Bye Bye Boston

In a quest to eat delicious sea food in a city that's known for it, a co-worker organized a trip to Legal Sea Food, which I'd never heard of but is apparently a chain. About eight of us went and had a lovely adult dinner, a rare and delicious combination. I had mixed plate--shrimp, salmon, scallops and some other fish, I think. I'm not that into shrimp so I ate one and gave the rest away, and I'm getting to like salmon more and more so I ate most of that, and the scallops and fish were delicious. I was very happy with my life choices that evening, except for my drink. I ordered a white sangria hoping it would be fruity and delicious, and I got a glass of sugary watermelon-flavored sickness. NOT delicious. It's the first time I've ever sent anything back at a restaurant, which I thought might tick off the waiter but then I realized he was ticked since we sat down, so what could my little drink debacle really do at that point? So anyway, I sent it back because it was awful and got a glass of wine instead. That, at least, was drinkable.

The next day was one of our weekend field trips, a dinner/dance harbor cruise. I thought this trip would be a great way to see the city at sunset and a nice way to say goodbye to everyone because most of the kids go and quite a few of the staff as well. As the day approached, though, I heard from other, more experienced RC's that the cruise was a sort of kid-infested nightmare, especially if it rained. About five minutes after we left, it began to rain and I thought the evening was careening quickly into a no-fun zone, but about fifteen minutes later, as kids were still eating and milling about, it stopped raining and the sun came out and all was well.

Most of the kiddos, and myself and most of the other RC's, spent the majority of the cruise on the top level of the boat, where the view was best and the dance floor was hoppin'. I won't discuss the trauma that was the dance floor because I don't particularly care to relive the inappropriate amount of times I had to tell boys to put their shirts on and couples to "save room for Jesus." It was kind of funny, in a way, but also pretty disgusting and awkward.

If that was what I had to endure to see Boston at sunset, then so be it, because it was absolutely beautiful. The sky was awesome--pinks, oranges, blues, greys, yellows, all shifting and folding until the sun went completely down. There were other boats sailing the waters as well, re-igniting my desire to have/know someone with a boat so I can learn to sail away.

Okay, so take the journey with me. Here I am in my fancy dress on the boat stairs, which later became known as "the picture stairs."

Early on in our journey we passed this little island/rock outcrop/whatever it's called. I decided I wanted to live there.


Here's our group picture, minus one RC who was who knows where. We're a good lookin' crew! So classy!

As we sailed, the sun started to set, revealing this:


And this:

Someday, that will be me. :)

And here's another one:

On the left is The Garden, where the Celtics play. Celtics fever was still burning while we were there. Wearing a Lakers shirt could have been as hazardous to your health and personal safety as wearing a Yakees shirt.

After the cruise, a bunch of us went out for some adult play time involving beverages and, later, darts. It was a fun evening and I enjoyed hanging out with a bunch of the RC's outside of the dorms.

That week I also randomly had two days off (they were all at the end of the program, I guess) so I decided some beach time would be appropriate. Matt, Cindy, and I headed out to Revere one morning for some sun time. Last time I went to Revere I barely stayed an hour, this time, I made it worth my while. I did manage to get some sun (Matt got crispy because he makes bad life choices), but I also managed to get sand in every possible area of my body.

The water at Revere was SO cold it felt like ice (and this is coming from a Michigander who swam in Lake Michigan as a kid), but I just HAD to get in. So I did. All the way. I may have permanently impeded my ability to have children by freezing my neither regions, but I did get in the water, I did get back out, and I did get some sweet beach hair. Not sure it was worth it... but hindsight is 20/20, right? Good times...

That night was karaoke, our last Tuesday on Boston. Sad day. Every Tuesday it was kind of a tradition to go to 973 and, well, basically dance. Usually by the time I got there after bed checks, and waited in line, the karaoke was mostly over and there was only dancing. This Tuesday I went out big and managed to make it out before 11 and had a great night. I'm glad it went down like that, although I didn't get to meet any Irish boys while waiting in line. I'm just sayin'... It's what I do.

The day after the beach I was planning to go on the Sam Adams Brewery tour but then decided to go to The Garment District instead.

