I am coming to Boston Mar 7 - 13. Where to go, what to see, do and eat??

[Mr James]

I am going to be in Waltham, MA for the week of the 8th of March. I was trying to figure out the best way to find some cool reef shops or even a good place to eat dinner. I come from Fort Wayne, IN, so my choices of dining are slimmed down quite a bit. Can any of you suggest a reef shop or a good restaurant in the Waltham and surrounding area??

[stang8s]

Not much for reef shops in the waltham area. Tropic Isle in framingham is only about 20-25 min from there.

As for eating. Waltham has a ton of places. Moody st, is basically a whole st of places to go and eat. Lots of great places including tapas, indian food, thai, bbq, mexican,seafood, etc all on that one st..

[jack fors]

Living Seas lfs is in Stoneham not to far from Waltham. Maybe you could visit New England Aquarium while you're in town. Red Lobster is next to aquarium.

[drmooncricket]

red lobster? i know there is a legal sea food across the street from the NEAQ, i would go there over the red lobster, IMO...

[Mr James]

What is "legal sea food" and what is the NEAQ?? I am not travelling to Boston to eat at Red Lobster, they have one here in "Flatland USA". I should be more specific about my eating requirements. I am looking for some good, but no too expensive, seafood reataurants, good deli's, any kind of market open this time of year??

[drmooncricket]

sorry... Legal Sea Foods is a restaurant in New England that has good sea food... NEAQ is the New England Aquarium, www.NEAQ.org ... IMO if you want good sea food, take 35 minutes and drive up to Essex, MA... its on the north shore of Massachusetts, and its where i grew up... two great places to eat in town... Number one, Essex Sea food... small eat in the rough fried sea food place, the owner has been the number one clammer in Essex for years and sells his clams to everyone who advertise "Essex/Ipswich" clams... a few years ago he decided to open his own fried sea food place for locals and people in the know... before he sells anything to anyone else he takes care of himself, making his clams the freshest and best tasting clams... second place worth eating at is a nice restaurant called "the blue marlin" very good food and Varity... worth checking out if you not in the mood to eat fried clams on a picnic table...

[Mr James]

The tab is on my company so both places sound great!! Thanks for the help, I appreciate it very much. I hope others that are going to be in my training class are from the area and can give some input as to where to go and where NOT to go.

[Brimarbio]

Sorry to change the subject a bit here but I'm in Essex quite a bit... Where are these two places, never heard of them...

[drmooncricket]

where in essex are you do u go and ill tell you how to get there... essex seafood is 1/2 of a mile from the glouceser essex line... the blue marlin is about 2 miles from the same line on the same road....

[Dubge]

If you want a good place to eat in Boston try Fire & Ice, you pick out your own food from a buffet table, raw meats and fish, then pick out veggies and stir fry sauce (if you want) and bring it to this HUGE circular grill and they cook the food right there in front of you. GREAT food and the best burger I have had EVER in life :)

Ray

[karl wagner]

be sure to sign up for Macna while you're here!!!

[bdr127]

A lot depends on your mobility..... Will you have a car and willing to drive? Or will you be confined to public transportation and/or walking? If you are able and willing to travel out of Waltham, your options will be much greater. :)

[nhanson]

The NE Aquarium is excellent in my opinion, and if you go, LegalSeaFood would be very convenient, right next door. Essex would be nice, but a little out of the way if time is limited.

[Mr James]

I will have a rental car and I will be bored after class each night. I am willing to drive, as long as the weather cooperates. I hear you guys measure snowfall in feet, not inches. It is still a couple weeks away, but I am planning out my itinerary. I am not afraid of the big city at all, just need to know where to go. Where would I sign up for MACNA?? It's in Boston this year isn't it??

[Sea Serpent]

Mr James . .. . Are you coming to Waltham for SAP training? If so, I work in the same building. If so, I would be available to take you to a store or two during that week . .. .
Let me know.
Paula

[Mr James]

I am not too sure what SAP training is. I will say I am going if it can get me a ride with someone who knows the area. Heck, I might even spring for a beer or two. I am going to the EDS Training Center, 404 Wyman St. Waltham, MA. What is SAP?? Part of EDS?? Regardless, are you going to be in the area that week??

[Sea Serpent]

EDS is a different training but the building is just down the street from my work. Sure ... If you would like to go to Aqua Adicts and/or Tropic Isle and/or Inland Reef (hopefully their livestock will be ready soon - they have just redone the whole strore). Heck, I might even hijack you to see a few tanks!

By the way, you aren't a psychotic nutcase are you?

[ggomez]

I suggest you take one of the Bus Tours, either the Boston Historical Bus Tour or the Duck Tour. I do the bus tours everytime I have friends or family visiting from out of town.
The Boston Historical Bus tour has a special (1 free resident ticket for every paying visitor)

[Mr James]

No nutcases here, especially the psychotic ones. I didn't think we let "them" into this hobby. I am heading to Boston for training and I am more concerned about the local fish stores than the training itself, so yeah, I'm a nutcase. I was just looking at your gallery, my friend would soil himself if he saw your seahorse set up!! He tried and failed all within a week. If there is anyone else interested in cruising the town in search of eye candy, let's invite them, that way you may feel more comfortable. Or you can do a search on me within RC and try and get a feel for what type of person I am.

