Clicker Expo Part 4- I think I’m going to Boston

Coast to Coast Puppy! Leo dipped his toes in the Atlantic, it’s been 20 years since I’ve had a coast to coast pup!

This one is a LONG one as we packed so MUCH into a few days!!!

After leaving my friend’s place in Connecticut we had plenty of time to make our way to our next destination: Boston, to stay with some virtual clients who had offered us a place to stay and to show us around their city. I had left this day clear and unscheduled from the start as I was not sure if I would be tired and in need of a day off after the conference. But I was ready for more and with the extra day and only a short day of driving between me and Boston I decided to take the slow road and drive along the coast up to Cape Cod and Plymouth before heading to Boston. I figured I could find a hotel out by the beach in Cape Cod somewhere.

Leo in Provincetown Cape Cod

But it was basically a ghost town and most everything was still closed for the winter. The good part was that meant we had all the beaches to ourselves, walking without seeing anyone else. But most all of the hotels, shops and restaurants were closed during the week. We still had a lovely adventure exploring what beaches we could get to and Leo said this was the perfect way to decompress between two BIG city adventures.

Leo at Plymouth Rock, thankfully I was warned about how underwhelming this landmark is 🤣

So I headed to Plymouth to check out the extremely disappointing landmark of Plymouth Rock 😂. It literally looks like they just found some random rock, carved the year into it, surrounded it by a cage and called that good. Not AT ALL what I would have envisioned this spot to look like. Thankfully my friends in Boston warned me how unimpressive it is. Thankfully the town is adorable, many cute shops and a beautiful waterfront area with lots of green space and walking paths so Leo and I enjoyed another long walk. We had a full day’s adventure it was still only like 3pm! So I texted my friends in Boston who were expecting me the next day when I looked and saw we were only like 30 miles away now, I could get a hotel after already having seen most of what I wanted to, or crash them a day early. They said absolutely come on up!

At least the waterfront in Plymouth was beautiful to explore

Leo in South Boston Seaport

We drove through Rush hour traffic but it all went well and wasn’t too bad. Everyone warned me about how bad it would be, but frankly after driving cross country I can say, if you can handle Los Angeles traffic you are battle ready for anywhere. They live right on the waterfront in South Boston, so I tucked my car into their parking garage and moved into their apartment.

Marie and Merlot their pups are both dogs with big feelings that I have worked with virtually. We were not sure how they would handle Leo a dog much bigger than they are comfortable with in their apartment. Stella & Grace did a good job setting things up with good management options, multiple gates so we could get in and they could see each other from a distance. They were not comfortable with him so we did some juggling and rotated them being in one room while we moved Leo into the other room. The settled down pretty quickly and while being super interested in who this large dog was, we decided it would be best to wait for any introductions until the next day when we could try some parallel walking outside.

Dawn and Leo taking in the Boston skyline

Stella ordered us some door dash dinner so we didn’t have to go back out, and wow, door dash in a city is a whole new adventure as you can get food from the best restaurants that you would have to wait months to get a reservation! We had a delicious meal and had the best time getting to know each other in person. It is just the best thing when you meet people in real life after only knowing them through a screen for so long and finding they are exactly as you thought and you get on instantly. I have learned that’s not always the case. But in this case I truly felt like I was visiting my besties I’ve known forever.

Dawn & Leo checking out the location of the Boston Tea Party

Stella had planned the perfect two days of touring the city! I took Leo out for his morning walk after his breakfast and Stella came along to show us the best places to find some grass, on the way back we headed to pick up the most amazing spread of delicious goodies she had ordered for us at a local pastry shop.

Grace had to work so we left her and the two pups while Stella took Leo and I on our first big adventure.

Dawn and Leo at Paul Revere’s house on the Freedom trail

We walked a section of the Freedom Trail. Passing lots of historical sites and cute shops.

Leo and Paul Revere

We walked several miles through this beautiful city! I’m not sure I have ever been to a city so set up for walking. Such a great place to explore on foot. I’ve lost track of all of the places we saw that day, because it was just one historical site after another in this amazing city.

Dawn & Leo at the Boston sign at City Hall Plaza

We tried to hit as many of the fun sites as we could. And Stella had a great route to walk us all around the best parts of it. Unfortunately for Leo I found this hysterical hat in a gift shop, the owner said “I think I sell more of these to golden retrievers than I do to kids”. It’s tight fit on his big head but he was a good sport.

Just a couple of crustaceans hanging out at the harbor

So we of course had to hit all the locations with crustaceans for photos in his new hat.

