Click on pix for slideshow & on the videos to play in youtube. I took all the photos & videos with my iPhone 4.
July 15th. Took my first trip to Boston Mass. It was an easy flight, with an empty seat next to me, to Manchester NH, of course there was a connector in Detroit. Detroit Metro has some really peculiar art. There's a light show/installation art between concourse B & C and concourse A. Plus there's a jumping fountain.
Kevin picked me up and though it was an hour to his place he said it was closer, by time, than going into Boston airport. We took a long walk along the Charles River, there were lots of sailboats out, past some beautiful boathouses for the college rowing teams, MIT, and then to Harvard Square for food and drink at John Harvard's Brew House. The Bad News Brown & World Cup Wheat were not bad. Afterwards we walked thought Harvard Yard, stopped by beautiful Memorial Hall, then watch some street performers in the square. Now I can honestly say, 'Yeah, I went to Harvard.'
Kevin is big into music, so I trust his instincts on where to hear some good sounds. We ended up at Toad (not The Toad , just Toad ) in Porter Square and really enjoyed Melvern Taylor and His Fabulous Meltones. They had a large box electric guitar, an upright bass, a simple set of drums and Melvern on a ukulele. In the middle of one of their songs I heard a trumpet. We looked around and the club is so small that she was at a table, at the front of the bar, blowing her horn. Fun and funny.
On Friday we took in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. An incredibly spectacular building inside and out. So much art work and artifacts: Rembrandt, Singer Sargent, Van Gough, but my favorite piece was J.M.W. Turner’s - Slaveship. At first look, gorgeous, on closer examination grotesque. Then we walked to Fenway Park to go see the Bosox play. We stopped at Lansdowne Restaurant. This is where I found my new favorite beer. Sam Adams Boston Brick Red. Unfortunately, of course, it's only available in Boston.
The area around Fenway Park has restaurants, bars, gift shops, street performers, umpa bands, vendors and crowds of fans. It was amazing to walk into Fenway Park. Built in 1912 it’s the oldest park in the MLB. It's been refurbished a few times, but luckily they didn't take away the charm. Our seats were about 20 rows from the top straight up from third base. When I sat down one of the nefarious post blocked home plate. About 15 minutes later a kid said I think you're in the wrong seat. Turned out our seats were one row down. With the post removed I had a great line of sight. Even though my knees were a little tight to the row in front of me. There was rain delay and a grand slam home run by the Rangers, but what a fun night.
Saturday was busy. We walked the Freedom Trail and just happened on to a moving service in remembrance of the 54th Massachusetts, the regiment from the movie Glory, and the anniversary of it's attack on Fort Wagner in the Civil War. We also stopped at The Old North Church, the site of the Boston massacre, the state capitol, Nathaniel Hall, but most interesting was going on the USS Constitution. Old Ironsides. I don't know how 400 sailors could live on such a small ship. Nearby was the WWII destroyer USS Cassin Young. It was hot day in Boston and while I was on the ship I put my hand on one of the steel beams on the officers mess and it was like touching the the top of a grill. A whole new appreciation for being stationed on this ship, in the heat of the Pacific, in WWII.
We took the ferry over to downtown Boston and we stopped by The Black Rose Pub. Where a buxom blond 'talked' us into Stella Artios draft competition. Didn't win anything, but we got to keep the glass. 
That night we were back down in the Fenway Park neighborhood to see Crowded House at the House of Blues. Kevin had some how got free tickets off craigslist from a guy who just wanted someone who would appreciate the show. I remember them from college and I was a very good show.
My Flight(s) out of Manchester were delayed/cancelled (see my rant below). So, I got a free night’s stay. Manchester is a nice city to spend a couple of hours. I took a long walk around town to look at some of the refurbished old cotton mills along the river, the ornate buildings downtown and, of course, have a beer. The Strange Brew tavern is unique and the Trout River Red was not bad.
Before flying Delta a new rule for the check list . Always pack extra underwear ‘cause you never know how many nights you’ll have to stay.
Here’s my little rant I tweeted to Delta. Returning from Manchester NH to CVG, on 7/18, I self checked in at the kiosk. I get to the gate to find the flight, DL 2213, was delayed because of mechanical problems and DET connection canceled. After standing in line at the gate for two hours Delta got me room & food vouchers for overnight stay. But why did kiosk issue the ticket when there was a delay? I was at front check in and they could have rebooked my flight instead of waiting in line at the gate. The next day, 7/19, DL 5403 was 1hr delay because of mechanical problems with the door. Then there was a 20 minute delay waiting for the gate in DET to clear before we could offload. I barely made my connection in DET. I am self employed and missed work Monday and lost money because of Delta. Why do I keep flying Delta? I want some kind of reciprocal.
An update. I did get an email from Delta and I got a $125 flying voucher?! But that only means I will have to fly Delta again.
Some extra videos
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