Boston
7/15-7/18:
I have decided that my favorite thing to witness in the world is watching two men in the North End of Boston greet each other in the middle of the street. It starts with one guy on a corner yelling “Hey” or “Yo” or “Look who it is” and then you see his counterpart across the street turn and smile. Then the next step is both of them swapping nicknames “If it isn’t ricky wristwatch”, “oh look at vinny swag bag over here”, “where you coming from bobby soxs”. And slowly the approach each other meeting in the middle of the street to embrace. I was in the north end (don’t call it little Italy) for all of 5 minutes when I saw the same interaction 5 separate times. It is magical and I wish the world was had more of this.
I arrived in Boston about 30 minutes prior to my check in at my Airbnb and felt instant relief. After 6,100 miles and 28 some odd days I had reached the other side of the country. I’ve never been on my own schedule for this long nor have I seen so many new things in my life. It felt incredible. I grabbed some coffee and I walked over to Copley square and began to take in the breadth of the architecture and history of Boston. It doesn’t have the towering feel of downtown Chicago, but the intermingling of revolutionary war stone and brick with modern steel and glass is a picturesque scene to walk amongst. After getting my barring’s I grabbed a coffee and headed back to park my car in the garage. I’ll take a moment here to pass a bit of travel knowledge on. Often times in major city centers parking is impossible. Most places you stay won’t have parking outside of complicated permit based street parking or expensive lots in the case of hotels. So, if you are checking out a new place with a car I recommend the app Parking wiz. This will show you parking garages where you can prepay your parking and often save a bit of money. That being said you also need to really look at the rules of the lot. In the case of my first use of this app here in Boston, it was super easy to park in the garage, but I was also lucky to run into an attendant who let me know that my 3 days of parking did not include reentry. I would have been screwed if I had taken my car out. Good thing, as I quickly learned, Boston is one of the most walkable cities in our Country.
I unloaded the baggage I thought I would need for the trip and took the 3 block walk to my Airbnb. This was the most interesting place I have ever stayed. An old brownstone building had been turned into what I think was an apartment type situation, but then purchased by some “boutique” hotel company and was being rented out on Airbnb. I’m not sure how I feel about all this. Airbnb used to be a person to person transaction. A way to find a home away while in a foreign land, but the conversation of places by companies is slowly removing potential homes for people and affecting the pricing of bookings overall. Anyway the room was small, which is not a problem for me since I’m traveling alone, but there were 3 really odd things about it. 1) the bed blocked the closet. Now I don’t need a closet, but you’d think you’d set things up as to not cause this problem. 2) There was a tv without any kind of connection to cable or streaming device. I had my laptop and more then enough cables to make it work for me, but I’d feel bad for the less prepared. And the oddest thing was that the bathroom was across the hall. I was well aware of this from reviews I had read and it was a personal bathroom using a entry code, but it’s something that gets old when you want to hop in a shower real quick and have to make sure you are decent crossing the common space between units. I also am not sure how many of the units were setup this way. I really didn’t see any other people making the pee pee dance leap between doors or forgetting their codes with their phone sitting behind one of the two lock doors they stand between wrapped in a small towel. Ya, the 2nd one definitely happened to me and I was luckily able to dive into my mind palace to receive the code that I had yet to memorize and escaped the embarrassing situation before anyone else came out of their rooms. I learned to write down the codes on my arm real quick.
After sorting out my movie level lock code mishap I got dressed and headed out. The first stop I made was at a bar called Club Café. The ratings of the place were great and I totally see why. How could you not enjoy an Elvis themed shotgun bar with friendly staff? It was packed so I had a quick beer and headed out. My biggest regret was that I did not return to this place. But exploration is necessary on trips like these. The next stop was a place called Clerys which was 2 blocks from my room so it would become my first or last stop for the rest of the journey. It was a good sized bar with very attractive bartenders and a mid 20’s crowd. It wasn’t even until the last night I was there that I realized they had a dance club downstairs. Great place to check out with a group. The last stop on my first night was a place random bar about a 30 minute walk. I don’t remember the name of the place but it was full of 21 year olds and had the feel of spring break in cabo. The only redeeming fact to this place for me was that I luckily got a seat at the crowded bar and the bartender who probably wasn’t born when I started driving, assumed I worked in the bar industry and charged me next to nothing for my drinks. Do I feel bad about allowing omission to give me a discount, No not in this case by any means.
The next day I started off early and grabbed a blue bike from the rack in front of the building. Very convenient. Thing to note about these bikes:
1) These bikes have to be racked so they can be tricky to park if the racks near your destination are full so keep it in mind when using them.
2) They have e bikes. Try to get them. Way easier way to move around when you have pedal assist available.