The Garment District is not a district--it's a store, as you can see. Or, maybe, a warehouse sort of thing. There are two floors. On the first, when you walk in, is a costume shop and a giant pile of clothes. I'm talking probably ten feet across and two feet deep. This pile is sold by the pound, so you sift through, find some treasures, and end up paying less then four dollars for a brown suede jacket, a Ralph Lauren button-down, a t-shirt for your sister, and a white skirt. I'm just sayin'... Then the upstairs is an actual store with racks sorted by size and decade and stuff. Some of the items up there are new and botique-y, and some are vintage. I got a skirt up there that looks like a couch, which is a quality I actually love in clothing, for $9. Pretty sweet. I'm glad I went; that place is like a treasure hunt where everyone finds treasure!

That day was the end of our regular routine because Thursday and Friday the kiddos had dress rehersals and their performance or demonstrations. I went to the studio Thursday afternoon to see two of my girls rehearse the number they were going to do in the show (to some music by none other than a GVSU group... I know, crazy, right?!). Their dance was my favorite! It was my mission to watch all my kiddos dance; a mission I accomplished today when I spent the whole day (well, a good portion of the morning, anyway!) at the studio watching each class' demonstration. I learned some, and I got to see all thirteen of my girls. It was really cool and I was so proud of all of them.

These kids, some of them only fourteen or fifteen, are on the precipice of being truly, truly great (if they're not already). I can't imagine that. Staring down a career and a life path at that age... I'm completely amazed and awed by every one of those kids. They're spectacular. <3

Much love.

In Which Life is Nerd-tastic

I've got tons to report on, and my time in Boston in running short, but I'm gonna try and keep this one shorter than the last 'cause let's be real: that was a little too epic.

I somehow ended up with three whole days off, a magical occurrence, and I took full advantage of them. On Wednesday, a group of us went to the science museum, which we really needed a whole day for and I only had about two hours for. I'm glad I went, don't get me wrong, and I had a blast, but to really get my money's worth, I should have been there all day.

There was a cool M.C. Escher exhibit talking about perspective and optical illusion. There was a reptile show where this docent tried to convince us that a snake-like creature was really a lizard, when anyone with brains clearly recognized it as those creepy sand creature thingys from the 80s movie Tremors. There was a lightning show, which wasn't as spectacular as I wanted it to be, but I did manage to get this "Mad Scientist" photo, so it was fine.

I think my favorite part was this playground area that taught us about things like inertia and balance, but I just thought it was a fun place to play/take a cute picture with my friends. :)


Many laughs happened that day, so nothing was really wasted. I couldn't spend as much time there as I would have liked to because that evening a poet I really love, Jon Sands, was doing a set at a place in Cambridge called the Cantab Lounge, which is really THE place for spoken word in the area.

I've been "into" spoken word for a few months now--sort of, I don't know, exploring the world of poetry and performing it and really just watching videos and trying to learn. Jon is amazing--some of his lines just take my breath away with their poignant perfection. Listen to him speak and you'll know what I mean. If you'd like to check out Jon's work, click here to see him performing "A Workings List of Things I Will Never Tell You" or here to see "Mollie & Jacob" which he wrote for his brother Jacob's wedding to his now sister-in-law Mollie, and both of which he performed for us. Because he knows I love them. *sigh*

He's a mid-western boy from Ohio, which I can forgive ONLY because a) it's not his fault b) he's so amazing and c) he got out when he could. He did several poems I'm familiar with, and I got to meet him after the show. I'm pretty sure I told him he was a rock star several times and then invited him to Miami. Whatever, it's fine.

I felt awkward about taking pictures of him... so I did a grainy cell phone shot. It's crappy but it's Jon Sands. Now, I was originally supposed to be sleeping in Salem when I saw Jon, but I called my B & B and asked to move my reservation to another day (I couldn't cancel because I'd still have to pay... so I might as well just move the date), which was just the next night.

I decided to take the ferry to Salem because I like boats and because I'd rather make the trip above the ground rather than below it. I met a lovely British boy on the way over (HOW do I do it?!) and had a lovely, sunny ride. On the way over, the tour is narrated as you leave Boston Harbor, which is cool. This is one of the sights on the way--Castle Island. Aptly named, as you can see...

I'm glad I decided to take the ferry... who doesn't love ferry boats?! Also, the ferry dock is at the opposite end of town from where I was staying, which sounds not so fun but actually worked out well. "Town" is not that big, so I just put my GVSU duffle on my back and started trucking. I first passed The House of Seven Gables, which the British boy told me was pretty good. So I figured, why walk back, why not just go now? So I stopped there, dropped my stuff off, and went on the tour.

