Boston...Love and hate

Just returned from an exhausting week in Boston...SIGGRAPH 06 was a success...and we "managed" to have some fun along the way.

The fun times...

Last Monday we went to Fenway to watch Sox's vs Indians...Apparently, we left before the most exciting play of the game -- "Monday night, down two runs with two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth. Did anyone at Fenway actually think the Indians were going to survive this mess?"...JJ, JP, TK and I must have, because we LEFT the ballpark seconds before this happened. NICE!

Another fun moment...we made some new friends at the Boston Fire Dept Station in the North End.

Biking around Martha's Vineyard was very memorable. I will vacation there some day...it is all I have thought about since returning to Seattle.

Completing two long runs along the Charles River.

Great restaurants...

We had a fantastic dinner at Sage. Sage is a Italian restaurant located in the North End...small and intimate...great place for a date...with your co-workers .

Stephanie's on Newbury -- this resturarant was recommended by a friend. KUDOS! Amazing food! Great lunch spot. I highly recommend the lobster quesadilla. Yummy food and excellent service.

Uni Sashimi Bar at the Eliot Hotel...yes, I had to go back! AMAZING food.

The Upper Crust on Newbury -- Great Pizza, fantastic service!

The "not-so" fun times...

As the week wore on, my team and I had the running joke about the "ten things we hate about Boston"... not sure if we ever finalized the list, but here are a few of the outtakes.

It was HOT and very humid. Apparently, last Wednesday was the hottest day of the summer... I think the heat index on Wednesday was 110 degrees

Rude people...favorite quote of the week: "go back to LA!" Yes, that's right; someone shouted this at us on Saturday night. Funny...we aren't FROM LA!

People cannot drive...there is a reason why roads have designated lanes.

Pedestrians...they cross the street anytime, anywhere...

Soccer Mom gave us the finger at a stop light...what!! Why??? We still don't know... was it the Ford Taurus rental car?

The tunnel closure, which in turn resulted in TK and I getting lost on our way back to the airport...oh, and it was rush hour! Yes, we ended up missing our flight. I will save that "story" for some other time....