Trip report-New York and Boston - Part 4
Trip report-Part 1
Trip report-Part 2
Trip report-Part 3
Oh my god. did that feel good!
I knew there was bright sunlight coming through the curtains and I didn’t care. It could have been past noon and I would have gone on sleeping. Turned out it was barely 10:00AM, but we’d already missed the free breakfast buffet. I was still able to use my “free breakfast” card to call room service and we got some yummies delivered to the room.
Quite lovely, actually. The hot chocolate totally hit the spot.
We toddled out into a gorgeous day. Very sunny, but still not so hot that I ever was tempted to expose my arms to the ultra violet rays. More wandering around Quincy market, including the discovery of the Orvis store, where hubby joined the cult of Crocs with his own pair in black.
Time to tour! We did a circuit on the on/off trolley, staying on for the whole thing and getting our driver/guide's very amusing shtick. He was working his ass off, but rest of the tourists on the trolley were stiffs, so I was a big know-it-all by comparison, which was fine. He kept asking me if we were doing OK. I was supposed to be the “moral compass.” Very funny. The traffic was horrific and he had to keep calling the dispatch to say he was going to be in late.
We got off back at the beginning to head for the Paul Revere House, but first there was a matter of communications. Since I had done the El Stupido thing on Day 1 by leaving the cell phone at home, I had given hubby's cell phone # to aithlyn because we had a made a Sacred Internet Oath that if we were in the same time zone we had to do karaoke together.
Hubby has this super-slick multi-gizmo cell-phone that can do all kinds of cool shit, but he kept putting in his groovy magenta bag, insisting he’d be able to hear it. He never actually heard a single call coming in.
Anyway, we FINALLY made contact and decided that we would journey on a train to Salem and meet her and her hubby for dinner and karaoke.
Then we walked over to the Paul Revere house and did our bit for historical tourism, followed by more meandering through the North End where I encountered Nutella Gelato, which is amazingly decadent, and will be making an appearance in today’s mmom fic.
On the way back to the hotel we tried to scope out the train station and get a schedule. Despite helpful locals were unable to find the station. Probably because we were getting tired and cranky. The station we didn’t need to go to, Haymarket, had maps but since the line didn’t leave out of there, it didn’t help.
In case you didn’t know, hotel concierges run the world. She had maps, schedules, directions and all manner of wonderfulness. After a bath and some rest, the train station proved remarkably easy to find, so much so that we got on an earlier train than we’d planned and were in Salem by 6:00PM rather than 630PM when we said we’d be there. The train was nice, and I tried to do some more writing---I really wanted to do that Wild Wild West story for vanillafluffy Some amusement was gleaned by the name of the stop before Salem, which is Swampscott. It sounds funnier than it looks.
By this time it was getting very cold, but I was wearing a skirt in an effort to dress up for the dinner and karaoke. On what delusional planet, I thought I was going to impress anyone is beyond me. Not much going on in downtown Salem. We stopped in an army surplus store and hubby bought an RN pin there. When he asked to use a rest room he was told "No” but you can try the Town Hall. We did go there and it was open. Hubby found the restroom, but said he had to go through the room where the assembly was in session to get there.
At that point, it was 6:30PM and we called aithlyn and lo and behold she appeared.
aithlyn as one can tell from her userpics is lovely, long-haired and vivacious. We immediately set about chattering in House-ish while my truly wonderful hubby just sat there, happy to be inside a warm car. Mr. aithlyn met us at Salem Beer Works. He’s wonderful as well, although not particularly long-haired. He and hubby had some things in common such as motorcycles and watches and wives who are bat-shit insane for House MD.
The sweet potato fries were delicious and the rest of the food was generally yummy. Conversation MOSTLY centered around House, House-fic, LJ-stuff and the comparative adorableness of Hugh Laurie and Jesse Spencer, but there were other topics discussed and soon it was time to go to Kitty O’shea's, a bar in Beverly, Mass for the promised karaoke.
We got there just as the KJ was setting up and the Yankees/Red Sox game was entering the 5th or 6th inning. The karaoke book (the book with all the songs available to be sung) was awesome, rivaling our list at the Mint, which is damn good. However due to the game in progress, there was quite a bit of noise, but I was doing karaoke on the road, which always makes me happy.