This Barking Crab has Big Deck Energy 🤣

After a few hours of walking we headed to grab some lunch to bring back to Grace and enjoy together. Stella and Leo had a mutual love affair going on. I mean I wasn’t too jealous that he wanted to sit with her instead of me 😒. Kidding of course. But for real, it’s the best when new friends love your dogs as much as you do. We walked by the smallest trader joes in the world. Lunch was delicious, I mean really all of the food in Boston was amazing, I might still be full weeks later.

Our amazing host and tour guide Stella and Leo grabbing some lunch!

We took the dogs out for a parallel walk, there was a lot going on, but we were able to walk pretty closely by the end, but decided not to do any nose to nose greetings as they didn’t show any signals they wanted to make contact. So we walked back to the apartment and rode the elevator together.

Beautiful Marie our hostess with the mostest

Merlot keeping an eye on Leo 👀

Leo on the job doing a little reactive dog training session

But after the walk they were more accepting of Leo being in their space and it made for a more peaceful coexistence the rest of the stay. We continued to rotate them to keep it successful and low stress. We had an early night in since we had such a full day exploring, doing much needed laundry, eating our leftovers and watching TV as we talked and talked.

Leo and Dawn at The Liberty, a hotel that was once the Charles Street Jail.

Day 2 in Boston was another big adventure! First of all waking up to a delicious breakfast Stella had picked up for us. This time Grace led us on the route Stella had mapped out for us. As Stella had to stay home as maintenance folks were due to come by that day so she needed to be there to help the pups. We started by visiting The Liberty, a hotel in what was once a prison 🤣. They went all in with the theme.

Leo and Dawn on Acorn Street, the most photographed street in the United States

Of course we had to go take photos on Acorn Street the most photographed street in the US. Apparently we were lucky as we only saw one other group when I guess it’s usually very busy. Such an adorable neighborhood and easy to see why it’s so popular. We walked all around Beacon hill, the cutest neighborhood!

Leo visiting the squirrels in Boston Gardens

Leo had fun meeting the historical squirrels in Boston Commons.

Dawn & Leo Charles River

We walked along the Charles River Esplanade, again this city is SO beautiful and great for exploring on foot!!!

Dawn & Leo Fiedler Dock along the Charles River Esplanades

Dawn & Leo at the Boston Public Library Courtyard

Of course being a book nerd we had to go to the Boston Library!!!

Leo and Dawn in Bates Hall

Leo and Dawn on the Grand Staircase

Leo and Dawn walking to the Trinity Church

While I’m not religious it was still cool seeing all of the beautiful famous old churches!

Dawn & Leo posing outside the Trinity Church

Leo rolling with one of his fans

We met up with Hiker Pup community members at Boston Commons and Leo was smitten with Xayah. He was a total derp, licking her toes and flirting in full force, she thought he was ridiculous but was extremely patient with his advances.

Leo and Xayah (wondering why he’s so derpy and in love with her toes 🤣)

After parting ways with his new friends we continued our tour, finishing up the other part of the Freedom trail.

Leo and Dawn in front of the State House

The funny thing about this photo is we were just talking about the sign and Leo was like, oh I guess we are posing here, and expertly managed to get his two feet up there and posed. 🤣 Dedicated professional.

Pretty sure this place was my favorite part, a book lovers dream, looks them all! Just look at them.

Leo and Dawn next to George Washingtons personal library

And yes we explored every level of this place!!! Leo got to put his agility dog skills to work navigating the narrow steep stairways and little walkways.

Funny story, I was taking photos and reading the Samuel Adams headstone as this group approached, I didn’t notice them until the leader started petting Leo and saying hi. He was in full colonial character, I was thinking, “wow, some tourists take this stuff seriously” without realizing this is his job, I just thought he was a very enthusiastic tourist. 🤣

Boston Cream Pie in Boston, at the place that invented it.

Obviously we HAD to have Boston Cream Pie in Boston!!! And yes, it was delicious!!! Actually a lot different than the other versions of it I have had elsewhere. This one was much more delicate and had an incredible texture that’s hard to explain.

Grace our most awesome day 2 tour guide and Leo a professional at public transport

After talking about having cannolis in New York I was told actually Boston says they have the best cannolis so we had to taste to compare. And we had to try the two best ones in Boston who people have strong opinions about which ones are best. They were VERY tasty!!!

A cannoli taste test between the two city favorites: Modern Pastry and Mike’s Pastry

Cuddle time! Merlot and Marie were gracious enough to allow Leo and I to take over their apartment and steal their people for full day tour guiding!

We had the BEST time in Boston with our new best friends! It feels like we crammed a week’s adventures into two days. Stella, Grace, Marie and Merlot were the very best hosts and made us feel so welcome and cared for. It was hard to say goodbye and head on down the road.

It’s the best thing to meet virtual clients in real life and get my hands on their pups!!!