Shipping Up to Boston

Below: A slideshow from a weekend visit to Boston; including sites around the city, a brew tasting at Harpoon Brewery and a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, where a fan was arrested for running on the field. All set to the song, "Shipping up to Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys.

Slideshow FYI:

The image of the Oyster Bar sign shows the oldest restaurant in America. The oldest tavern is right next door. This place has incredible clam chowder and a friendly staff of locals.

Fenway is celebrating its 95th anniversary. The game we attended was the second of a double header on a day in which it never stopped raining or misting and the Braves were demoralizing the Red Sox by 10+ runs. Still, in the 8th when we headed to grab dinner, the stands were packed full of diehards. Fenway is far and away the best atmosphere I’ve been to for a baseball game and as real a slice of American history as you can get.

Other images in the slideshow include the site of the Boston Massacre (the star in brick), the graves of Paul Revere and Sam Adams, and a video of the slow drunk fan getting arrested for running on the field during the Red Sox game.

Also: Visit www.harpoonbrewery.com to checkout an up and coming microbrewery. They are well respected in the New England area and ship their product as far West as Indiana. One particularly cool aspect of this operation is that the brew-masters are on a rotation in which a select employee is allowed to create 100 barrels of a recipe of their choice and have it distributed as a limited edition brew by Harpoon.

We attended a 2:00 beer tasting where we sampled six different beers, including an IPA, their UFO Hefewiezen, Munich Dark, a Brown Ale, the Harpoon Ale, and the current beer in the 100 barrel series called Peche; a peach flavored Belgian ale with a light fruity sweetness and smooth after taste. The tasting lasts 45 minutes and is free of charge, so if you’re in the Boston area consider making this an afternoon pit stop. They also hold a number of large beer celebrations and other events throughout the year.

Boston continues to be one of my favorite places in the U.S. There are few cities that infuse such a young and vibrant culture within the rich confines of American history and tradition. Public transportation is easy & accessible, the nightlife offers a wide-array of choices, and the staple foods of the area are unbeatable. Throw-in a passion for sports and some of the greatest universities in the country and Boston has an ironclad resume.