The guided tour was of the house itself, which has gone through several machinations during its existence. When Hawthorne immortalized it in his novel, he wrote about it's seven gables, or peaks. But it had less at several points in its history. Hawthorne himself never knew it with all seven, but created an ideal vision of it from stories he heard during his time there. I've never read the novel, but I might now that I know some more about it and some of the history surrounding its inception.

Near the house is Nathaniel Hawthorne's birth place, which is actually a house as it was in most cases during his day. The house is the real house, but the location is not. The house was almost destroyed until someone paid to move it to its current location near the House of the Seven Gables. Still, very cool to see. While I'm not a fan of The Scarlet Letter, I can dig me some "The Minister's Black Veil" which I teach. Love it. Geek-tastic.

After that tour, I headed to my B & B to check in, drop off my stuff, and eat lunch. I oriented myself and found a map and plotted out an afternoon of nerdy goodness. My first stop after lunch was the Lizzy Borden Museum, which was an exploration of her infamous crime. I'd always heard of what happened, but didn't really know any details, so I went in. Plus, blood and gore is kind of awesome, especially in Salem.

The museum was really just a bunch of signs that you went around to and read, but it was still pretty interesting. Very...factual. I'm not sure if she did it or not... But I suppose that's kind of the point. Anyway, here's the floor plan of the Borden house... Do YOU think she did it?

My next stop, which I was actually heading to before Lizzy distracted me, was The 1692 Witch Trials Museum, which, according to several people, was the best museum on the topic. It was good in regards to the historical accuracy and respect for what happened there in 1692. I got in for free for being a teacher (YES!!) and even got a, like, care package of materials I can use in my room. Awe. Some.

After the museum, I went to the graveyard in Salem, where one of the judges from the trials is buried. Here is his grave:

The graveyard is fronted by the Witch Trials Memorial, a square parcel of land surrounded by a stone wall containing 20 benches; each bench represents one person who was, esentially, murdered during the hysteria. Here is Bridget Bishop's "seat"--she was the first to die.

After much sight seeing and picture-taking, I needed a break so I went to Salem Brewing House and had a pint of the Hawthorne Hefweizen, which was quite delicious. Plus, there was a huge neon witch on the wall (again, more pics of all of this are on FB...), which was awesome.

I headed back to my room to recoup/find a place for dinner/change, and when I got in I noticed it was a bit chilly in there, so I went to investigate the A/C and turn it down a bit. Well... there was about half an inch of ice on the bottom of the wall unit, the wafting lacy curtains were stuck to it, and water/ice was spewing out the top, which was covered in a miasma of liquid and black... stuff. The inn keeper came to look at it after the lady at the desk was too puzzled, and he became my BFF. I moved to a new room and he gave me a bunch of stuff 'cause he said I was so nice about it. Sweet.

After that drama, I headed out to dinner and an evening wander for ice cream, which was quite successful. I thought about doing a ghost tour, but didn't really want to spend the money, so I went back to treat myself to another luxury: TV. I haven't properly watched TV since I've been here and it was time. Plus, Glee re-runs were on. During Glee, a co-worker arrived in Salem and I headed out with her and her friend for a beer. We ended up at the Gru-Gru cafe, which had a huge beer selection including this beauty:

I first discovered it at the World Cup game when a friend got one and I tried it. DE-licious. I also had a Left Hand Milk Ale, which I tried back in the MIA and found to be exceedingly enjoyable. Beer=win.

The next morning I was scheduled to depart on the 11 am ferry back to Boston, so I woke up and got some grub in the "haunted" basement of the B & B, then headed out to walk back to the docks. On the way, I passed the Salem Witch Trials Wax Museum, which I also got into for free. I wasn't going to go, but once I found out I didn't have to pay... I was all about it. Here's sweet Giles Corey, the only one accused who didn't die from hanging. In the play, Giles is my favorite.

The ferry ride back was lovely but cloudy and uneventful. Once I arrived back in Boston, I got some lunch at Quincy Market, where I've been wanting to eat since I saw its stalls a couple of weeks ago. Quincy Market is just a bunch of food stalls, like a food court in a mall if you want to picture it, but they have all kinds of amazing food. I got Indian--a creamed spinach and cheese sort of deal but the "cream" was actually curry. A. Mazing.

