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Day 2: Surprise Boston!

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So last night was an absolute cluster. We arrived in Boston a little after 11:00 PM. We and one other guy named Mark had completely missed the connecting flight to Reykjavik by over 2 hours. It took about another hour or so for the airlines to switch our flight for the next flight out, which would be 8:50 PM the following evening. Our bags had already been transferred to the connecting airlines, which closed shortly after we arrived. We found this out after walking for about 15 minutes to get to the next terminal where our bags should be. Tired, hungry, and defeated we made our way to the ride-share pick up location, only to find that there were no cars available. By this point Mark, who'd been tagging along with us, went off on his own while we doubled back to try and call a cab. It took a few tries, but a taxi finally arrived to take us to the hotel Aaron had booked: Kimpton Nine Zero in downtown Boston. We love Kimpton hotels. It's our favorite hotel chain due to the uniqueness of each hotel, the amenities, and the customer services. We try to stay in a Kimpton whenever we book hotels while traveling. 

We arrived at our hotel aronud 1:00 AM and picked up some complimentary toiletries from the front desk. The concerige new our situation and felt bad that they had run out of toothpaste, so they sent up complimentary Peligrino. Seriously love Kimpton hotels.

We ended up staying up until about 2:30 and door dashed some questionable pizza and pasta while waiting for Iceland's work day to start. We were able to move some bookings around, so hopefully this whole delay won't set us back too far. 

Now for Boston!



We woke up pretty early and continued communication with our Iceland travel guide while getting ready with the few toiletries we had. Afterward, we set out for breakfast to a recommended cafe a few blocks away. Stepping out of our hotel, we realized that were were standing in front on the grave of Samuel Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence! We continued on to the cafe with plans to visit Granary Buring Ground afterwards. On the way, we popped into a 7-11 to grab some toothpaste and gum. 

Cafe Bonjur was tucked into a small building that had once been a convenience store back in the 1800s. The wood detail was way more extravagant than any 7-11 or Quicktrip ever. We were seated at the bar, where the cook (possibly owner/manager?) proceeded to show us all the tasty looking dishes. We chatted with him throughout the meal. Turns out he spends a lot of time in Texas visiting family. 

After breakfast, we walked a couple of blocks to Old Navy and Macy's to get some clean clothes. Aaron got a pretty cool NASA t-shirt and Kaylea yelled "you're so picky about your underwear!" without realizing someone else was standing right next to her. We went back to the hotel to change and pack up before making our way to the cemetery where we gawked at the graves of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, the parents of Benjamin Franklin, and other notable patriots and signers of the declaration. It was a bit surreal, this small cemetery tucked between towering brick buildings. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around downtown Boston. We visited the home of Paul Revere, grabbed lunch at the wharf, and greeted all of the puppies toddling around Boston with their owners. The weather was absolutely perfect for a stroll through along the Freedom Trail. 




On the way back to the hotel for our bags, we stopped at a monument to Irish immigrants where we were engaged by an almost belligerent man. He started with conversation with "I hate white people and the Irish" while looking right at Aaron's beard and ended with "You two are the best looking people in Boston. If you decided to make some kids I bet they'd be good looking. You should go ahead and start tonight". Probably the kindest drunk-compliment we've every gotten. 

We picked up our bags and caught an Uber back to the airport so we could be there right when check-in opened. We immediately ran in to Mark, who had been already hanging out for a few hours. Check-in was pretty easy and we were assured our bags would make it on the flight. So here we are, sitting at the airport 3 hours early again, hanging out with Mark.  He and Aaron are talking about computer science.

All in all, our day in Boston turned out to be a pretty nice silver lining to the airport hell we experienced last night. But now, it's time for Iceland! We're going to make it to Iceland! We are. Don't jinx us. 

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