Thursday, September 27, 2012
From the Journal of a Maintenance Technician: Common Decency
I'm all for being naked in your own place, but please close your door and blinds; not many want to see what you have.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
From the Journal of a Maintenance Technician: General Irk
Please do not lock the door after I come into your apartment. It kind of scares me; it should scare you, too. Why would you lock someone, that you may not know very well, in your apartment. Why would you create that extra thing for me to do while I am trying to fix something?
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
From the Journal of a Maintenance Technician: Environment
Came across a letter today addressed to our office. I do not know any of the situation, just found the letter humorous.
This couple were woken up one night, in the wee hours of the morning to what sounded like a vehicle driving through, underneath their apartment. They soon discovered that their residence was on top of a two car garage. Had they known this before they moved in, they would not have rented the place. They are now seeking some sort of compensation for their troubles, move to another unit, or ?
Again I know nothing of the situation, but my two cents 1) We would never rent a place and not tell the prospective renter they would be above a two car garage. 2) Why would you not check out the building you might be renting and the surrounding areas?
This couple were woken up one night, in the wee hours of the morning to what sounded like a vehicle driving through, underneath their apartment. They soon discovered that their residence was on top of a two car garage. Had they known this before they moved in, they would not have rented the place. They are now seeking some sort of compensation for their troubles, move to another unit, or ?
Again I know nothing of the situation, but my two cents 1) We would never rent a place and not tell the prospective renter they would be above a two car garage. 2) Why would you not check out the building you might be renting and the surrounding areas?
Friday, March 16, 2012
Ready Change
There is one thing that I carry on my person whenever I leave the apartment and when I use it, I always get complimented on it. I use it a lot, so, a lot of compliments.
My dad gave it to me years ago while I had been living with him and my step-mom for a couple years after high school. I remember when he did, we were at a job site and he had it with the rest of his change in his door handle. Nothing special about the event, he thought I'd like to have it, so he gave it to me. I don't remember if he ever told me where he got it from. Internet searched have come up empty for another one, or anything about its manufacturer.
I'd venture to say that most people don't have a designated place for their change and for those that do, probably don't have a super easy way to retrieve an exact amount. With Ready Change, you can.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about my dad, but the one thing that I think of when I receive those compliments is how resourceful he was. As a remodeler/roofer/handyman he was always able to perform the task with what he had. About a month ago, my brother and I went through his work truck to clean it out to sell. My word, that man had a lot of tools, both store bought and Macgyvered. But he got the job done with what he had.
My dad gave it to me years ago while I had been living with him and my step-mom for a couple years after high school. I remember when he did, we were at a job site and he had it with the rest of his change in his door handle. Nothing special about the event, he thought I'd like to have it, so he gave it to me. I don't remember if he ever told me where he got it from. Internet searched have come up empty for another one, or anything about its manufacturer.
I'd venture to say that most people don't have a designated place for their change and for those that do, probably don't have a super easy way to retrieve an exact amount. With Ready Change, you can.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about my dad, but the one thing that I think of when I receive those compliments is how resourceful he was. As a remodeler/roofer/handyman he was always able to perform the task with what he had. About a month ago, my brother and I went through his work truck to clean it out to sell. My word, that man had a lot of tools, both store bought and Macgyvered. But he got the job done with what he had.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
From Day 6: Travel Day
We woke up yesterday morning with the intention of getting ready, rolling out our luggage and grabbing breakfast from somewhere at the airport because our flight was some time after 9am. Well, that changed. We got a call from Pat saying that he got an email from the airlines stating that our flight had gotten cancelled. A few minutes later we found out that they changed our flight and now we wouldn't be departing until 11:30am, and the layover changed from Chicago to Dallas. So, needless to say, we had breakfast at the hotel breakfast restaurant. I ordered French toast and a side of bacon. It was good, nothing special about it, except that it was overpriced. The waitress was a bit scatterbrained, but she did let us get Jude whatever he wanted from the breakfast buffet, so that was nice. Nichole had ordered banana pancakes, knowing that they'd in no way compare to those from the Grasshopper Cafe. After a few bites she had this puzzled look on her face and stated: "These pancakes taste like they're sourdough." I had a bite, and sure enough, sourdough. So that was weird.
