You wanna go where everyone knows your name ...

... or at least where a few people do - Boston baby !

We're just back from our Christmas trip to Boston to visit Lisa, Kevin and the girls.  Alma has seen Lisa a few times since we all emigrated our respective ways, but the last time I saw the two lads was in 1999 - the very first time we went skiing in New Hampshire.  Sure t'was mighty !  To make us feel right at home they took us straight from the plane to an Irish pub for a couple of (socialable) drinks.  Now I'd be the first to question the authenticity of most Irish pubs as the vast majority are owned by non-Irish nationals cashing in on our greatest export.  This pub however - hand on heart - was the genuine article.  Within minutes of our arrival a fight broke out.  It was almost as if it had been staged specially for us just so that we could feel right at home.
Needless to say the lads were under fierce pressure after such a blazing start on the entertainment front, but true to form we had a brilliant time !

The first couple of days were all about eating, drinking and generally lazing around - I mean it was Christmas after all.  Most mornings we made a special effort to get up before noon, but it wasn't easy I can tell you.  Even the dog got in on the act after a while - though I don't think he really had the stamina for it.

On one of the days we took ourselves as far as the subway (not the 'restaurant') to hitch a ride to town for a good old fashioned walk about.  In classic style we had no clue where we were going - nor did we really care, right down to forgetting at the time that the "Cheers" bar was located in Boston.  Turns out there's two of em in Boston; the original and a replica.  Coincidently we came within a stone's throw of both - oh well.

We did happen upon the homeground - the "Garden" of both the "Bruins" (ice hockey) and the "Celtics" (basketball), and managed to catch a lovely sunset not too far from the original "Cheers" bar (am I starting to sound a little bitter yet?).

The "Garden".

Sunset in Boston ... not too far away from the original "Cheers" bar (bah humbug).

Later during the week we headed to New Hampshire to see if we could slot in a bit of skiing.  As it turned out the weather was too mild, so rather than attempt to ski on ice we decided to give it a miss.  Skipping all forms of snow related fun was not an option however so we had a good old tubing session with the kids.

The route to New Hampshire.

A view from the lakehouse we stayed in for the night.  The story wouldn't be complete without passing the ever so casual remark that the heating died at some stage during the night, so needless to say it was a little on the "fresh" side.  It could have been worse only for the fact that we had coincidently warmed up before going to bed via a hardcore session of "Just Dance 3" for the Wii - just to humour the children you'll understand.

Tubing with the kids.  Look who's having the most fun !  The superman move was optional (but I can assure you - highly recommended).

After getting back to Boston and to top it all off, we headed out for a meal on the final night only to discover that it was Alma's birthday !  She genuinely looked surprised (can't imagine why).   It's only a matter of time before they start asking for ID for these things.