#36 Boston - Lost in Aaaaaaahlington - Feb 10 2007
Well, it was yet again a classic Petra moment, but this time in no way self-induced. I can blame the whole little disaster entirely on my friends from Evite, little weasels. Here I was, after a day of bone-breaking labor in my home, painting the common hallway and ceiling, and so ready for a little social time with my newfound friends at Community Running. In the hope of having successfully removed all the paint off my face and not look too ridiculous, I headed out toward Arlington (or as it is pronounced locally – Aaaaahlington) – a lovely community that is seemlessly attached to Boston (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington,_Massachusetts). A charming place, there is Spy Pond and the beginning of the Minuteman Bikeway (http://minutemanbikeway.org/), where bike enthusiasts, joggers and cross country skiers (during those winters where we actually do have snow) can have a fun time.
So, here I was heading down Mass Ave in search for my destination, the residence of our club president Keith. While that slumbersome little brain of mine seemed to vaguely recollect that the address was 16 Lake Street, I nontheless placed all my confidence in the Evite Maplink that gave me directions to 16 Locke Street. Left the phone number at home of course, and went on my merry way, armed with a bunch of sodas and a very good looking pumpkin cheesecake. I kept driving and driving and driving down Mass Ave and must have been in the halfway to the moon, when I did manage to find Locke Street. Parked the caaah, and headed for #16. Now mind you, I was a little surprised by the lack of vehicles outside and lack of noise coming from this house, but still rang the door bell and was waiting for the fun to start. Noone answered, and when I entered the vestibule and managed to look into the lit living room, all I saw was an old lady asleep on her couch with a cat on her lap. Knowing the boisterous nature of my CR running buddies, I just did not think that this was the right place, and on tippy toes left the building, just so that I would not scare the crap out of the poor woman. I walked up and down that street (which was completely iced over by the way) and just could not figure out what had gone wrong. I approached a house with many cars, and asked the folks there about the Manning residence, but as they assured me, there was noone of that name in their street and they have lived there for 20 years. Oh boy!!
It was cold, the street was slippery as can be, and I was tired and exhausted. Seeing the desperation on my face, the nice people at 26 Locke Street, invited me into their home (despite some serious protests by their pug puppie who wanted to pounce on me), and let me look up the Evite invitation on their computer. Well, we figured out the mix-up and they were nice enough to give me directions to 16 Lake Street, which is where I should have been in the first place. I did find it alright, but then it took me at least another 15 minutes to find a parking spot near Keith’s place, and by the time I got there it was about 8:30 PM (the shindig had started at 6 PM). The pumpkin cheesecake was well received despite the late arrival and I had a great time getting to know my new fellow runners.
As mentioned, the weekend was consumed with home improvement activities, mostly painting of the hallway. Thanks to my friend Rick I managed to have a ladder, and thanks to Elaine, who was my anchorwoman, I managed to paint the ceiling standing on said ladder on a staircase. It looks beautiful (the hallway), I was sore for a few days and now it is time to do some fine tuning, cleaning off paint spatters, that sort of thing. Which is what I was going to do this weekend, but I was attacked by the dreaded lurgy, a cold of sorts that makes my nose shine like a beacon – it can be seen all the way down Cambridge Street.
Did that keep me from going out cross country skiing yesterday – no sir! Operating under the assumption that a little fresh air might do that weary body of mine some good, I headed out to meet a bunch of friends at the Weston Ski Track,located a very convenient 15 minutes outside of Boston (http://www.skiboston.com/skitrack/skitrack.php). Now mind you, we have not seen snow in a while here, except for the occasional teaser, but the good folks out there make some for those snow-hungry urbanites like myself. Amy, Pauline, Ulandt, Jo, Caroline, Kimball and yours truly had a great time out there. The track offered only about 2 kilometers, but there was plenty of variety in the routes, and some nice hills to ski down from. It was a beautiful day, and for the first time in two weeks the thermometer reached 30 degrees!! The weather in Boston has been mercilessly arctic, and it was nice for once to not have to wear a face mask outside.
The day greeted us this morning with azure blue skies and somewhat agreeable temperatures (21 degrees) and in the early afternoon I will head over to Dorchester where my friend Steph’s husband Dan will plunge into Boston Harbor in a costume. While in this kind of weather one would seriously question his sanity to do so, this act of bravery actually has a noble purpose – it is a fundraiser for the Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project (http://www.gmdvp.org/). GMDVP is a Cambridge-based nonprofit, dedicated to “provide community education and direct services to gay, bisexual and transgendered male victims and survivors of domestic violence.” Steph, Caroline, Tom and I (aka Dan’s Posse) will watch the spectacle with some hot cocoa in hand, and Patches the dog will make sure that no animals are harmed during the conduct of this event.
