So I'd hoped to have this post up long before now, but between just catching up and the spectacular storms of this weekend, I kind of never got around to it.
First, the storms. Boston got missed but the June 2012 Midwest derecho, but it squarely hit back home. We discovered that having a setter in the city with full internet access was extremely useful. I have spent the last 48 hours relaying information back home (in fact I JUST got off the phone again, to report severe weather moving into the county), whether it's news, additional weather alerts, or just the outage numbers. If you haven't seen the reports, this is a spectacular mess. We've have successively nastier storms in Ohio over the last 10 years, but everyone I've spoken to repeats the same refrain: I've never seen anything like this. Speaking from the outside, where I get an excellent bird's-eye view, neither have I.
The last monster derecho in Ohio was in 1969 (though there was one in 1995 that I don't remember, so it must not have been so bad; I'm guessing it was dissipating by the time it got to central Ohio.) Incidentally, so far as I can tell, the last major hurricane to affect the Boston area while it was still actually a hurricane was Donna in 1960. Who wants to be Boston gets a cat 2+ hurricane while I'm here?
***
Anyway, the reason I was supposed to be posting this was that I had visitors last weekend. My sister and brother-in-law came up and we ate eastern Massachusetts. Or so it seems.
Saturday we went out to Cape Cod -- something I was really looking forward to, since it's pretty much out of reach for me unless I want to rent a car (you can get there by bus, but at some distance a bus becomes more trouble than it's worth). The coast on Cape Cod is beautiful. There's really no other way to say it. What photos I got didn't do it justice.
In addition to just walking along the shore, we saw swimming seals, a working lighthouse (so New England) and three historic lighthouses (the Three Sisters). Again, I say, I can't do them justice. Come visit me and we'll go there and you can see it all yourself.
Since we were in the land of rich people we decided to eat well. Stopped at the Bookstore and Restaurant and ate dinner looking over the bay. Wow, the surf and turf. I was in cow heaven. And lobster... I'd never had lobster before. And they actually cooked the damn asparagus correctly, the only time I've had edible asparagus that didn't come out of the back yard. All this while sitting in a little town right on the edge of the water. You feel like you're in a book. And maybe you are.
Sunday morning we went for Dim Sum at the Winsor Dim Sum cafe -- a must for Dim Sum lovers. This is a to-order place -- no carts -- but that means your food is fresh and hot.
Sunday afternoon at the Publick House on Beacon Street. Beautiful area. I was still so full of Dim Sum that I only ordered the cheese board, but it was awfully good. That and a Kriek made for a good evening.
Sugar and Spice for dinner on Monday (I worked, so the guests took themselves to the aquarium) for Thai -- HOT Thai. I'm glad I got something without any pepper symbols, or I'd have gone hungry that night.
The Kitchen Mouse has more on the food: http://the-kitchen-mouse.blogspot.com/2012/06/eating-cape-cod.html She'll be picking up the eats for the rest of the weekend once she gets lights and internet again.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Urban beach
So this morning, despite being fairly well worn out, I headed out to find Revere Beach.
I'd done my reading and was ready for a dreadful beach. What I got was something that I think you could say might require a developed taste.
Revere beach reminded me an awful lot of your typical farm pond, only on a huge scale. This isn't Florida or California; the water's dark and full of seaweed. I was there at low tide, so the whole place was a bit fishy until you got down to the tideline and the stranded seaweed was downwind.
That said, I really enjoyed myself. Tangled in the seaweed were quite a few shells, mostly huge things, big clams and snails. Then once in a while you'd come across some beached sea life, or a crab or something. The water wasn't something I'd really want to dive into because of the silt, but it felt good on my feet. Maybe it's because I like to go creeking and I'm more used to Ohio ponds and the Great Lakes than West Coast beaches, the water and profusion of flora and fauna didn't really bother me, but I can sure understand where some people would hate it.
The best part was just being able to listen to the ocean and feel the breeze off of it. I don't know how often I'll go out there (and I suspect it's crowded despite the seaweed once the water warms up), but I do know that I want to go out there some time in the dead of winter because I've never seen the ocean in the winter time.
And yeah, I came back with a sunburn again and a raw spot from my new flip flops.
