Boston - Day 3

Thursday brings a new hotel: Jurys Boston Hotel (thanks for the free wi-fi!) not too far from our first hotel. It is housed in a former police headquarters with an Irish influence...and Aveda amenities! Katy and I toured the Samuel Adams Brewery (multiple free samples!), checked out the Harvard campus in Cambridge and cooled off in a great restaurant/bar called Grendel's Den just in time for its "everything half price" happy hour! We later hit a local bar to watch the Brewers v Cubs game (not the easiest feat as it was the first pre-season game for (gag) the local NFL team). Cubs win! Cubs win! Dempster almost blew it, but Cubs win!! Day 4 (aka Fenway Day!) brings a Christmas-morning-as-a-kid-level excitement! Orioles v. Red Sox @ 7pm Friday! That is so wicked hawwdcore!

Boston - Day 2

Day 2 started very late...I slept until nearly 11am! Woo Hoo! My friend and I enjoyed a yummy lunch at a nearby restaurant. I had the smoked salmon potato pancake w/creamed corn & greens. I was able to stroll around a fancy pants neighborhood and take advantage of some sweet sales. I checked out the Boston Public Library (BPL) and its beautiful architecture. It had a display of miniature books which was great and also a collection of WWII-propaganda posters...very interesting documents!

I then traveled with a group to Boston's North End for the cannoli taste-off: Mike's Pastry vs. Modern Pastry. Which location has the more delicious cannoli? Hmmm, I still can't decide, but who really cares? Have both! We then enjoyed a delicious boiled lobster dinner. The poor Red Sox lost their second game in a row to the Yankees.

Boston - Day 1

After my five hour non-stop flight (3 hours of which I spent waiting to barf, barfing or recovering from barfing) I landed in Boston...a city I have wanted to visit for years! And finally I am here! After getting to my hotel, showering and sleeping for nearly six hours, I strolled around this very walking-friendly city. I checked out the Public Garden, a nearby farmers market and enjoyed some "chowdah & lobstah roll".

I normally do not suffer from motion sickness, I think I had food poisoning. It was an awful experience, but I recovered quickly and have been able to enjoy the delicious food Boston has to offer!

Take Toby Out To The Ball Game

Last week I took m'boy Toby to Petco Park for Petco's annual "Dog Days of Summer" event.

Long story short, it totally rocked! The festivities for the dogs were plenty: professional photographer, Frosty Pawz cool treats, goody bag, and the opportunity to walk around the entire field on the warning track. On the plus side of the walk, I was about 30 feet from future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux while he warmed up. On the down side, I had to listen to "Who Let the Dogs Out?" for 15 minutes straight. Stepping onto a Major League Baseball field was something I had never done before and really tried to soak it in for all it was worth. Fabulous!

A friend was gracious enough to offer to photograph the occasion, so please enjoy the pictures. Apparently, there was also a game being played against the Rockies (Pads won 8-0!)

-P

*Asterisk*

I realized this morning there is a chance I may watch Barry Bonds hit a homerun and make baseball history, in person. Several weeks ago, a friend invited me to a Giants v. Padres game on a Sunday afternoon in August, she had free tickets so of course I said yes. Separately, I am very aware of the fact that Barry Bonds is at 754 career homeruns. The press reports his every move in anticipation of 755, tying the great Hank Aaron for the MLB record. Upon hitting 756, Bonds will be known as the all-time leader in career home runs. Reading this headline, I finally put 2 & 2 together: I may be in Petco Park for the brouhaha (hey, so I can be a little slow...).

I have loved MLB since I was eleven years old when my parents got cable which provided me access to WGN and TBS. My favorite players were Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs and Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves. Both excellent ball players with positive, honest images and most certainly not cheaters.

Many people are aware of the allegations toward Bonds regarding the use of steroids and other 'performance enhancing' drugs. Some may agree that perhaps MLB looked the other way during the late 90s when the stadium seats were full of paying bodies/fans hell-bent on watching homerun after homerun from the suspiciously-inflated players.

I have always confidently denied that Bonds would make it near Hank Aaron's amazing, hard-won record of hitting 755 homeruns. So much for that. I have to face the facts about Bonds: an originally very good baseball player let competition, insecurity and selfishness supercede good sportsmanship and honesty. He is notorioiusly booed in every stadium but his own (a theory I call The Our-Asshole Theory: he may be an asshole, but "he's our asshole").

This Sunday, I may inadvertently be on hand for MLB history, but the question still remains: if it happens in front of me will I boo, cheer or stand quietly taking in the spectacle?
-P
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"Shotgun Blast To Abdomen Just Pisses Wilfred Brimley Off More" - the Onion headline