The Boston Traveler

This guest post is from Mary Jo Manzanares, b5media’s Travel & Culture Channel Editor and travel blogger at Flyaway Cafe.
I love college campuses, even though it’s been many years since I spent any time as a student on one.
I love the buildings, and the libraries, and the bookstores. I love checking out the architecture and the landscaping, and people watching, and buying a sweatshirt to wear so I can pretend that I am an alum.
On a rainy day last summer, I had a layover in Boston with my best friend, Anita. She and I took a couple of hours and …read more

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Today’s guest post is from Mary Jo Manzanares, b5media’s Travel & Culture Channel Editor and travel blogger at Flyaway Cafe.
June 2nd, 1692, is generally recognized as the commencing of the Salem Witch Trials.
Hindsight tells us that, despite the rampant hysteria running through the community at the time, none of these people (mostly women) were witches. Fear does crazy things to people.
Salem, rather than denying it, or trying to distance itself from its less tolerant era, has embraced the trials, and has turned witchcraft into a sort of cottage industry.
You can visit the Salem Witch Museum, the Witch Dungeon Museum, the …read more

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This is a guest post from Mary Jo Manzanares, b5media’s Travel & Culture Channel Editor and travel blogger at Flyaway Cafe.

One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm
Those words, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, have been memorized by countless people learning about the revolutionary era of the United States. The poem refers to hanging a lantern (or lanterns) in the belfry of the Old North Church is Boston as a signal that the British were coming, and that Paul Revere was …read more

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Today is a guest post from Mary Jo Mazanares, Travel & Culture Channel Editor and travel blogger at Flyaway Cafe.

One of the non-witchy highlights of a visit to Salem is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of Seven Gables.
The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association was created to assist immigrant families who were settling in Salem. Philanthropist and preservationist Caroline Emmerton purchased “the Old Turner Mansion” in 1908, and eventually restored the mansion to its original splendor — and its seven gables. The building became known as The House of the Seven Gables, after Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel of the same name.
Additional structures …read more

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This is a guest post from Mary Jo Manzanares, b5media’s Travel & Culture Channel Editor and travel blogger at Flyaway Cafe.
Where else but Salem would Halloween become a month long event?
The city that has made a cottage industry of witchcraft pulls no punches this Halloween, as it launches its month of Haunted Happenings. It’s a combination of an autumn event, celebrating the changing leaves and cooler weather, with the spirit of Halloween, complete with accompanying ghosts, goblins, witches and folklore.
The Halloween events are all found in historic downtown Salem, and it’s easy to walk from one venue to the next. …read more

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Today’s guest post is from Mary Jo Manzanares, b5media’s Travel & Culture Channel Editor and travel blogger at Flyaway Cafe.
Have you noticed how the nights are getting just a little bit cooler? And in the mornings, there’s starting to be a little crispness in the air.
When the weather gets like this, I start thinking about the fall foliage, and how beautiful nature can be this time of year.
Word is that this year’s foliage New England foliage should be spectacular. The warm days and cool evenings are perfect conditions for dramatic color and foliage.
If you’re interested in planning a driving tour …read more

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It’s been a few days now, but Boston residents are still glowing in the aftermath of the Boston Celtics’ victory during the 2008 NBA Finals. That happened on the night of Tuesday June 17, of course, when the players, last in the East just one year ago after amassing the 2006–2007 season’s second poorest win-loss record of 24–58 — only the West’s Memphis Grizzlies fared worse, with a 22–60 record — defeated their West Coast rivals the Los Angeles Lakers 131–92 in game six of the NBA championships.
Three days later, the Boston Globe used the accurate description “a twisting …read more

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Following the Boston Celtics’ decisive 131–92 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the sixth game of the 2008 NBA Finals on Tuesday night, it was trophy time.
The team members received their shiny gold reward during an enthusiastic ceremony immediately after the game’s final moments, and 30-year-old Paul Pierce was named the MVP of the series, as well.
In the video of the Trophy Ceremony below, head coach Doc Rivers and shooting guard Ray Allen each have the chance to speak a little about the victory, in addition to Pierce.
Forty-six-year-old Rivers should be particularly proud since the finals represent both his …read more

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Toodle-loo, Kobe and Company!
What a nice way to cap off the night — with an eagerly anticipated NBA Championship Title like the one the Boston Celtics snatched from their playoff rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, just a few hours ago.
Before we get to the video of the rousing triumph — or bitter defeat, depending on your perspective — I list a few facts for Tuesday’s matchup:

The game at Boston’s TD Banknorth Garden was the sixth of the best-of-seven series
The final score was 131–92, meaning the Celtics clobbered the Lakers by an authoritative 39 points
At halftime, the Celtics led the …read more

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This breaking news makes me incredibly sad.
MSNBC, The New York Times, and numerous other major news outlets are all reporting 58-year-old Tim Russert, NBC Senior Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief and longtime moderator of the political program Meet the Press, passed away less than an hour ago.
Russert apparently collapsed while recording a voiceover for Meet the Press in NBC’s Washington bureau. He was then reportedly rushed to local Sibley Hospital at about 2:15pm EST, and there is speculation, but no confirmation yet, that he died after suffering a massive heart attack.
Russert was one of very few newspeople whom …read more

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