I had to head back early because that night my "big program" was happening. Three other staff members and I put on a talent show for our Friday program for the kiddos. Our participation from the kids wasn't great (three prizes, three kids who performed) but there was a popcorn machine which fascinated the Japanese girls immensely. I was fascinated by their fascination, lol. The program went well and the kids had a good time... but there was much popcorn to be cleaned up. On the up side, I now know how to make amazing popcorn in a popcorn machine--a skill I really feel will take me far in life. Especially in my future career as a circus performer.

More as soon as I can. Until then friends,
Much love.

Boats, Boats, Boats!

One of my residents celebrated her sixteenth birthday here, and I couldn't just let that go quietly. I promised her we'd go out to dinner to celebrate, so on a Monday, fifteen ballerinas and myself trekked to Joe's American Grill down at Boston Harbor. It's a good restaurant in a lovely spot, and we ate outside by the water. It's a seafood place, mostly, but they had everything. I had made up my mind about fish n' chips until the waiter, whose birthday it also happened to be, told us one of the specials was beer battered and fried scallops. Um, come to Mamma! So I got those and they were amazing. I make good life choices.

The girls had a great time, and although we didn't make it to Mike's Pastries for dessert (we were late for check in as it was), Kristy had a great birthday. In fact, about a week later, her mom was here to visit her and thanked me for helping her celebrate. They're both so sweet they make my blood sugar go up!

The next day, a couple of co-workers and I signed up for the Unofficial Tour of the Freedom Trail, which was called the Ye Olde Boston Tour. It was a rainy day, though, so we ended up getting a private tour. My two co-workers, me, and our two tour guides, who were awesome.

The "Freedom Trail" is just a path connecting historical aspects of Boston--the actual path itself has no significance. But it is clearly marked with a red line and these...

We saw all sorts of historically significant places, including Old City Hall, Benjamin Franklin's birthplace, the Old Meeting House, the Orpheum Theater, and this lovely, the State House. Yes, that gold is real 23 carat gold, which is fairly recent. During WWII, it was painted black so that enemy planes couldn't spot the city as easily.

At one point, Sam and Chelsea, our tour guides busted out in a rap at the oldest cemetery in the country. I wish I'd taped it so I could post the rap and share its amazingness with you all, but word on the street is that they will be making a video soon. I'll keep you posted. lol. Here's our group photo, which we took because a) there was a giant macaroni noodle that said "You know you love it" on the side, and b) we really bonded, the five of us, during our tour in the rain.

Note the distance between Sam and Chelsea. When we first met them, Sam made it clear, without prompting, that they were "strictly platonic" which of course meant to observers and listeners that, to him, they were clearly not. It was so awkward and a great inside joke between us.

The next day, we did the Hahvahd Tour through the same company (there was a coupon). Our tour guides where to Harvard students, and it was fun and informative. I'd already been there once before, if you recall, but this time I actually knew what I was looking at. I saw the dorm where Matt Damon lived as a freshmen and the one where Bill Gates lived. I learned that the statue of John Harvard is not actually John Harvard and that the Widner library was a gift to the university from Widner's mom after her son died on the Titanic. She gave two strange provisions for the use of her money for the library. One, there is a room reserved for, I think, the ghost of her son to read in, and fresh flowers must be placed in that room every morning. Pretty crazy. Good stuff.

After our tour, we explored campus a little bit and wandered into the science museum where I found Lady Gaga's newest head gear.

Ha ha! Fun times.

A couple of days later, I decided to walk to Cambridge over the Mass Ave. bridge. I thought it'd be a great opportunity for some scenic shots, plus a little perusal of MIT. This is a panoramic of the Charles River. That Citco sign on the left is very close to where I'm living for the summer.

I walked past MIT and headed up Mass Avenue, just exploring what I could explore. There were several cool little places including a record store (with actual records on sale, you know, vinyl) and a cafe where everything is local, organic, and sustainable where I had iced tea and a scone. Delish.

I found this wall on my wanderings and I just thought it was really beautiful and made an amazing photograph.

It was a lovely afternoon adventure.

That evening, our big program was a murder mystery "dinner" where several of us played parts in the mystery and the kiddos had to solve the murder. The story was that there were several students running for student council and one gets murdered. I played Ermingard McNerd, an overachieving do-gooder whose best friend is the one who gets offed. I had so much fun playing her; she was kind of out of control. I mean, here are some of her campaign posters.

About 20 minutes in, my face started hurting from smiling so much, so I just had to keep talking. It was extremely fun and the kids had a good time. And no, for the record, I didn't do it.

