Monday, July 6, 2009

7-6-09: A Patriotic Weekend in Boston

I had quite the patriotic weekend with the lady in Boston.

It started on Friday the 3rd. We left New Haven at about 7:30AM and headed up to my grandparents' house in Carver, MA. After a quick lunch, we headed up Route 3 and took the Red Line in from Quincy Adams (which I strongly recommend to any one who wants to head in from the South Shore). We ended up getting to the Esplanade at about 2:30PM and waited to get in to the free dress rehearsal of the Boston Pops concert. The doors opened at 4:00PM, and we got in quite easily and got a good spot on the lawn.

The concert began at 8:30PM, and was fantastic. It was interesting, because beforehand, they were doing various mic checks and camera work, and Craig Ferguson was funny while going through his lines. The people next to us were seasoned pros at attending the concert, and were great. They made sure we had plenty of room. Next time, we need to bring plastic and lawn chairs. Still, the concert was amazing. There weren't any fireworks, but we did get to see Neil Diamond perform "America" twice after he jumped from "Sweet Caroline" prematurely. That was fun. Neil put on a good show, but the Pops were the starts. I got chills when they hit the big powerful chords in the 1812 Overture.

We spent Saturday in the city as well. We went on a great tour of the Freedom Trail put on by Boston By Foot called "Footloose on the Freedom Trail." It went from the State House to the Navy Yard in Charlestown. Three miles in three hours, but it was very, very informative. Great tour. We then hung around the Navy Yard to see the USS Constitution. We checked out the museum nearby, which was nice, and had a great lunch at a Friendly's in Charlestown. After taking the ferry over to Long Wharf, we hung out for a bit in the very green Rose Kennedy Park, which was a marked improvement over the Central Artery. Man does that look good. They have fountains and lawn and everything. The Big Dig sure did good.

We then went around and hung out in the Boston Common and in front of the Public Library, which was quite relaxing. We got a free beach ball from some guy promoting the new "10 Things I Hate About You" show on ABC (there's my plug; thanks for the ball), which I used as a pillow.

We ended up eating at Whiskey's on Boylston Street, which was surprisingly big, and cheap! Good food at a reasonable price. I had a pulled pork sandwich, which was OK. They have a decent selection of beer, and a big menu. I'd probably eat there again.

After dinner we met up with the lady's friend Adam, and ended up hanging out at his friend's place for a little bit before the fireworks. They live right near B.U., which was convenient. The fireworks were fantastic. We watched them right by the Charles River (literally feet from the water) and just had a great time.

Overall, it was a wonderful, patriotic weekend. Here are the two songs that I'd say reflect my weekend best:








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