Well, we're back from our trip to Boston, MA, where my husband ran in the 11oth Boston Marathon. We left on Saturday and flew into Providence, RI, so we could attend Resurrection Sunday services at Grace Bible Church in Somerset. It was a wonderful experience to see the new chapel and all the work they've done, to reconnect with dear friends and to share the special celebration service live and in person. Plus I was completely blown away when the Pastor not only singled us out as having come all the way from Arizona, but then he mentioned my books as well!
Afterward we raced off to Boston to attend the expo, pick up my husband's race packet and attend the Pre-race pasta dinner with a gazillion other people at City Hall. On Marathon Monday, after a buffet breakfast at the hotel, my son and I set off on foot to explore Boston Common, Beacon Street and the Public Gardens, then headed over to Boylston Street where the race was set to end. Since hubby was not to arrive until 3:10pm at the earliest we made our way leisurely along the route, checked out the subway, then watched the start of the wheelchair racers and elite women on the big screen TV. (Boston Common photo by tostie14)
At that point my son discovered the hub on the Prudential building (the taller of the two in the photo at the left) and we took an elevator up 50 floors (!) to to get a bird's eye view of Boston. That and the plane ride both reinforced the things I was thinking about with respect to the soaring eagle. You see so much more how everything fits together from way up there. It was phenomenal. From there we figured out where the race course was and watched the first wheelchair racer come down Commonwealth Avenue, speed up to Boylston, then down to the finish line. (Skyscraper photo by tostie14)
The view also gave us a good idea where we wanted to be to cheer my husband, so we went down the 50 floors and made our way out to about the 25 mile mark on Commonwealth Avenue where we got a railside position to watch and clap and yell. After he passed us, it took us half an hour to get back through the crowds to the end where he was to meet us in the Family Meeting area. A dinner of clam chowder and sour dough bread, followed by a ride in a horse-drawn carriage with the temps in the 40s and the wind on the rise (research!) brought us back to our hotel. There we completed an incredible day by watching one of our favorite shows, 24. (cheering marathon crowd photo by cocolinda)Tuesday we flew back to Tucson, and between the time change, the events of Monday and the nonstop action we were exhausted. I'm still feeling the effects today and made very little progress, but at least I've started thinking about chapter 22.
enjoy!
Karen