The next day we had a weekend trip and it was to the New England Aquarium and then whale watching. This trip was my first choice, so I was pretty excited to finally get to go. We started the day at the aquarium where we had about two hours to walk around and see everything. I dig aquariums and fish, from way back in the day when I wanted to be a marine biologist.

Some of the first creatures I saw were jellyfish, which I love. I could watch jellyfish all day, they're so cool.

Penguins are the big draw, I guess, because there's a city-wide advertising campaign blitzing the heck out of everyone who takes the T/walks/drives/moves anywhere in the city. Penguins are, like, whatever--I'd rather see some fish. Plus, they were smelly. Blah.

There was an octopus, a huge reef tank in the middle with all kinds of creatures in it, including a GIANT turtle, and a few things I'd never seen before. This little guy (or girl, I don't really know) was by far the coolest thing I saw at the aquarium. It's a sea dragon, which I now want desperately. They're SO CUTE. They're like sea horses but more dragon-y... which is awesome. Look at him! Or her!

Cute, right? Admit it... :)

In the gift shop, I felt inspired by the sea urchins...

After the aquarium, we waited outside for an hour (oops!) and then boarded the whale watching boat to head out into open water. I'd heard the ride was bumpy so I bought some Dramamine and gave it to the kiddos as well. It was a good life choice.

So we get out to open water and we ended up seeing a whale names Seal, who was feeding near our boat. It's pretty awesome because you could totally tell when she was coming; she blew a big air bubble first (in order to trap fish or something) then she'd come up and breach right near that bubble. She came up about four or five times, but I didn't get a chance to take many pictures because the first time I was inside (but it was amazing to see, like Bucket List amazing) and all the times after that she was either on the other side of the boat, or I was surrounded by everyone because she was on our side--which was less often. Still, like I said, going on a whale watch in New England is totally on my Bucket List, so I guess I can scratch that off. Woot!

Here's a picture of Seal, just heading out of the water, ready for her close up. :)


Sunday was a busy, busy day. I worked in the morning, then headed out to REvere Beach to see the sandcastles in the sandcastle festival. I'm fascinated by this art, and love to watch the competitions on TV, when I can find them. Which isn't often. And on TV the castles explode every round... but other than that, I've always wanted to see them. There were probably eight or more there, but this one was amazing and ended up winning first place.

Revere Beach was my first East Coast beach experience, and I found it quite nice. I didn't know what to expect--I live in Miami, after all--but it was nice. A bit crowded and rocky, but they were smooth rocks so I didn't mind. There were also tons of shells of all shapes and sizes, which was also pretty cool. Either way, a lovely Sunday afternoon trip.

I didn't stay at the beach long because that evening one of the other RC's had scheduled a program, a duck boat tour of Boston. These sorts of trips are popular in tourist places (they have them in Miami as well) and I'd never done one, so I figured, why not? It's a narrated tour of the city on an amphibious vehicle that drives on both land and sea. The original duck boats date back to WWII and didn't end up being too useful then (too heavy, too slow, too big) but have found a home in tour companies, I guess. Our boat, Back Bay Bertha, was from 1944, I believe. Here I am aboard her.

The tour was pretty good; I should have done it sooner because it really helped me orient myself in the city and figure out what parts of it when where and how they fit together. I got some great shots of the cityscape, and had a lovely Sunday evening. The tour itself was okay--some of it was overlap from what I've already learned about the city through my Unofficial Tour or my Literary Tour, but that's to be expected, I suppose. The worst was that our tour guide, "Harley Davidson" started talking about vets and how WWII vets, and all veterans, really, are heroes and dying by the thousands each day and I started thinking about Grumpa and getting sad. I'm on vacation, bro, I paid good money for this tour and you're making me cry! Lame!

Regardless... I got some amazing city shots like this one which just confirmed my deep, deep love for this city.

*sigh* So magical. More photos can be seen in the Facebook album, which I linked to last entry.

I topped off an amazing Sunday with a movie: Inception. As I said a few entries back, I haven't been that "into" movies lately. There just wasn't any appeal. So I went into seeing this film pretty blind--I knew that Leonardo DiCaprio was in it but that was about it. I have to say: seeing it was a good life choice. It's written by the same guy that did Memento, which I also love, and it was just... satisfying. I was at peace with having paid $10 for a ticket and rushed through dinner to get there on time. Just the amazing fight scene int he hotel hallway was worth the price of admission. I don't know a lot about film but I do know that those scenes were EXTREMELY well-made and, frankly, brilliant. So delicious.

