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August 18, 2001
Vacation!
Joanne headed back home to Canada today. My vacation is officially over. I'm tired, but happy -- it was a good week, overall. I'll try to condense it down, though it may take more than one enrty -- plus, I need Joanne to scan photos so I can post them.
Last Friday, I woke at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m. to pick up Joanne from the airport. It was hot and humid, so we went back to my place and sweltered in front of the fan, too wilted to move. Eventually we got the energy together to head into Boston, where we checked into a hotel for the evening (my roommate had issues with my having friends from out of town staying with me -- it's a long and unpleasant story, and one of the many reasons why I am moving* in a couple of weeks.) We dropped off our stuff, and headed off to the ironically-named Shangri-La Chinese restaurant for dinner. There was no one else in the restaurant, and the food was good, but we were far too busy talking to eat. After dinner, we headed back to Logan to meet PlaidRabbit, blissfully unaware of the horrors that awaited us...
Upon arriving at Logan, I noticed that Plaid's flight number was not on the board. This perplexed me. I then noticed the crowds of unhappy travellerts, and the fact that all the flights to and from Charlotte had been cancelled. I called and checked my voise mail, and found a message from Plaidy saying he was stuck in Charlotte, and wasn't sure when he'd arrive. The next five hours were spent pacing up and down, checking the voice mail every few minutes for further updates, and waiting. Waiting, waiting, and for variety, waiting some more. Joanne and I played several rounds of "Mock the Passenger" -- it was really too easy, in most cases. We also had a long, probably frightening discussion about the words one should not say in an airport (sparked by my confession that I had a compulsion to yell all of those words -- "Bomb!" for example -- very loudly) and the probing by security which would likely follow. Plaid finally arrived at midnight -- just missing Joanne and I laughing so hard that we couldn't breathe at the sight of a man very passionately kissing a dog -- it was creepy, really. This guy liked dogs a little too much, it seems -- and we decided we should form the North American Man-Dog Love Association, or NAMDLA for short. If Plaid had arrived at that point, I think he would have taken one look at us and gotten back on the plane home.
Once Plaid finally arrived, we went in search of a way home -- there didn't seem to be any shuttle buses to the subway (though now that I think about it, I bet we were in the wrong area for those. Oh, well) so an off-duty cab driver gave us a ride. We got to the hotel, talked for a while, then collapsed and slept.
Saturday, we woke up late and ventured out to find food and meet my roommate for coffee. (She wanted to meet Plaidy and make sure he wasn't a psycho. We convinced him to leave his chainsaw at home, so it went well.) That done, we wandered around shopping, and did some sightseeing, and saw a movie (Memento, at last -- very, veryy good). We finished the evening with a walk down Boylston street, a trip to the top of the Hancock Tower, and a stroll across the Boston Common. In the dark, I'm sure it looked lovely.
Sunday... here's where the week starts to blur. Sunday, we went to the Aquarium, and cooed at the little blue penguins, and looked at the fish, and saw the sea lion show. After that, we... um. Well, I think we shopped, and I know we ate, and beyond that, I have a blurry memory of walking and T-riding and such.
Monday, we planned to go to Kenmore Square and Harvard Square, but I conveniently got a migraine as soon as we got downtown. Since I couldn't see and could barely walk, it was decided that we would go home, I would go to bed, and Joanne and Plaidy would go out, armed with my keys and a T map, and explore. I took a brief nap, and was awakened by the phone -- Eric calling to say he was in town, with his girlfriend. Joy. They drove in and we all went out to eat -- and I will refrain from making catty remarks, because I'm not dating her, but man, Eric's girl is unpleasant. I told Joanne and Plaid later, that day could only have been improved by my running into Barry, then being hit repeatedly by a bus.
Tuesday -- we did laundry! So exciting! I know how to show my guests a good time, let me tell you! After that, it was off to Suffolk Downs, to the Radiohead concert. The show was excellent -- we had a good view of the stage, they played almost all the songs I wanted to hear... with the exception of a few idiots trying to jump the fence to get to the front section, the people around us were nice (and security dealt swiftly with those who did leap the fence, so it was all good). Standing for five hours wasn't fun, and poor Plaid had to deal with me clinging to his shoulder -- I get claustrophobic in crowds, and I kept getting pushed and was afraid I'd fall over. Getting home afterward was a challenge -- the T was a mob scene, and all the cabs were full. We finally wandered into a liquor store, where one of the owners offered us a ride home, in exchange for whatever we would have paid a cab. Hey, it was an extra $17 for him, plus a ride for us -- it worked out well. Once home, we collapsed -- I am too old for such festivities!
That should do it for now -- I'll wrap up the rest of the vacation later. Maybe even tomorrow! Maybe there will be photos!
* The good news -- I am moving September 1st! And, even better, I am moving into
Posted by Mary Ellen at August 18, 2001 08:30 PM