fresh clean air with mountains in the distance. Race packet pickup was located near the river and it was so relaxing to sit by the river and watch the people fishing and walking out on the rocks. No walking out there for me, no need to add another injury before the race. With the time change and being that I left Boston fairly early, I was in bed before the sun went down that night, which worked out well since I normally have a hard time sleeping before races.

After a great night sleep I woke up early and drove to the parking lot where they had buses that took us to the start line. While waiting at the start we were able to see the sun rise above the mountains, it was a beautiful sight! It was a good way to start the morning and prepare myself for the beautiful 13.1 miles that lay ahead. This was definitely one of the most beautiful and entertaining courses I have ever run. Nothing but mountains, river, the greenest trees and grass all the way into the cute downtown finish. The locals definitely bring their A-game when it comes to entertaining the runners, how many races will you see a man dressed in a tux playing a grand piano on his lawn for the entire race?

I made it across the finish line in only a little over 3 hours, since my normal time is around 2:45-2:50, that wasn’t that bad considering I walked a lot and stopped quite a few times to stretch out the calves. A couple of friends from my running group here in Boston were running the full marathon and I was determined to make sure I finished the half before they finished the full. They are really fast, so they didn’t finish that far behind me!

At the finish they had free photos and I got to try a beer from Big Sky Brewing, I love trying local beers when I travel.

My foot was screaming in pain after 13.1 miles so after showering and having some food, I spent a good amount of time in the hot tub which helped dramatically. It just so happened to be National Ice Cream Day so I did a quick google search and found out Big Dipper Ice Cream was the place to go for some local homemade ice cream. I drove up and it was crowded so I knew I found a great place. Being that I was in the Northwest I knew I had to have the Huckleberry ice cream, it was the first of many delicious huckleberry flavored foods and drinks I’d have during the trip. When in states like Montana and Idaho definitely indulge in all the huckleberry you can!

After indulging in the ice cream, I knew I had to take a little walk around so my muscles wouldn’t tighten up on me. So I headed downtown to check out the Carousel for Missoula.

This carousel is completely volunteer built. The horses are all hand carved and they are beautiful. What a great thing for the community to build together.

There’s a lot to do in and around Missoula. If I was staying longer, I would have taken a rafting trip down the Clark Fork.

But alas the next morning it was on to my next adventure.

I headed out late morning and the ride was just beautiful, lots of open space and mountains, definitely a different view than driving in Massachusetts. Flathead Lake is a fairly large freshwater lake and it’s beautiful driving around it. I found a great restaurant with outdoor seating overlooking the lake and had some lunch. Then I drove further north up the lake to Somers Bay for my kayaking trip.

I took a kayaking tour with Sea Me Paddle Kayaking Tours. The tour ended up being just me and one of the owners of the kayaking company.

It was a really great tour, since it was just me, we went at my speed and he was able to tell me a lot about the area.

We took the kayaks out for a couple of hours in Somers Bay and saw some Osprey and a birds nest.

We also kayaked out to the remnants of an old pier used by the Somers Lumber Company. The guide was very knowledgeable about the area and also took lots of pictures which were great to receive a few days later.

One of the advantages of taking tours with someone that is so knowledgeable of the area, is they can recommend other things to do or places to eat in the area. I told him that I was heading up to Glacier National Park after the tour and he recommended a great place for me to stop for dinner along the way. He mentioned it was a brewery and that they had great garlic parmesan fries, say no more, I’m there. So after kayaking, I stopped at Backslope Brewing for dinner. This place did not disappoint, the fries were to die for and they had great beer.

After dinner I headed to the West Glacier Motel which was just outside the entrance to Glacier National Park. This National Park deserves a whole blog of it’s own so check back next week!

A walk along the Freedom Trail

Updated June 2023

From my past posts, I’m sure you can tell that I love history. I grew up in Boston with history surrounding me. There was something special about learning things in history class and being able to connect it to the actual historic sites that I’ve seen in person. In 2023, The Freedom Trail was named one of the 10 Best Free Attractions to visit in the US. While you could pay to take a tour of the Freedom Trail, it could very easily be done on your own for free. You can follow the online brochure found here or take an audio tour. There are many audio tours available online, including one from the National Park Service which can be found here.

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 mile long trail starting in the Boston Common and ending in Bunker Hill. This famous trail is marked by a red line on the ground and passes 16 historical sites in downtown Boston.

