planes, trains and automobiles

*disclaimer: this post is super long. I applaud you if you make it through the whole thing - in fact I challenge you to finish it. You deserve a cookie if you do* 

This past weekend's adventure was a whirlwind of planes, trains and automobiles.... oh and a duck boat. We certainly cannot forget about that mode of transportation.

man were we on the move....

We packed so much stuff in to this long weekend getaway I don't even know where to start.

let's start at the beginning and go from there - shall we?

We started our trip by waking up at 3:30am on Thursday morning to catch a 6am direct flight out of Richmond to Boston. Let me just take a moment to tell you that 3:30am comes very early when you go to bed the night before at 11:30 because you neglected to pack a thing until 10pm that evening.

But the beauty of a direct early am flight is that by 8:30am we were in a cab on our way to meet Reid's sister Kristen and her boyfriend Josh at their hotel in Boston.

Evidently it was a very typical day in Boston weather wise. Cold, misty and dreary - nothing like our previous weekend in Maine.

But we made the most of it.

First stop was brunch with the groom to be. The real reason we were back up in New England was for Reid's cousin Ryan's wedding in Newport, RI. Since neither Josh nor I had ever been to Boston, we decided to add on a couple days and check it out.

After brunch, we bid our groom farewell and hit the pavement. We moseyed our way over to Fenway Park and then hit the T (their subway/train system)....that was an experience to say the least. The T spit us out right at Boston Commons. The camera immediately came out and pictures started snapping away.

After an energetic walking tour of the Freedom Trail with our enthusiastic guide Jeremiah, we were dying for a warm place to sit and get a snack. Quincy Market had anything and everything you could ever want to eat and served as the perfect place to warm our noses and toes.

Off again we went in to the cold Boston air but this time we did it by choice. Josh had heard of this place called the Frost Ice Bar. It is literally a bar made of complete ice. The internal temp is a whopping 21 degrees and they issue you fur lined capes and gloves prior to your entrance. It was pretty spectacular and a very unique experience. Sorry for the low quality photo below but they would not let me bring my DSLR in....
what clowns.

After we thawed out from the arctic temps inside the bar, the Boston night did not seem that bad. So we went for an evening stroll and were able to see the most amazing views of the city.
 Boston at night is something else y'all.

The next day we were up bright and early for our duck boat tour. I would definitely recommend this tour for your first trip to Boston. It did a great job of showing you all the historic highlights and some really fun random facts about the city. Plus you get to drive a bus into the Charles River - who doesn't love that? 

The captain/bus driver Professior Quackenbush (or something like that) has his real life captain's licence and is able to legally marry people on the water. I tried to get these two love birds to say "I do" but for some reason this was not the wedding they had in mind. Maybe it would help if they got engaged first.... 

sorry, I had to shamefully put that plug in there.

love y'all! 

Once we were on solid ground again, we hightailed it to lunch at Abbey Lane Food and Spirits in the theater district (which was right by our hotel). This place was divine! I was immediately obsessed with the lighting - duh - check out my insta pics here. BUT the food was equally as awesome. A another high recommendation in my book. 

 We then had to get our butts in gear and head towards Providence, RI for a rehearsal dinner. After a quick nap on the commuter train we arrived at the TF Green Airport and lugged everything we brought with us across 5 people movers, then into the airport, then across a million parking lots, then across the street, then into our hotel. I may not be the best person to take public transportation y'all...I'm just saying. 

Reid's Aunt and Uncle live on a beautiful stretch of the Narragansett Bay and we had just enough time to get in a quick bloggy photo-shoot before the dinner. Oh and the dinner. It was amazing. Fresh steamed lobster, hot wieners, clam-cakes and Del's frozen lemonade (with a splash of vodka added by me). A true tribute to classic New England food.

(make sure to take a look at my father-in-law down there....talk about a photo bomb)

| dress | 

The wedding was beautiful and I wish I had gotten more pictures. I don't even think I got one of the happy couple. She was stunning and he was handsome and they made the perfect bride and groom. The wedding was all sparkles with it's elegant blingy theme and the venue was amazing. It was wonderful spending time with Reid's side of the family. Reid's little cousin Emilie stole the show and my heart - she was just too cute and such a little pistol! 

Sunday, I broke down and encouraged/made Reid rent a car to drive us back to Boston to catch our flight. The thought of lugging all our crap across Boston again was giving me hives. He won husband of the year award that day because not only did we rent a car BUT we got to see Newport on a glorious day and spend some much needed time with his family. I love this crazy crew and am so thankful that Reid has such a fun-loving family.

This little guy was sitting next to us at lunch and I could not help myself. I sneaked this picture of him - I don't think he minded much and just look how handsome he is!
no clue what his name is.....

So you made it to the end.

Even I am exhausted from writing this post.

and don't worry, we have stowed our travel bags for the next couple months ... so get ready for some house updates, date nights and Richmond fun on the blog!

xoxo,

CAD

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