Winging it in...Boston!

Why didn't you tell me you were some sort of Alaskan Kennedy?

I really don’t think things have slowed down much this week either, although it is now a long weekend and time for much needed sleep and a relaxation day is way over due. Not that I am being whingy, I have had a great few weeks and everyone has been incredibly friendly and organized so many things in the evenings. I have certainly managed to eat in a few different places this week and collate a list of more places to go to next week, so many and so few weekends in fact that mid week also has to be utilized!
On the boring and functional front I have added some toss pillows, and drapes to the lounge, I’m not sure it looks any more homely, just a variation in color. I really need to get on a “How To… Decorate Like A Girl” course. I don’t understand how it can be so hard. I just don’t get it! It never looks artistic, just a random mix match of objects, color schemes and items if I try anything more than hanging a drape and putting a cushion on a sofa- in all fairness I’m not really that great at doing those thing. Other people seem to just have effortless chic….
This week I have joined the Fenway Young Professionals group. It was prompted by a Thursday evening social gathering that a small group of us attended. I wasn’t sure how “young” you had to be, and despite their claim that anything under 40 counted I think some people had managed to sneak about 25 years under the radar. Anyway, it was a very strange evening and I have decided I live near some very odd people. They all seemed fairly keen to hand out cards and talk up their businesses, despite the fact that even I have scoped out the area enough to realize they may be exaggerating their success slightly! I did also get a little uneasy when the application form asked how much volunteer work I would like to commit to and the type of help I was interested in giving… did they not realize the only reason I was there and that I would attend the next event in March was the free food and drink in the local bar? I can’t possibly be the only person that saw the value in that.
Friday evening nearly saw my first adventure in the T for this Boston trip. But walking and taxis seemed so much more acceptable. Well walking to the bar to meet people I worked with was easier to start with, and taxis home are always the way to go. I have had the chance to get to know quite a few people this week, and Saturday’s trip to Ikea was no exception. I now have two nightstands to hide books in- well not quite true. I have bought two nightstands to hide books in- they are currently in the apartment of a man who lives upstairs from Ali. Suffice to say it was an interesting trip to Ikea- I have never had one like it before, and I’m quite sure I will never have one like it again!
Today, has been the “new trip” day, driving out, first to Salem, of the infamous witch trials in 1692 and immortalized in Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” followed by a trip to Rockport. The quote at the top of today’s story is from the movie “The Proposal” which while based in Alaska was actually filmed in Rockport, MA. So I now have photos of the fudge shop, and the Main Street, and the harbor, as they appear in the movie, and I was never more than 30 miles from home.
The trip to Salem was a very short one, mainly a brief stop for lunch and a very quick trip into one or two small tourist/ trinket Halloween stores. Having visited the tourist museums and Witch House last time I was here I decided to see a little bit of the waterfront and Derby Wharf that I hadn’t previously seen, then carry on to Rockport, which was an entirely new experience. However, I do want to revisit Salem, I would like to go back to the wonderfully tacky (I apologize if it has been redone since my last visit) museum, I would like to walk the Salem Heritage Trail, and spend some time in the House of Seven Gables. I just think it will require a bit more than the couple of hours I had today. I think it will be a great day out when the weather starts to warm up.
As it happens the trip to Rockport only lasted a few hours too, after a severe weather warning and the threat of storms and more heavy snow- I wanted to make sure I wasn’t out driving on unfamiliar roads, in the dark with scary weather. It was however, a very quaint little fishing hamlet. The main area- Bearskin Neck- being the Alaskan town in the aforementioned “The Proposal” movie. Rockport is just south of Gloucester, the oldest fishing town in MA. On a very English place name heavy trip round Cape Anne (includes stops in Ipswich, Essex, Gloucester etc) I am reliably informed that the rocky, hilly coast line is just like Maine. I may well have to try a trip up there soon, just to check it out. I am also saving Cape Cod and Plymouth until a bit later in the year. As I said I’m running out of weekends… with things already booked in until the last weekend in February I feel like I might be wishing my life away. So many new things to do and things to try…