Boston, United States of America, North America

So my first month is already over…

I started my Round-The-World trip four weeks ago today, and enjoyed a lengthy visit home to New England. It was great being home for Thanksgiving, which I’ve missed GREATLY for the last few years. You really can’t beat a full day of tremendous food, time with the family, and football (American style of course!). The Patriots pulled out a great win against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day, so that just made the day that much better!

That was just four days after my Dad brought me to Gillette Stadium to see the Patriots take on our bitter rivals, the Indianapolis Colts. This was the 8th year in a row we have played against the Colts in the regular season, and unfortunately we had been on the losing side of most of our recent meetings. We knew it was going to be a dog fight, but we never could have guessed it was going to be such an amazing game. Peyton Manning threw three interceptions and the Patriots held on to win (38-35), after leading 31-14 with only 10 minutes to play. The game finished with James Sanders picking off Peyton Manning with only a minute left on the clock to seal it for us. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric! Considering only one year before in the notorious “4th and 2” in Indy, we were winning by the same exact score in the fourth quarter and managed to lose the game, it was great to see the Patriots hang on to win this one.

I was also able to make it to a Boston Bruins game against the New York Islanders. Shane and I watched the Bruins crush the New Yorkers 5-2 and there were a couple of good fights in there for good measure too. We had great seats that were only 11 rows off the ice on the away side, which is where most of the action was for the night, so it was perfect!

The rest of my time at home was spent with my family or my friends, and almost always was centered around food. I wasn’t complaining though! I enjoyed a couple of nights out in Boston, a few pub quizzes (trivia nights) at JD Coopers, house parties, even a couple of rounds of arctic golf, and catching up with friends and family before I headed out for the next year.

It’s sad to think that I’m not going to see most of my family and closest friends for the next year, but the excitement of knowing what’s ahead of me makes it a bit easier to swallow. Also, the fact that I’m now writing this entry from my First Class seat on my way out to Denver also helps. My Mom’s the best! If only the rest of my RTW flights were going to be as nice as this!

Well I’m going to be in Colorado for the next few weeks, so I don’t really know what I’m going to get up to. The only thing I have planned is a five day trip out to Las Vegas, so I’ll be sure to update the blog with whatever is happening out there. Well not everything, what happens in Vegas…