Thanks for tuning in again.
Much love.

Historical Boston... My Version of it, Anyway!

So the North End... I was in this area once before on the quest to find the U.S.S. Constitution, but didn't much explore the area. We pretty much stuck to our mission. But on this day, I went exploring. First we discovered the cite of The Old North Church, where Paul Revere hung his "two if by land, one if by sea" lanterns. This photo is of a third lantern, placed there (by...Carter, I wanna say...?) as a reminder to strive for peace or something noble and glorious like that.

A fascinating fact I learned from the tour guide dude outside, was that church back then was a social event, THE place to see and be seen. I mean, if you think about it long enough that makes total sense, but The Old North Church was the place to see and be seen. Each family had to buy a pew--the first floor of the church was filled with little booths that had gold plaques on them stating what family sat there. These pews ranged in price (better seats were a higher price, as one would expect.). If you couldn't afford to buy a pew, there were cheaper seats on the second level, and if you couldn't afford THOSE, you found a different church. I found that concept to be pretty crazy. Anyway, this is me in one of the booths, I think a former governor or other politician.

Next, we quested to Mike's Pastries, THE dessert place in these parts. It was a bit of an ordeal to find but eventually we tracked it down. It's on Hannover street, a mecca of Italian food. Their specialty is cannolis and of the cannolis, the "best" or most popular, according to the lovely lady who served me, was the chocolate chip, so that's what I got. I also couldn't reist a red velvet cupcake. If you want to see just how lovely they were, click here. And by the way, it tasted just as beautiful as it looks.

Speaking of the Reveres, as we were about to leave to come back to the dorms, when I found a sign pointing the way to Paul Revere's house. I figured what the heck, I'll give it a go, so I followed the path (with only a little difficulty) and found Paul Revere's house, now a museum. It only cost $3 to go in, so I decided since I've come this far I might as well. It doesn't look like much, really.

And in reality, it's not much, but I learned some interesting things. Firstly, that good ole Paul had sixteen children, eight from his first wife, and then another eight from his second (not sure how many were thiers together, if any) whom he married about seven months after his first wife died. Dang, I thought, Paul didn't mess around! I also learned the origin of the phrase "sleep tight" which comes from the days when beds weren't mattresses on box springs, but mattresses on an array of ropes, which had to be tightened from time to time as they started to slack. This was done with a bed key, which looked something like this. Kinda cool, I think.

On my way back, I ran into several people dressed in colonail garb. I'm not really sure WHY they would wear such clothing on a day that was so hot, but they were, and I'm all about a cheesy picture with a dude dressed in period costume. So, of course, I took one. :)

The North End was my Monday adventure, Tuesday I worked and my only adventure of note was attending karaoke, where the guy who hired me performed a wicked (I've been here too long! I'm saying "wicked!") rendition of "Can't Get Enough of Your Love." Pretty hilarious and totally worth the trip. Plus, I had some bonding time with my friend pear vodka, so the night was a win.

At the Boston Harbor Hotel on several nights of the week are free events for the public. This knowledge was quite handy because on both Thursday and Friday nights, I attended the events there. Thursday there was a band playing on the "Blues Barge" and we took some kiddos down there to hang out. It's an absolutely beautiful area of the city, with views of the water and boats I will never be rich enough to own, or probably even go on.

The band was taking a break when we got there, so we walked around a bit and discovered these giant metal sheets just begging to be climbed. So some of the boys... and Cindy... tried to climb them until a security guard came out to stop us. It was funny. I, of course, saw them and thought "Senior pictures!" So here it is...

Gotta love some chin shelf!

We stopped for some ice cream, walked by the seals outside the aquarium, and headed back to the Blues Barge just in time to get the party started. We were the first to start dancing, but we couldn't stay long because the kiddos have a curfew! Still, a fun night.

It was pretty providential that I went out there Thursday, because the next night, I'd made plans with a friend to see a movie they play out there for free. This week's feature was The Maltese Falcon, which neither of us had seen. We went quite early to have dinner, and then stayed for the movie. Dessert was so pretty, I took a picture of it!

It was great to catch up with my friend and to do something free (well, free except dinner, drinks, and dessert!) in the lovely open air. The company was hilarious too--on either side of us were a first date, and a couple where the guy was significantly older and significantly drunk. SO funny and awkward to watch! Oh Lord... the mating rituals of humanity.