In 1951, local journalist William Schofield suggested building a pedestrian trail to connect all of the local landmarks in the city. It is now one of the most popular things to do when visiting Boston.

Whether you take an organized tour, an audio tour or just walk it on your own, there is so much to learn along the Freedom Trail.

The tour starts in the Boston Common. Founded in 1634, this is the oldest public park in the United States, it is also the location of Park Street T Station, built in 1897, this is the first subway station in the United States.

The Boston Common is a beautiful park , lots of green space, statues and fountains. It is also home to Frog Pond, which in the winter months is the most popular skating rink in Boston and in the summer months turns into a wading pool for young children.

2. Massachusetts State House

The State House was built in 1798 and is one of the oldest continually running state capitol buildings in the United States.

This building was designed by Architect, Charles Bulfinch, claimed to be the first American born architect. He is also one of the architects who helped design the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C.

The bar that inspired the hit tv show Cheers was named the Bull and Finch after this famous local architect.

3. Park Street Church – Built in 1809, this church was the site where William Lloyd Garrison made his first anti-slavery speech in 1829.

4. Granary Burying Ground

In this cemetery are buried three signers of the Declaration of Independence: John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Robert Treat Paine. Paul Revere and Mother Goose are also buried here as are Benjamin Franklin’s parents and siblings.

Across the street from the cemetery is the Beantown Pub which you can sit and drink a Sam Adams beer while looking out the window at Sam Adams grave, interesting way to take a break from touring the Freedom Trail.

5. Kings Chapel and Burying Ground

This church was built on the burying ground in 1688.

The bell on top of the church is said to be one of the last that Paul Revere cast and he himself is quoted as saying it was the “sweetest bell I ever made”.

By this point in the tour, I began to think to myself, should they have named it the “Paul Revere Trail”. So much about him so far and so much to still come. He definitely was an important figure in Boston.

6. First Public School Site

Boston Latin School opened in 1635 and is the oldest school still in operation today. One of the many famous students of this school is Benjamin Franklin. On the original site of this school you will find his statue.

From 1865 -1969, Boston’s City Hall was at this site. While the building seems small it’s a much more attractive building than our current City Hall, which in my opinion (and many others) is one of the ugliest buildings ever.

7. Old Corner Bookstore

I like to think of this stop on the tour of the sad way we don’t preserve history.

This building was built in 1712 and is the oldest commercial building in Boston.

On the second floor famous publishers Ticknor and Fields published books by such famous authors as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

So much historic works published here and now it is home to a Chipotle 🤦‍♀️

8. Old South Meeting House

This meeting house is famous for being the location that the Sons of Liberty departed from before they threw over a million dollars worth of tea in the harbor during the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773.

The clocktower is the oldest in Boston, built in 1729 and of course Paul Revere cast the bell in this tower as well.

9. The Old State House

On the balcony of the Old State House, the Declaration of Independence was read on July 18th 1776.

Each year on the 4th of July the Declaration of Independence is read from the balcony of this building. One of these years I definitely need to go check this out. I’ve had friends that have gone and they really enjoyed it. It would be a great way to kick off the holiday in Boston.

10. Boston Massacre Site

Just in front of the Old State House is the site of the Boston Massacre. On this site on March 5, 1770, 5 victims were killed during an incident between angry Bostonians and British Soldiers. In the middle of a the monument is a five pointed start to signify the 5 deaths.

11. Faneuil Hall

One of my favorite locations in Boston is Faneuil Hall. It’s a great place to take a little break from the tour, grab a bite to eat, do some shopping and check out the street performers. There’s so much to see and do in this area, I will definitely need to do a future blog post just on this area.

This location is famous for the meetings and protests that took place here and led to the American Revolution.

12. Paul Revere’s House

After grabbing a bite to eat and conquering my fears of covid-19 by using a public restroom, I made the walk over the North End of Boston to the next stop.

Paul Revere who we’ve heard alot about along the trail is famous for his midnight ride to Lexington and Concord to warn the troops that “The British Are Coming”

His house in North Square was built in 1680 and is the oldest structure in Boston.

I highly recommend taking a tour of the house.

13. Old North Church

This is one of my favorite views in Boston: the Paul Revere (of course here he is again!) statue in front of the Old North Church.

This is where Paul Revere’s midnight ride started on April 18, 1775 to signal the start of the American Revolution.

