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.
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.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm