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Early last Friday morning Cameron gave us a ride to RDU to catch a flight to Boston. It's rare Keith & I fly, so this was a real treat! Before boarding, we ordered breakfast & read the newspaper while watching the sun rise across the runway :)
We were flying to the Boston area to visit a dear friend who we've known since 1972. Janie was one of the girls in our church youth group back when Keith & I lived in Stone Ridge, NY, in '69-'73.
Last December Janie & her friend Louise had a "wild hair". For Janie's birthday they decided to take a Jetblue special ($29 for 24 hrs.) to Raleigh to visit us! We hadn't seen her in 34 years! It was a "wild" time in more ways than one since Keith ended up in the hospital for emergency surgery the very evening they arrived!! After the exciting 24 hours in NC, Janie kept inviting us up to her neck of the woods, & finally, finally, we decided to go:)
Rain greeted us at Logan Airport. We grabbed our luggage & picked up our Dodge Charger rental car. Our plan was to see some of the city sights & surrounding countryside. Not an easy feat in a strange city, but Keith's Droid GPS helped figure it out. We drove by MIT & Harvard, & along JFK Ave., before touring the coastline north of Boston. Even with overcast skies the water & clouds & ocean were dramatic, & the scenery was beautiful!
By late afternoon we checked into our Norwood Courtyard motel, where I immediately took a little nap. Around 7pm we met Janie at her house where she introduced us to her new friend Michael & her son David. She suggested a local restaurant in downtown Norwood for dinner. We enjoyed catching up with one another's news & quizzing Michael & David. Before departing we agreed to the Saturday "tourist plan" which would begin the following morning at 10am.
Saturday's destination was Cape Cod, with Janie at the wheel & Michael riding shotgun. The scenery was nothing like what I had pictured in my mind! Instead of sandy, windswept landscapes, the Cape was covered in thick fall colored hardwoods, with narrow windy roads that reminded me more of mountain scenery than island coast views. Saltbox houses tucked in among the trees everywhere. And the beaches were sand & dunes & seaweed covered, not rocky like the northern beaches around Marblehead & Glouster.
It was at least an hour or more to Chatham from Norwood, the "elbow" of the arm of Cape Cod, where we ate lunch at a local bar. Janie & I had delicious lobster salads:) Both the "boys" wouldn't touch seafood--good grief, what they do miss:(
Afterward we checked out the gift shops, bought some fudge, then called it a day on the Cape & headed back. We said goodnight to Janie & Michael, all happy to spend the day together, yet exhausted & ready to rest.
Sunday morning dawned cloudy & gray like Friday, & Janie had a plan. Thinking ahead she had collected metro passes from friends so we could travel around the city free:)! On the way downtown to park at Mass General (where she works), Janie gave us a tour of the suburbs of Brookline & Newton, both filled with beautiful tall hardwoods & "McMansion" homes. Everywhere there were majestic trees; in the medians, filling the parks, blanketing the subdivisions!! Countless parks around Boston:)
The day was windy & chilly. After getting to Quincy by metro, the 4 of us stopped to watch an Australian street performer. Michael & Keith were 'volunteered' to help entertain. The performer was amazing, & oh so funny!! A fun way to begin the day:)
Shopping was next on the agenda. We browsed a while, then bought gelato & coffee:) After winding up "my" shopping spree, we took a short ferry ride to see the USS Constitution--burr, a cold ride:(!!
The Constitution is a beautiful ship but small:) Hard to believe she could weather the huge Atlantic Ocean. (We had to be searched to get on board!) After crossing back on the ferry, we caught the metro to begin our trip home.
Dinner with Louise, Janie's friend & neighbor, was at 6pm:)
Louise served us a delicious meal. She enjoys dinner parties & we enjoyed her cooking:) Louise introduced us to her friend Billy, a school classmate that has reconnected with her after many years, just like Janie & Michael:) Another neighbor, a friendly, spry, older gentleman, joined us for dinner as well.
It was a sweet evening, a fitting close to an awesome weekend:)
After many hugs around we said goodnight, & goodbye, to all:)
It was beginning to sleet, time to leave.
PS. Monday morning sleep in was heavenly. I could hear the wind howl ever so often, & more sleet had fallen. We took our time, enjoying breakfast & finally checking out before noon. On our way to the airport we stopped for a while at the local LLBean store.
At Logan, after checking through security, we bought a hot lunch & sat in front of the large windows in the retaurant, watching the planes take off & taxi in. The rain continually drizzled down the large glass panes.
By the time our flight was called the rain had become steady.
Our time in Boston was over--but sweet memories remain that will always be enjoyed:)
Seth & Kelley met us at RDU, where the sun was shining....home, safe & sound:)
Until the next time, Janie:)
God bless you & yours:)
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