3) This company only exists in Boston, so don’t make the mistake I did of paying $25 for a month pass if you are only around a couple of days.
Now mobile, I head toward the pier to get my Go City Pass started. The Go City Pass in Boston consists of 40 different activities and experiences priced out based on the number of days you want to use it. I got one for 3 days and I’d have to say that they way they do the pricing it is worth it, but you need to be very efficient. This is especially true, because several of the attractions aren’t actually in Boston Proper, which means driving or taking a train and losing a bit of time from a travel. I think that with a full 4 to 5 days, you can really get the best of it, but hopefully my tips below will help you out in your planning.
1) The hop on hop off trolley is something that you should check in on, but be thoughtful of when you do so. You get a 2 day pass so make sure you activate it when you are planning on 2 days of attractions in downtown Boston around which it circles. It is handy to save some walking between areas and the driver will give you a bit of a tour as you go, but it’s nothing special and it can be frustrating when you have two wait an hour because no one is getting off at your stop.
2) Paul Revere’s house. Located in the North End, this “restored” home of one of America’s most well known hero’s is a quaint attraction. The Docents are very knowledgeable and it is a quick walk through, but I don’t know if it is a must see. I really enjoyed the people watching I described at the start of this entry more than the time I spent inside this building.
3) The USS Constitution. Located in the Naval yards Old Ironsides is a must see. They have a cute little museum about the ship and sailing during her time. The fact funniest fact I learned here was that for years the ship was dry docked and then restored and sent on a cruise around the US in Celebration in the early 1930’s. While on a stop on the coast of Washington State the captain acquired a bear cub which he brought aboard as the ships mascot. Obviously this didn’t last long and the bear was dropped off with the San Diego Zoo. Can you imagine sailing with a bear roaming the decks? It’s even harder to do so when you actually walk aboard the ship. It is a gorgeous vessal with ornate gold ornamentation and impressive cannons. The lower decks are also very cramped. The last time I was on a tall ship I was probably 12 years old on a field trip, now 24 years later at 6’1” tall I can’t imagine living in such a tight environment.
4) The Harbor cruise. Harbor Cruises are a major attraction for any city on a water front. This one was the wildest I’d ever taken. The oddities started when it started to drizzle as our long line of tourists entered the ship. Like everyone else I headed straight for the outdoor upper deck and stood by a railing to await departure. Just then the slight drizzle that had broken the 90 degree heat turned into a heavy downpour. And everyone ran inside. I had worn my trusty hiking sandals and had my rain jacket with me, so I just went down, stashed my bag and headed back up top. When I got back on the deck the rain suddenly stopped and people flooded outdoors again. A minute later the rain returned and they ran inside again. I stood their chuckling as this Marx brother style show repeated itself 3 more times before we even left the shore. Finally we were underway and headed out into the bay toward the islands off the coast. The tour guide was funny and pointing out cool spots as they always do. Then we suddenly hear thunder in the distance and the captain informs us that we seem to be heading toward a large storm and if lightening appears we will need to go inside. Moments later that announcement comes and I head to the bar. By the time I return we have turned around are heading toward the mystic river. The massive double decker truss bridge called the Tobin Memorial Bridge, formerly known as the Mystic River Bridge, spans this section of the Mystic connecting Boston and Chelsea. It was about then that I learned we were not on the normal tour track as our guide exclaimed “be sure to look up, this is a view I’ve never gotten to see”. We then continued up the river to see such exciting points of interest as a metal recycling plant, a factory that makes windmill blades and a lot where they store cars that come in from over seas. You could tell she was grasping at straws when she finally told us we should all check out the fish market for oysters which were “an aphrodisiac”. It was the wildest tour I’ve ever taken and I’m so glad I happened to be on it.
5) The ICA. The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston is a cool spot. As someone who loves contemporary aft I was pumped for it. While it was a small exhibit space (likely due to the general downsized nature of museums across the nation right now) there were two things that stood out above the rest for me. The First was a video piece. I’m not generally drawn to these pieces. Partially because they often go over my head a bit. But this one struck a chord, because music was involved. Upon entering the space I saw nine approx. 7’x12’white canvas’s, 7 on the walls and two back to back in the center of the room. Projected on each was a video of a musician in a room alone playing music built around the repeated vocal refrain of “Once again I fall into my feminine ways”. I walked around listening to the various speakers projecting the the sound being created in the specific rooms. I found it charming, but moved on. After checking out a few other rooms I returned and stumbled upon the end of the video in which one by one each musician stopped playing and walked out of their frame and into a single room, revealing that they had all been playing in synchronies in different rooms within the same large house in upstate new York. They eventually all emerged from the home to join a large group outside on the porch and they all danced off into the distance singing and playing music as they went. The final minute of the video was a technician going from room to room turning off each camera. The entire piece was centered around the pandemic. Our isolation and the exuberance of leaving it behind. As a musician I completely felt the depth of both the musical elements and the difficult of creating the piece. It was lovely. The second exhibit that turned my head was a complete surprise. I had stumbled into the end of the exhibit to find brightly colored contemporary sculpture pieces centered around the adjustment or redesign of common place items. As I continue if found clothing designs and realized that this was an exhibit for Chicago artist Virgil Alboh. I had seen a similar exhibit at the Chicago Museum of contemporary art in 2019 and wasn’t really into it. But this time I was completely engrossed. I think the main reason for this was perception and presentation. For one I had entered the space backwards which gave me little knowledge of what the experience would be. I didn’t even know it was a single artist exhibit which allowed for a broader examination rather than comparative view. Secondly the general size of the exhibit was much smaller. I feel that this compact size had meant a more specific curation and easier scale in consume. And Finally I think it just use pieces I liked more over all. All of this is personal opinion of course, but it really shines a light on the fact that the way we consume and present art can often be just as important as the art itself on a personal audience basis.
