happy birthday, america!

For the first time in my life, I spent July 4th weekend away from home! This year, I went to visit some of my closest friends in Boston, MA...and it was WONDERFUL! Usually, I take the train, but given the economy and also my desire for new experiences, I took the train to New York Penn Station and took the Megabus to Boston. The massive pack of people outside the bus depot area was ridiculous and overwhelming, but the bus itself was fine. An hour delay...better than I expected, quite frankly. Plus, I made a new friend on the bus! I met a young man from Virginia, living and working in NYC, traveling to Boston to celebrate July 4th with friends, like me! Good conversation helped to pass the time, rather the eternity that I felt we spent crawling through the state of Connecticut.

When I got to Boston, I then transferred to the subway and met up with Sara and Colette, my lovely hostesses for the weekend! They gave me a tour of their lovely apartment and we went

out for food at an Asian food court down the street that I'd been to before during my time at Wellesley, called "Super 88". Later that evening, we went out for a night on the town and met up with my new friend from the bus and his friends from the area. Lots of fun! The next day, Colette, Sara, and I went to Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA...it was perfect!!! Not too hot, but warm enough to want to be out on the beach and in the water (though the water was a little too cold to hang out in there for long). That afternoon, Steph met us at home and we had dinner together and then went out dancing! During the day we spent lots of time catching up, laughing, and also lazing around on Sara and Colette's beds, just like we did at Wellesley :)

For the 4th of July, we woke up late and then had a delicious brunch near Sara and Colette's apartment. Then, we cooked a potato salad (using a recipe from Sara's mother) and brought it to a Whiptail potluck at a nearby friend's apartment! It was great to see my old team all together in one place. After the potluck, we went to an MIT fraternity house to watch the fireworks from the rooftop...it was SPECTACULAR. While I love the Princeton fireworks for sentimental reasons, these were incredible, and we had a great view from the fire escape, looking out over the Charles River and the Esplanade!

As usual, it was a lovely, incredibly fun, relaxing weekend with some of my closest friends! I can't wait to see them all again :)