Well, we finished breakfast and headed back to the hotel to collect our stuff. I forgot to mention something funny that Jude did last night. He was on the bed playing with Nichole's phone, sat up and said "Pad pad," which is how he says iPad. So we told him that Papa has it and that he might be able to see it tomorrow. Well, being the cute kid that he is, he leapt off the bed, stood in the middle of the room and declared "Papa, Papa! Pad pad!" Then he went to the hotel room phone, picked it up, said hello, muttered something, then bye. Nichole texted her parents this and they let him use it that night.
After getting a bit turned around at Logan International Airport, and going through security, we found our gate and waited until it was time to board. In the meantime, I took up our last chance to partake of the yumminess of Dunkin Donuts by getting some coffee, and donuts for later. Time to board, fortunately the three of us were able to retain seats that were next to each other. The ride was fine, longer than I expected (I forgot mid-flight that we were going to Dallas and not Chicago). Jude got a bit restless right before the descent for landing but was then ok.
Our layover in Dallas was only and hour so we barely had enough time to use the restroom, see about getting seats together (when we found out about the flight change, Nichole and Jude's seats were not assigned yet) and grab lunch from Subway. Nichole was not able to get three seats in the same row, her and Jude got in a two seat section right behind first class, so Jude had a good window and Nichole had plenty of leg room. I had an aisle seat about four rows back, so I was able to see them and grab anything from my bag that they needed with ease. I was able to finish the book I started on the trip, Into the Wild. I enjoyed it, thought it was good and gave it 3 stars on http://www.goodreads.com. I do want to see movie that Sean Penn adapted from the book.
We landed about 5, San Diego time, grabbed our luggage while Pat got his explorer and headed back to their house where our car was. After spending a few minutes visiting with Gummy, and getting Jude an apple, we made our way home. Henry was hanging our with Stephanie (her and Andrew took care of him and our cat, Winston, while we were away). I unloaded the car and Stephanie invited us over for dinner.
It was really nice coming home and being with Henry and Winston. Of course, there was a lot more that I would like to have done, i.e. walk the Freedom Trail, go to Haverhill (where my maternal grandfather was from), go to a Red Sox game at Fenway, walk around the city more, go to the Boston Brewing Co. (where Samuel Adams is brewed), but I'm glad we did what we did, for the most part. I do miss Boston already though. I don't know exactly what it was, but I felt very comfortable there. It would take a couple of years to get acclomated to the wintery weather, but I'm pretty sure I could live there.
I really enjoyed spending time with Pat's family, I only wish there was more time to get to know them better. Being on vacation with family away from everyone's home makes it difficult for this to happen. Perhaps if we make it out to upstate New York (Greg's family) or to Burke, Virginia (the rest of the family) or if they came out to San Diego sometime, there would be a better chance for this.
All in all, I had a great time with all the families, being with Nichole and Jude all day for 6 days in a row, eating delicious food and drinking yummy beers (that all gained me 3 pounds), experiencing such a historical city that was so critical to the foundation and formation of our country, being a spectator at the the Boston marathon, and getting away from work for a week.
Well, we finished breakfast and headed back to the hotel to collect our stuff. I forgot to mention something funny that Jude did last night. He was on the bed playing with Nichole's phone, sat up and said "Pad pad," which is how he says iPad. So we told him that Papa has it and that he might be able to see it tomorrow. Well, being the cute kid that he is, he leapt off the bed, stood in the middle of the room and declared "Papa, Papa! Pad pad!" Then he went to the hotel room phone, picked it up, said hello, muttered something, then bye. Nichole texted her parents this and they let him use it that night.
