Boston

During our Spring Break, I went to Boston with my boss Ian Crone for the annual ACUI conference! My favorite part of this conference was finally meeting the College Union Idea team I had been part of for almost two years. Background: Porter Butts is the founding father of student unions. His book was the only book on our history, The College Union Idea. Our team edited /created the 2nd Edition. All by phone and web communication! So it was awesome to put faces to names and voices. The whole thing was an incredible opportunity and I learned so much. And we were all very excited to see proofs of the book with our names in print. Amazing!

My roommate was Raquel from Nevada!! It was like having a little piece of home for a week :-) And I also got to catch up with Region 15 folks and Chuck Price, the director at the union I was at in Nevada. This was one of the best conferences I have ever been too. I can't imagine the amount of work that went into it from the conference planning team (CPT). Oh- my presentation was accepted, so I did a mini workshop on the basics of marketing and how to relate them to a student union for new professionals and grads. Not too shabby for my first annual conference!

Boston is a city that I would visit again and again.
So much history!
Beautiful architecture.
Yummy food!

Our tour guide was cheesy funny. But he knew his stuff! He said this park was the first public part created in America. He also said that most of these beautiful trees we looked at were used for hanging people. First "witches", slaves and heresies, then Black people and thieves.

This Holocaust Memorial is intense. I didn't encounter a single person who walked through and wasn't in awe, crying, or in deep reflection. I would like to go back because I can't remember if the names inscribed on the glass structures are the survivors or the remembered who did not survive. On the ground as you walk there are quotes from Americans walking through camps as they were being freed to people being freed and everyone in between.

No caption is really needed here...

This is the new Hancock Building with the reflection of the old Hancock building.

We were at a stop sign so I got lucky taking that pic! "Boston’s first all-glass skyscraper, the 60-story John Hancock Tower had a rough birth but matured into something wonderful. During construction, more than a third of the tower’s 10,000 glass windows fell out and were replaced with plywood, earning the building the sobriquets “plywood palace” and “the tallest wooden building in the world.” But since the Hancock building’s completion in 1976, most observers have come to appreciate how its shiny glass windows—now tightly secured—actually help to showcase Trinity Church."

The first UCC Church. Sam Adams was a member and there is a tribute! And the crypts of the founding members are here. Inside they have brochures welcoming the LGBTQ community and encouraging people to join their committee! The UCC church is what Elmhurst College is affiliated with :-) Lovin on all people :-)

I can't recall the street name, but rows and rows of cherry blossoms in full bloom.

"Trinity Church, on its completion in 1877, heralded an entire style of architecture called Richardsonian Romanesque, named after its architect, H.H. Richardson. Like this church, Richardsonian Romanesque buildings are made of heavy masonry that gives them an almost fortress-like appearance. Trinity’s sumptuous interior, though, is illuminated by brilliant stained glass windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones; its walls are graced with murals by John La Farge. It was immediately branded a masterpiece and, even today, is considered one of the finest buildings in the United States."

I got this brilliant idea from Raquel. Raquel has a daughter, Miriam, and when she went away from her for a long time she created a calender to help Miriam mark the days and there was a treat each day. Like an Advent calendar but for Mama's return. So on the reverse side of the pink paper behind Cass was my calendar and in each pocket was a small treat. A new bath toy, bubbles, a book, etc. This trip was the longest I had been away from Cass- 6 days. Kind of rough on both of us. But luckily Grandpa John came to help out Matt for the week. Grandma Patti and Great Grandma Paula and Aunt Nancy and Uncle Pat also visited right before I left and Aunt Emily! So Cass was well taken care of :-)

They were so cute to make me a sign!

I know. They are out of order. Y'all are lucky they are even getting posted! This was our tour guide on the Duck Tour. Yes, we all quacked. I loved going from land to water- so neat!