Summer "Break"

Throughout the summer, I kept getting the same advice from the 2014's about what to do in the week between the Summer and Fall terms: RELAX.  Rent a house somewhere outside of Boston, catch up on sleep, and re-charge.  Well, this last week has proven once again that I am not very good at relaxing.  What started out with the best intentions of down-time ended up as a week packed full of activities and adventures spanning 4 states and 2 coasts.  It was a blast, but I think the 14s were on to something with the idea of making it into a true break.

It all started on Saturday morning, when I woke up early to meet up with the Cambridge Running Club for their weekly long-run.  I'm still getting used to being one of the shortest-distance and slowest-pace runners of the pack with a 12-mile loop at a "moderate" 7:50 pace, but it was fun as usual and very well supported.  After a quick shower, I linked up with Karl to head out to the airport to ride in the backseat of a Cessna 172 as he completed his check-ride for one of the local FBOs.  We flew a quick hop down to Rhode Island (State #2) before heading back to the airport for a couple touch-and-goes.  It was absolutely wonderful to get back in the air after a 3-year hiatus and I'm looking forward to more flying adventures in the Fall.

On Final Approach to the North Central State Airport in Rhode Island

Another quick turnaround at home found me heading to Logan Airport for the next adventure.  My "Mystery Trip" for Cynthia, which was a well-guarded secret until she guessed the destination a week before the trip, was to San Diego (State #3) to visit her good friends Shannon and Rebecca.  We took the new direct flight on Alaska from BOS to SAN and within 6 hours we were on the other side of the country.

The trip to San Diego was short (2.5 days), but packed with lots of fun times.  We spent a day at the beach, including my first experience surfing.  I got up long enough to get a picture but didn't last much longer than that.  Definitely something to work on next time I get a chance!  Then we had a great feast on the waterfront of Coronado Island looking towards downtown San Diego.  The next day we did a running tour of the city, including Little Italy, the various parks along the waterfront, and the gas lamp district.  Shannon works at the Museum of Natural History in Balboa Park, so we spent some time walking around the park and exploring all the neat things that there are to see.  Then we had a wonderful feast of Mexican food before crashing for the night and heading back to Boston in the morning.

Ok, so maybe there was some relaxation to be had this last week!

Freeze-frame that looks like I'm actually surfing!

Balboa Park in San Diego

We got back to Boston in time to meet up with my mom, who had flown up in the middle of a visit to my brother in Maryland to explore Boston for a few days.  Over the course of two days, we managed to cover the entire Freedom Trail, including a tour of Paul Reveere's House, the USS Constitution, and climbing the Bunker Hill monument.  There was also time for exploring the MIT campus and eating some wonderful food around town.

We finally got the "Classic MIT Shot" in front of the dome

USS Constitution ("Old Iron-side")

Faneuil Hall (Along the Freedom Trail)

Friday was spent getting organized for the fall semester, including ordering course packs and looking at textbooks (though I'm waiting to buy those until the first week of class when I can figure out which one's are actually necessary).  I also may have purchased a new toy in the form of a Samsung Galaxy Note tablet.  After the massive paper pile-up last semester, my goal is to use the tablet for case study readings this Fall instead.  I'm still figuring out how to use the tablet, but it looks promising.

To round off the break, we filled the last weekend with a 10-mile hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (State #4) to cover our 4th and 5th of the 48 4,000ft+ peaks (Flume and Liberty).  Then yesterday we headed to Salisbury Beach in northern MA for some more surfing and exploring.

On top of Mt. Liberty, NH

It's been a busy week for sure, but it definitely fit my mantra of "Work Hard, Play Hard".  Perhaps the 14s were on to something when they recommended a week of relaxation, but I've had a blast and wouldn't really change anything if I could do it over again.  Next up is the Sloan MBA orientation this week followed by Fall classes starting after Labor Day.  Back to work!