Veritas

Rockapella in Boston

Days 3 and 4

Saturday and Sunday, September 15-16, 2012

Liz and I got up and notified Jenn and KP so that we could decide on what time to meet.  We went downstairs to get some coffee and pastries for our breakfast at the Starbucks inside the hotel.  Our barista was very, very slow, because she was so deliberate in everything she did, from picking up a pastry to putting it in the bag and also everything else.  I grew so impatient that I went back upstairs to the hotel room to wait for Liz.  We enjoyed our breakfast in our room then took the shuttle to the Green Line stop.  We didn't really know what we were doing, because nobody told us how we should pay for our fare, and the signs only had maps of the stops.  So I nudged Liz to talk to a woman standing nearby, whom was calmly smoking a cigarette.  She told us that we could just pay on the train.  Thank goodness we had cash.  She was carrying her violin, and is attending Boston College.  She was a bit surprised that I knew that it was a violin, because most people ask if she plays the saxophone or viola.  I told her that since I played the violin for 9 years, so I'd better know what the case looks like.  She was really nice.  She also helped another lady that didn't know what she was doing either.  So that's the lesson out there for y'all:  ask the smoking violinist if you want to know how to take the train.  At our stop, Liz and I bought all-day passes, since we would be sightseeing all day.

We met up with Jenn and KP at the Westin lobby after some confusion as to which lobby we were actually located at the time.  Turns out that the hotel had 2 lobbies, so I had no idea where I was sitting.  We were originally going to take the train everywhere, but realized that it would take too long to get to the JFK Presidential Library (not the airport).  Jenn and I saw quite a few items in the election portion that ran parallel to our current election.  One of my favorite quotes was an answer that JFK gave when asked about being a Catholic in the running.  He said, "It is not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me, but what kind of America I believe in."  

So Pretty!

There was also a special Jackie Kennedy exhibit of her 1964 oral history interview.  Several of her beautiful dresses were on display.  We also marveled at the portion of Kennedy's legacy with NASA and his dream of the United States being the first to land on the moon.

KP and Freedom 7

 There was also plenty of other displays, including a portion about the Cuban Missile Crisis, as well as a tribute to Robert F. Kennedy, which included a replica of his office when he was JFK's Attorney General.  As I approached the final hallway, I took a deep breath, as I saw that it was dark and on the entry wall was just the date: "November 22, 1963".  One of the walls in the hallway was completely blank, and the other wall contained several screens that were showing video of the reporting of that awful day, as well as of the funeral.  I stood back silently as I made sure to watch the entire film, and tears were in my eyes as I walked out.  After that room was a lot of quotes and symbols of JFK's legacy.  He really did accomplish a lot in his presidency, and he made me proud to be an American.  

The Presidential Seal

At the gift shop, Liz and I could not resist buying pearls that were replicas of Jackie's.  I mean, hello, it's soooo Jackie, and we were there, and I don't know why I need to justify this at all.  I also bought JFK's book, "Profiles of Courage".

Wanna Be Jackie's Pearls

We took the red line to Harvard, and I found a post office so that I could buy stamps for a postcard that I needed to send to Cindy.  Before walking around Harvard, we got some lunch at Legal Seafood because Jenn's co-workers and JT told us that we should go there.  I had a lobster roll, which was AMAZING.  If I had money, I'd eat that all the time.  But it's sold at Market Price, so it was pricey.  I highly recommend it, though, if you're ever on the East Coast.  I'm pretty sure it's the same chain where we were told to go for "real crab cakes" when Liz and I were visiting Marg for President Obama's inauguration.  She had one, and it was delicious (you know I needed to try it).  Jenn and I also had Watermelon Chiller Martinis which were lovely, and cold.  Too cold for Jenn, who bit down on the cube of watermelon, thinking that it wouldn't be so very chilled.  Oops.  

We then went shopping at the only Curious George store in the world, where I got a purple banana eraser.  We then shopped at the Harvard co-op, where I learned that they do not make Harvard underwear.  So I don't know where Justin Timberlake got his for "The Social Network".  I bought a shirt with the Harvard crests instead.  Jenn was a bit tired from all the work she had been doing before the weekend, so she went back to the hotel, and the 3 of us explored the not-so-Ivy-covered grounds of Harvard University.