First round songs:
Me: Redemption Song-Bog Marley
Hubby: Watching The Detectives-Elvis Costello
aithlyn 455 Rocket-Kathy Mattea
Aithlyn's hubby-Never Been To Spain-Three Dog Night
I thought we were all doing very well, but it was hard to be heard above the crowd. I am so spoiled by going to the Mint which is only about the karaoke. Well, for some people its about the drinking, but really, it’s about the karaoke, and you can sing at four in the afternoon pretty much any day of the year.
Mr. aithlyn left for work and the rest of us stayed for another round of songs. I had my notebook out and was attempting to write both the Wild Wild West fic and a West Wing fic for aithlyn.
Second round songs:
aithlyn Magic Man-Heart
Folks, let me tell you-SHE KICKED ASS!!!
Hubby-Sweet Baby James-James Taylor. Even with the "Stockbridge to Boston" line, didn't get as much attention as it should have.
Since it was an Irish bar, I finished up with
Jackie Wilson Said by Van Morrison
and we booked.
The Red Sox won so everybody in the state was pretty happy by that point.
Next stop was The Dragon’s Lair, the well named, dragon festooned residence of aithlyn, where we watched some scenes of Jesse being heartbreaking and adorable in “Swimming Upstream”.
Think of this interesting fact folks, Judy Davis has played Jesse’s mom and Hugh’s wife.
Our lovely and generous hostess lent me her ever-so-light Ibook so I could post V and then we watched fanvids. Since I don’t have wifi in the apartment, I almost never get to watch these. She turned me on to this one one, which I highly recommend, if you’ve never seen it. Absolutely hysterical.
King of Spain
I returned the favor with the “infamous”
Hugh On Discovery
Blessed are you who make fanvids for you are fucking geniuses.
By this time hubby was fading fast, and I was yawning up a storm myself, but he still was kind enough to ask if she’d ever heard Hugh sing “Mystery”. She hadn’t, so she searched YouTube and came up with the original “Bit Of Fry and Laurie” version which is, if possible, even whinier than the one he did on Inside the Actors Studio, but still adorable and hysterical.
Then she very, very kindly drove our sorry asses back to Boston and the hotel. I would have invited her up for more schmoozing, but I was dead on my feet. Eyes barely staying open.
So, goodnight fair aithlyn. Please come to San Francisco and let’s do it on my turf.
Coming next:
Going Home
Trip report-Part 2
Trip report-Part 3
Oh my god. did that feel good!
I knew there was bright sunlight coming through the curtains and I didn’t care. It could have been past noon and I would have gone on sleeping. Turned out it was barely 10:00AM, but we’d already missed the free breakfast buffet. I was still able to use my “free breakfast” card to call room service and we got some yummies delivered to the room.
Quite lovely, actually. The hot chocolate totally hit the spot.
We toddled out into a gorgeous day. Very sunny, but still not so hot that I ever was tempted to expose my arms to the ultra violet rays. More wandering around Quincy market, including the discovery of the Orvis store, where hubby joined the cult of Crocs with his own pair in black.
Time to tour! We did a circuit on the on/off trolley, staying on for the whole thing and getting our driver/guide's very amusing shtick. He was working his ass off, but rest of the tourists on the trolley were stiffs, so I was a big know-it-all by comparison, which was fine. He kept asking me if we were doing OK. I was supposed to be the “moral compass.” Very funny. The traffic was horrific and he had to keep calling the dispatch to say he was going to be in late.
We got off back at the beginning to head for the Paul Revere House, but first there was a matter of communications. Since I had done the El Stupido thing on Day 1 by leaving the cell phone at home, I had given hubby's cell phone # to aithlyn because we had a made a Sacred Internet Oath that if we were in the same time zone we had to do karaoke together.
Hubby has this super-slick multi-gizmo cell-phone that can do all kinds of cool shit, but he kept putting in his groovy magenta bag, insisting he’d be able to hear it. He never actually heard a single call coming in.
Anyway, we FINALLY made contact and decided that we would journey on a train to Salem and meet her and her hubby for dinner and karaoke.
Then we walked over to the Paul Revere house and did our bit for historical tourism, followed by more meandering through the North End where I encountered Nutella Gelato, which is amazingly decadent, and will be making an appearance in today’s mmom fic.
On the way back to the hotel we tried to scope out the train station and get a schedule. Despite helpful locals were unable to find the station. Probably because we were getting tired and cranky. The station we didn’t need to go to, Haymarket, had maps but since the line didn’t leave out of there, it didn’t help.