6) Salem- Ok this was a bit of a trek. It’s about a 45min train ride away, but totally worth it. There are multiple attractions there included on the pass and I highly recommend you find a way to check them out while you are in town. Below you will find a ranking of the things I visited:
a. The Salem Witch Museum- Poorly built diorama of the Salem witch trail error. Watching the film version of the crucible would be a better use of your time.
b. The Pirate Museum- This attraction was not on the city pass, but is a good example of the random stuff here in Salem. The museum was a walk through tour setup about the pirates of New England. The scenic elements were pretty well done, but the mannequin were awful. The one thing that made this experience stand out was the tour guide. A kind reciting a memorized script that had more new information about pirates then I’d ever heard. If you have tween boys or a post brunch group of tourists I’d say give it a try.
c. The House of Seven Gables- Pointless. The pass gives you access to a self guided tour of the garden. You can’t even upgrade to the tour of the inside of the house. You would have to be a major Nathanial Hawthorne fan to possibly think this worth your time. Moving on.
d. The Peabody Essex Museum- This is one of the most interesting museums I’ve come across in my life. It is a combination of fine art mixed with culture exhibits. One minute you are walking through an exhibit of paintings about the ocean by American Artists. The next are walking through a 17th century house moved and reconstructed from southeast china to the garden of the museum in Boston. The biggest thing that struck me was the creativity and thought behind the exhibits. It wasn’t just Victoria era furniture or modern art of the 1950’s. It was things like “what’s in a face” which had various cultural depictions of faces and a room full of ships figure heads. Along with a temporary exhibit by an artist who had built a walk through structure based on a journey of finding random man made items in the forest. Combining the concept of nature with interaction. It was super cool. All In all I say this is a must do and it is part of the city pass.
There was also a whole section of town with awesome curated street art murals, tons of shops and other small to large sized attractions. Salem was surprisingly cool and I’d definitely recommend a couple nights stay even if you are like me and are not into the occult..
7) The Duck boat tour- We have these in San Diego and I’ve always laughed at them, but if there was one thing every Chicagoan I met told me to do it was the Duck Boat tour. There is a clear reason for this. Beyond the novelty of a car that turns into a boat, these wild galivants are lead by a group of hilarious and informative tour guides with their own outrages personas. Mine was a man who went by the name “bobby Oar”. A play on the name of a famous Boston hockey player. The impressive thing about this attraction is that you get the same info as you do on the trolley or harbor cruise, but with more levity, context and panache. It seems hokey but you should do it.
There are additional museums, tours and experiences included on the pass which I did not personally get to do, but I think if I’m back in Boston for any length of time I’ll have to try to see more.
My final night in town I met up with my buddy Sean. Sean was the bartender at PB Cantina, my home open mic night in San Diego. An incredibly kind and encouraging person, he was one of the top reasons I came back week after week. He had moved back to Mass a year prior and it was so good to see him He took me to a couple of cool bars near the Naval yard where he lived and we had some great conversations. After a couple days of cold shoulder reactions from the locals it was wonderful to feel welcome and to see a friend I dearly missed.
I finished out the night at a fancy bar in the bottom of a hotel. I was pretty tipsy when I entered but was drunk by the time I exited and the bartender, the first to really engage with me in conversation since id arrived, gave me a really good deal on the drinks.
I didn’t really connect with Boston the way that I thought I would. But maybe by that last night I was starting to get it and starting to fit in just a bit. I will certainly give it another try some day and maybe I can crack it’s shell a bit.
The next morning was awful. I don’t know which was worse my headache or the traffic between Boston and NYC but I almost gave up on the trip. Luckily I arrived in Astoria, stepped out of my car and new I was in the right place….