I'd done my reading and was ready for a dreadful beach. What I got was something that I think you could say might require a developed taste.
Revere beach reminded me an awful lot of your typical farm pond, only on a huge scale. This isn't Florida or California; the water's dark and full of seaweed. I was there at low tide, so the whole place was a bit fishy until you got down to the tideline and the stranded seaweed was downwind.
That said, I really enjoyed myself. Tangled in the seaweed were quite a few shells, mostly huge things, big clams and snails. Then once in a while you'd come across some beached sea life, or a crab or something. The water wasn't something I'd really want to dive into because of the silt, but it felt good on my feet. Maybe it's because I like to go creeking and I'm more used to Ohio ponds and the Great Lakes than West Coast beaches, the water and profusion of flora and fauna didn't really bother me, but I can sure understand where some people would hate it.
The best part was just being able to listen to the ocean and feel the breeze off of it. I don't know how often I'll go out there (and I suspect it's crowded despite the seaweed once the water warms up), but I do know that I want to go out there some time in the dead of winter because I've never seen the ocean in the winter time.
And yeah, I came back with a sunburn again and a raw spot from my new flip flops.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Storm in the city
So we finally got weather here other than all day sunny or all day dreary. It does thunderstorm here.
I've never liked storms. They're loud and they're alarming and they can be really dangerous. But I've experienced storms in the city before -- once a nasty one in downtown Pittsburgh that put on an amazing light show -- and I like them there. The Pittsburgh storm was in a hotel, so you couldn't hear much, but here I've found out that the thunder has a much different tone to it. It's got sharp edges, sounds like a load of metal falling down the stairs, not the rounded, rolling sound you get in the Midwest.
I had a doctor's appointment right at the end of the day today. A large number of Harvard doctors are located in Harvard Square, in the large administrative building there. The lower floor is given over to shops and has an inside arcade area.
Anyway, I came down from the appointment to an arcade packed with people and this:
If it's not immediately obvious what's going on there, that isn't water pouring down, it's water blasting up. And no, I've no idea what's normally there or why it was doing that. I assume there's a drain that couldn't handle the water.
This is all about three steps away from the subway, so I figured I'd take advantage of the fact that no one seemed inclined to go out and hopefully catch a train easily.
Turns out that when it rains in the city, everyone packs into the subway -- outside the tolls, of course. There's a weird sort of feeling -- Hawkeye describes war in an episode of M*A*S*H with "A war is like when it rains in New York and everybody crowds into doorways, ya know? And they all get chummy together. Perfect strangers. The only difference, of course, is in a war it's also raining on the other side of the street, and the people who are chummy over there are trying to kill the people who are over here who are chums." It's interesting that I've got a better idea of what he means now (sans trying to kill each other, obviously -- I was in a rainy city, not a war). People stand watching the rain and chatting. Some people fret over getting where they're going, but mostly they just all hang out.
I got on the subway and outran the storm, going under it up to Porter Square. By the time I got there the storm was well out of that area and I was able to walk back to the apartment. Things smelled surprisingly nice and there was a cold bite to the air. I've noticed that when there were storms in the general area here -- the wind can get quite cold.
I've never liked storms. They're loud and they're alarming and they can be really dangerous. But I've experienced storms in the city before -- once a nasty one in downtown Pittsburgh that put on an amazing light show -- and I like them there. The Pittsburgh storm was in a hotel, so you couldn't hear much, but here I've found out that the thunder has a much different tone to it. It's got sharp edges, sounds like a load of metal falling down the stairs, not the rounded, rolling sound you get in the Midwest.
I had a doctor's appointment right at the end of the day today. A large number of Harvard doctors are located in Harvard Square, in the large administrative building there. The lower floor is given over to shops and has an inside arcade area.
Anyway, I came down from the appointment to an arcade packed with people and this:
This is all about three steps away from the subway, so I figured I'd take advantage of the fact that no one seemed inclined to go out and hopefully catch a train easily.
