Boston, I love thee

No, you read it correctly. I am writing a post about why I like Boston. I KNOW, who am I? But listen.

I've been unable to go to the gym recently since the death cold I got upon returning from New Orleans turned into bronchitis. As such, I've been trying to do a lot of walking to at least get some kind of exercise. A few days ago, I decided to go downtown to run some errands, stop at McDonald's to try my very first Shamrock Shake (thanks, Shamrock Shake finder), and then walk the 5 miles home. It was uncharacteristically gorgeous for a Boston winter day, and I was walking through the Common marveling at how pretty it was, and I realized that there was a time when I used to love it here. And, as much as I put Boston down every two seconds, there are STILL things I love about it. So here is a list of my favorite Bostony things.

- Hempfest. Every fall, a crapload of people descend upon the Boston Common and smoke weed all day. And no one stops them. Now, I have no present interest in going to this because I left weed behind when I graduated college, but I have fond (hazy) Hempfest memories. Plus, it's pretty damn cool in general that this happens. Goooo Boston!

- Smoken Joe's BBQ. This restaurant is to Boston (Brighton, actually) what Kashkaval is to New York, in that it is the restaurant that I try to take any and everyone to. And no one has ever been disappointed. Crapface is coming to Boston this weekend (YAY) and she asked if we could go there since we went back in November when she was here. Briscuit and mac and cheese and cornbread IN. MY. FACE. Yum.

- Boston Beer Works. Specifically, their blueberry beer. I am a blueberry beer fanatic and this beer is loaded with actual blueberries and you can watch them float up and down in your glass like a lava lamp. Some find this gross. I find it awesome.

- The 86 bus. This bus goes from Cleveland Circle to Harvard Square in 20 minutes, a trip that would otherwise take nearly an hour by train. Because I'm a transplanted New Yorker and thus I have no car, I am a public transportation fiend and I love this bus just like I used to love the M57 in NYC. Makes my life super duper convenient.

- Trader Joe's never has a line. NEVER. This might not be shocking to you if you aren't familiar with the Trader Joe's on 14th St. in New York, which always has a line half a mile long (no exaggeration, it wraps around the store). I can walk in there any time and stock up on Luna bars and honey wheat pretzels and not wait to pay for my things. I will miss this.

- TUFTS. Duh. The best university on the planet. Goooo Jumbos!

- Bleacher Bar. As the name suggests, this bar is right under the Fenway bleachers and looks right onto the field at ground level. It's P-I-M-P.

That's it for now. Oh Boston, you aren't always so bad.