[Mr James]

Ggomez, I don't think I will ba able to take a bus tour as they probably run during the day and I will be in front of a computer all day, (training). I'll probably have to do the tours and the museum on my next visit, when I don't have any plans. I am getting in early on Sunday (Mar. 7th) and I plan to find the hotel and then go out exploring. Ipurposly set my flight to arrive early to give myself some time to explore. That shop (Living Seas) up in Stoneham is on the list for Sunday, unless they are closed. I will have to call to make sure of their hours. Does anybody know their hours on Sunday??

[Sea Serpent]

It is too bad that you aren't coming in on the 6th . .. we have a big tank tour planned with about 10 stops .. all beautiful tanks some in the 200-400 gallon range! Might be worth changing your flights . . ..

I will definately chaperone for one evening . . most likely thursday cuz livestock orders come in on wednesdays (usually)! My own tank is going through an upgrade - probably won't be completely changed over by then, but you might want to see the plumbing of it . .. We will see if we can line up a few others for you to see.

We'll take good care of you.

[karl wagner]

Wow, I did a search on "psychotic nutcase" and this thread came up. Anyways, Paula, sounds like fun,

if you need a psychotic nutcase to tag along, I'll join you!!!

The more the merrier!!! Yeah, that's what I said!!! No you didn't I said it. Stop typing and hit reply already. Ok

[drmooncricket]

living sea is open 1 - 6 on that sunday u will be coming in

[3_high_low]

Mr James,

If you like Italian food there's a good place right in Waltham called the Chateau.

https://w13209.securedweb.net/~chateau/index.html

[jack fors]

Karl saw the word beer now he is excited.

[3_high_low]

If you've never been to Legal Seafood then it is a must-do. Get yourself a nice East coast lobster, some streamed clams and a Sam Adams brew and you'll be a happy camper:D

[kastanzaman]

Legal is pretty close to the hong kong and those scorpion bowls:eek1:

[Montec24]

I second the Chateau in Waltham.

[drmooncricket]

or hong kongs chicken on a stick...

[stang8s]

mmm chateau is good been going there since i was a little kid.

Also if you like thai food there are a few good ones in waltham. One on moody st called erawin of siam and one called green papaya which is on winter st not far from where you will be.

If you want some good fried seafood without a drive to boston, there is a place on moody st called ritzies not sure of the spelling. It is down a bit past the main stretch of places on that st. It is a hole in the wall most frequented by old people with blue hair but they have great seafood for cheap..and close to you with out the parking or driving hassles of boston.

[Montec24]

And if you want a huge, greasy steak sub try Carl's steak subs on Prospect St.

[Mr James]

Thank you all for responding and for being very helpful!! I think when people travel, they tend to stay close to the hotel and not venture out, especially in unfamiliar areas. I arrive at Boston's Logan Intl. Airport around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 7th. I have to go get my rental car and then head out for the hotel; hopefully traffic on Sunday afternoon will be on the low side and I will be able to navigate my way to the hotel.
Quick funny story: I was in Dallas for a couple weeks a few years ago, it was a company-thing. I jumped onto Hwy 635, the bypass around Dallas. The far left lane was labeled as a "HOV" lane. I had no idea what that meant as I rode along in the lane next to it. I watched intently as other cars passed by, trying to figure out who that lane was for and if I was invited to join in the race. I finally bit the bullet and crossed the white line. As my rental car was hitting break-neck speeds, many signs whizzed past on my left side. I soon found out that what I thought stood for "High Output Vehicles", i.e. "fast cars" or people who had rental cars, really meant, "High Occupancy Vehicles" and there were rules as to when you can get in and out of those lanes. Zoiks!!
So, I am staying at the Holiday Inn Express on Winter St. near Waltham, just down the road from the EDS facility where I will be doing some training that week. After I get my room keys, I plan to head for The Living Seas and then off to find a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants suggested. Eating out on the company dime always opens the door to new and exciting places. If any of you want to meet up around that time, maybe join me for a beer and some food, I would love the company, especially fellow RC'ers.
I am setting up a new 75g system and hope to do it "right" this time around, as opposed to my 125g tank that I set up while taking advice from my LFS. Two years and hundreds of hours on RC later, I tore it down so that I could make way for my new set-up, done "the right way". I am in the process right now of designing the stand/canopy, and hope to build it big enough to house everything including an over-the-tank-fuge. And if anybody is willing to open their doors for a visit, I would love to talk and exchange tips and tricks.

[Sea Serpent]

Hi James - I sent you an email, but just so others might want to join . .
I will meet you at your hotel around 4:30 or so on Sunday and bring you to Living Seas .. We can go to my house and see the new setup and the sea horses, then grab a bite to eat and head back to your hotel. I am not far from there at all.

On another evening, I think Karl mentioned that he could join us in a trek . .. either to one of the stores, or maybe to his house . . or maybe someone else's . .Maybe Greg's or Rebecca's? or ?

We can firm up the details . .. Anyone else in the area want to join us? or maybe bring James to their house on another night?

Paula

[Aneille]

Paula I might be interested. I'll check my schedule since I'd have to line up the sitters. But I would love to see the Seahorses!

[nickoz]

Paula,
I will be around tonite. You can feel free to stop by here and check out my tanks and I would be glad to join you for dinner.

-nick