How does it take me so long to get around to updating the blog? I am not really getting much visibily accomplished these 'days off' so it must be the relaxation I'm enjoying. Dog walks, naps, trolling FaceBook, a bit of baking, very small amounts of housework and visiting. Ah, such is the life of the semi retired.
For starters, my parrot head travel partner and I had a wonderful trip last weekend to Boston / tailgate party and Jimmy Buffett concert. It began with an early morning meeting and drive to the airport, storing of cell phones in the car, a wait and then quick flight to Boston. Through Logan airport and out to the Silverline bus and in South Station before 10 am. We ask a Jehovah Witness with a display in the station for suggestions….? Chinatown…we quickly agreed. We first scoped out and purchased the commuter rail tickets to Mansfield "yes this will take you to Raynham-Taunton", noted the time for the train making plans to return by 3 pm, did a bit of shopping and headed off to find Chinatown. We wandered through an Asian
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| Asian grocery store |
grocery store amazed by the veggies and very unusual parts of critters eaten, strolled the streets in perfect sunshine with a gentle breeze, marvelled at the offerings hanging in the windows, had a wonderful lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant, shopped at various pawn shops for estate jewelry, were astounded at armed security in the McDonald's, heard very little English spoken and generally enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. We made our way back for the train, enjoying South Station's wonderful food court - yes we'll have Pinkberry frozen yogurt - and people watched. The gate for the train was announced so we surged forward with the other commuters in a human stream down the platform to board. Free wi-fi on board, the south end of Boston merging into a passing panorama of suburban leafy green, comfortable seats and a smooth ride as we made our way to Mansfield. Off at the fairly remote station and a glance around for a cab. Hmmm, only a dial-a-bus. We ask the driver about a taxi to Raynham-Taunton and he exhibits an alarmed countenance and says "oh that's miles from here, you need to get back on the train and get off at Attleboro" so we head back towards the conductor at the train door who says "you have to get on there" indicating a platform a ways down the track which as we turn towards it…. the train pulls out from the station and disappears. We use the walkway to cross the freeway towards a strip mall - while strolling across the parking lot we are approached by the dial-a-bus - the driver and his passenger have worked out a (complex) solution to our dilemma. "I'll call my driver buddy and he'll pick you up right here and take you to Norton". We wait briefly and the dial-a-bus appears as promised, we insert our $1 bills and ride to Wheaton College (a small liberal arts school) where we are dropped off and told to walk through a lane in back of the post office and wait for the #18 bus. A very short, senior man is riding the bus and he tells the driver "I'm going that way Frank, I'll show them" so as we walk along he chats about the college, where we're from, our plans and as he indicates where to wait says "oh you're going to a Jimmy Buffett concert to smoke weed - do you have any on you?" My travel partner stares at him speechless and I say "we're going to get ours at the concert" which he accepts and moves on. We wait for a while as the end of day traffic makes it way past us with a few curious glances cast in our direction. As my travel partner says "what else were we going to do this afternoon anyway?" The #18 bus arrives, we insert another $1 bill and are ultimately delivered to the Taunton terminal. We bother a transit driver eating his fried chicken, he confers with two other drivers who arrive shortly about which route the Hampton Inn is on (one suggests we can walk down the highway from WalMart and he is scandalized at the suggestion) "no, that's the Holiday Inn, it's on Rte 44" then I finally offer that the hotel has a shuttle within a five mile radius. The consensus is the terminal is within the catchment area of the shuttle and the driver finds his cell, calling for the pickup. We thank our rescuers and head out front to wait as the shuttle can't enter the bus parking lot. Two of the drivers make a pass by the terminal entrance to wave at us and after about 20 min. (which the hotel had stated would be the time for pickup) a young fellow wearing a transit uniform and blue nitrile gloves comes out to check on us. He's obviously been sent by the drivers to use his cell phone for us as he isn't completely clear on the mission but states "I'm a helpful kind of guy". He phones for the shuttle again and indeed it arrives a few minutes later. We make it to the hotel by 7:30 pm which means this leg of our journey from Boston took us about four hours. As we pull into the parking lot the driver (retired corrections officer so he can obviously handle two trouble making Nova Scotians) informs us that the shuttle can drop us at Lakeville station and we can catch the commuter train directly in to South Station and on to Logan on Sunday - should take about 45 min from hotel to airport - almost as quick as driving. Kind of anticlimactic after the outbound trip. The hotel is full - sports teams, families and concert goers - and conveniently located next to a mall. They provide some phone numbers for taxis and we arrange to call one in the morning. We purchase party supplies for the tailgate party, have a sub at d'Angelos and head back to rest up.
