Boston
I had a little work trip to Boston last week and ate my way through four delectable days of scallops, shrimp, salmon, cod, haddock, and lobster. Yum!
After two days of trade show fun/hell at the beautiful Royal Sonesta in Cambridge I took off on a weekend of adventure, beginning with a walk with Dave, Brian & Pavel from the farmers’ market in Copley Square (that’s the cool Boston Public Library in the background) through Boston Commons, the oldest city park in the US.
I then took the T down to the MFA stop and walked through Back Bay Fens, designed by the awesome landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, with a rose garden designed by his protege Arthur Shurcliff. Yep, that’s the kind of urban tours I go on. It was beautiful! I also lay around reading the end of my latest Thursday Next mystery (I’ve read two more since the EYRE AFFAIR — recommended!).
After a walk around Central Square and MIT, my cousin Lisa & Tom picked me up and spirited me away to rural Dudley, MA on the Connecticut border, about 60 miles from Cambridge (thanks for driving me guys!). We ate more fabulous seafood at the restaurant on Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, with the longest place name in the US.
I forgot how beautiful New England is! Tom supplied the fact that 68% of Massachusetts is still forested. He also pointed out that you can see tons of stars and a little of the Milky Way from their back yard. Now I grew up in the middle of nowhere too, and you couldn’t see SHIT because the 70 miles between Donovan and Chicago are absolutely flat, resulting in a massive orange glow to the north. Whereas Massachusetts if full of hills, curvy backroads, and big old trees.
I really fell in love with their beautiful house and yard with all of its stone walls and huge barn. The inside is filled with wood and paneling and has a lot of unique 60s touches. What a find! Lisa and I picked and ate blueberries from their own arbor. The coolest thing about hanging out with them is discovering how alike we are in tastes & opinions, a neat thing about family even if you don’t see each other often. Sorry I didn’t get a picture of Tom… Mr. Orange will have to do.
So, that was just the first 24 hours. Lisa kindly drove me back to Cambridge where friends the Can Kickers were playing upstairs at the Middle East. The show was great, I got a poster and some related CDs including a sampler from my college town of New London CT, and the Middle East had a nice skylit dining room where we had lunch.
I spent the rest of the evening with Brian & Dan & Andy Thompson and ate bbq buffalo burgers on the rooftop at Andy’s apartment… delicious. I tried to keep up with the book, movie, tv & comic book discussion and got a sneek peek of the first two paragraphs of Andy’s copy of DEATHLY HALLOWS, which was awaiting me in Chicago. Brian & roommate Erin kindly allowed me to crash on their couch till my flight home Sunday morning. I drank out of one of Brian’s ceramic goblets and jealously viewed many other items he has made… I’ll have to finagle a commission for the wedding somehow. 
I must point out that Brian is only smiling in this picture because he thinks he is out of frame.
Now back to work, and mostly importantly, to finish HP before someone spoils the ending. It’s excellent and thrilling, and on the Rachel read-speed scale I’m “tearing” through at about 200pp a day.