At Widener Memorial Library

 We made sure to get a picture of the Music building for me, the Drama building for Liz's daughter, the Law building for Liz's husband, and the Science building for KP, which housed the Mathematics Department.

Sher's Building

John Harvard-- notice the toe is shiny

They did not have maps of the campus anywhere nearby, so we had to rely on the internet.  I was irritated at times by the slow internet, and commented at different times, "Aren't we at Harvard?"  "So this is where Facebook was invented."  "They should have better cell service!"  I liked seeing all of the brick, and I made sure to touch John Harvard's toe.  Well, not his *real* toe because that would be really gross by now, but his statue's toe in Harvard Yard. 





We saw that a wedding was concluding inside Appleton chapel, so we stuck around to see the bride and groom exit the church.  At the Drama building, Liz got a shirt for Jordan, and while we were waiting, KP and I sat in the lobby of the theater, where they were letting people in for a play.  KP heard the ticket taker say, "There will be a 15-hour intermission," and we were like, "Whoa, do you go home and take a nap and then come back?"  Then when Liz was done with her purchase, we marveled at the Tony Awards on display for "Porgy and Bess".

I needed to find a restroom, and we found a tea place. I don't know why I thought it was closed, because there were clearly people inside ordering stuff.  So we went inside L.A. Burdick, and I had a Rose Green Tea and a couple of macarons, cinnamon and pistachio.  Liz had a Chocolate Ganache Lemon Cake, and KP ordered a Harvard Square, which was quite rich.  Our numbers were etched into dried coffee bean shells.  Or some kind of pod.   After looking in another shop that might have Harvard underwear (they did not), we bought stuff at the Gap so that Liz could return my favor from the previous morning.  We then said our goodbyes to Karla and hopped onto different trains.  

Our train stop was a bit of walk from our hotel, and I relied on my cell phone to get us back home safely.  Guess where we passed by?  M.I.T.  Again.  But at least we figured out where we were going.  By then, we knew that we needed to eat something substantial, so we decided to eat at the hotel, because we were just exhausted from all of the walking around.  Jenn couldn't decide on what she wanted to do because she was very tired, so KP took a taxi to our hotel and we had dinner downstairs at Zephyr.  I had a white pizza with spinach, and asked for my coffee to be spiked with some Amaretto, because I was still thinking of my drink from the previous evening.  Liz and KP each ordered calamari, and the servings turned out to be huge.  Oh well.  We still enjoyed ourselves and the view of the river from the dining room, and we also went outside for a bit so that I could take night time view pictures.  Liz and I then walked KP to the front, so that the doorman could hail a cab for her.  A cab came very quickly, so KP opened the door, and there were people inside.  I yelled out, "Welcome to the Hyatt Cambridge!"  Drunk people got out of the car.  Liz and I giggled hysterically.  I texted Jenn to let her know that KP was on her way back to the hotel, and she should open the door with a cheerful greeting of "Welcome to the Westin!"  But they didn't get it. I guess KP didn't hear me before all of the giggling happened.

When KP left, Liz and I packed our bags (well, I packed, since Liz hadn't really unpacked), and slept quite well.

In the morning, KP and Jenn came over and we had breakfast downstairs, where the service was very, very slow.  While we were still waiting for our breakfast to arrive, Liz had the buffet and took off to buy something at a Running store near Faneuil Hall.  I was having my usual morning crankiness and was highly irritated with the service and the no-apologies from the server.  But at least our view was lovely, and my friends are tolerant of my crazy moods.  Thanks, my Posse.  KP and Jenn had some more sightseeing to do, and Liz and I had a plane to catch, so they took off while I waited for Liz to return.  

One Last Photo From Our Room

Our flights were pleasantly uneventful.  We had a long wait at Midway, which is kind of good because our gate was in BFE (really, really, far away--so far that we were literally across the street from a residential area), and we also had time to eat dinner at Harry Carey's restaurant.  By the time we got to LAX, it was very late at night Pacific Time, so I didn't wait to see Joe, but all that matters is that we both had our luggage.

Thank you for a great time, ladies!  I hope that it's not too long until we're together again for another Rockapella adventure!