After getting a bit turned around at Logan International Airport, and going through security, we found our gate and waited until it was time to board. In the meantime, I took up our last chance to partake of the yumminess of Dunkin Donuts by getting some coffee, and donuts for later. Time to board, fortunately the three of us were able to retain seats that were next to each other. The ride was fine, longer than I expected (I forgot mid-flight that we were going to Dallas and not Chicago). Jude got a bit restless right before the descent for landing but was then ok.
Our layover in Dallas was only and hour so we barely had enough time to use the restroom, see about getting seats together (when we found out about the flight change, Nichole and Jude's seats were not assigned yet) and grab lunch from Subway. Nichole was not able to get three seats in the same row, her and Jude got in a two seat section right behind first class, so Jude had a good window and Nichole had plenty of leg room. I had an aisle seat about four rows back, so I was able to see them and grab anything from my bag that they needed with ease. I was able to finish the book I started on the trip, Into the Wild. I enjoyed it, thought it was good and gave it 3 stars on http://www.goodreads.com. I do want to see movie that Sean Penn adapted from the book.
We landed about 5, San Diego time, grabbed our luggage while Pat got his explorer and headed back to their house where our car was. After spending a few minutes visiting with Gummy, and getting Jude an apple, we made our way home. Henry was hanging our with Stephanie (her and Andrew took care of him and our cat, Winston, while we were away). I unloaded the car and Stephanie invited us over for dinner.
It was really nice coming home and being with Henry and Winston. Of course, there was a lot more that I would like to have done, i.e. walk the Freedom Trail, go to Haverhill (where my maternal grandfather was from), go to a Red Sox game at Fenway, walk around the city more, go to the Boston Brewing Co. (where Samuel Adams is brewed), but I'm glad we did what we did, for the most part. I do miss Boston already though. I don't know exactly what it was, but I felt very comfortable there. It would take a couple of years to get acclomated to the wintery weather, but I'm pretty sure I could live there.
I really enjoyed spending time with Pat's family, I only wish there was more time to get to know them better. Being on vacation with family away from everyone's home makes it difficult for this to happen. Perhaps if we make it out to upstate New York (Greg's family) or to Burke, Virginia (the rest of the family) or if they came out to San Diego sometime, there would be a better chance for this.
All in all, I had a great time with all the families, being with Nichole and Jude all day for 6 days in a row, eating delicious food and drinking yummy beers (that all gained me 3 pounds), experiencing such a historical city that was so critical to the foundation and formation of our country, being a spectator at the the Boston marathon, and getting away from work for a week.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Boston Day 5
We had to meet our group at 9:30 again this morning, but before we could do this we had to drop our luggage off at Chris & co.'s room. They were staying at the Constitution Inn a day later than we were. Salem was on today's agenda, so we took the shuttle to North Station again where we took a commuter rail about 20 miles north-east to Salem. Breakfast was Dunkin Donuts coffee and a donut.
After what seemed to be a long ride, we finally arrived in Salem. It is a charming old city with a lot of high buildings. There are plenty of tourist and historical points of interest, but our group had wanted to check out the Salem Witch Trial Museum. The building itself looked pretty spectacular and so I thought so would be the tour. I was quite wrong. After waiting a long time, we all were allowed to enter a room and sit around a 9' red circle that had all the names of those who were hanged in the center. On each surrounding wall was a diorama of the events that lead up to and just after the hangings.
While sitting there, they narrated the event and highlighted the diorama as the narration continued. Once this was over, we were led through a hallway with statues of witches popular throughout history to demonstrate how they've evolved. There was a Celtic midwife, a stereotypical Halloween witch, and a modern day Wiccan dressed in ceremonial clothing. This, along with some other facts, just showcased what the museum's intensions were, tolerance, not the Salem witch trials. Then you exit through the gift shop which had a huge array of all things witch related....so go figure.
