Keeping the schedule of a much younger woman, I went to the beach on Wednesday night for my Moms bonfire (see July post), arriving home at 1 am. I got up the next morning at 6:30 and left for Orange County at 8:30 with Lauren, Sally and Katie to shop all day. I returned home at 7 pm (ish), threw my suitcases in the car (previously packed on Wed.) and drove to San Diego to catch a red eye to Boston. CRAZY!! We arrived in Boston at some time in the morning (can't really remember) and got to our hotel.....that day we power napped most of the day, waking up to go to dinner and returning to sleep...here is our room at the Park Plaza Hotel
The hotel is celebrating 80 years in service and is located on the commons. Here is our quaint little bathroom
And here is how the hotel looks out on the street...
On Saturday, Paul's brother John and wife Denise made the 3 hour drive from Maine to Boston to spend the weekend with us. It was so fun! We decided to walk the Freedom Trail...
Paul is standing by the grave of Paul Revere.
On our way from the North Church (1 if by land, 2 if by sea), to the USS Constitution, the sky opened up and we got rained on.
Halfway across the Charlestown bridge, we came upon a covered area which we shared with 15 other people trying to get out of the pelting rain.
We decided to turn back and find the subway back to our hotel. It continued to rain and on the way through the commons, we saw some people wearing yellow rain ponchos bearing the name "Cheers" on them and we changed course once again to Cheers. What better way to get out of the rain?
John spent some time chatting up Norm.
Back to our hotel to change and go to dinner. We chose to have dinner at Smith and Wollenskys which is housed in a prominent brick and stone building constructed in 1891. It originally served as the headquarters for the first Corp of Cadets. The first floor gunroom, social hall, and museum floor have been converted to the main dining room.
After an incredible dinner, we walked up to the Prudential tower to visit the 52nd floor and see the views of the city and bay up there. The following day was sunny and warm, so we resumed our venture to the USS Constitution. After lunch at Tavern on the Water we boarded the ship-
USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. It was first launched in 1797. Constitution is one of six ships ordered for construction by George Washington to protect America's growing maritime interests. The ships greatest glory came during the war of 1812 when she defeated four British frigates and earned her the nickname "Old Ironsides," because cannon balls glanced off her thick hull. The ship was restored in 1927 with contributions from the nation's school children.
John and Denise suggested a trip over to the aquarium to take in an Imax show. Here are John, Denise and myself preparing to be amazed in 3 -D.
As the sun was going down we made our way to China town. Found a restaurant where the locals eat....Yum! Another fun day! John and Denise stayed one more night and did some more sightseeing the next day. We had so much fun getting together and so appreciate them making the trip down to visit with us.
We sat at a table with a broker from North Carolina and his son who had a camera like ours. He had a nice lens with image stabilizer that he insisted we try on our camera. We were able to get some great close up shots of the band members.
Chicago is still a really tight band and everyone enjoyed the music. This is the 4th time we've seen them live. 
The son (can't remember his name) took our picture after the show. 
Tuesday morning was the opening meeting and our speaker was President George HW Bush. Of course, all the speaking is geared around the financial economical state of affairs and designed to motivate and inspire. 
The conference is a good place to talk with brokers from all over the US and to take courses to complete the continuing education requirements for financial advisors. In the hall outside the meeting room, all the vendors for mutual funds, insurance, etc. set up booths to hand out literature and little fun things. I picked up a pair of underarmor shorts, pedometer, stuffed gorilla, juggling balls, and more. In between meetings, we walked the city of Boston to sightsee. Stopped at a fire station to pick up a T-shirt for Tim on our way to Fenway Stadium.
Here is Fenway. Couldn't get in as a game was in progress, but shopped for a hat in the souvenir store. 
We were treated to dinner by our Janus Funds representative at a restaurant in the italian section of the city . The meal was incredible. Another evening we went to the Boston Seaport World Trade Center. Historical characters such as Abigail Adams and Benjamin Franklin strolled around to speak with the attendees. The John Hancock building spelled out LPL on the side of their building by lighting up windows. The last night of the conference was a gala. We dressed up:
Had a candlelight dinner and our entertainment for the evening was none other than Joe Walsh and Glenn Frye of The Eagles. Sorry the pictures aren't that good. It was difficult to get as close to the stage as we did for Chicago. We sat next to a very nice couple from Wisconsin. They said they were river rats and we found that they owned a boat and spent alot of time on the Missouri river with it. We shared with them about our boat and camping on the Colorado River.
The conference was very enjoyable.......Next year....Chicago