In the steeple of this church they would hang lanterns to warn those across the Charles River in Charlestown of the movement of the British Troops. This is where we got the phrase, “one if by land, two if by sea”

14. Coop’s Hill Burial Ground

Established in 1659, this is the second oldest burial ground in Boston.

Named after a local shoemaker, this burial ground was for the merchant class in Boston.

It’s located on top of a steep hill with views of the harbor below. Definitely stop for a moment after climbing that hill especially since the next stop is a bit of a walk away.

15. U.S.S. Constitution

We are now at the Charlestown Navy Yard. Docked here is the U.S.S. Constitution, which is the oldest ship in the U.S. Navy. It’s also known as Old Ironsides due to the fact that it never lost a battle during the War of 1812. Make sure to go on board the ship and check it out. This beautiful ship can be seen sailing the harbor at least annually as it needs to be turned around so that both sides of the hull are weathered evenly. This normally happens each year on the 4th of July and it’s definitely a beautiful site to see this ship sailing in the harbor.

16. Bunker Hill Monument

We are now at the end of the tour in the Bunker Hill neighborhood in Charlestown. On June 17, 1775 one of the most important battles of the American Revolution took place. Although this battle was won by the British, it showed that the Colonist could stand up to the British as they killed 200 and injured 800 British troops that day.

The 294 steps to the top are worth it once you see the beautiful views of the city below. The monument was of course closed due to covid when I was there so the photo of the view of the city is from about 11 years ago when I visited it last.

That concludes the Freedom Trail. I hope you enjoyed the 2.5 mile virtual tour I just gave. Definitely leave a full day if you want to fully experience it on your next trip to Boston.

2020 – Searching for Positives

We are a little over half way thru 2020 and boy has it been a year that none of us would ever imagine would happen in our lives. Who would have ever thought that we would be living thru a pandemic and things like lockdowns, social distancing, face masks and phased re-openings would be hot topics of conversation. And for America, we also have the burden of a country that is more divided than ever, I can’t even imagine what the rest of the world even thinks of America at this moment. That said, it’s been a difficult year for all of us and you might be thinking to yourself, “I’m done with 2020, can we just skip to 2021?”. Or maybe you are like me and hoping to wake up some morning and realize this was some awful never ending nightmare, I mean it sure does feel like that.

It’s more important this year than any other year to try and think positively. This is a difficult task but when you truly think about it, there is always something positive. There are the obvious ones like being healthy thru all this or the ones that make you feel better, like the whole world is going thru this so we aren’t going thru it alone. But what are your specific positives. I think it’s important to first look at the negative things about 2020, all the things you are missing out on, to see how minor they are compared to the positives. We all obviously miss being with family and friends but what plans did you have that were cancelled or changed?

I took the above picture at Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival last September while attending a conference for my travel business. At the time I was planning my 2020 travels and knew that Ireland was where I wanted my big trip to be to. I had a trip booked to there planned for this May during the Memorial Day week, which is my favorite time of year for a big trip especially to Europe. This was my biggest disappointment of 2020, I was so looking forward to this trip. Travel feeds my soul and I love exploring new places and I’m part Irish so I was really looking forward to exploring my heritage. I also had 5 other trips cancelled (so far) this year.

Other than Memorial Day when I felt pretty down for missing this trip, I have been trying to think positively by looking at the good parts of 2020.

Seeing an old friend: There were luckily two months in 2020 before the lockdowns started and since I travel a lot, I was lucky enough to take two trips this year. The first one was in January when I traveled to Baton Rouge, LA to run a half marathon in my 31st state (thank god I got at least one state this year!). This quick weekend trip was special because one of my best friends from high school who I haven’t seen in years lives in Baton Rouge. I had a great time being able to catch up and spend the day with her and her kids. In all these months of not being able to see friends that I have seen numerous times over the years, seeing a good friend for the first time in years was definitely a bright spot!

