Boston.

I have had good luck with renting condos on, vacationrental.com over the last couple of years. Much cheaper than motels/hotels, and much more room to spread out with the kids. But I didn't do my homework in Boston. I rented a three bedroom, three bath condo that was, according to the web site, "close to public transportation and only ten minutes from downtown Boston". Got it for $2500 for the whole week. GREAT deal!

The first hint that this place MIGHT be a problem, was when the cab driver at the airport didn't know where it was. The paperwork said, "Boston", which is technically correct. Like, Herriman could be described as, "Salt Lake". It was in fact, in someplace called, Roxbury. And the Cab Driver had to pull over on the tunnel coming out of, "The Big Dig" to spend, $4.60 of meter time, getting his dispatcher to find the place.

I took it off of his payment. If you're a cab driver, and don't know where to go? I don't pay you for that. I'm a prick that way.

When he finally figured out where we were going, he made that sound that racist, Arabs make when they are disgusted. "Haaaaaaaaak!" and spit out the window. "Why you rent in, Roxbury? You know about those people? Haaaaaaaaaak!" Obviously, he wouldn't have taken a fare for there if he knew where he was going. Now I'M starting to get worried about our choice of condo.

We get there, and it's not so bad. But it is VERY, Black, so now I'm starting to figure out why this guy is so amazed that some totally white folks from Salt Lake City would rent a condo there.

When we get in, the place is great. Really a nice condo. But, only basic TV? And several blocks from a BUS stop, not the subway, and at least 10 miles from downtown. I tell the owner that if I don't have at least basic cable so I can watch the news, I'm outa there, and she makes it sort of, right. No MSNBC all week. But at least I had ESPN while the Utes were going to the, "PAC 12".

We called out for, Chinese the first night, as it was late and we were tired. But there are not many restaurants in, Roxbury. And NONE with off street parking.

Fenway Park is a dump. And should be torn down, and replaced. I don't care about it's history, it sucks. It's the worst ballpark I've ever been in, and I've been in plenty. Boston, you deserve a new ballpark.

The, Red Sox won on Tuesday night, but from where we were sitting, you could hardly tell. I bought cheap seats in the outfield just to see the place, and you couldn't see, you couldn't hear, and you couldn't see the scoreboard to know what was going on. Our AAA ballpark in Salt Lake City is WAY better than, Fenway Park.

After two days of trying to get, "The Blind Lady" down the hill to the bus stop, to take a long ride to a subway, I rented a car because we had to have one to get to the, Buffett concert on Thursday anyway. Round trip from where we were to downtown on bus/subway was a reasonable, $22 for the four of us. But really hard to do with the hill we were on. So the car was almost $70 a day. Plus parking. If the condo owner had told the truth, I'd have rented a different one.

Even if the kids had to share a room. They have done it before.

And let me warn you about driving in Boston. DON'T DO IT! These people are the worst drivers EVER! The don't stay in lanes, they don't signal, and if they are pulling onto a major road from a side street? They will just let their car idle out into the traffic lanes until you have no choice but to stop or you hit them! If I was from there, I would say, "These people are, wicked, bad, dry-vers!"

Boston is not the coolest place in that part of the country. Salem is neat. Lexington, standing on, Battle Green, where the Revolutionary War was started, brought tears to my eyes. I had to compose myself before I could tell my kids why, where they were standing, was important.

I'm glad I made the trip, but if I ever have any reason to go back there again, I'll do it differently. I'll stay in, Lexington or Concord, or, Salem. I'll NOT go to, Fenway Park ("Pahk?") or downtown, Boston since we walked, "The Freedom Trail" this time (except to have a Lobster Roll at, Legal Seafood. It's really good!). And I won't drive in Boston! Those people are nuts!

The, "awesome" rating of the big cities we've been in has to rate Boston at the bottom. New York, Paris, San Francisco, London, Washington DC, Chicago. Even, Denver is a neater city than, Boston. Los Angeles and San Diego are both better places to be. Hell, even, Phoenix, as much as I don't like it, is a better place to be than, Boston. Tucson is better than, Phoenix.

That area of the country is great, but Boston is not a good city. You live. You learn. I now know that I would rather be in Lexington than Roxbury. And they aren't that far apart.

I'd rather be in Murray than, West Valley, Taylorsville, or West Jordan. And they aren't that far apart, either.