May 15, 2008
The three of us, Stan, Jamela and I, hurried to the airport for an early morning flight to Boston only to be stopped in our tracks by very pokey luggage check and hour wait in the security line. We scurried to the gate by the exact 8:30 take off time hoping the plane had been delayed, only to find the plane had long gone. Trudging to the customer service area to re-book another flight we found many of the same people who were caught a half hour or so in the maze of folks walking back and forth in the swirl security ropes. They too had missed their flights.
Oh well. The flights to Boston were booked solid for days. The only hope was for an opening in stand-by. We settled in to make various DIA gates our new living room where we could relax, read the paper or a book and watch people. The 10:30 plane filled and off we moved to another gate for the 12:15 flight.
We got to know the most interesting people who were also waiting. One young gal was wanting to get to Boston in the worse way so she could visit her family who she missed dearly in New Hamspire. Another had traveled a couple hours from the spring snow storm in the Colorado mountains only to miss her flight to Orlando. She was so looking forward to visiting her friends who had just moved to Jacksonville. A couple dressed in spike studded jackets and various facial piercings and ripped beige and black wide horizontal striped stockings missed their flight too. He carried a drum case, she a guitar or was that a cello. Maybe if things got really bad they could entertain us while we waited.
Back to the waiting area. At the 12:15 flight the announcement was made that this flight would be delayed for another two hours. It seems as the plane approached the gate, the walkway had kind of jammed into the plane and caused some type of damage that would take about 2 hours for the glue to dry. My, are they holding these planes together with glue now.
In about 15 minutes they found another plane, thank goodness. We all hurried to a different gate to watch as people boarded in masses. There were 10 stand-bys called and we were still waiting. We made plans about how we would do the logistics if one or two of us were called and the other had to wait in the stand-by lines again. After more waiting the attendant called for us and another guy to walk down the walk-way to the plane. Some how they didn’t exactly have the correct count on board, I guess they ran out of fingers and toes so we had to wait right at the plane’s door to see how many seats were available. There it was. He announced that there were three seats in various parts of the cabin and we could board. The other guy had to go wait for the next flight.
What a relief to sit down anywhere on a plane that was going to Boston. I forgot about my sandwich or a book to read that was packed in my carry-on as I had hurriedly tossed in the over compartment. It took us almost 6 hours of waiting to finally get a board. I bet that we will not be late again and will leave plenty of time for the security check in process.
John picked us up right away. We were so happy to see him.
He and Rachel have a little dog, Mulligan. The dog is a beagle type with soft flippy ears and a sweet disposition. Stan and I walked him around John’s neighborhood the next morning while John tended to some business. The spring flowers were all abloom. The azalea in their bright pinks and rose were a blast of color.
That afternoon Jamela, Stan, John and I took a trip on the T (local subway) on the Green and Blue line to the Aquarium stop and jumped on a fairy to George’s Island. Rachel was working on Friday. It was a brisk day. I wish I had left on my sweater with the wind breaker that I had wore while walking the dog in the morning as these Boston spring days can be deceiving. I can’t say that I was shivering cold, but my hands were plenty chilly and a cup of tea and hot chocolate hit the spot. After a warm treat at Starbuck, which are on every street corner in Boston, we boarded the fairy. The sight of the city as we left the harbor was breath taking. We cozyied up inside for a brisk ride to one of the many islands in the harbor.
Georges Island is manned by more state park rangers than people on the fairy on this quiet cloud day. We opted to a self guided tour to mill around the place. This was Fort Warren, built in 1870 with rows of cannons perched at the top of the hills staged to protect Boston Harbor. The sleeping and cooking quarters were made of large blocks of granite. Inside were arched ceilings with bricks meticulously placed to lock in the arches. During the civil war this Fort was used for about 2,000 prisoners. It was interesting to walk up the curved staircases through darken encasement up to the grassy roofs where the cannons were kept. The grounds were beautiful with thick lush grass and stately old trees.
We went on the next fairy and hours or so later back to Boston and more hot chocolate. John seemed to know where we were going as we walked through the city streets. We wondered around for a while looking for a pizza place through short curving streets wide enough for one car. This was the North End, or so they say. We came out onto a two car street with shops all around. A few more blocks walk we found a place for pizza. It was about 3 in the afternoon and we were pretty cold and hungry. We ordered a large pizza to share. This area is known for the Italian food and great pastries. Wow. They are not kidding. It was the best pizza I’ve had. The crust was just perfect; thin enough to be crispy, with enough body to be extra delicious. The cheese was not the cardboard tasting Colorado stuff, but was yummy. They provided a dish of freshly grated Parmesan to top it off. To die for.
As we left the restaurant, I notice a bunch of people waiting in line at the bakery across the street. John said this area was known for great cannoles and marzipan (sugary almond paste). We waited in line a while, but decided to try the more touristy shop called Mike’s Pastries. What a variety they had. Although we didn’t buy any marzipan, it was eye candy with colors of the rainbow formed in delightful shapes.
We picked out a couple of canolies to share and some chocolate dipped crispy cookies. They wrapped them in a box and tied it with a string, just like you imagine from the old time bakeries. Off to ride the T again to our last stop where we can munch on our bakery buys. We used a Charlie Card to pay for the subway. You load the card with some money and then click each person through. This is named after the Charlie from that old Kingston Trio song – Will he ever return. You know the one about the Boston subway ride Charlie was taking?
John treated us to the famous Duck tour through the streets of Boston. The tour starts at the Museum of Science, which has many things to see while we waited for our tour. We enjoyed people coming and going up and down the staircase, as each step activated a different tone. As people used the staircase it sounded like a melody. The cannolis were delightful, by the way, filled with just the right texture of vanilla and chocolate cream. We watched people spin pennies around a funnel with the same concept as black holes. I used up all my pennies on Cannolies.
On to the Duck tour. By six in the evening it was raining pretty hard. Of course, those unbrellas I brought along were still packed in the luggage next to the sweater laying on the bed. We climbed in these amphious vehicals toward the front that was covered kind of with a tarp with windows and snoggled together to keep warm. I could feel the heat on the floor, but was glad our seats were not in the back where they had army blankets on the seats to bundle up in as the area was more in the open. The tour guide was a kick and talked speedily the whole time with hardly a breath between sentences. You could see the buildings he was talking about through the drizzle. He went through places we have never gone before. As we passed through crowed streets people on the Duck chimed out Quack Quack as people on the street answered back Qwack Quack. There were no Qwack zone where you could only quack with our hands. It key was to alert one of the people walking to give you a hand quack back. We did and we all laughed hardily.
At the end of the tour we went into the Charles River for a big loop around. He asked if someone wanted to drive the Duck. John raised his hand, but then encouraged Stan to take the wheel. He did and felt like a star.
What a fun day.!.
The next day we cooked and prepared for John’s graduation party. Luckily it was a beautiful warm spring day for an outdoor cook out. A couple hours before the party we all piled in the Jeep to take Mulligan, their Beagle to the dog park. This was in Middle Fells about 5 – 10 minutes away from their home. The place previously was full of quaries and known for lumbering. It was too rocky to farm and in early days no one wanted to live there. It was called Fells as many of the trees had fallen down. It is a gem in the middle of metro Boston crowded streets and multi-level homes with rolling meadows and a stream near-by for dogs to take a swim. This is a gorilla or casual dog park where friendly dogs run through the tall grasses in earnest finding pleasure in playful frolicking through the country side.