At this point we were all hungry so we decided to see what was around. Greg some how heard of this pizza place about 10-15 minutes away, so we headed in that direction. Salem is pretty neat, but if I had a nickel for every witch shop, museum, tour there was, I'd break even for this trip. Despite that, there was a really neat center street that was brick lain and surrounded by tall buildings, a majority that were over 200 years old. Finally we found the pizza place and with the thought that some were going to different places nearby and that Wendy and I just had pizza the night before, Pat, Wendy, Jude and I went next door to the Gulu-Gulu Cafe.
The Gulu-Gulu Cafe describes itself as a European style cafe. I would describe it as a cross between Hamilton's, Lestats, Claire De Lune, and Caffe Calabria. The menu features salads, beer, wine, meats, cheeses, wraps, paninis, and desserts. I originally selected the Jolly Pumpkin Madruga Obscura imperial stout on draught but they had just ran out. So reading the menu, a bottle of Stone Highway 78 scotch ale looked appealing. Come to find out, Highway 78 is a 2011 collaboration between 3 of San Diego's top breweries, Green Flash, Pizza Port Carlsbad, and Stone Brewing Co. Holy smokes was it delicious! For food, I ordered the Palermo panini (genoa salami, tomatoes, provolone and pepperoncinis). Sooooo gooood! Nichole got a creme brûlée latte and the Istanbul panini (turkey, mozzarella, tomatoes and pesto). Pat and Wendy each got a plate of toasted bread with a selection of meat and cheese. I had a sample, it it was equally delicious. Definitely will be coming back here if I am ever in the area again.
So, after reconvening with our group, we walked around trying to figure out where to go next. We ended up at the House of Seven Gables. I don't know much about this house other than it is right on the water and was built in the 1600's. Walking through this area was neat because the streets were narrow and the houses were really old. We decided that it was getting later in the afternoon and the kids were getting tired, so we headed back to the train station. On our way there, we passed through the downtown area and I popped into a cafe while the others were checking out the shops. At Cafe Valdeverde, I had a Mayan spiced mocha and Nichole a caramel latte. They were good, I think I prefer Claire de Lune's Mexican mocha. Jude had a cookie, he was getting restless so I needed something to keep him at bay while we had our coffees. He fell asleep a few minutes later. On one hand it was nice because he slept a majority of his nap on the train but on the other hand he missed out on the last train ride of the stay.
The reason the rest of the group was staying a day later than we was because we decided it would be better to spend the last night at hotel that was a lot closer to the airport because our flight is in the morning. The Hilton is across the street. So, we went back to the hotel, bade our goodbyes, grabbed our luggage and took a car service to the hotel where we unloaded and rested in our room for 30-45 minutes. Being a Hilton, the hotel has a restaurant inside where we met Pat and Wendy for dinner. I was quite excited to see on the drink menu the Moscow mule. It has vodka, ginger ale (ginger beer is better), and lime. It was really good, but pales in comparison to that of El Dorado's back home (theirs has vodka, ginger beer, lime, and aromatic bitters). I ordered the Smoking Englishman burger, Colby, produce and bacon. It came with fries and it was a little pricey for the quality of the burger. Nichole had a sapphire royale (Bombay sapphire, cranberry juice and lemonade), and shrimp penne with pesto. Afterwards, we had coffee and shared a Boston creme pie.
The weather was supposed to be warmer today, with a high of 56 degrees. With that in mind and with the sun shining through out window, I decided to forgo my peacoat and wore my thinner jacket. Well, it got colder and the wind picked up like crazy! I soon wished I had my peacoat (BTW, it is from H&M and is made from recycled wool and I had a gift certificate so it only cost me $11!). apparently this area is seeing weather that is a bit colder than average for this time year.
Our flight takes off tomorrow around ten, I think. So,we will grab breakfast at the airport and make our way back home, via a layover in Chicago again.