Being at my happy place: Of course no year is complete without Disney. In February I was at Disney for my favorite runDisney event, the Princess Half Marathon. I was dealing with a bout of hip bursitis at the time, but the race was still as magical as always. I go to Disney quite a bit, but I still was able to experience a couple of new things on this trip, I stayed at the fairly new Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs resort and it was just as beautiful as I thought it would be. I also had breakfast at what I now consider the most fun character breakfast ever at Topolino’s at the new Disney’s Riviera Resort. Check out my post on that here https://beyondthemilestravelblog.com/2020/03/01/most-fun-character-breakfast-ever/

It’s pretty crazy to me how quickly things changed after that trip, I got home on February 25th and covid-19 wasn’t even a thought in my head (well other than when I had an awful sinus infection in January and totally looked up the covid-19 symptoms to make sure I didn’t have it). The end of the next week, there started being cases reported in Boston from a conference that Biogen had. It kind of freaked me out but I had no idea that as of the following Tuesday March 10th, I would leave work to work from home after someone in the office building tested positive and still not be back in this office to this day.

Working from home: One of the biggest positives about all of this is being able to work from home (with my adorable coworker who is kind of needy and loving me always being here). I’m very grateful to still have a job while so many others have lost theirs. I never thought I would enjoy working from home full time, once or twice a week maybe, but every day? I work in accounting for my full time job and let’s just say I only do accounting because it pays well and I’m good at it, but it’s REALLY boring so I usually love the social part of being in the office more than the actual work. Over the past few months, things have been difficult in the office and it’s just made me depressed and negative, so being home has greatly improved my mood and made me way more productive when it comes to work. I honestly do not know how I’ll ever go back to that office. But that’s a problem I don’t think I’ll have to think about for a while.

Improving my health: Working from home has also helped me get more sleep, I sleep 7-8 hours every night compared to 5-6 hours before. Another thing I never thought I would enjoy would be exercising at home. I now can never see myself going back to the gym. There is an on demand app for my favorite class at the gym and my favorite pilates studio has classes on zoom. This has made it easier for me to do more cross training which in turn is helping to keep me injury free so I can run more. I might just reach my goal of 800 miles this year even after starting the year with only 27 miles in January due to hip bursitis.

Getting organized: During the spring when the weather wasn’t that great I was able to spend some time getting things organized at home. I cleaned our my closet and donated 4 bags of clothing, I’m trying to use all the trial size toiletries that I have and I reorganized my living room which makes it look a lot bigger which is good since I’m spending so much more time at home than before.

Appreciating my home city: I’ve always loved Boston, but now I have really learned a new respect for where I live. It has been so nice to have so many different areas of the city to explore on runs or walks. Even with everything closed, I felt like I could still “go somewhere”. There is just so much to see outside in Boston, I’ve enjoyed being a tourist and getting some really great photos without the usual crowds of people in them. I’m running different routes than normal and seeing parts of the city and even my neighborhood that I’ve never seen before. I’m not just close to the downtown, I’m also lucky to have a beach right down the street from me. It’s not my favorite beach but it is definitely helping to make summer feel more like summer even if it’s not one of my favorite Massachusetts beaches.

Grateful for modern conveniences: We should all be grateful that this happened in 2020 and not 1980. What would we do without the internet, social media and zoom? It would definitely be a lot harder to stay in touch and make sure everyone is ok. And working from home probably wouldn’t be an option, even more people would be out of jobs and the economy would suffer even more. I’m very grateful for social media, I’ve made new connections thru my blog, twitter and Instagram and have learned so much about different parts of the world from these connections. I cherish these new connections, it gave me a little piece of the connections that I am missing by not traveling. I’m also eternally grateful for things like grocery delivery and amazon. I don’t have a car and taking an Uber home didn’t seem safe, so these may be what I’m most grateful for.

As you can see, there have been many positives to 2020. None of us know what the second half of the year will bring. As states in the south and west reopened, cases have spiked to all time highs in America. Here in Massachusetts, our cases are on the decline and I hope they stay that way but as I listen to 4th of July parties going on around me, I fear we will see another spike I have other trips planned this year including a road trip next month I’d like to go on, but more importantly, I would really like to celebrate the holidays with my family later this year (I do not want to have to have a ZOOM Thanksgiving or Christmas!) and start 2021 off on the right foot. I will just continue doing my part in social distancing and wearing my mask and hoping more people start doing the same. I saw the above message while running one morning, maybe with some Fierceness, Persistence, Patience and Resolve we can all try and unite as one and do our part to contain this virus. One can only hope, right?

Stay Healthy Everyone and keep searching for those positives!

Remembering D-Day Part 4 – Afternoon thru Normandy

After lunch we headed to Sainte-Mere-Eglise, the first town liberated by the Allied Forces. As paratroopers descended from the sky into the small village, American soldier, John Steele was hit by shrapnel and landed on the church tower in the village. He then spent two and half hours dangling from the church tower. There is a replica of John Steele hanging from the church tower as if the church and town have stopped time.