Turns out that when it rains in the city, everyone packs into the subway -- outside the tolls, of course. There's a weird sort of feeling -- Hawkeye describes war in an episode of M*A*S*H with "A war is like when it rains in New York and everybody crowds into doorways, ya know? And they all get chummy together. Perfect strangers. The only difference, of course, is in a war it's also raining on the other side of the street, and the people who are chummy over there are trying to kill the people who are over here who are chums." It's interesting that I've got a better idea of what he means now (sans trying to kill each other, obviously -- I was in a rainy city, not a war). People stand watching the rain and chatting. Some people fret over getting where they're going, but mostly they just all hang out.
I got on the subway and outran the storm, going under it up to Porter Square. By the time I got there the storm was well out of that area and I was able to walk back to the apartment. Things smelled surprisingly nice and there was a cold bite to the air. I've noticed that when there were storms in the general area here -- the wind can get quite cold.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Shopping in the rain
So one thing they don't tell you when they say you can live in the big city with no car is that there's a asterisk.
The asterisk is: so long as you don't want to go anywhere when its pouring rain.*
I'd hoped to get out this morning before it starting pouring, but it moved in a little quicker than I'd expected. I couldn't put it off after not being here at all last weekend (and after dropping my toothbrush in the toilet first thing when I got back and using my travel brush all week). So I went out in the rain.
And got soaked.
It wasn't too bad right off, really. Those three years at Denison where I commuted and had to park at the bottom of the hill and walk were fairly wet. I'm a little out of practice at being damp, though, not as tough as I used to be. I got to the market and trust me, I wasted as much time as I could trying to dry out a little before even thinking about going back.
My clothes still aren't dry and they've been hanging in front of the fan all day.
*OK, so you can go places, but you'll need a zipcar or a cab, both of which are expensive.
The asterisk is: so long as you don't want to go anywhere when its pouring rain.*
I'd hoped to get out this morning before it starting pouring, but it moved in a little quicker than I'd expected. I couldn't put it off after not being here at all last weekend (and after dropping my toothbrush in the toilet first thing when I got back and using my travel brush all week). So I went out in the rain.
And got soaked.
It wasn't too bad right off, really. Those three years at Denison where I commuted and had to park at the bottom of the hill and walk were fairly wet. I'm a little out of practice at being damp, though, not as tough as I used to be. I got to the market and trust me, I wasted as much time as I could trying to dry out a little before even thinking about going back.
My clothes still aren't dry and they've been hanging in front of the fan all day.
*OK, so you can go places, but you'll need a zipcar or a cab, both of which are expensive.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Setter in the country
Went home this weekend -- and it was very brief, so if you didn't know about it, don't feel too bad, I still try to avoid talking about long trips on the internet, even if all anybody could steal from my apartment would be the cats. I'll try to make better, non-internet warnings when I'm going to land for more than 48 hours.
The Boston angle on this is that I finally figured out how to get to the airport without dropping $45 for a taxi. There are actually two ways on the T -- one involves switching trains twice, and the other involves the so-called "Silver Line". So far as I can tell the Silver Line was supposed to be a dedicated train to the airport, but they dug out a bunch of tunnels and then lost interest or ran out of money or something, so they put buses in them. Which works acceptably well, really (though I hear that the SL3/4, which goes to the west and doesn't seem to have much point kind of sucks). So I know yet another way to get somewhere new.
The Boston angle on this is that I finally figured out how to get to the airport without dropping $45 for a taxi. There are actually two ways on the T -- one involves switching trains twice, and the other involves the so-called "Silver Line". So far as I can tell the Silver Line was supposed to be a dedicated train to the airport, but they dug out a bunch of tunnels and then lost interest or ran out of money or something, so they put buses in them. Which works acceptably well, really (though I hear that the SL3/4, which goes to the west and doesn't seem to have much point kind of sucks). So I know yet another way to get somewhere new.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Arnold Arboretum
So the boss tipped me off to an Arboretum run by Harvard and right near the T. He's the Kenyon grad, so he's familiar with central Ohio and confirmed that it was like Dawes. Naturally I was interested.I headed out there today -- on the way taking a ride on the Orange line, the last one I'd not been on.
