Okay, so apologies on getting this out a day later. Last night was wing night, plus, I wound up watching the season finale of “Desperate Housewives” before heading out. What can ya do?
So, back to where we were — the final day in New England was upon me. How would I spend my time?
Well, I guess I should do a slight backtrack. One of the final things I did the night before was start packing up. I basically laid out the clothes I was going to wear, and started to pack everything else up.
Well, this morning, I woke up to the dulcet tones of WZLX 100.9 — Boston’s classic rock. I was able to wake up and shake the cobwebs out. Not too long after my awakening, my doorbell rang.
I opened the door and there it was — room service! The night before, I also decided to treat myself by filling out the breakfast order form. My omelette and big pot o’ coffee arrived on a big rolling table, covered in a white tablecloth. I felt really cool all of a sudden!
After downing my delectable egg treat, I jumped in the shower and finalized my packing. I made one last once over to the room, then headed downstairs to check out. Normally, I would’ve opted for one of the “express” checkout options, but, I had one last task for my hosts at the Seaport. Given that my flight didn’t leave until after 6, and I planned on keeping the road hot, I took advantage of the luggage check service.
So, as I stepped out, I was on a mission. It was about 9:00, and, by my estimates factoring in travel time to get back to the hotel and then get to Logan to meet the two-hour window, I had about 6-6 1/2 hours before I had to be back. I was armed with some notes roughly outlining my agenda and my T pass.
Let’s dance.
I jumped on the first available Silver Line bus up to the South Station where I jumped on the Red line heading out of town to the north/northwest. I went out of Boston proper to a little town called Cambridge, home to one Harvard University.
Once I stepped out of the subway station, there it was. The famous Harvard Square area to my left, filled with little boutiques and shops of various kinds, and to my right, an unbelievably elaborate gate, leading into “Harvard Yard.” Now, admittedly, I always thought that name was only part of the joke. You know, “pahk ya cah in Hahvahd Yahd.” But, as I came to find out, “Harvard Yard” is the proper name for the original part of campus.
I admired the ornate nature of the gate, and passed through to the yard. I came to find out later that that gate is called the “Johnston Gate.”
So, I stepped onto the yard, taking it all in, the extremely old buildings, many of them with plaques somewhere on the structure detailing the circumstances regarding its construction and history. It’s a rare thing to look at a collegiate building and read that it housed colonial troops during the American Revolution.
I came across the famous statue of John Harvard, the “statue of three lies,” since the statue is not a depiction of John Harvard, he was not the university’s founder (as is said on the statue) and it gives an inaccurate date as to the founding of Harvard. It took several trips back and forth past the statue to finally get somewhat of a clear shot. It seems that every time I passed by there, a family was having portrait day in front of the statue, with a constant shuffling of members in front of the statue.
If had an accomplice partner to assist me, I would’ve made an effort to put my Carolina visor on top of his head and take a picture of that.
As I strolled around the campus, I noticed one thing. The famous “ve ri tas” seal? It is EVERYWHERE! Whether it be in some sort of stone carving or just a banner, it’s usually on the buildings, and I saw quite a number of people wearing shirts/jackets/etc. bearing the seal.
I wandered off of the yard and came across another sight that was nothing short of incredible. From a distance, it looked like some sort of cathedral of old. Not so. It was Harvard’s Memorial Hall. To say that it is an imposing structure is a bit of an understatement.
Noting that it houses a student commons area, I managed to find an unlocked door and headed inside, mostly because I did need a bathroom break. I tried to see if there was a way into the theater area, but, no such luck.
I proceeded out of Memorial Hall, back through the yard, then headed slightly south (I think it was south). I crossed over the Charles River down to the athletic center. There, I found a special, yet I feel somewhat unknown/underappreciated place in the annals of college football — Harvard Stadium.
See, this was the first-ever concrete (read: permanent) stadium ever built for college football. It was constructed at a time when the game itself was in flux. You see, this was in the days of more rugby-style football. Well, only a couple of years after the stadium was built, the proposal came from Walter Camp (a Yale guy, it should be noted) to widen the field to open up the game. Since Harvard had built their stadium to the specifications, they launched a protest to widening the field of play, which would render its glorious stadium obsolete. So, Harvard, with the help of John Heisman, pushed for the legalization of the forward pass.
