Finding refreshment in Boston and Philadelphia

Why is it that time away can be so refreshing?  Last summer I spent six days in Boston with my son.  He was part of a group of high school students who were meeting up with other high school students at Boston University for some work on and learning about Network Science.

I sat in on some of their meetings, but I was primarily there as a chaperone.  With the free time I had I walked from B.U. (the other B.U. for our Binghamton folks) to the harbor area.  I walked through parks, along the waterfront, and around all kinds of historic buildings.

I also went to two Red Sox games, one with my son.  Fenway Park is an experience that every American baseball fan should have.  I was thankful to be able to go to a number of games at Wrigley Field when we lived in the Chicago area, and Fenway is right up there with Wrigley.

That time in Boston was the most refreshing time of the summer.

This past week, I was in Philadelphia from Thursday to Saturday.  I was there for the inaugural synod of the CANA Diocese of the East.  CANA stands for Convocation of Anglicans in North America, which is our church's affiliation.  We met in the Philadelphia suburb of Wayne.  Each day I passed Valley Forge on the way to meetings.  Unfortunately, our schedule was so full that I didn't have time to visit the historic sites at Valley Forge.

We began with an opening dinner on Thursday, we had a full day on Friday (8:30 AM to 9 PM), and half a day on Saturday.  Afterwards, I hustled back home.  It was tiring, but also refreshing.

So, what is it about new locales that is so refreshing?