From there we headed to Pointe du Hoc. This 100 foot cliff was the highest point in between Utah and Omaha Beaches.

The German troops were ready at Pointe du Hoc to defend Normandy from the Allied attack.

The US Army was able to successfully take over and secure the area after scaling the cliffs and fighting off the Germans.

A number of the bunkers still remain, it was very interesting to walk the grounds and see the remains from that battle.

I walked over to the cliffs to check out exactly how high up they were. The view was stunning, peaceful and so relaxing.

While taking in this peaceful view, it was hard to imagine the battle and resulting death that took place at such a beautiful location.

Something we should remember in every day life, no matter how beautiful or peaceful somewhere may be, terrible things can happen anywhere. We must enjoy the beauty that is life as we never know what may happen, none of us are immune to heartbreak in life no matter how invincible we may think we are.

After Pointe du Hoc, we headed over to the American Cemetery. If you would like to read more on that, please check out this blog.

Then we made our last stop of the day at Omaha Beach. The landings at this beach were necessary to link the landings to the west at Utah and the British landings to the east at Gold. The atmosphere at Omaha was much more subdued than at Utah Beach, this made for a good time to reflect on the busy, information loaded day we all just had.

If you will be in Normandy for a short visit, I do recommend taking a full day tour like this, I would hope you have a knowledgeable, enthusiastic tour guide like I had, he definitely made the tour amazing.

It was a lot of information for one day though, so if you were spending a good amount of time in Normandy, I would recommend maybe taking some half day morning tours to the different sites so that you can spend your afternoons absorbing the information.

I hope you have enjoyed me revisiting my Normandy trip and learned some more things you didn’t previously know about Normandy like I did. Thanks so much for reading, stay safe and healthy everyone!

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Remembering D-Day Part 3 – Morning In Normandy

After leaving the German Cemetery, more on that here, we headed to Angoville-au-Plain. This was my favorite part of the tour!

There is not much to this small town but it’s the church that holds the history and story of Robert Wright and Ken Moore.

These two heroic US army medics with the 101st Airborne Division used the church as a makeshift hospital during the invasion of Normandy.

It was interesting and also kind of eerie to see the church pew with a blood stain still visible from those 3 days that this was used as a makeshift hospital.

Both Robert Wright and Ken Moore received the Silver Star Medal for their bravery not only treating American soldiers, but also injured local residents and even German soldiers.

They treated these patients as bombs were being set off all around the church outside, shattering windows and even collapsing a portion of the roof.

This was a story I don’t remember reading in the school history books and hearing it as we looked at the blood stains from that time, puts a whole different perspective on how awful it would be to live thru a war.

The town celebrates these medics and has a memorial set up outside the church. Robert Wrights remains were buried at the site.

From there we headed to one of the more well known spots in Normandy, Utah Beach.

Utah Beach was the westernmost landing site of the invasion and was much more successful than the landing at Omaha Beach where there were many more casualties.

The beginning of the landing didn’t begin as a successful one though as they were off by 1,800 meters. This ended up working to their advantage as it led the Allied forces to a much less defended area of the beach.

Our guide took us to the beach and as we stood on the beach he told the story of the landing. You could close your eyes and get clear picture in your mind of the landing as he described it to us.

There were many statues and artifacts to see at the Utah Beach site. This section of beach is popular today for horse trotting practice. It was fun to watch them practicing on the beach, amazing how fast these horses can go!

After Utah Beach, we stopped for lunch. Lunch was at an old restored restaurant called Café J. Phillippe Epicerie. There are photos of soldiers outside this café back in June of 1944. The café was restored and has many artifacts from the time of the war to check out before or after eating lunch. I love when tours pick such interesting places like this for a meal, it really adds to the feel of the tour and is so much better than just going to another modern restaurant.

After relaxing at lunch and fueling up, we were ready for an afternoon full of visiting a few more stops in Normandy. Stay tuned for next week’s blog on all that we saw that afternoon.

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Remembering D-Day Part 2 – The Cemeteries

There are numerous tours from Bayeux to see the sights of the Invasion of Normandy. Being that I was visiting from the US, I decided to take a full day US Beaches Tour.

