5:01 PM, Jan 31, 2005
Boston Wrapup
Carl and I took the T to the Arlington station downtown on Saturday night, and met up with Mike, a college friend of a high school friend of Carl. Once we convened, we made haste to the Cyclorama, where the beer fest was being held, and would start in about ten minutes. As we waited to cross a street, there was a young lady also waiting, and was starting to edge out into a non-crosswalked section of a six-way interchange. Mike asked us, "how will we cross," and I responded, "we'll just follow her." With that, we made a friend, and Rachel from Pittsfield, IL, wandered around downtown with us, in search of the elusive Cyclorama.
We eventually found the venue, principally characterized by the queue wrapping around the corner of the building, and assumed our places in line. We moved quickly to the door, and got inside about ten minutes after the event began. We didn't waste any time, either. Rather than muck around with each other, the three of us took off in almost completely incongruous directions, seeking the beer that would excite us most. We reconvened a short time later, each with a different-colored beer in our hand. More information will be available for this on the DOTW page.
We met some rowdy and raucous "bikers," who all brought matching t-shirts, and tried as much as they could with two hands. We figured they were okay, and met them at a bar after the event, for chips and salsa, beer, calamari, and onion rings. We hobbled back to Brookline in time to catch Weekend Update.
On Sunday, Carl and I went downtown, got some lunch at Fanueil Hall, and stared out at the harbor from the end of a pier until the cold drove us indoors, where we warmed up with some Harpoon UfO. We sat and enjoyed the late afternoon and the view of residents bailing the snow off their balconies with dustpans.
That evening, Carl left me to my own devices, so I met up with Bernadette at Davis Square in Somerville, where we pecked at some steak fries and Irish rye bread, enjoyed some great conversation and had an all-around good time. We closed out the evening with three rousing "strings" of candlepin bowling at Sacco's, around the corner from the bar where we met. She dropped me off at Harvard Square, where in lieu of getting on the T, I just started walking, pondering the wonderful weekend I had, and how sad it was that it was all over.
I walked back into Boston, where I met Carl at some Exxon station. We went back to his apartment, and over some beers I brewed and brought with me, spent the rest of the evening talking about my evening.
Carl woke me up bright and early this morning, and very generously braved rush-hour traffic to drive me to the airport, where I had the easiest time have ever had with check-in and security, and sat through two uneventful, undelayed flights back to Kansas City, where Geoff amazingly was in a perfect position to pick me up at the airport. As payment, I sponsored a Winslow's-flavored late lunch, and we rounded off the afternoon with a couple pints and games of pool at the Caddy Shack.
It occurs to me that I don't think I've had such a perfect weekend in my life, before. I must be doing something right.
//EDIT// 7:16 PM Feb 2nd:
The
pictures from this weekend are now up.