As for the rest of the weekend, I will sit on the couch, try to get rid of the cold of mine, read the paper, watch some movies, play with Oscar, that sort of thing. Next weekend I will hail from Brookfield, Connecticut, where I will be visiting my friends Joanne, Marc and Hailey, the dog, in their new home.
Until then, my friends, be well and go find some snow!
pet:)
So, here I was heading down Mass Ave in search for my destination, the residence of our club president Keith. While that slumbersome little brain of mine seemed to vaguely recollect that the address was 16 Lake Street, I nontheless placed all my confidence in the Evite Maplink that gave me directions to 16 Locke Street. Left the phone number at home of course, and went on my merry way, armed with a bunch of sodas and a very good looking pumpkin cheesecake. I kept driving and driving and driving down Mass Ave and must have been in the halfway to the moon, when I did manage to find Locke Street. Parked the caaah, and headed for #16. Now mind you, I was a little surprised by the lack of vehicles outside and lack of noise coming from this house, but still rang the door bell and was waiting for the fun to start. Noone answered, and when I entered the vestibule and managed to look into the lit living room, all I saw was an old lady asleep on her couch with a cat on her lap. Knowing the boisterous nature of my CR running buddies, I just did not think that this was the right place, and on tippy toes left the building, just so that I would not scare the crap out of the poor woman. I walked up and down that street (which was completely iced over by the way) and just could not figure out what had gone wrong. I approached a house with many cars, and asked the folks there about the Manning residence, but as they assured me, there was noone of that name in their street and they have lived there for 20 years. Oh boy!!
It was cold, the street was slippery as can be, and I was tired and exhausted. Seeing the desperation on my face, the nice people at 26 Locke Street, invited me into their home (despite some serious protests by their pug puppie who wanted to pounce on me), and let me look up the Evite invitation on their computer. Well, we figured out the mix-up and they were nice enough to give me directions to 16 Lake Street, which is where I should have been in the first place. I did find it alright, but then it took me at least another 15 minutes to find a parking spot near Keith’s place, and by the time I got there it was about 8:30 PM (the shindig had started at 6 PM). The pumpkin cheesecake was well received despite the late arrival and I had a great time getting to know my new fellow runners.
As mentioned, the weekend was consumed with home improvement activities, mostly painting of the hallway. Thanks to my friend Rick I managed to have a ladder, and thanks to Elaine, who was my anchorwoman, I managed to paint the ceiling standing on said ladder on a staircase. It looks beautiful (the hallway), I was sore for a few days and now it is time to do some fine tuning, cleaning off paint spatters, that sort of thing. Which is what I was going to do this weekend, but I was attacked by the dreaded lurgy, a cold of sorts that makes my nose shine like a beacon – it can be seen all the way down Cambridge Street.
Did that keep me from going out cross country skiing yesterday – no sir! Operating under the assumption that a little fresh air might do that weary body of mine some good, I headed out to meet a bunch of friends at the Weston Ski Track,located a very convenient 15 minutes outside of Boston (http://www.skiboston.com/skitrack/skitrack.php). Now mind you, we have not seen snow in a while here, except for the occasional teaser, but the good folks out there make some for those snow-hungry urbanites like myself. Amy, Pauline, Ulandt, Jo, Caroline, Kimball and yours truly had a great time out there. The track offered only about 2 kilometers, but there was plenty of variety in the routes, and some nice hills to ski down from. It was a beautiful day, and for the first time in two weeks the thermometer reached 30 degrees!! The weather in Boston has been mercilessly arctic, and it was nice for once to not have to wear a face mask outside.
The day greeted us this morning with azure blue skies and somewhat agreeable temperatures (21 degrees) and in the early afternoon I will head over to Dorchester where my friend Steph’s husband Dan will plunge into Boston Harbor in a costume. While in this kind of weather one would seriously question his sanity to do so, this act of bravery actually has a noble purpose – it is a fundraiser for the Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project (http://www.gmdvp.org/). GMDVP is a Cambridge-based nonprofit, dedicated to “provide community education and direct services to gay, bisexual and transgendered male victims and survivors of domestic violence.” Steph, Caroline, Tom and I (aka Dan’s Posse) will watch the spectacle with some hot cocoa in hand, and Patches the dog will make sure that no animals are harmed during the conduct of this event.
As for the rest of the weekend, I will sit on the couch, try to get rid of the cold of mine, read the paper, watch some movies, play with Oscar, that sort of thing. Next weekend I will hail from Brookfield, Connecticut, where I will be visiting my friends Joanne, Marc and Hailey, the dog, in their new home.
Until then, my friends, be well and go find some snow!
pet:)
posted by My Boston at
12:28 PM
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