Although this was a tour visiting the US sights of the Invasion of Normandy, the first stop on the tour was La Cambe German Cemetery.

Now why would we start our US tour visiting a German cemetery?

There are a couple of reasons, one of which is for us to be able to see the contrast in the German cemetery vs. the US cemetery that we would be visiting later in the day.

Another reason was that the La Cambe German Cemetery was originally started as an American cemetery during the war. The cemetery was for both Americans and Germans. After the war it became the largest German cemetery in Normandy without over 21,000 soldiers buried here.

Of these 21,000 soldiers buried in this 15 acre cemetery, 300 of them are buried in the hill that serves as the centerpiece of the cemetery. On top of this hill sits a black cross with two statues surrounding it.

You can walk up to the top to get a closer look of the cross and statues and also a view of the cemetery as a whole. When viewing the cemetery from up top, I noticed how subdued it was compared to cemeteries home in the US. I was happy to see that they had plaques to mark most gravesites with a few crosses scattered throughout. It makes for a more peaceful site to visit.

That afternoon, we visited the American Cemetery in Normandy.

There are over 9,000 US soldiers buried at this 172 acre cemetery.

Unlike the plaques and few black crosses in the German cemetery, the gravesites here are all marked with crosses made of Italian white marble.

A few of the crosses are recognized with a gold star, like this one for General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Also marked are the graves for other Generals, Medal of Honor recipients and the Niland brothers who the movie Saving Private Ryan is based off of.

There are also 300 unknown soldiers buried here and also the Wall of Missing which honors the over 1,500 missing in action soldiers.

The cemetery is an actual site of one of the battles of the Invasion of Normandy as it sits overlooking Omaha Beach.

Our visit to the cemetery was very well timed as we were there to witness the daily flag ceremony.

There is something very moving hearing taps playing and seeing the flag lowered and folded while in a military cemetery. It reminds you that the flag holds as a symbol not just for our country but for all those who fought for the our country. Without them, we wouldn’t have the freedoms and rights that we have today.

If you have never witnessed this ceremony before, I highly recommend it.

The differences in the cemeteries were very apparent. From the location of the cemeteries to the scale that each cemetery was displayed. These differences reflect the differences in the countries themselves. America has always been a country that goes all out, the bigger the better with everything they do. While European countries are a little more subdued.

I enjoyed seeing both of these cemeteries and being able to pay my respects to the soldiers lost during the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Next week, I will discuss some of the sites where the Invasion took place.

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Remembering D-Day Part 1 Bayeux

My first visit to Paris was for only 5 days, which left me very little time to head out of the city to explore everything else that the country of France has to offer. As a big history fan, I’ve always wanted to visit Normandy. So on my second trip back to Paris, I made sure that was the focus of my trip!

I took an all day tour that may have been one of the most informative tours I have ever taken in my life. Some may have thought it was too much information for one day and while it was draining, the tour guide is what made it so amazing!

Due to the amount of information learned and experienced in this tour, I will be separating it into a few blogs over the next few weeks. For the first blog, I’d like to talk about where I stayed as a home base for the tour, Bayeux France.

Bayeux is a beautiful town in the Normandy region of France. It’s easily accessible by train which takes a little over 2 hours from Paris. This medieval town is home to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux and the Bayeux Tapestry. It was also the first city to be liberated in the Battle of Normandy.

Being from America, I always feel like I’m walking back in time when visiting Europe. There is something amazing about how things look and feel like they must have been thousands of years ago. Bayeux definitely had a very medieval vibe to me that just walking the streets transported me back in time.

Towering over the town of Bayeux is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux. This gothic style cathedral dates back to the 11th century and the times of William the Conqueror.

I recommend visiting the cathedral and to take some time to walk around inside.

I was lucky enough to have a beautiful view of the cathedral from my hotel room. It was a nice way to start and end each day by looking out the window at this beauty! I mean how peaceful does it look at night? What a great way to wind down from a busy fun day exploring.

Until 1793, the Bayeux Tapestry was displayed in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux. Now it is located a short walk from the cathedral.

The Tapestry depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England from the point of view of the conquering Normans.

The 70 metres long and 50 centimetres tall tapestry is behind glass and guests are given headphones to listen to the story as they walk along viewing the story on the tapestry.

It truly is an amazing site to see this tapestry that is still in great shape after 9 centuries!