Before dinner, I took a walk to the bank, which is past Fenway park, which is about two minutes from where I'm staying so I took some pictures of it, and then stumbled into a gallery on the way back called 4th Wall. It was pretty cool and reminded me of the Art Walk in Miami--just an open gallery there for the viewing. I wish there had been more information about the artist(s) on display, but it was still pretty cool.

Saturday morning, I did a Literary Tour with Boston by Foot, a tour company here. It was only $12 and it highlighted some of the famous literary sites in Boston. We saw the first publishing house, and houses where Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Lonfellow, and others lived or went. This is actually where Alcott lived out the end of her life.

This house, and many of the others we saw, were located on or near Beacon Hill, which is a beautiful, old part of town that I am now in love with and will never be able to afford. But it's fine. Senator Kerry actually has a house very near this one. THAT's how baller you have to be. Sadness.

Sunday was the World Cup, and, luckily, I switched my shift to the morning so I could go watch it in the afternoon. A group of us went to a place called Bukowski's in Cambridge to watch the game because every other place was practically bursting at the seams. The game was great and Spain won so wooty woo. It was super fun! The only "bad" thing was that my beer, which was super strong, got knocked over when I was about half way done... and the bartender gave me another full one. I know--it sounds amazing. But this beer was STRONG. Like, a punch in the face from old school Muhammad Ali strong. I came back and attempted to act normally, but all I could manage for dinner was a bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

Later that evening, when my mind was in proper working order, we went to trivia for our weekly staff bonding. I thought we did well, but we were amateurs compared to the other teams there. It doesn't really matter, I suppose, since it was supposed to be fun. Which it was. And our waitress was from Dublin and I loved her solely for that fact. I also learned that Bulmers cider in Ireland is called Magners here. Um... At least I know I'm not crazy! I thought I was hallucinating that they had the same label. Win for me.

Also, as an FYI, I finally got around to creating a Facebook album for all my pictures. I will continue to update it as I take more pictures, but you can find it by clicking here. It's actually more up to date than this!

Much love to you all. I miss you.

Boats, Buildings, Buzz, and Boston Pops

The day after my last post, the 29th, a fellow R.C. and I went "adventuring," which is my new favorite term for exploring the area. We went to the Boston Harbor and the North End in search of The U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest American ship still in the water. We took the long way to the boat, I think, but had a lovely walk around the harbor. The coolest part was that the waters along the harbor docks are filled with jellyfish! It's crazy and SUPER cool! See?

I've never seen anything like it before, certainly not just naturally in the water like that!

We made it to the ship after a bit, and it was absolutely magnificent. The ship is huge--massive, actually--and beautiful. It's currently under construction, but that doesn't really detract from how lovely and majestic it is.

We waited for the guided tour from a sweet young guy from Seattle who was "a sailor pretending to be a tour guide" and not the other way around. He was adorable and I'm sure his mom is happy he's giving tours and not...elsewhere. He showed us all around the ship, or at least the two decks we could fit on (the second floor down was too short for me--I had to duck the whole time). We saw the gun deck and then went down to the sleeping quarters where the guys all slept in hammocks with virtually no space between. Um...no.

It was really interesting and free, which is awesome. Plus, I got to drive the boat...

Okay, so that part's a lie but it was still super fun for free 99. We also walked about the museum for a little bit afterwards, both to get cool and to learn more, and then we headed back to our temporary home. Great afternoon. :)

On Wednesday, I decided to go to the studio to watch a paux de deux, or partnering, class. It was the lower level of boys and, I think, mid-level girls. Another RC and I creeped on them from a semi-secret room above the largest studio. It was so fun to watch, and to see the kids in a completely different light. This one couple, a Brazilian boy and this tiny blond girl who embodied the word "fierce," was awesome. Plus, the teacher is totally a "silver fox" and he was beautiful to watch as well. It's great that I know most of the boys, because that made the class fun to see; my girls are the youngest so none of them are in the higher level classes, although they are very good.

After the class, I ran into a kid named Conner, who wanted to kill some time by going to the Library but couldn't find anyone to accompany him. (Kids here have to use the buddy system and are not allowed to go anywhere without a "buddy.") I took him because it was close and because I wanted to explore it a little further anyway. And because it's a library. And because I'm a nice person.

