Boston: Trip there and the Colonnade

We flew out of Phoenix to Denver in the morning and then caught a late morning flight from Denver to Boston. We had less than 48 hours to get to know Boston. Luckily, Southwest had their A-Team on our flights and we got to Boston 30 minutes ahead of schedule. We love Southwest!

Denver, Colorado? I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier
(Point if you can name that movie!)

When we got to Logan Airport and to the terminal we tried to find our way to the subway. Unfortunately, we got lost and found a bus that would take us to the subway (30 minutes later). The bus was very crowded and it is there that I heard my first Boston accent: "Scoot Ooovaa!" It is hilarious...do teachers forget to emphasize the importance of the letter "r" in this town?

Waiting for the bus at Logan Airport. This is my "Luuuke...I hope you weren't lying when you said this town is awesome!"...waiting 30 minutes in the "cold" wind after a flight for a bus to a subway isn't my cup of tea :)

Anyways, we got to the subway...and then we got lost again trying to figure out what color train we needed, which direction to go, what the heck was inbound and outbound and at what point inbound became outbound. One may think our city living out in Phoenix would prepare us for such an adventure. Unfortunately, the only thing we have gained from commuting in Phoenix is miles on the odometer and a few tickets from "big brother" cameras.

Luke at the subway. They had the police chief come on the intercoms talking about the "See something, say something" initiative. The police chief had the BEST Boston accent: "Thes is Cheef xxx from the Bawston Polece Depaaatment." I cracked up every single time.

We eventually got close to the hotel we were staying at the first night, The Colonnade. We got out of the subway, saw the Prudential Center, and then got lost again (I printed out soooo many maps..grr). Thank goodness this town is easy to walk around and gorgeous, or I would have had even more of a breakdown :) I was so nervous and tired. And I hate not knowing where we are or what cardinal direction we are heading in. Getting lost a few times in Disney before you turn 10 will create such phobia. Luke was in his element and enjoying the city. So I let him do the leading, which actually helped me calm down and enjoy the city a little more, as well.

After a few more minutes, we found the hotel and checked in. The hotel is very posh...everyone was dressed so nice. And then we walk in with our pj's and Goodwill clothes. It was awesome. I felt like a married version of "Pretty Woman." And to make the moment even better the receptionist says, "It appears your room has been taken care of by the Globe, sir. Your room is ready."

The Colonnade Hotel

The room was small, but very modern. We had a flat screen TV, a huge bed, amazing view of the Prudential Center, a coffee-lovers dream coffee maker and "Do Not Disturb" button in lieu of a door hang. Every guest also receives a complementary Colonnade rubber duck. I don't know why, but we liked it!

Luke exhausted after a cross-country trip.

We kicked off our shoes for a little while, tried to learn how to use the TV and then got ready for some dinner and walking.

Some wicked news!

Luke made his dream come true this month.

He got an e-mail from the design director at the Boston Globe last month asking if Luke would be interested in applying for the sports design supervisor position.

If you don't know much about Luke, here's a few major points:
• He is from Vermont
• He LOVES (x5) the Red Sox

...and most importantly:
• This has been his dream job since he started working in newspapers

So he turned in his resume and was asked to come to Boston for an interview. Luke and I headed to Boston a couple weeks ago and got acquainted with the city. Luke, of course, loved it. It took me a day or so to warm up to the big city life: subways, crowds, buildings, streets that are not on a perfect grid...these things take me a while to digest. By the second day I was getting my bearings (and shopping), so I was liking it a little more. :)

Luke came away from the interview feeling positive and knowing that he did his best. The rest was up to the Globe. That comforted us as we left Boston.

Then the waiting game started...It was painful. I've never seen Luke so anxious, even on our wedding day. I could tell just how much he wanted it, and I wanted it just as much for him. The days went by, and I remember telling Luke that the call would come when we weren't expecting it. And that's exactly what happened!

Luke found out today (a Sunday during a holiday weekend!) at 3 p.m. Luke got the job!

Words cannot describe just how proud I am of Luke. He has worked so hard and deserves this more than anyone. And I'm saying that with the least amount of bias that a wife could have. He has worked so hard to get to this place in his career. He is so genuine and has such a strong work ethic...he will do such a great job in Boston!

I will be posting a couple posts about our trip to Boston. For now, here are some photos of our trip

Conaaaaaaan Ooooo'Briiiiieeeeennnnn!

Luke and I don't go to many shows..whether it is movies, theater, musicals. We love all of these and wish we could go to more, but I think the cost and timing of the events (Luke works nights) sometimes deters us from making those sorts of plans. But when we found out that Conan O'Brien was coming to Phoenix for the "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour," we had to go.

Since we don't get many Friday nights together, we decided to make a date out of it. Luke picked me up from work (yah for no rush hour traffic!) and we headed to Pita Jungle. We scarfed on hummus, sandwiches and lemonade. We got downtown early, so we parked at the Republic and made our way to Dodge Theater (about 10 blocks from Luke's work). When we go in the theater we grabbed a couple t-shirts before the crowds got too bad and bought a couple drinks and popcorn. Luke scored some awesome tickets...still not sure how we lucked out and we were dead center, 30 rows from the man himself.

Comedian/Musician/Who Knows What Reggie Watts opened the show with his multiple personalities and awesome songs featuring some loop pedal work. Luke was in awe. I liked his hair.

Then Conan O'Brien's band came out and got the crowd into it. La Bamba and many of the original members from Tonight Show Band were there. They sounded great and the horn player held a note for well over a minute..insane! Andy Richter was there, too and introduced Conan and the crowd gave him a standing ovation for a few minutes. His jokes were great! He poked A LOT of fun at NBC and made references to Leno a few times. Between jokes, Conan would play some songs with the band. I think my favorite was "I Will Survive" where he revised some of the lyrics to express some of his personal experiences. We could tell this tour was great therapy for him! :)

Conan performs a song early in the show

He can't dance, but he definitely does try!

The actual "Bat out of hell" from the Meatloaf tour

Andy, the infamous bear from the Late Night show and Conan

Conan wears some awesome outfits!

At the end of the show, Conan ran through the audience and right by us! Luke got to give him a pat on the back and, ahem, man-boob. Pretty awesome! :) Here is a video of Conan and the band performing "I Will Survive":

Luke and Fernando!

This weekend, Fernando and Luke teamed up for a song at church. We are pretty sure Fernando shares a couple genes with Bob Dylan. :)