In case you didn’t know, hotel concierges run the world. She had maps, schedules, directions and all manner of wonderfulness. After a bath and some rest, the train station proved remarkably easy to find, so much so that we got on an earlier train than we’d planned and were in Salem by 6:00PM rather than 630PM when we said we’d be there. The train was nice, and I tried to do some more writing---I really wanted to do that Wild Wild West story for vanillafluffy Some amusement was gleaned by the name of the stop before Salem, which is Swampscott. It sounds funnier than it looks.
By this time it was getting very cold, but I was wearing a skirt in an effort to dress up for the dinner and karaoke. On what delusional planet, I thought I was going to impress anyone is beyond me. Not much going on in downtown Salem. We stopped in an army surplus store and hubby bought an RN pin there. When he asked to use a rest room he was told "No” but you can try the Town Hall. We did go there and it was open. Hubby found the restroom, but said he had to go through the room where the assembly was in session to get there.
At that point, it was 6:30PM and we called aithlyn and lo and behold she appeared.
aithlyn as one can tell from her userpics is lovely, long-haired and vivacious. We immediately set about chattering in House-ish while my truly wonderful hubby just sat there, happy to be inside a warm car. Mr. aithlyn met us at Salem Beer Works. He’s wonderful as well, although not particularly long-haired. He and hubby had some things in common such as motorcycles and watches and wives who are bat-shit insane for House MD.
The sweet potato fries were delicious and the rest of the food was generally yummy. Conversation MOSTLY centered around House, House-fic, LJ-stuff and the comparative adorableness of Hugh Laurie and Jesse Spencer, but there were other topics discussed and soon it was time to go to Kitty O’shea's, a bar in Beverly, Mass for the promised karaoke.
We got there just as the KJ was setting up and the Yankees/Red Sox game was entering the 5th or 6th inning. The karaoke book (the book with all the songs available to be sung) was awesome, rivaling our list at the Mint, which is damn good. However due to the game in progress, there was quite a bit of noise, but I was doing karaoke on the road, which always makes me happy.
First round songs:
Me: Redemption Song-Bog Marley
Hubby: Watching The Detectives-Elvis Costello
aithlyn 455 Rocket-Kathy Mattea
Aithlyn's hubby-Never Been To Spain-Three Dog Night
I thought we were all doing very well, but it was hard to be heard above the crowd. I am so spoiled by going to the Mint which is only about the karaoke. Well, for some people its about the drinking, but really, it’s about the karaoke, and you can sing at four in the afternoon pretty much any day of the year.
Mr. aithlyn left for work and the rest of us stayed for another round of songs. I had my notebook out and was attempting to write both the Wild Wild West fic and a West Wing fic for aithlyn.
Second round songs:
aithlyn Magic Man-Heart
Folks, let me tell you-SHE KICKED ASS!!!
Hubby-Sweet Baby James-James Taylor. Even with the "Stockbridge to Boston" line, didn't get as much attention as it should have.
Since it was an Irish bar, I finished up with
Jackie Wilson Said by Van Morrison
and we booked.
The Red Sox won so everybody in the state was pretty happy by that point.
Next stop was The Dragon’s Lair, the well named, dragon festooned residence of aithlyn, where we watched some scenes of Jesse being heartbreaking and adorable in “Swimming Upstream”.
Think of this interesting fact folks, Judy Davis has played Jesse’s mom and Hugh’s wife.
Our lovely and generous hostess lent me her ever-so-light Ibook so I could post V and then we watched fanvids. Since I don’t have wifi in the apartment, I almost never get to watch these. She turned me on to this one one, which I highly recommend, if you’ve never seen it. Absolutely hysterical.
King of Spain
I returned the favor with the “infamous”
Hugh On Discovery
Blessed are you who make fanvids for you are fucking geniuses.
By this time hubby was fading fast, and I was yawning up a storm myself, but he still was kind enough to ask if she’d ever heard Hugh sing “Mystery”. She hadn’t, so she searched YouTube and came up with the original “Bit Of Fry and Laurie” version which is, if possible, even whinier than the one he did on Inside the Actors Studio, but still adorable and hysterical.
Then she very, very kindly drove our sorry asses back to Boston and the hotel. I would have invited her up for more schmoozing, but I was dead on my feet. Eyes barely staying open.
So, goodnight fair aithlyn. Please come to San Francisco and let’s do it on my turf.
Coming next:
Going Home