I'm glad I did because there was a beautiful photography display on the third floor, beautiful architecture and art throughout, and this lovely bust of Mark Twain, whom I love.

That night, we had our weekly "staff bonding" activity, which was bowling. For some reason, I was kind of good at it, and, at one point bowled three strikes in a row. I was even winning the second game for about three frames.

I know, I couldn't believe it either. That's why there's photographic evidence. Shortly after this, I began to bowl as I normally do, and ended up in third place.

The next day, I didn't have to work until 7 pm, so I went adventuring to Cambridge to visit Harvard. I took a bus that dropped me off right outside the Harvard Book Store, a beautiful, beautiful wonderland for a person such as myself. Of COURSE I went inside, and of COURSE I got lost in there voluntarily for a good while. It was awesome.

Right outside the bookstore is the entrance to Harvard, which I felt was kind of pompous. In case you can't read it, it says "Enter to grow in wisdom." Really?

The exit says something similar, like "Exit to share your knowledge" or some crap like that, but I suppose it's a nice gesture. And hey, it's the Ivy League so I guess they can do what they want, huh?

I think I only saw a small part of the campus inside the gated area, and I wandered out into the science complex (I think) and I know the medical and law campuses are in a different area. The best thing I saw though, was this:

It doesn't really come across in the photo, but if you look down at the bottom you can see six bottles. They're bottles of Mike's Hard Lemonade lined up nicely outside the gate. I just found this to be kind of ironic and definitely funny. Young Ivy League-ers who want to party it up drink cheap booze too! lol. But anyway, the campus is beautiful and old as one would expect, and I'll actually be going back in a couple of weeks for a real tour of "Hahvahd," not just a walk about.

Every weekend here there are two trips the kids can go on. These trips are optional, but chaperoning duties are not. Saturday was the trip to Six Flags New England, which, I'll admit, I wasn't really excited about until I got there. I mean, I live in Florida so I'm kind of over theme parks. But it turned out to be pretty fun.

Six Flags has some wicked roller coasters, and, with help, I managed to avoid the evil people dressed up as characters. Score!

We went on, I think, every roller coastser in the park and didn't have to wait long at all. In fact, for Batman we walked on, rode it, walked off, got right back in line and were on the ride again in ten minutes. It was pretty awesome. I don't know where all the people were--probably in line for the most wicked roller coaster there, Bizarr-O, which was the ride we waited the longest for. Or maybe they were at the water park, since it was a hot day. I suppose the important thing to remember is that they weren't in line for the rides I was in line for, and it was awesome.

The last ride we went on was a sky tram thingy, gondolas that go across the park and back again, which was not only thrilling in comparison to roller coasters (lol) but a great way to take some shots of the park.

This is a picture of a ride called, I think, the Mind Eraser. Clearly I can't remember because it worked.

The kids actually showed up to the bus on time, and the day turned out to be fun. Plus I didn't get sunburned, so woot.

The following day was July 4th, a holiday I've always enjoyed. There was something special about it this year, maybe because I was reminded at my grandfather's funeral just how great this country is and why it's worth fighting for. I don't know, maybe I can't explain it well, but this Independence Day was special.

I spent the morning working at the desk here, and in the afternoon I watched The Sandlot, a Fourth of July tradition, and hung out with some kiddos until dinner. That evening, we had a gathering on the 9th floor of Shelton Hall to watch the fireworks over the Charles. It was actually the perfect spot to watch--not crowded, perfect view, and air conditioned--especially after we put the Boston Pops concert on the radio. The show is timed to the music, so it was pretty much necessary.

I got a small bit of video of the show, which I hope will play if I post it here. We'll see...

If not, here's a picture just to give you an idea of how awesome the show was.

It was pretty cool to see fireworks commemorating our nation's birthday in the place where it actually began.

Also last week I saw Toy Story3 which was the first movie I'd seen in a theater since, I think, Christmas. I just couldn't help but have this overwhelming feeling that, if I went to see a movie, I would hate it. So I didn't go. They're too expensive to waste money on, I figured, so I just wouldn't waste it. I really enjoyed the movie, although it was pretty intense at times. I teared up quite a bit, and the ladies I went with were full on crying. lol. I remember loving the first one, and I know I saw the second one as well, and this one seemed like a great way to finish the story off, if, in fact, that's what they were doing.

This morning I actually went adventuring to the North End and Harbor area, but I'll tell you about that next time.

This is called "suspense."

Much love.