Well, you know which side won that battle.
“Yep, wanna thank all them Harvard boys fer lettin’ us pitch ‘n’ catch.”
I lucked up in that the stadium was wide open. You see, in addition to its use as a Harvard venue, it’s the home for Major League Lacrosse’s Boston Cannons, and crews were inside setting up for the game. So, I took the opportunity to poke around inside the stadium. It is gorgeous in its simplicity. Concrete stands, a colonnade up top. The stands are quite steep. I can imagine that one would feel really close to the action watching a game there.
It also gives us a moment of pause. In anticipation of visiting this place, I was doing some reading. When it was built, there were fears that it was too big.
Now, it’s roughly 30,000 seats are only slightly bigger than some high school stadiums, nevermind the 100,000+ that attend games at Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, etc.
Once I felt that I had my college football fix, I went back up John F. Kennedy Rd/Dr/Blvd, and hopped back on the train, heading back into Boston.
Wow, according to WordPress, as of “back into Boston,” we’re at 1,121 words, and I’ve only talked about breakfast and Harvard.
Okay, so, I headed back into Boston, then jumped on the Green line heading north to the old old old old part of town, with the objective of seeing the Old North Church. As the church’s Web site suggests, I jumped off at the Haymarket station. After consulting with the map, I found myself a little confused as to which way I needed to go in regards to taking the most direct route.
I went back into the station, stared at the map some more, and settled on a more roundabout, yet more foolproof, route to get there. As I went back down toward the river, I was greeted with a pleasant surprise, the imposing edifice of the TD Banknorth Garden. The surrounding area was decked out with Celtics banners and such. I’m sure the area has been electric on game days here in the playoffs.
As I went through this northern section of Boston, I couldn’t help but to think that this is how I always had Boston pictured in my head. Old. Brick buildings. Streets that are one way on a good day. OId. Lots of little small corner stores and restaurants. Lots of hills. Did I mention old?
It felt very “real” in that part of town, even though I was heading to a rather touristy destination, it had a feel that, yes folks, everyday life goes on here, as it has gone on since before your grandfather’s grandfather was born.
So, I arrived at the church. It goes to show you how thrown off my internal clock was. I was worried that the Sunday service would still be going on and I wouldn’t be able to get in. Yeah, I thought this on a Saturday. Go figure.
But, yes, I said service on Sunday. The church is still a functioning Episcopal church. I poked around the inside. As one might expect, it is very simplistic, although I was amazed that the church did not have traditional pews, instead, one sits in a “box seat.” I also took note of the gorgeous organ in the back of the church, as well as a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag hanging amongst the other flags in the roof of the church.
I went over to Paul Revere plaza which was next door, taking a couple of moments in silence as I passed an impromptu memorial made by the people of the church honoring those who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the plaza were all sorts of plaques honoring great early Americans, not to mention a statue of the man of the hour, Mr. Revere.
As I prepared to leave the area, I was able to figure out the “direct” route from earlier, so I took that, going through a very vibrant part of the old city. I mean, the people that live in this part of the city are people that have lived here in this part their whole lives and never even thought of going anywhere else. Not even to another neighborhood.
As I passed some of the restaurants, I couldn’t help but think that I wish I had run across places like this earlier in the trip, especially on Thursday on my first day out. Places like that are just what I was looking for and couldn’t really find.
Well, as I emerged back to my station, the Haymarket area had turned into a big farmer’s market type environment, and around the fruit and veggie stands in the actual storefronts were real butcher shops.
To get a real feel for the area, and to get off my feet for a few minutes, I stopped inside the very epitome of a “local joint.” It was called “Durty Nelly’s Olde Irish Pub.” I poked my head in to find some real, old school SAWKS fans carrying on in a spirited discussion with some Brewers fans that had, well, let’s just say, been there for a while, which considering that it was only 12:30 at this point, was, well, something.
