Boston 2025

[Greg]

Heading to Boston in the wee small hours. Going to attend the wedding of my cousins daughter. This cousin, Natalie, had been super attentive to my mother, coming to visit on multiple occasions. I thought I should return the favor.

We'll actually be staying south of Boston about halfway to the Rhode Island Border. That is where the groom's family hails from. 

My two sisters and their broods will be in attendance. Since I'm currently not on the best of terms with either of them due to estate arguments, it will make for a fun weekend. After talking to non-antarctic sister yesterday, I had a tremendous urge not to go. C'est la vi. Time to buy a new Tufts T-shirt.

[Drunk Monk]

Safe travels!

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I hope you all have more fun than you think you will. Safe travels!

[Greg]

Made it to Denver, home of Voodoo Donuts.

[Greg]

I'll probably jinx it but the flight went smoothly, had barely any time for the layover in Denver but still made our connector. Discovered they have a Voodoo donuts in the airport. No frog patrolling in front though.

Had dinner with two of the five Lynch cousins. It was lovely to hang out and chat and catch up and spill the tea.

Something has changed about people in the Northeast. Everyone we have met has been gracious, courteous, and helpful. That's not how I remember it. Case in point. We stopped to get some flowers for our host. I grabbed two bouquets and then asked the florist at the Stop and Go if she would wrap them all in one bundle. She was probably the slowest florist in existence but then she started grabbing extra flowers to fill out the bouquet just because she felt it needed. After wrapping this considerably large bouquet in plastic she wrapped the whole thing in ribbons, curling the ends of the ribbons by running them over a scissors. No extra charge.

I'm wondering if the alien invasion has started here in Massachusetts? If so, I'm down.

Today is lunch with the bride and her parents then off to the North End to make pilgrimage to my father's favorite pizza place in the North End, Pizza Regina, to pay homage.

[Drunk Monk]

Pizza pilgrimage FTW!

[Greg]

Another very nice day.

We went to lunch at the Sixties Diner with the Bride and groom and my cousin Natalie. I couldn't believe they had time during Wedding prep to have lunch with the blow-ins from California. I was really surprised the Groom was there. We don't know him from Adam. And worst (best) of all he had another lunch date with his friends down in the North End of Boston.

We took the subway into downtown after lunch. Brought old memories. Speaking of Franchises that have passed, the two biggest department stores that were a constant presence in early years, Jordan Marsh and Filene's, have closed. There are plaques on both buildings to announce their histories.

We walked over to the State House for some snaps and then to the Granary Cemetery, final resting place of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, Mother Goose, and John Hancock. There were some really great tombstone work in there.

Our walk took us over to Faneuil Hall and Marketplace. I was hoping to go upstairs at the Faneuil Hall to see some old haunts of the family but it was closed due to the government shutdown. F DJT.

We walked the North End including a stop at the Old North Church to see Paul Revere and his horse. The Queen accosted every dog she saw, demanding pets. For dinner, we dined at the 99 year old Pizza Regina, my father's go to. I used to give him a lot of crap about the place back in the day, compared to a real pizza place like Jake's. But I come here every time. It's always good. They have a chain of restaurants around Massachusetts now, but nothing tastes like the original fresh from that million year old oven. Even at 4:45 we had to stand in line. The place was packed. Unfortunately, the Queen and I were still a bit full from lunch so didn't do the pizza justice.

My sisters had floated the idea of going to the Regina Pizzeria and I told them I was already going. Their plan of insanity was to show up at around 7:30 with a party of 8. On a Friday night. I just want a camera to see how that went because it can't have gone well. They aren't really set up for large parties.

We were too full for after dinner cannolis at the famous bakeries on Hannover street. Which was good because both Mike's Bakery and Modern Bakery had huge lines outside their establishments. Most restaurants in the North End did. I can't imagine how bad the lines will be later in the evening.

Passed through a nice outdoor fruit and veg market on Haymarket street on our way to the T station. Took the subway back out to Quincy Adams and our car. Crashed way too early and got up way too early on Saturday.

[Greg]

Another slow day...

At breakfast in the hotel buffet room an 82 year old vet decided to talk to us. Or me rather. The Queen studiously ignored him while reading a book on her iPad. He was from Charlestown but currently lives in Tampa. He's back in the area to sell his sister's house and close up her estate. It was all well and good until he mentioned how smart our current president is. Things got a little hairy after that. I mentioned the Argentine bailout which he didn't believe because he'd never heard of it. We debated who had drugs in the White House. The typical back and forth.

We drove to Cambridge so I could see my Grandfather's house on Lake View one last time. The first thing we noticed was the dead rabbit in the driveway. Not a great start. The interior was just as I remember it, if a little worse for wear. I'm still mad they stripped the paint from the stairs and tore out the 100 year old flush toilet tank. I talked to the neighbor who was unhappy we sold to a developer. But I think this neighbor has always been unhappy with us.

After parking in Harvard Square and some shopping in the Coop (Harvard's Student Store) we took the Red Line to the Downtown Crossing station to get some lunch before the demonstration. I put together my sign on the table inside of Potbellies. The demonstration was quite large but friendly. It was held in the corner of the Boston Common. The most enjoyable part was seeing everyone's signs and spotting inflatable costumes. The Queen found a lot of dogs to pet. The lineup of speakers and musicians was pretty poor with the exception of Boston's mayor. It didn't help the sound system made it impossible for us in the back to hear. The sound did get a little better as the day wore on. The overhead helicopter also made for poor listening.

After the third subpar musical act we left to head back to Harvard Square. We were not alone in our exodus.

I screwed up the ticket trying to leave the parking lot trying unsuccessfully to use the wrong ticket to get out of the parking lot. That was fun. The attendant looked at me with such scorn.

Saturday night was the rehearsal dinner at Trattoria Romano over in Mansfield. The Nephew, His Wife, and daughter were at our table. Along with my Qi Vampire cousin and the sister who isn't speaking to me. The nephew and I had a long talk about hard drive storage solutions. Well, he talked and I barely understood what he was going on about. The Queen was very good talking to all members of my family and other party guests. I was tasked with filming the speeches which necessitated me being on my knees for an extended period of time. Not a good thing.

Dress code was casual so I wore jeans and a polo shirt. Yeah, I didn't realize it was New England which meant blazers and dress shirts with no ties. The ladies all had on very nice dresses. I was the schlubby one in my Carhart hoody. 

Then it was back to the hotel for sleep. Tomorrow, we do the wedding.

[Drunk Monk]

The first thing we noticed was the dead rabbit in the driveway. Not a great start. 

Ominous