After what seemed to be a long ride, we finally arrived in Salem. It is a charming old city with a lot of high buildings. There are plenty of tourist and historical points of interest, but our group had wanted to check out the Salem Witch Trial Museum. The building itself looked pretty spectacular and so I thought so would be the tour. I was quite wrong. After waiting a long time, we all were allowed to enter a room and sit around a 9' red circle that had all the names of those who were hanged in the center. On each surrounding wall was a diorama of the events that lead up to and just after the hangings.
While sitting there, they narrated the event and highlighted the diorama as the narration continued. Once this was over, we were led through a hallway with statues of witches popular throughout history to demonstrate how they've evolved. There was a Celtic midwife, a stereotypical Halloween witch, and a modern day Wiccan dressed in ceremonial clothing. This, along with some other facts, just showcased what the museum's intensions were, tolerance, not the Salem witch trials. Then you exit through the gift shop which had a huge array of all things witch related....so go figure.
At this point we were all hungry so we decided to see what was around. Greg some how heard of this pizza place about 10-15 minutes away, so we headed in that direction. Salem is pretty neat, but if I had a nickel for every witch shop, museum, tour there was, I'd break even for this trip. Despite that, there was a really neat center street that was brick lain and surrounded by tall buildings, a majority that were over 200 years old. Finally we found the pizza place and with the thought that some were going to different places nearby and that Wendy and I just had pizza the night before, Pat, Wendy, Jude and I went next door to the Gulu-Gulu Cafe.
The Gulu-Gulu Cafe describes itself as a European style cafe. I would describe it as a cross between Hamilton's, Lestats, Claire De Lune, and Caffe Calabria. The menu features salads, beer, wine, meats, cheeses, wraps, paninis, and desserts. I originally selected the Jolly Pumpkin Madruga Obscura imperial stout on draught but they had just ran out. So reading the menu, a bottle of Stone Highway 78 scotch ale looked appealing. Come to find out, Highway 78 is a 2011 collaboration between 3 of San Diego's top breweries, Green Flash, Pizza Port Carlsbad, and Stone Brewing Co. Holy smokes was it delicious! For food, I ordered the Palermo panini (genoa salami, tomatoes, provolone and pepperoncinis). Sooooo gooood! Nichole got a creme brûlée latte and the Istanbul panini (turkey, mozzarella, tomatoes and pesto). Pat and Wendy each got a plate of toasted bread with a selection of meat and cheese. I had a sample, it it was equally delicious. Definitely will be coming back here if I am ever in the area again.
So, after reconvening with our group, we walked around trying to figure out where to go next. We ended up at the House of Seven Gables. I don't know much about this house other than it is right on the water and was built in the 1600's. Walking through this area was neat because the streets were narrow and the houses were really old. We decided that it was getting later in the afternoon and the kids were getting tired, so we headed back to the train station. On our way there, we passed through the downtown area and I popped into a cafe while the others were checking out the shops. At Cafe Valdeverde, I had a Mayan spiced mocha and Nichole a caramel latte. They were good, I think I prefer Claire de Lune's Mexican mocha. Jude had a cookie, he was getting restless so I needed something to keep him at bay while we had our coffees. He fell asleep a few minutes later. On one hand it was nice because he slept a majority of his nap on the train but on the other hand he missed out on the last train ride of the stay.
The reason the rest of the group was staying a day later than we was because we decided it would be better to spend the last night at hotel that was a lot closer to the airport because our flight is in the morning. The Hilton is across the street. So, we went back to the hotel, bade our goodbyes, grabbed our luggage and took a car service to the hotel where we unloaded and rested in our room for 30-45 minutes. Being a Hilton, the hotel has a restaurant inside where we met Pat and Wendy for dinner. I was quite excited to see on the drink menu the Moscow mule. It has vodka, ginger ale (ginger beer is better), and lime. It was really good, but pales in comparison to that of El Dorado's back home (theirs has vodka, ginger beer, lime, and aromatic bitters). I ordered the Smoking Englishman burger, Colby, produce and bacon. It came with fries and it was a little pricey for the quality of the burger. Nichole had a sapphire royale (Bombay sapphire, cranberry juice and lemonade), and shrimp penne with pesto. Afterwards, we had coffee and shared a Boston creme pie.