But the Sox fans were old guys who took a page out of the David Cloninger school of wearing a “cap.” You could tell they were the real deal.
After my brief stop off, I jumped back on the T and headed west, stopping off at the Boston University area. Seems like a bit of a strange stop, but, in keeping with the theme of “historic venues” in sports on this trip, there was method to the madness.
You see, B.U.’s soccer (and former football stadium, when it had a team) is Nickerson Field. The seating area of Nickerson Field is the last remaining portion of Braves Field, the home of the Braves when they were in Boston. Nickerson Field was the right field bleacher section, to be exact. There is also an old ticket office adjacent to the grandstand that now serves as a B.U. Police Station.
B.U.’s commencement was set to go either that afternoon or maybe sometime Sunday, because crews were in there, looking like they were making what seemed to be final preparations. I didn’t get in anyone’s way as I snapped pictures and looked around for a few minutes.
I was a little unfamiliar with the area as to anything else I would want to see, plus, my time was beginning to run a little on the short side, so I moved on.
I hopped back on the train, and made what would be my final stop of the day, going back down to the area around Fenway Park.
I wanted to observe the park’s outside in the daylight, when it was at its best. As I said in my earlier entry, I did feel a pang of jealousy given that this was a PERFECT day for baseball, as opposed to the previous night’s wetness.
However, I made the most of it, although I was a little disappointed in that on a game day, you can’t get right in the center of the main facade without a ticket. So, I had to settle for pictures on either side of the gate, which, wound up being not too bad.
I picked up some souvenirs from the official Fenway Park store on Lansdowne Street and enjoyed the people watching for a few minutes when I realized it was about time to get motoring.
I made my way back to the Kenmore station, then snaked my way back to South, then hit the Silver Line back to the hotel. I took a call from my Dad before heading back into the hotel and grabbing my luggage and going right back to the WTC station to wait for the Silver line bus to get me back to Logan.
The bus came, and, it was packed like the stereotypical Chinese subway car. I, and my abundant luggage, had to squeeze into a small standing spot almost breathing down the neck of the driver.
Thankfully, once we made it to Logan, my terminal was the second stop on the route. I took one last breath of New England air before heading inside, where, I’m proud to say, I zoomed through the security line with no problems.
Since I had been walking around all day, I had that “dried sweat” feeling, especially on my face. I could’ve used a shower, but, I just went into the men’s room and washed my face, which made me feel a lot better.
I then parked myself in the Fox Sports-themed sports bar near my gate to grab a quick snack and beverage.
I was keeping tabs on the Red Sox game, knowing that Huntley was there with Mike Oliveri. I was hoping that the Preakness was going to run before I had to board, but, I wasn’t lucky in that regard either.
I also saw on a TV outside of this sports bar place the news that Sloop Teddy K. had been hospitalized with those seizures. I then pulled out my laptop to really get the scoop on the events of the day, only to find that Logan, unlike Charlotte/Douglas, does not offer free wi-fi. Boo!
So, I more or less sat around until it was time to board the plane. The return trip was short and sweet, and I do mean short. We actually arrived ahead of schedule (I didn’t think that was possible). I spent a good portion of the trip watching episodes of “The Office” on my season 3 DVD on the laptop.
If nothing else, I was thankful for getting to the airport and the flight for no other reason than to get off my feet, because, save for my resting spell at the Irish pub and having the good fortune of actually finding a seat on the T, I had been on my feet all day, and, man, my dogs were barking.
When I arrived, I gave a quick buzz to John, who was en route to scoop me. I grabbed my bag, jumped into John’s truck and off we were to Matthews.
As much fun as I had during my trip, I have to say, it was good to be home. If nothing else, I realize how fun it was as I’ve recounted the trip several times, not the least of which is on here. I hope that as time goes on, I’ll be able to go on more trips like this one for work, but, any future trips need to watch out, because this one set the bar pretty high. It was a good balance of work and play.
I would post a picture album, but, there has been a slight snag on getting the last group of Boston pics on my computer. More on that later (hopefully once the “snag” has been resolved).
For now, I’m up to 2,781 words as of that last paragraph … and I’m spent!
