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.