The weather was supposed to be warmer today, with a high of 56 degrees. With that in mind and with the sun shining through out window, I decided to forgo my peacoat and wore my thinner jacket. Well, it got colder and the wind picked up like crazy! I soon wished I had my peacoat (BTW, it is from H&M and is made from recycled wool and I had a gift certificate so it only cost me $11!). apparently this area is seeing weather that is a bit colder than average for this time year.
Our flight takes off tomorrow around ten, I think. So,we will grab breakfast at the airport and make our way back home, via a layover in Chicago again.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Boston Day 4
Today was a bit more relaxed than yesterday; we didn't meet the other group until much later on. Rather than grabbing a coffee and pastry from the local Tadesci mart, we decided to see what breakfast establishment was good nearby. Nichole used Foursquare (a location based social network application on her phone) and the Grasshopper Cafe had really good reviews. After walking about 20 minutes through seemingly shady areas, nice row houses, and various shops, we came across the hole in the wall cafe. It was really nice! Super quiet and clean, and cutely decorated for Easter. Nichole, Wendy and I got coffee while Pat got some iced tea. The coffee was really good! I ordered the Towny Toast, 4 slices of cinnamon toast with a dollop of Bailey's whipped cream on top; Nichole got The Monument, 4 cinnamon pancakes covered in a cinnamon-banana sauce (imagine a banana pie filling). Holy Moses! It was delicious! This was definitely worth the walk and highly recommended!
The cafe was just a few minutes away from the Battle of Bunker Hill monument, so we made our way there. It was pretty amazing to stand atop Breed's Hill where the battle was fought (this hill was thought to have been Bunker Hill due to a cartographical mistake) where the Revolutionary War began. It is also the start of the Freedom Trial.
Nichole had wanted to go to the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum, which was located southwest of Boston. So we made our way by subway to the museum, which is pretty close to North Eastern University. Isabella Stewart Gardner was an American art collector, philantropist, and one of the foremost female patron of the arts. Her home, of which she filled with works of art though out her lifetime, is now the museum. It is spectacular! Photos were not allowed, so I can't show you any, but there were amazing and breathtaking pieces from tapestries, wood carvings, stone carvings, paintings, furniture, etc. If you are ever in Boston, I highly recommend it.
(Double brick line though out Boston signifies the Freedom Trail)
From the museum, we decided to head back into town to grab some lunch. Pat had a good idea, that we eat at the original Cheers bar. On our way there, we walked through Boston Common Park.
So on a street corner on Beacon Hill, where the Hampshire House restaurant is located, there was a bar called the Bull and the Finich. I couldn't find when or how it came to be, but the name of the bar got changed to Cheers, where the TV show got its inspiration. I had the Boston Brick Red (Sam Adams Irish Red) Carla's petite burger, Nichole had a Woodchuck hard cider and Fraiser's chicken panini. It was all delicious and I would eat there again.
We made our way back towards the park, but this time we went through the Boston Public Garden, which is adjacent to the Boston Common Park. In an effort to add more public parks and level some of the hilly area, Boston undertook several landfill projects from early on in the city's history. Boston Public Garden is one of the results of this. It is said that, while in Boston, if you are on a street that is narrow and curvy, it is probably original to the founding of the city; if it is wider and straight, it is built on landfill. One of the neat things of this park is that it is where the children's beloved story, Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McClusky, takes place. To commorate this, there is a bronze statue of the ducks in the park. Also, across from this park is the State's capital building.
(State capital building)
Somehow we soon found ourselves in what I think was Boston's financial district. It was really neat seeing reall old buildings and curvy streets next to newer buildings. We also stopped at a Dunkin Donuts for an afternoon coffee. The subway station was near by so we took it to where we needed to get off so we could meet up with the rest of the group for dinner. Or so we thought. Once we got on the subway, we realized that Jude had a poopy diaper blowout. Off to the hotel! Jude was a really good sport about getting all cleaned up.
