Boston

A couple of months ago my grandpa told me he wanted to take my grandma to Boston. He wondered if Alison and I would be interested in going with them. He thought it would be fun to eat some lobster and go to a Red Sox game. Initially, he was thinking we could go sometime in 2020. We were interested in going with them and we wanted, but we accelerated the plan a little bit. Alison was working with a dealer group in New Hampshire and was going to be out there at the end of April. It was not going to get any easier for us to all go to Boston so we planned a trip.

I met my grandparents at their house on Friday morning. My uncle Lee was kind enough to drive us to the airport. We quickly made it through security and before we knew it we were on our flight to Boston. It was an uneventful if slightly turbulent flight. The seating configuration on the plane was 2-3-2. We had a row in the middle of the plane and I sat between my grandparents. We all watched movies for the entire flight. Our flight was just a little bit late because our pilot had to maneuver around some bad weather patterns in the Boston area.

We had tickets to the Friday night Red Sox game. We were somewhat skeptical they would play because there was a lot of rain in the forecast. We kept a close eye on the game status via Twitter. As of the time our plane landed they were still planning to play. We picked up our rental car and drove to the Prudential center. As we were parking, Alison was checking and there was no announcement of plans to postpone the game. We started walking, in the rain, toward the stadium. Alison commented that attending a baseball game was the last thing she wanted to do right now - it was much too cold and rainy. We made it about a quarter mile before we ran into some fans that said the game had just been canceled. We checked Twitter and sure enough, they had postponed the game. We wished they would have done it a little earlier, but we were glad we could avoid what was shaping up to be a less-than-pleasant experience.

With rain in the forecast, we had a backup plan. We made reservations at our favorite restaurant in Boston - Legal Seafood. It is an excellent place to get chowder and any type of seafood you desire. Since my grandpa was looking for a place he could get lobster for my grandma we knew they would love it. We quickly drove across Boston (side note driving in Boston can be a little confusing, but we made it after a minor detour). We had an excellent meal. My grandparents both had surf and turf. They each got a fillet and a lobster. Our waiter was kind enough to extract the lobster meat for them. Alison and I each had a bowl of clam chowder (Legal Seafood has the best clam chowder) and we both had a variety of crab cakes. Alison got hers with shrimp and scallops and I got a meal that was primarily crab cakes. These meals with my grandparents, while we are traveling are a great time to talk and share stories. We learn a lot about the experiences my grandparents have had in their lives and the lessons they have learned. We hear stories about how they make their marriage work. We love my grandparents and cherish these moments deepening our relationship with them.

After we finished our meal the rain was really coming down (it was very good they canceled the game). I ran (through pouring rain) and retrieved our vehicle and we drove to our hotel.

On Saturday morning we headed into the city. The plan was to spend the day on the freedom trail. We parked our rental vehicle at Boston Commons and began following the red bricks that denote the historic pathway. We had to make a short detour at Dunkin' Donuts because Alison and my grandma wanted hot chocolate. It was a cold day with a strong, biting wind. We walked past the Massachusetts state house and the Park Street Church before my grandpa decided he was done walking and began heading back to the car.

At the moment this was slightly frustrating, but then we reminded ourselves that my grandpa is nearly 80 and has some limitations. We have visited Boston before and spent time walking the freedom trail so this really was not that big of a deal for us. This was also a good learning experience that will help us be better prepared for an upcoming trip to Japan. Overall grandpa was a good sport. We quickly pivoted and developed a new plan. There was a Japanese festival at Boston Commons so my grandpa wanted to walk through and speak Japanese with a few of the vendors. Then we went back to the car to grab a warmer jacket for him before taking an Uber to Faneuil Hall. At Faneuil Hall, we did some shopping and enjoyed the ambiance.

While we were wandering Alison and I made lunch reservations at Carmelina’s in the North End. Alison did some research before our trip and this restaurant had excellent reviews. It was not too far from Faneuil hall so we opted to walk. Lunch was amazing. Carmelina’s is an intimate Italian restaurant in the heart of the North End. The service was fairly slow, but it is because each dish is made to order. This was fine by us. We were not in a hurry and we wanted excellent food. While we waited we had some pretty deep conversations. Once the food came it exceeded our expectations. We all got pasta dishes. I talked my grandma into trying the gnocchi (which is also what I ordered) and told her it is the type of pasta that will melt in your mouth. Their gnocchi was very good.

After lunch, we walked across the street to Mike’s Pastries. It was really important for Alison to get some cannoli from the North End and we read Mike’s had the best cannoli around. They have an overwhelmingly large number of cannoli flavors. Alison and I got an Oreo-flavored cannoli to share, while my grandpa got a pistachio-flavored one and my grandma went with chocolate cream. They were excellent cannoli. We found a nearby bench to sit and savor our treats.

We were in the vicinity of the Old North Church so we walked over. I am glad we made it over to the old North Church. It might be my favorite stop on the freedom trail. I like how this small, cramped, mostly unassuming church played a significant role in the revolution of the United States of America. As we stood in the shadow of this building I contemplated what it is that has made it so famous. This church has become a symbol of the fight for freedom, partly because of a poem, but mostly because it acted as a beacon. The lighting of two signal beacons in and of itself was a rather insignificant event when considered in the scope of the revolutionary war. It is remembered because this was the first place the message spread that the British were coming. This signal told the people to rise up and defend their right to freedom. During this trip Alison pointed out a sign, “every revolution begins with an idea in one person’s mind.” For a revolution to succeed the idea has to spread. The Old North Church is a tangible symbol of the spread of an idea.

After visiting the Old North Church it was time to head to Fenway. We got an Uber back to Boston Commons to pick up our car. We dropped my grandparents near Fenway park and Alison and I parked our car at the Prudential center. We met up with my grandparents and found our seats. We were at the top of the stadium in left field right near the green monster. The seats were quite fun. We really enjoyed Fenway. It is a charming old park. The Red Sox were playing the Rays. David Price was pitching against Charlie Morton. The game tended to drag a bit because David Price pitches as slow as molasses. The Red Sox have struggled quite a bit out of the gate this season (not that we are at all disappointed with this development). This game was no exception. David Price gave up a home run to the first batter and another run shortly thereafter. He pitched in and out of trouble and was really laboring. Charlie Morton looked pretty good. The Red Sox has a few opportunities, but they were squandered. The Sox were cruising toward defeat and we were enjoying it immensely when my grandpa started to get really cold. The cold wind had been pretty steady throughout the day and when the sun started going down it was biting. While we would have loved to catch the last couple of innings we did not want my grandpa to get too cold so we decided to head out. It turned out we saw all of the action in the game anyways - the Red Sox would go on to lose 2-1.

The day did not turn out quite the way we planned. However, we saw some historical sites, ate amazing food, and took in a ball game. It really was a great day in Boston.