The Arnold Arboretum was just what I needed in greenspace. Right on walking in I could tell I was going to enjoy it. It *is* a lot like Dawes -- the primary difference being that Dawes is better signed, so it's hard to tell where you're going up here sometimes. Also, most of the "trails" are really roads (though they don't let cars in), so they're paved, which is a little hard on the feet. There were a couple dirt, grass, and gravel trails, though. A number of these weren't on the map, so I'm not sure if they were really trails or if there were places where a lot of people just walked and killed the grass.
My favorite spot so far was in the azalea collection. There's a small dirt path, and then off that there's an area that runs down to a creek.
Everything was in bloom and it was absolutely amazing. I may go back with a towel and just sit down there for hours.Photos don't do it justice.
I had to give in and go back a little early due to a bruised heel -- which also put paid to my plans for tomorrow, which were to scout one of the urban beaches -- but it was a nice morning. The afternoon was a little less nice, because after getting back and taking an unplanned nap (I sat down to read and the next thing I knew it was two hours later) I popped up with a fairly spectacular sun burn on both shoulders. No sign of sun anywhere else, and it certainly wasn't showing before I fell asleep, so it snuck up on me. I thought I'd hugged the shade pretty good out there, but evidently not.
Anyway, that makes tomorrow a get-things-done day, which is probably what it should have been to begin with.
...
Preakness Stakes
Did anybody else see this? Well, or listen to the webcast, like me, since I don't have a TV? Just Wow. We've got this tough smallish colt, a trainer who hadn't won either race before, and a prodigy freshman jockey. If that's not a story made for a movie, I don't know what is. Will that bring the blessing of the Triple Crown gods? I don't know, but I sure hope so.
Wish I had somebody out here who knew NYC, because I'd totally get on the bus and go to the Belmont.
...
Strawberries
Yes, you can grow food in a studio apartment. Just don't expect it to be enough to live on.
...
Bucket List
So I should probably keep track of what I'd like to see out here:
- The Aquarium
- The Franklin Park Zoo
- A local beach
- Cape Cod
- North Shore beaches
- Salem
Monday, May 14, 2012
Salt marsh
So yesterday I headed down to the Belle Isle Salt Marsh down in Boston proper (and right across from the racecourse; Suffolk has money issues, though, so I'm not sure I'll go there to bet the ponies ever).
A salt marsh is... well, a big brushy field with muddy creeks and small ponds in it. I think I was a little early in the season for it to green up, but I still saw small crabs and things in the water. I will say that it sure smelled salty enough -- made me think I was right on the ocean (it's not, it's back from the ocean maybe a half or quarter mile).
I think I spent more time on the subway than I did in the park, though. But at least the result was that I have now learned how to change trains and where you get off for the airport I also discovered the oldest subway in Boston -- well, I didn't discover it, obviously somebody else knew it was there already. It's a weird line, it splits off in all directions and the trains are only two cars long compared to the other lines. Luckily, unless you're actually going somewhere on the green line, you just have to randomly jump on a car going in the general right direction and get off at the next station -- or as I found out after the fact, you can just use the orange line, which is less weird. The Green line is also the one that's had two recent wrecks, it runs with very short distances between the "trolleys."
The plan for next weekend is to find the Harvard Arboretum. Originally from Ohio, my boss tells me that it's much like Dawes, so I'll probably be very happy to visit there.
A salt marsh is... well, a big brushy field with muddy creeks and small ponds in it. I think I was a little early in the season for it to green up, but I still saw small crabs and things in the water. I will say that it sure smelled salty enough -- made me think I was right on the ocean (it's not, it's back from the ocean maybe a half or quarter mile).
I think I spent more time on the subway than I did in the park, though. But at least the result was that I have now learned how to change trains and where you get off for the airport I also discovered the oldest subway in Boston -- well, I didn't discover it, obviously somebody else knew it was there already. It's a weird line, it splits off in all directions and the trains are only two cars long compared to the other lines. Luckily, unless you're actually going somewhere on the green line, you just have to randomly jump on a car going in the general right direction and get off at the next station -- or as I found out after the fact, you can just use the orange line, which is less weird. The Green line is also the one that's had two recent wrecks, it runs with very short distances between the "trolleys."
The plan for next weekend is to find the Harvard Arboretum. Originally from Ohio, my boss tells me that it's much like Dawes, so I'll probably be very happy to visit there.
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