Finally we met up with the group at Boston Beer Works, a local microbrewery, near the North Station (subway stop by the TD Garden, where the Bruins and Celtics play) and where free shuttle drops us off/picks us up. I first had the Buckeye oatmeal stout. Super good! I think I prefer it over the one from the Brew House back home. For dinner, Wendy split a BBQ chicken pizza, whiich was also really good, even though it seemed it like it had an entire chicken on it. After the stout I had the Extra Special Red, which was good but a bit too hoppy for me.
Finally, we took the shuttle back to the hotel to retire for the night. Tomorrow we will meet up wit the group in the morning to head over to Salem and check out the with trial museum and site.
The cafe was just a few minutes away from the Battle of Bunker Hill monument, so we made our way there. It was pretty amazing to stand atop Breed's Hill where the battle was fought (this hill was thought to have been Bunker Hill due to a cartographical mistake) where the Revolutionary War began. It is also the start of the Freedom Trial.
Nichole had wanted to go to the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum, which was located southwest of Boston. So we made our way by subway to the museum, which is pretty close to North Eastern University. Isabella Stewart Gardner was an American art collector, philantropist, and one of the foremost female patron of the arts. Her home, of which she filled with works of art though out her lifetime, is now the museum. It is spectacular! Photos were not allowed, so I can't show you any, but there were amazing and breathtaking pieces from tapestries, wood carvings, stone carvings, paintings, furniture, etc. If you are ever in Boston, I highly recommend it.
(Double brick line though out Boston signifies the Freedom Trail)
From the museum, we decided to head back into town to grab some lunch. Pat had a good idea, that we eat at the original Cheers bar. On our way there, we walked through Boston Common Park.
So on a street corner on Beacon Hill, where the Hampshire House restaurant is located, there was a bar called the Bull and the Finich. I couldn't find when or how it came to be, but the name of the bar got changed to Cheers, where the TV show got its inspiration. I had the Boston Brick Red (Sam Adams Irish Red) Carla's petite burger, Nichole had a Woodchuck hard cider and Fraiser's chicken panini. It was all delicious and I would eat there again.
We made our way back towards the park, but this time we went through the Boston Public Garden, which is adjacent to the Boston Common Park. In an effort to add more public parks and level some of the hilly area, Boston undertook several landfill projects from early on in the city's history. Boston Public Garden is one of the results of this. It is said that, while in Boston, if you are on a street that is narrow and curvy, it is probably original to the founding of the city; if it is wider and straight, it is built on landfill. One of the neat things of this park is that it is where the children's beloved story, Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McClusky, takes place. To commorate this, there is a bronze statue of the ducks in the park. Also, across from this park is the State's capital building.
(State capital building)
Somehow we soon found ourselves in what I think was Boston's financial district. It was really neat seeing reall old buildings and curvy streets next to newer buildings. We also stopped at a Dunkin Donuts for an afternoon coffee. The subway station was near by so we took it to where we needed to get off so we could meet up with the rest of the group for dinner. Or so we thought. Once we got on the subway, we realized that Jude had a poopy diaper blowout. Off to the hotel! Jude was a really good sport about getting all cleaned up.
Finally we met up with the group at Boston Beer Works, a local microbrewery, near the North Station (subway stop by the TD Garden, where the Bruins and Celtics play) and where free shuttle drops us off/picks us up. I first had the Buckeye oatmeal stout. Super good! I think I prefer it over the one from the Brew House back home. For dinner, Wendy split a BBQ chicken pizza, whiich was also really good, even though it seemed it like it had an entire chicken on it. After the stout I had the Extra Special Red, which was good but a bit too hoppy for me.
Finally, we took the shuttle back to the hotel to retire for the night. Tomorrow we will meet up wit the group in the morning to head over to Salem and check out the with trial museum and site.
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