I'm taking another ride in the wayback machine, this time turning the dial to 10 years ago. On this date in 1998, I set out on one of the best business trips I ever had, my first and only visit to Boston. What helped to make this so fun was the small amount of actual work required of me that week, as well as being able to hang out with multiple work friends I had known for years. Especially IUMC Pharmacy Director Chris Urbanski (with his MH counterpart Herb Yates) and, from my department, IT project leader Jay Hamlet.

I was allowed to fly in a couple of days before the conference began. In just that first afternoon, I checked out Boston Common, the Real World house in Beacon Hill, the Bull & Finch Pub (featured on Cheers and also known by that name), the Public Garden, the Harvard campus in Cambridge, and Kendall Square. That night, the IDX vendor hosting the conference treated a group of us to dinner at Legal Sea Foods, where I had baked stuffed shrimp, New England clam chowder, and a Sam Adams beer.

On Sunday, some of us set out to walk the Freedom Trail (although I was the only one who completed it), starting at Boston Common. Highlights included the State House, Park Street Church, Granary Burial Ground, King's Chapel, Boston Latin School, Old Corner Bookstore, Old South Meeting House, Old State House, Boston Massacre Site, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere House, Old North Church, Copp's Hill Burial Ground, Old Ironsides, and the Bunker Hill Monument. I had Boston Creme Pie at Quincy Market. After walking along the riverside and down various backstreets, I made my way to the Prudential Center where I met co-workers for a D.U.C.K. tour. This involved a ride upon a WWII amphibious landing vehicle which functioned as a truck while on land, but also could be driven into water to function as a boat. So half of the tour was on land, and half in the river. Great fun!

So Monday through Wednesday were the conference days. Each day, I walked from where I was staying (the Boston Radisson), several blocks over to the Sheraton where the conference took place. I wasn't able to stay there with my co-workers because I was a late addition to the group of attendees from Clarian Health. We attended various technical sessions throughout the day, and usually had lunch at Legal Sea Foods since we all loved going for dinner there our first night. One of the more interesting presentations featured somebody from Cleveland Clinic who had copied part of the presentation I myself had given at this vendor's conference in Phoenix the year before.

After hours, our group had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe (can you tell it was the 1990's?) and drinks at Cheers, saw Fenway Park and Mama Kin's (Aerosmith's nightclub), and attended receptions. This included a party at Jillian's, which was kind of a multi-level nightclub and playland for adults and not unique to Boston. The original Jillian's opened in Louisville a few years earlier, and another one opened in Indianapolis shortly after this trip. Of the three, I believe only the one in Boston still exists. Anyway, away from the group, I also got to explore Chinatown, Rowe's Warf, Beacon Hill, and other areas... I remember walking part of the route of the world famous Boston Marathon. The one thing I didn't do during my visit was to check out any artsy and/or any historic cinemas. I don't remember now which if any were around at that time.

But I'll always remember our last day and the scary taxi ride back to the airport, which I shared with Mary Curl, Kathy Lentz, and Janet Kidd. This was during Boston's infamous "Big Dig" when many of the roads were torn up. And I can still taste that last bit of clam chowder we had at yet another Legal Sea Foods, located at our airport terminal.

Boston is one of those cities I loved even before landing on the ground, as it was beautiful to behold at first sight. It is one of the few places I would seriously consider moving to, if given the chance.