What a trip! My first extended time vacation with my old friend Brent was a rousing success, and I’m convinced we squeezed every ounce of living we could out of the two days we had. The drive there was long and uneventful, and upon arriving at 9, I convinced Brent to join me at The Cheesecake Factory for some grub. He had the fish and chips alongside a Samuel Adams Summer Ale while I enjoyed their chicken tacos and a Blue Moon Belgian White Ale. It was quickly back to the room to sleep for our first big day.
We were out of the room and off to the train before 8:30 on Friday in hopes of getting an early start. The train dropped us off in the TD Banknorth Garden – heretofore known as “my house” due to my ECHL Bruins calling it home – and we waited for the Pro Shop to open to no avail. A few minutes after 10 it was off to the North End and Mike’s Pastry for a cannoli, an absolute must in Boston. The North End – known by everyone but Bostonites as “Little Italy” – is my favourite area of town. It’s almost like you’ve stepped back in time to see the old shops and architecture, great hilly roads often laced in cobblestone and brick; it was just a thrill to walk through. We briefly did a Geocache search but the previous rains were making it hard so we continued on into the downtown core and through to Boston Common, a massive park in the middle of town.
It was here that Brent got his first real taste of Geocaching as we sought out Troll Lord Magnar amongst the World War I statues upon a hill. It didn’t take long to find it, scrawl our names in, and take the required picture with Magnar himself as we took in the rest of the Commons. We were approaching 1PM along Newbury Street (think Toronto’s Yorkville mixed with Ottawa’s Sparks Street and you’re close) and popped into Joe’s American for a libation: Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat for me, Samuel Adams Boston Lager for Brent. Minutes later we were refreshed and back on the go. We ventured back from the end of Newbury – and my favourite Newbury Comics store – through Chinatown and down by the Wharf, then back up to Beacon Hill to seek out Louisburg Square. This small square of townhomes was a unique design many years ago, never replicated due to space issues, and now valued at over $6,000,000 per home for a townhouse. Wild. Beacon Hill, much like the North End, is rife with history, old buildings, thin stone streets, and unique store fronts that are so interesting it’s hard to leave them.
It was down to the famous Bukowski’s Tavern, dangling precariously over I90, for what I thought would be a spin of the Wheel of Indecision for Brent. Instead we opted to try some of their amazing draught offerings – a Berkshire River Ale for Brent, and a hand-pumped Berkshire Whoa Heavy Scotch Ale on cask for me. At 7% and 8%, coupled with a day in the sun, I reluctantly admit we were both feeling less pain when we left than we were when we went in. Bukowski’s, it should be shared, also offer $1.89 burgers and dogs on weekdays, so we each enjoyed a burger for less than a third of what our beers cost. Off we continued to Norman B Leventhal Park at Post Office Square, yet another in an unending series of urban parks, for a virtual Geocache we quickly swallowed up. The GPS held only two more – near Fenway – that we were saving for Saturday, and we were left wishing I’d stored a few more. General walking made way to more hunger (heat stroke was settling in, but we didn’t know that yet) so we headed off to Durgin Park within Faneuil Hall, and home of cheap seafood served by ornery staff as the promise goes. Sadly, our waitress was quite nice, and Brent enjoyed a Fish Chowder while I sampled the Clam Chowder and Boston Baked Beans. It was roughly 7:30 at this point but both entering a state of exhaustion we decided to call it a night to save our energy for the game on Saturday and headed back – with a six of Sam Adams Honey Porter in hand, of course.
Saturday we allowed ourselves the luxury of sleeping in and started our day with a subway trek to Samuel Adams brewery for 11:30 or so. It was an entertaining tour of the original brewery culminating in samples of their Boston Lager, Summer Ale, and the not-yet-released Dunkel Weiss. All three great, the Dunkel probably the best of the style (Dunkel + Weiss) I’ve tried. Nice work, Koch! I saw a ton of barrels holding Samuel Adams Utopias 2006 batch, which makes me angry, and my request to stab it with a pen and suck it dry was denied by the tour guide amidst laughter from the others. Sad. Back to searching eBay, it would seem. From here it was directly to Fenway for an attempt at dinner before the game that had brought us to town in the first place. Our first choice – Boston Beer Works – was lined up for days and we had to settle for the only nearby watering hole without a line, Uno Chicago Grill. A decent lunch was had alongside a Samuel Adams Boston Ale for me, and we were off to our seats in centre field.
Fenway is amazing! I can’t say enough about my first experience at an authentic, old-school baseball park. It all started outside where a massive street party had begun with literally thousands of people across all sides. Every single person seemed to be sporting something Red Sox – sorry, Leafs fans, but Red Sox fans are far more passionate about their team, as much as it shocked me to realize that. It was something to behold. The stadium itself was a thrill, a wonder to behold with the Green Monster, giant scoreboard over our heads, and neon Budweiser and Coca-Cola signs that were all too familiar to me as a Sox fan. The fans were loud and fun, the game was boring (11-2, almost all runs coming via bases-loaded walks!), and the experience was everything I’d hoped. I even ate ice cream from a helmet! We were pumped as we left, convinced the trip was entirely worth it, and quickly polished off two Geocaches (Victory Cache and Muddy River Cache) along the Emerald Necklace park system that surrounds Fenway’s general area. It was a long walk back from one end of town to the other, taking it all in as we walked, and ending in a 10:30 dinner at the oldest restaurant in America – Union Oyster House, established in 1826. It took us an hour to get in and only 26 minutes to polish off our dinners and my Harpoon Dark, but Brent noted it was well worth it. Back to the hotel we headed to catch some sleep before the long drive home on Sunday.
I managed to interrupt my long haul back with a long-delayed stop in Saratoga Springs to meet some long-time Interweb pals, Laura and Julie. I’ve known the two of them for far too long without having actually met them, and while we only had an hour to chat over an afternoon breakfast, it was a great time and I loved the opportunity. Next time it’s frilly hats and horses, ladies!
And that’s that! Photo albums over at Facebook, I encourage you all to take a look, I think they’re quite good. Don’t understimate Boston as a destination – I’ve traveled to a large number of cities worldwide, and Boston is in my top two. A truly historical, exciting destination with something to offer everyone.