Photos by MJ Klein and Hui-chen
Part of the 2010 USA Trip Series
I hadn’t been back to New England in 6 years. Hui-chen had never been there before. So it was an epic trip to the northeast part of the USA!
The first thing that I noticed is that the Big Dig is finally all finished and the old overhead expressway is gone!
Many of these shots were taken from the car, so please don’t mind the glare off the glass. Hui-chen shot photos while I drove around Boston. I had forgotten just what a beautiful city Boston really is.
This is South Station.
Entering the wharf area of Boston. Many years ago I lived in an artists loft area not far from where this photo was taken.
Somehow, it all looks so much cleaner than when I lived here.
Finally, after driving around for awhile, I decided to take Hui-chen over to Boston’s Chinatown for a look.
In Chinatown they sell on the street just like it’s done in Asia.
Most of the places are different than when I was here last.
This is the gate to Chinatown, which was a gift from Taiwan.
There used to be a plaque on the gate, stating that it was from Taiwan. Can you guess why it’s been removed?
Some places were the same though, and we decided to step into the Taiwan Cafe for a bite.
Here we see Hui-chen looking over the menu. I thought that I wouldn’t bore people with the food so I didn’t take any food photographs here. In retrospect, I think I should have. The Taiwan Cafe’s menu contains authentic Taiwanese style cuisine and for the most part it was like being back home.
After Chinatown, we took a ride though some other parts of Boston. This is Back Bay.
I hadn’t been to Kenmore Square in years. I used to hang out in all these places. Being here brought back many memories of my youth.
Hui-chen was fascinated by the housing in this area.
This is the State House with its distinctive golden dome.
A product of the Big Dig, this is a new bridge and it sure looks great. The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge replaced the old Charlestown High Bridge. This is the world’s widest cable-stayed bridge.
I used to live in this neighborhood in Union Square, Somerville. I took Hui-chen up to the monument to check out the view.
Before I forget to mention this – some of these photos are geotagged with the location they were taken. Clicking on any of the photos will take you to their Flickr.com page where you may view the location (machine tags) or the map. This is one of the views of Boston from the tower.
This hill, known as Prospect Hill had great strategic importance in the Revolutionary War. The site was also used during the Civil War. Readers should click on the photo and view the large size to read what’s written on the plaques.
After driving around for hours, it was time to eat lunch. Where did we go? The famous Redbones, of course! This article is geotagged at this location.
Look at this dish of authentic BBQ!
This is my plate. It doesn’t get any better than this, folks!
These are something that Hui-chen had never heard of before: hushpuppies.
We left nothing behind in our quest to experience Redbones!
Later I went to visit two friends. Please allow me to introduce these gentlemen. On the left is Gerry Simon, the man who personally backed my music project with his recording studio. Without Gerry, there would never have been a music project. The man on the right is Danny Brown, my partner in the music business, drummer on my recordings, and owner of Bootsy BBQ Sauce. Those of you who are fortunate enough to live in an area where there are Whole Foods Market stores, can find Bootsy. We have to import it to Taiwan!
In the evening we went to meet my longtime friend Grady Moates south of Boston. This is what traffic was like trying to leave Boston at that hour.
The final shot of this article will leave you with us traveling down 93 South towards Brockton.
Former field engineer MJ Klein now lives in Taiwan, and writes articles that primarily feature photographs of travels of MJ and wife Hui-chen, plus daily goings on in the bustling island nation of Taiwan, and other places in Asia. Articles feature people, culture, food, situations and sometimes the trials and tribulations of traveling in places such as China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos and of course Taiwan.
