I've never been to Boston in the fall. Until now.

I didn't want to bombard you with all the normal Friday finds, so I'm just doing a post about Boston. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

I went to Boston over the weekend and it was amazing. I was selected to present at the annual American Public Health Association Conference on a group paper I was part of a year ago. We sent in our abstract last spring, and later in the summer found out we were selected for an oral presentation. I was delegated to be the presenter, and it was a great opportunity! There were two other groups from our MPH cohort that were selected for poster presentations so there were 9 of us that went together. I got to Boston last Saturday and left on Wednesday. Here's a brief recap of the trip and some photos:

Saturday:

Took the train to the house we rented, and then explored every nook and cranny of that place (it was built in 1835, and the basement still has stone walls!).
Went to Chinatown for dinner (pad thai!) and then grabbed some groceries for the trip

Sunday

Went to the Opening Session of the conference. Sir Michael Marmot (famous epidemiologist) and Sarah Weddington (lawyer in Roe v. Wade) both spoke.
Went to Boston Common and did a group self-guided tour of the Freedom Trail.
Stopped at Mike's Pastry for a cannoli.

A cemetery on the Freedom Trail. Famous people are buried here.

Monday

Attended a few sessions of the conference in the morning.
Four of us rented a car and drove to Concord. It was beautiful out there. We saw Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Louisa May Alcott's house, and Walden Pond.
An intoxicated, homeless-looking man offered me the empty seat next to him on the train, so naturally I accepted the offer. He then proceeded to shower me with compliments, and then said "I will love you, always". Pretty good day for me.
Quincy Market for dinner. I got "clam chowda" and it was so delicious.

On the shores of Walden Pond

Can I stay forever??

Tuesday

Conference in the morning.
Harvard in the afternoon.
I met up with my friend, Mary, who lives in Boston. We were in the same ward a few years ago and it was great to see her!
Amazing hot chocolate at LA Burdick. I'm pretty sure it was just a straight up melted dark chocolate bar. With whipped cream on top.
Self-guided tour of Harvard using their handy-dandy tour app. We wandered into a classroom and tried to guess what sort of crazy smart things they were teaching in there.
Dinner at Bartley's Burger. All the burgers are named after politicians and celebrities. I had the Tom Brady. It was real good.

Me and Mary

Harvard.

Wednesday

Presentation day! Of course my presentation was on the last day of the conference. Luckily I was first in my session to present so I could get it over with. All of my friends told me mine was the best. I don't even care if that's true, they can keep saying it.
Lunch at Sam LaGrassa's. I had a GIANT Reuben sandwich, and it was amazing.
Spent the afternoon at the Public Gardens and walking around Boston in the perfect weather.
Flew back to Utah