Calm Before The Storm
As with every time I have visited Boston, my flight was delayed, coming in. I arrived about an hour and a half late into town, not because of weather, though admittedly, Boston has, since the first of the year received some of the heaviest concentrations of snowfall that it has received in recent memory. No, ironically, the weather was perfectly clear, with excellent visibility and flying conditions. No, the problem was some kind of mechanical problem on which the mechanics in Cleveland gave up, after about forty minutes of hemming and hawing. The direct result of this indecision, for me, was that I wound up standing up Bernadette who generously agreed to meet us out, by about an hour.

I finally arrived in town, and Carl met me at Government Center. We hopped on the D train to go to Carl's house in Brookline, when Carl offered to take my stuff back to his house, and I could catch the C train from Kenmore, to the bar where Bern was waiting. I happily accepted his offer, and got on the train that announced no stops, and had very few stops that were marked. When I watched the bar sail past, I hit the stop request button, and was let off about a half mile down the street. It was at this point that I realized the full severity of winter in the Northeast. I stepped off the train in a coat and gloves, and an arctic blast was waiting for me as soon as it was impossible to get back on the train. Shivering in the subzero temeratures, I hobbled between five-foot palisades of snow, on "shoveled" sidewalks, toward the bar.

I got to the bar, and met up with Bernadette at once, and set to having a conversation in one of the busiest bars I have seen in a while. However, bars always seem busier when you don't have a seat, I find. I say this because, we eventually found a table, once Carl arrived, and all was well. We enjoyed a tasty dinner, some even tastier beer(think: 90 Minute IPA), and nice conversation. After Bern bravely stayed out, talking with us until almost midnight on a work night, she took her leave, and Carl and I left soon after.

I thought it was cold out before I got to the bar, but I had no idea. The icy blasts had figured out a way to penetrate my coat, and riddle me with gusts of laughter for not wearing a hat. Carl and I sprinted to the train station, and hopped on for about 500 yards. We had just gotten our shivering under control when we got off, and walked the rest of the way to his house. I slept that night under many warm blankets, and dreamed about springtime in Kansas City, which, incidentally, will be starting in a couple of weeks.

We slept through our hangovers on Friday morning, and hesitantly showered in the icy bathroom of Carl's apartment. Thank God the shower is high-flow and high-temperature. We lounged around the apartment until early afternoon, when we decided to go and have a beer or two at the Watch City brewery, where we idled with my favorite pastime: a pint and a conversation.

We went to Cambridge that night, and got some very tasty barbecue, and finished the evening off with a session at Shay's on JFK. We met some nice girls there, named Amy from DC, and Stephanie from Long Island, and had a very nice time.

I am sitting listlessly in Carl's apartment, as we pass some time before the actual reason for the trip(for me, anyway): the Extreme(I hate that word) Beer Fest. We're about to head over to Coolidge Corner for a nice walkabout and probably a warmup for our throats before we head to the fest. With that, I say good evening to both of you, my readers.

k interrupted with:
You'd think Boston could think up a better name than Extreme Beer Fest. That's right up there with pizza shooters and extreme fajitas. Ah well, as long as the beer is good, right?

6:38 PM, Jan 30, 2005

Rachel responded:
So there'll be a dotw for the beer fest? There'd better be.

10:20 PM, Jan 30, 2005

Gulia wants you to know:
Too bad it isn't X-treme Beer Fest...that's MUCH cooler!

10:49 PM, Jan 30, 2005

n8 wants you to know:
If it were an X-treme Beer Fest they would all be drinking Mountain Dew!

4:42 PM, Jan 31, 2005

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