New England Meet & Greet (Part 1)

[Acadia]

Originally Posted by Ian J

Let's nail down a date. April 25th-27th works for me. Thoughts?

Any chance for a week earlier?

[Seggy]

The problem with the previous weekend is it is Patriots weekend which you will have a lot of tourists in town for the Boston Marathon, etc. The weekend before that you might have people starting to pour into town for that event.

If you need a buddy pass to get from BHB to BOS, I can get you one.

[Acadia]

Originally Posted by Seggy

The problem with the previous weekend is it is Patriots weekend which you will have a lot of tourists in town for the Boston Marathon, etc. The weekend before that you might have people starting to pour into town for that event.

If you need a buddy pass to get from BHB to BOS, I can get you one.

Ah yes, I did not think of that. I will just have to see how my wife is doing at that point, but I am guessing I wont want to wander too far from home once we are in the delivery window. Thanks for the pass offer.

[MikeOH58]

Seggy, i'm going to be very hungover and crabby on Saturday morning when I wake up...Maybe so much so that i will say "screw you guys, i'm going home", and never end up showing hehe...Wanna get me car service and a buddy pass so I don't have to drive from Connecticut?

[charlie1017]

Count me in for the Boston M&G!!!

Originally Posted by Ian J

Us New Englanders need to get together and throw back some beers. I'll head this thing up, unless someone more qualified (who say, has a beach house) wants to take over.

This poll is to help decide WHERE to have it. Kinda picked the three biggest cities right in the middle. New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine guys, sorry! Lower NY and Jersey guys - let's consider you New England even though you technically aren't.

Obviously, the M&G isn't limited to NE people only - all are welcome!

The next poll will help decide when.

Hope to see you guys soon. The poll closes in three days.

[unclenobby]

OK, I'm not too sure of what kind of budget people are thinking but here's some recomedations.

Doubletree Guestsuite Boston - Close to the city On Soldiers field road along the river, close to Harvard Square. Probably $15 dollars taxi ride into Faneuil Hall area or they have a free shuttle to Copley Square. You can get a 3 person suite for about $70/80 per person per night that weekend (2 beds and sofabed), a special on their website. Very nice hotel.

About a mile further up Soldiers field road is the Days Inn (1234 Soldiers Field Road). Not a great hotel (average 2.7 on Expedia), but you can get a room (2 double beds) for about $60 PP a night inc taxes. There's an awsome breakfast diner down the street called the Breakfast Club - great hangover cure!!

Hyatt Cambridge on the Charles - very nice hotel - a little more pricey at $100 per person sharing 2 doubles.

I'd recommend 1 and 3 to anyone (price location, comfort)- and 2 if someone is looking to save some cash while not ending up 10 miles outside the city, but willing to sacrifice on surroundings (crash pad basically).

The Black Rose is good bar, plus it's right there in Faneuil Hall which has all the bars, food and clubs one needs!

Boston has more to offer than boozing (shock!). Here's a few I'd recommend for those looking for some culture -
1: JFK Library and Museum is fantastic. Watching the debates with Nixon, his speech after being sworn is inspirational, and the short on the Cuban Missile Crisis is tense!
2: Trolley Tour or even better walk the freedom trail for free!!. Must see the graveyard that is home to the some of signers of the declaration of independence (and conveniently located accross from the beantown pub if all the history is making you thirsty!)
3: USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) - the oldest commishioned war ship in the US Navy, be there at sunset and you get to hear her blast her cannons - trolly tours stop here and you can walk on board, or the harbour tours take you out there as well.

Anyone have questions about the city, hotel locations, things to do, feel free to post or PM me, I'll do my best to help out (not a native but been here for 4 yrs). I'd definitely meet up for some beers if this goes ahead.

A Tower tour would be awsome!

[MikeOH58]

Back to drinking......It's not the greatest bar of all time, but Sunset Grill is always a fun experience...Over 112 beers on tap. Fun for first timers.

[unclenobby]

Sunset is OK...kind of college food hall..good food, great selection of beers but not what I would consider a pub. My personal favourite bar in the city/suburbs is The Field in Cambridge.....it's plucked straight out of the aul sod - and the serve Murphy's, the best stout around.

[flyhigh]

Originally Posted by unclenobby

1: JFK Library and Museum is fantastic. Watching the debates with Nixon, his speech after being sworn is inspirational, and the short on the Cuban Missile Crisis is tense!

The only complaint I have about that place...when you go into the room to watch a short film, the doors can only be opened from the inside so you are kinda trapped in there w/o any lighting.

You can get a pretty good view of the planes in/out of Logan from the museum. If they are using 4L/R for arrivals they come pretty low right over the parking lot.

[Acadia]

I am going to keep it on the calendar (last weekend of April); if my wife is not having any issues yet I may try to come down for Saturday night. I have a place to stay in town so I can easily make the decision to come at the last minute.

[grnclvrs]

Depending on how many people are going to be there, the Days Inn in Saugus has a crew rate of about $50 a night. They have a free shuttle to the T at Wonderland or the Airport but that could be a problem if more than 10 people want to use it. Try Pricelining hotels in Boston. I stayed in the Hyatt at the airport for $60, right beside the water shuttle to Quincy Market.