The river Aure runs through Bayeux. There is a beautiful path along the river that makes for a great place for a run, take a relaxing stroll or to just sit and enjoy the world around you.

Bayeux is a great home base for all your adventures in Normandy and also a wonderful place to explore on it’s own.

Join me next week when I bring some of the stops on my Normandy tour to you.

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Happy 100th Wonder Wheel

So many milestones are not able to be celebrated this year, from significant birthdays to weddings to graduations, but also important milestones of tourist attractions.

This May the Wonder Wheel at Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY turns 100 years old. Sadly due to covis-19, there is no celebration and opening day has been postponed.

The Wonder Wheel is one of the many rides and attractions available at Coney Island. It’s definitely one of my favorite and the most Iconic. It was designated a New York City Landmark in 1989.

Built in 1920, the Wonder Wheel stands 150 feet tall.

The views from the wheel are just beautiful. You can see the beach stretching out behind the other Coney Island attractions.

What makes the Wonder Wheel unique compared to other ferris wheels is that of the 24 cars on the wheel, 16 of them swing. With the turn of the wheel, these 16 cars swing towards the circumference along a serpentine track. Not to fear for those like me who think their stomachs may not be able to handle the swinging cars, there are 8 stationary cars as well which are just as fun of an experience.

I had been to New York City many times over the years but had never ventured out to Coney Island until September 2014 when I was visiting a friend in Brooklyn.

I’ve been back multiple times since then including when I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon in May 2016. I loved this race as it ended right on the boardwalk in Coney Island. After the race my friend and I took a ride on the Wonder Wheel and this has now become a tradition for me. If there is a ferris wheel nearby a race finish line, I’ll ride it after the race.

It’s a fun tradition to have and it’s always fun to look down on the race finish line crowds from the top of a ferris wheel.

Ferris wheel’s and other amusement rides are a staple of summer and they are always a great time for the whole family. Coney Island is definitely a fun place to check out when visiting New York City, especially during the summer months, head out there to check out the beach, have a hot dog at Nathan’s and take a spin on the Wonder Wheel.

Have you been to Coney Island and taken a ride on the Wonder Wheel? Is it on your travel bucket list? If you haven’t been, definitely add it to your New York City travel bucket list, you won’t regret it! Happy 100th Wonder Wheel, here’s to many more years to come!

Memorial Day Tribute to Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery

Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday of May in the United States. Most of us think of it as the start of summer and fail to remember the true meaning of the holiday. On Memorial Day we honor the military heroes we have lost while they were serving our country. They have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, losing their lives while serving to protect our country. This is something to think about today as we are being asked to do such simple things as wearing a mask and avoid large groups to keep each others safe. It seems pretty minor compared to risking your life to keep others safe.

There are many military cemeteries across the US, the largest is located just outside of Washington DC in Arlington, VA. The Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting spot for over 400,000 military veterans and their immediate family members.

These veterans served in many wars such as American Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korean War and the Vietnam War.

One of the most somber and impressive things to see in the cemetery is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It stands as a tribute to unidentified fallen soldiers from World Wars I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The Tomb is guarded, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by Tomb Guard Sentinels from the elite 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment.

The tomb is located on a hill in the almost perfect geographic center of the cemetery. It’s a very somber yet also a very peaceful and profound experience to watch the guard as he marches 21 steps in each direction passing grave markers of each unknown soldier and pausing for 21 seconds while looking over the cemetery.

During the hours the cemetery is open, crowds gather in silence to watch the changing of the guard. This takes place every half hour from April thru September and every hour from October thru March. At night when the cemetery is closed the changing of the guard takes place every two hours.

The changing of the guard is one of the most symbolic and meaningful things you can experience while visiting Washington DC. I definitely recommend making the time to head out to the cemetery to experience it.

On Memorial Day and Veterans Day each year, remembrance services are held in the Memorial Amphitheater. The President or Vice President of the United States often attends these services.

Other important sites to see in the cemetery include the gravesite of President John F. Kennedy. The gravesite includes the eternal flame that his wife Jacqueline lit at his funeral. This flame remains lit to this day. Other Kennedy family members are also buried nearby.

Also buried in the cemetery are the seven astronauts of the Space Shuttle Challenger, President Taft and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

The former residence of Robert E. Lee, now known as Arlington House sits on a hill overlooking the cemetery. It was built as a living memorial to our first president George Washington but in 1864 was changed to serve as a burial site for civil war soldiers. This home is open for public tours.

