Beantown And Social Networking...

Getting a new territory for work has included a mild degree of mayhem. Not only have I been turning Canada over to my successor, but I've been doing turnover in the new territory with my predecessor. My travel schedule, needless to say, is ramping up.

I'm now at the front end of my first trip to my new territory. I landed in Boston yesterday, and will end this trip in Manhattan next Sunday. There's going to be a good deal of driving (I'm headed to Connecticut later today and Long Island tomorrow), but I love driving. The weather sucks, so I don't know what my photo ops will be like, but odds are I'll have the camera out at some point.

So, being in Boston yesterday, I met up with a new friend of mine, Steve Parr. No, this isn't one of those "go out and find yourself" kind of things. There's a guy in Boston whose name is Steve Parr. Apparently, one day he punched his name into the search block on Facebook, and my name popped up. He sent me a "friend request". I figured "What the Hell?". I accepted the request with the mindset that, hey, it's cool to connect with someone who has the same name as me.

We'd commented on each other's photos, but our communication pretty much stopped there. When this trip popped up on my radar, though, I decided it might be cool to drop him a note letting him know I'd be in town. We decided to get together and hang out for a little while.

Maybe it's the name that does it, but Steve's a really nice guy. He's a Harley-ridin' business owner (a limo company) and, apparently, he likes showing people his hometown.

In a blur, we drove all over the city. Being a limo-guy, he knows the streets of Boston like the back of his hand. What I realized, though, is that his breakneck tour of Boston convinced me that I need to make some time to explore the city some. I've never been here, and a few hours on a semi-rainy afternoon simply wasn't enough. I did get to see some cool stuff, though:

Standing in front of the "Team Mates" statue at Fenway Park...



Here I am in front of Paul Revere's house; I wouldn't have found this on my own...



Steve Parr (left) and me at Fenway Park...

One of the reasons I'm excited about having Boston in my territory is because of how historic it is. The American Revolution was born here. The "Founding Fathers"? They've all been here, and many remain here. The Cranary Burial Ground is the final resting place for such people as John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Samuel Adams: 

The grave of Samuel Adams...

I could've spent hours exploring that cemetery (I know, weird), but time wasn't on our side.

There's so much to see in Boston that a few hours in the afternoon offers nothing more than a cruel taste to anyone who's either a photographer or a history buff. One of these days, I'll make that time...