Boston Trip 2: Busy Day Back in Boston

 

My second trip to Boston in the 21st Century was for surgery. I wasn’t going to waste a trip to a city I Ioved, so I arrived two days early, and filled the schedule with as much as I could. It was a cross between being dedicated to seeing more of Boston and trying not to worry too much about my upcoming surgery.

It was just before the holidays, and the downtown hotels were pretty expensive. I found a deal at a hotel in the Fenway Park area that looked interesting. It turned out to be directly in front of Fenway Park and interesting was an understatement.

 

I had arranged an accessible ride with Go Airport Shuttle. The driver was waiting for me at Logan Airport when we arrived and took me to The Verb. An attendant greeted us. There were no steps to get in, and I wheeled right into the lobby.

Soon after I checked in, I went out to explore. I couldn’t be this close to the iconic Fenway Park and not check it out. I was told the tour was not accessible—but you can get accessible seating during the season. I still walked around the outside and could see just how special this place was.

I hadn’t eaten since my early morning flight and grabbed a Mediterranean bowl at Cava. The Fenway area is much different than downtown Boston. The cobblestones were missing and there was a more modern feel.

 I  took a short nap after my exploration and decided to forego the Lyft WAV and wheel the mile to The Prudential Center, where I was meeting my friend, Amanda. It was an unusually warm day for December, and it looked to be a scenic ride.

I went through the Fenway Victory Gardens and through the Back Bay Fens. Like just about everything else in Boston, there was history all around me. I passed a statue of “Poet Patriot” John Boyle O’Reilly, and the location of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 

I hit those famous cobblestones and got bounced around a bit, but I saw The Prudential Center in front of me and knew it would be better in there.

The Prudential Center is a modern mall, with wide and smooth walkways that are perfect for wheelchairs. They even had a huge accessible bathroom. I love a bathroom I can easily turn my wheelchair around in, then be able to get myself up holding on to properly placed rails. 

I knew we were having dinner, and I didn’t want to fill up, but I was early and decided to stop at Eataly for a latte and a cannoli. They make them fresh and they are delicious.

I met up with Amanda about an hour later in front of the entrance to The View Boston. I expected to just go up to the top floor for view of the city, but it was so much more. We found multiple floors with displays, history, and videos about Boston. There were also 360-degree views and miniature maps explaining everything you are seeing.

The Stratus, Boston’s highest bar, was decorated as a winter wonderland. We were tempted to stay for a drink, but it was crowded and we had reservations for dinner at the restaurant. Stratus has a patio too. We went outside to catch the view, but it was too cold to stay there.

The Beacon had a creative cocktail menu that included Spirit Free and Zero Proof drinks. Amanda had a Boston Garden Fizz, with vodka, strawberry-basil shrub, and soda water. I did the Southside, with zero-proof gin, mint, and soda. With all the botanicals in the gin, I couldn’t even tell that it was alcohol-free. After all, I was having surgery the next day.

The food at The Beacon was as good as the menu made it sound. We started with sharing the wings and meatballs with ricotta. They were both flavorful, but not too spicy. I had the sausage and cavatelli with burrata for a main course.

 

We enjoyed our meal before it was time to go. I was surprised to find out when we got downstairs that it was raining hard. I didn’t want to get soaked so I called a Lyft WAV to take me back to The Verb.

I had thought I’d eat something again and stay up late because I couldn’t eat in the morning and surgery wasn’t until the afternoon. I was just too tired and drifty off to sleep quickly.