Things have been different in Arlington National Cemetery the past couple of months just like the rest of the world. It has not been open to the public. For Memorial Day, only family member of those buried there will be allowed in and none of them will be able to comfort each other with a hug. This is very sad and really puts into perspective how minor missing a holiday cookout or beach trip really is compared to what others are going through in the world today. Please spend Memorial Day remembering these brave souls who gave their life fighting for our country and their families who continue to grieve them.

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Reflecting back on a trip to the Charm City

Back in December 2016, I took a quick two day trip to Baltimore to run a half marathon and check off the state of Maryland.

Baltimore is the most populous city in Maryland and is located about 40 miles northeast of Washington DC.

Baltimore is known as “Charm City”. This nickname goes back to the 70s when the mayor was trying to improve the image of the city by focusing on the charm tucked away in quiet corners of the city which created the marketing slogan for the city, “Charm City”.

Living in Boston, Baltimore is one of the easiest places to fly to and I honestly don’t know why I don’t go there more often. It’s a quick non-stop flight on Southwest.

BWI is located 20 minutes from the Inner Harbor area. When visiting cities, I prefer to skip the cost of renting a car if possible and luckily the Light Rail in Baltimore goes right from the airport to downtown. It doses take longer than driving, about 40 minutes, but it costs less than $2 each way and it was a very pleasant and relaxing ride.

I got off the train at the stop at Camden Yards. I’m a pretty big baseball fan and really enjoy seeing the different stadiums across the country.

What I loved about this stadium is that you could walk right up to it and take a peek inside. Despite it being December and me wearing a heavy coat I got all excited to think that baseball season was only a few months away.

Did you know that Baltimore has more statues and monuments per capita than any other city in the country? Some of these statues are located just outside of Camden Yards. The honor Orioles legends such as Cal Ripken Jr., JIm Palmer, Eddie Murray and Frank Robinson to name a few.

Nearby Camden Yards is the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum. As a big red sox fan, I just couldn’t bring myself to go in there, but I’m sure it’s a great place to check out!

From Camden Yards, I headed over to the main entertainment district in Baltimore, the Inner Harbor. This area includes a beautiful walkway along the water with lots to see and do. There is the civil war era ship the USS Constellation, National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse and many restaurants and shops. There seemed be lots of restaurants with outdoor seating for the warmer months, so it’s definitely a great are to enjoy a meal by the water.

There are many great areas to check out that are close to the Inner Harbor. The Federal Hill neighborhood is located south of the city and features Federal Hill Park at the top of the hill. The long walk up the steps is definitely worth the effort as you are rewarded with a beautiful view of the city! I decided to head up shortly before sunset and was definitely not disappointed!

For the history lovers, there is Fort McHenry. This fort is located in the Locust Point neighborhood of Baltimore. It’s best known for it’s role in defending the Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812. This victory at Fort McHenry was what inspired the writing of the “Star Spangled Banner” File this under things I never knew until I visited Baltimore! I love learning new historic facts while traveling!

I ran the Race 13.1 Baltimore race on the Saturday morning, it started and finished in Camden Waterfront Park which has beautiful views of the Inner Harbor. It was a flat course that was mostly along the water so the views during the race can’t be beat. They did not offer this race last year, but there are many other great races in Baltimore such as the Baltimore Running Festival in October each year which features a 5K, Half Marathon, Marathon and Relay. They even have a challenge called the Baltimoron-a-thon where you run the 5K and Half Marathon on the same day! I’m always up for a challenge, I may need to try that one some day.

One of my favorite neighborhoods in Baltimore that I ventured over to after the race was Fells Point. Fells Point is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Baltimore and ilocated along the water. Here you can find waterfront restaurants, cute boutiques, coble stone streets and some artsy vibes. It’s home to the oldest bar in the city, The Horse You Came In On Saloon which is rumored to be Edgar Allen Poe’s last stop before his mysterious death. I had brunch at a really great restaurant, Bond Street Social. I can’t recommend this place enough, the food was delicious, great friendly service and just an overall fun vibe in the restaurant, definitely check it out.

I had a great but quick couple of days in Baltimore and I’m still trying to get back there some day during the warmer months to be able to fully enjoy the outdoor splendor of the Inner Harbor and attend a Red Sox vs Orioles game. I think I need to stop saying some day and add this to my list for 2021!

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