It's party day - we enjoy our included breakfast, ready ourselves and wait for the cab. We prepay the driver and he agrees to pick us up at 11:30 pm (noise ordinance means the music will be wrapped up by 10:30pm) near the service station at the end of the entrance to the Xfinity Centre. It's about a 25 minute drive from the hotel and costs only $30 each way - certainly would be more than that in rural NS! It's a perfect day weather wise with some sun and cloud, a slight breeze, low humidity and comfortable temperatures. We arrive at 11am and check out the parking lots starting to fill with vehicles loaded with inflatable sharks, surf boards, lumber, swimming pools, sand, coolers, and smiling costumed parrot heads. The VIP parking has limos, tour buses, motor homes and snazzy vehicles. We ask security where to start and he makes some suggestions, takes our photo and chats easily with my buddy
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| Pre concert tailgating |
who apparently charmed him completely as she walked away with his unopened bottle of water and drank from it - he waves us on with a grin. We spend the next seven hours having a fantastic time! Very difficult to explain the pre concert party - even the YouTubes don't do it justice. We're surprised to find that at least 1/4 of those attending would be under 30 yrs - not the demographic we'd expected. We visit, sample wonderful food - shrimp, burgers, kebabs, fruit, snacks - and every kind of beverage imaginable, are delighted by the costumes and
antics, dance to the music being broadcast, enjoy Chicks with Sticks (a female steel drum band) my friend gets two temporary tattoos, and tries some of the parking lot games. We laugh constantly and the time flies by. By 7 pm we are in line to get in to the concert and are glad to sit down in what appears to be a sold out crowd. A double rainbow forms over the venue as the sky darkens and the stars come out. We rock out to the favourites, enjoying the energy and by the expected hour the magic is over and we make our way out through the gates to meet the taxi. My partner finds a pair of sunglasses on the path (they turn out to be spiffy new RayBans) and the cab arrives as promised. We are back at the hotel, showered and in bed by 1 am. A good sleep in, breakfast and we check out the flea market next door until it is time to catch the shuttle. An uneventful trip in to South Station on the commuter train, lunch at the food court, the T back to the airport as we collected scientists from Paris who had presented at a conference (what is bioinformatics anyway - had to Google it) and a family who had just left a wedding reception and were delivered to the bus stop, still in their glamorous outfits by the groom. Check in, security, snack and wait for the flight while we people watched. A quick return flight, customs, retrieval of car and uneventful drive home. Ahhhh what a weekend!
Our grand puppy Pete came to stay with us on Wednesday as our daughter and son-in-law are out west for a wedding. He is a 14 wk old golden lab and has been settling in to our
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| Pete at 14 wks |
routine here, or rather we have been settling in to his. He is usually up by 6:30 am and is a going concern for the day where he plays hard. He is learning that our elderly, deaf resident dog does not like her ears chewed on, our cats don't enjoy being chased, has had playdates with a couple of dogs, gets walked, taken to the water (not a fan) and has conquered his separation anxiety and will remain outside with Keely for a few hours without 'losing it' now. He is of course easily distracted, but tries to behave and in fact is a good baby. Every day he is growing - gonna be a big boy! He sleeps well (as does Keely) from all the activities.
The social calendar keeps full with catching up with all those I've missed. Had a nice BBQ on Friday with friends, good food and conversation. This week, a nice visit, a cup of tea and a ginger cookie with my two summer neighbours while the puppy played with her dog. Then I was off to a friend's house for lunch with a third friend - the three of us lived 'on the corner' growing up (and her husband) and a nice visit. Home in time to have the life partner make lobster rolls while I did a salad. Ahh life is good.
Tomorrow is lunch for our school of nursing class - 1976 sounds so long along when you tell whippersnappers the graduation date. There are usually 8 - 10 of us locally who manage to make it. Gets easier every year to schedule with more retiring. It's not about the meal, it is the visiting and catching up.
Plans are in the works for a winery tour in a couple of weeks:
Will include an overnight stay as what fun would it be to NOT sample the wine? The beach clean up at Bon Portage is rescheduled (originally the day Arthur struck the area) for August 16th so hopefully the weather cooperates this time. Have wanted to visit that island since I read We Keep a Light and other books Evelyn Richardson wrote. Have planned a birthday party BBQ for my sister on the 17th (her girls are not working that weekend) so will host a crowd of family and friends.
Less than a month before the life partner and I head off to Europe. I was discussing with him that the friends at lunch (who are going to UK about the same time) had purchased a GPS to use with the rental car. He pronounced "it's a lot more fun getting lost" so we shall see just how hysterical that is when it happens in Portugal. At least I won't be accused of not reading the signs correctly will I if they're in Portugese?
My co-classmate for the LSTMH (tropical nursing diploma) and I booked our return flights to UK for Nov 27 - Dec 20th. It was the 'close to the holidays' December date that caused the most hassle with the blackout for using flight miles and no direct return flight so we opted for a stop in St Johns Nfld (feeling it's just wrong to fly over NS to Toronto or Montreal and then back from Europe). Surprisingly Air Canada was the lowest price (although that is a matter of opinion when you're spending $1100) and at least we'll collect Aeroplan miles. We will have the first weekend in Cambridge, second in Oxford and third in Leeds - my travel partner has connections having lived in UK. We booked the coach (National Express) for the Liverpool to Heathrow journey on Dec 20th as well - likely to fill up with the holiday travel. For some reason I thought Liverpool was closer to London than it is. Hmmm. Now I just have to dust my resolution off to do some pre-course study. The latest news about the Ebola outbreak in western Africa is disheartening - I made an online donation to MSF, it's the least we can do.
And to end on a practical note, I offer the following 'life hack' for removing those sticky labels off jars:
thatswhatchesaid.net/2013/how-to-easily-remove-labels
Disclaimer - I haven't tried it myself. As well as a link to open courseware (free) from MIT for photojournalism:
petapixel.com/2014/07/17/mit-offers-documentary-photography-photojournalism-course-free-online
So, it's off to bed as that little canine alarm clock is set for early am.
