A few Boston Snapshots....

 

Canal in downtown Lowell



George Washingto statue at Boston Commons

The Boston Capital Building

Eerie cemetary in the middle of downtown Boston

Gothic archetecture and awesome reflections in the windows

More awesome architecture near Boston Commons area

Shippin' up to Boston....(AND I LOST MY LEG!)

This past weekend Kyle and I had our last "hoo-rah" in the northeast as we ventured four hours north to the awesome Irish-plentiful city of Boston for St. Patrick's Day weekend. The main reason for our trip was to see the Dropkick Murphys and Against Me at Tsonga's Arena (at the University of Mass.) We bought tickets for this show back in October. (And believe it or not, the entire arena sold out within an hour!)

This was truly a weekend of firsts - our first time driving through Connecticut, our first time in Massechusetts, our first time seeing Dropkick Murphys in concert.... so totally blog-worthy.

They played a lot of jams from their lastest album, Going Out in Style, including the hit single off that record which shares the same name as the album title. (See video below!)



But they also played some classics (and some of my personal favorites) like The Dirty Glass, Barroom Hero, Warrior's Code (for which they brought Mickey Ward out on stage!!!) and the classic Kiss Me I'm Shitfaced - to which the singer went down onto the floor of fans and sang with them and crowd-surfed back to the stage. They even played an encore performance of Shipping up to Boston, which had just about the entire arena dancing an Irish jig.

Click here to see photos from Dropkick's performance...

Against Me took the stage before Dropkick and put on an equally impressive show. They opened with my favorite song, Pints of Guiness Make You Stronger, and closed with the high-energy, makes-you-wanna-party-all-night song, Thrash Unreal.



The other opening bands included the Dropkick-inspired Barroom Heroes, consisting of three boys ages 11 and 14 who sure knew how to play some punk rock! Dropkick brought the boys out later during their set to play Barroom Heroes with them.

The first band to go on was a group of five sisters who play cello, violin and guitar. They kind of reminded me of a group I liked called Escala. These women also play with Dropkick on the tour.

All in all, the night was a blast. We even managed to catch some of the St. Patty's Parade the next day and walk around the downtown area. We came home Monday morning through a sudden snow storm - which was pretty trippy driving through. Now that we're back in New Jersey, and the movers are here packing stuff as I type... I'm thrilled that we got to spend our last weekend up North with Boston and with some awesome Irish/punk rock bands!

Having fun at the concert

The Dropkick Murphys! Guitars, drums, banjos, bagpipes, strings - so entertaining to watch live!

The Hudson, History & Hooahs - First visit to West Point Academy

Yesterday Kyle and I ventured one hour and 20 minutes north of our New Jersey apartment to visit the famous West Point U.S. Military Academy in Highland Falls, N.Y. This was our first time ever visiting the stomping ground of historical icons such as WWII Generals George Patton and Douglas MacArthur, not to mention the nations' first president and West Point Founder, Gen. George Washington.

Kyle and I at the West Point Museum

The scenery was absolutely amazing, with landscapes of the Hudson River spanning endlessly into the horizon. The campus was surrounded by mountains and hills of the Bear Mountain region, providing a scenic background for just about every outdoor photo I took during our visit. The Gothic architecture was reminiscent of an English town - a beautiful, historic and quaint scene I've never experienced before.

We started at the Vistors' Center and the Museum, where among the rooms and rooms of displays we saw a collection of historical Army weapons (including an Atomic Annie), and even the original portrait of George Washington.

Original portrait of
Gen. George Washington

Next was a walk around parade field, where the giant George Washington on the horse statue drew our attention no matter where we were walking on the path around the field. We even caught a glimpse of the gigantic dining hall where Gen. MacArthur gave his famous farewell speech to West Point cadets on May 12, 1962.

"Duty, Honor, Country," he declared that Spring day, "Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail; to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith; to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. Unhappily, I possess neither that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor to tell you all that they mean."

Gen. Douglas MacArthur statue at West Point Military Academy

The amazing scenery of the campus from the doors of the medieval-looking chapel was well worth the steady uphill hike to the sanctuary. The inside of the fortress was equally breath-taking, with high, ornate ceilings and a multitude of colored stain-glass windows.


We spent some time at the West Point Battle Monument, surrounded by cannon representing major Civil War battles. The 46-feet-high monument was dedicated May 30, 1897 by surviving Civil War veterans and is said to be the largest column of polished granite in the Western Hemisphere. In addition to viewing this masterpiece, we had a clear, open view of the Hudson River.


All in all, our first visit to West Point was both beautiful and eye-opening. With all the Army history that took place there, one can't help but be in awe of the fine heroes in our nation's history that once began their careers as West Point Plebes.

Inside the West Point Chapel

View of the campus from the chapel

Kyle and I at the Battle Monument with the beautiful Hudson River behind us

Hey ya'll! I'm goin' back to Savannah I reckon'

What? Back to Savannah? Yes, dear blog reader, you read the title correctly. While being a Jersey girl for the last year has been quite an interesting ride, I will soon be returning to my Southern roots for a new job. Funny how it all played out, because this new job is actually with my former office where I spent my first year as an Army Public Affairs Intern.

Ahh yes, good 'ol Savannah. The Southern city of oak trees, Spanish Moss, sandy shores, marsh grasses, tidal waters, Southern drawls, historic buildings, River Street....and of course, Paula Deen.

A view of the famous Forsyth Park Fountain
I captured in fall 2009 in Savannah, GA.

I remember when I was at the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Md., about a year ago from today, when I had to write a speech about a topic of my choice. I then had to give this speech in front of my classmates while my instructor critiqued my presentation skills. Of all the topics I could have selected, I chose to write my speech about Savannah. How fitting.

Everyone said the topic was a perfect fit for me, especially considering my drawn-out Southern accent. A few people even said I could pass as a spokesperson to advertise tourism for the city. Ha ha. Little did I know I would be moving back to the wonderful city a year later to settle down for what I now think will be long term.

Jersey has been fun. The summer and fall brought us amazing weather and many opportunities for outdoor recreation, hiking, sight-seeing and other random adventures. The winter brought several unique and first-time experiences, from walking amongt the beauty of a true "winter wonderland" to the frustrations of shoveling snow.

My job here has brought a tremendous amount of experience, opportunity, lessons learned and insight to the ins and outs of Army Public Affairs. The cultural experiences - from trips to New York City to small-town excursions in Sussex County - have been eye-opening. Interacting with the people up here, from co-workers to neighbors to random people I meet in public - has been somewhat of a cultural experience as well.

But hey, I still have two weeks left - including a trip to Boston for St. Patrick's Day - so hoping to squeeze in a couple more blog posts before I say goodbye. But even then, it won't be goodbye for long, because I'm already brainstorming names for my new Savannah blog....