A few years back my husband and I took a road trip from Virginia Beach to Maine. Along the way we stopped in Salem, MA and made our way into Boston via the train. It was a relatively quick trip as I only got to see Quincy Market and hang out with some wonderful friends of ours - catching up, having drinks, and laughing late into the night. At the end of our evening we managed to miss the last train out and had to take a cab back to our inn in Salem. It was quite the adventure.

Since then I've been back to the Boston area about once a year for work-related reasons, all day meeting focusing on our HR agenda and goals for the year. With each trip I fly into the city, drive out to Woburn, and spend my time locked away in an office building getting to know my team a little better. It's a great time overall, especially the group dinners and activities once the meetings are done. This year's trip was no different. Of course, I'm now sitting in Logan airport, irritated that my flight has been delayed by an hour. After a long day, I'm just ready to go home.

Last year was the exception to my fly in/fly out Boston experience. We stayed at the beautiful Fairmont Battery Wharf Resort right in the city. Both nights we were able to walk around downtown and explore the city a bit. On our first night, one of my co-workers took us around to see some of the sights including Paul Revere's house and we stopped at Mike's Pastry for a cannoli. On our second evening after enjoying a wonderful dinner we walked to Modern pastry for another cannoli and then everyone split up to go their own way. A friend of mine and I headed to Quincy Market and enjoyed drinks and people watching at the Hard Rock Cafe. While I didn't get to see all the sights in Boston, having the chance to explore the city a little bit while I was in town made for a much more enjoyable experience than in past years. Maybe one day I'll actually get to visit for pleasure and really get a taste for this city!