Slow and Steady with Frequent U-Turns
All aboard the Dane Train, kids. Nells and I went to Boston on Saturday for some Dane Cook and some misdirected wandering. I brought the pedometer.
The best part of the adventure.... I'm sorry, the second best part (because going to see Dane was the first best) was the absolute lack of plans we made other than "be at Garden 10pm." We therefore spent the day walkin', walkin', walkin'.
Let me start by telling you that *I* forgot my map. And if you know me at all (or have read some of my more colorful posts) you know that I have no sense of direction and therefore desperately, pathetically need maps to get around. Thank the gods of good city planning for that spattering of information booths and mounted maps around Boston. We'd be in Canada by now without them.
We parked in a garage near Government Center and started out right away in the wrong direction, having emerged from a side entrance into a neighborhood instead of... out the front door right into Government Center--a place I actually know and recognize. We walked down a giant hill.... we walked up a giant hill... we saw a really huge building... we... decided we were lost. And then, miracle of miracles, through a wrought iron fence, I saw a Duck Boat. "Nell!" says I, "Duck Boat! Let's go toward the Duck Boat!" Hence, rule number one about Boston adventures: Follow the Duck Boats; they know where they're going.
The Duck Boat brought us out to the Public Garden and through the Common where we found the first of our lucky maps. Lucky map number one told us that we... had taken a little stroll through Beacon Hill. Hmmph. Never been there before. So we traced a little line along our path and giggled like the stupid stupid tourists we were.
OH but there's a MAP now. NOW we will go in the right direction for the MAP shall lead us! Follow Tremont! (which became the second rule about Boston adventures: Tremont shall lead the way.) And eventually, we shall end up at Fanueil Hall!
20 minutes later, as we crossed over the highway, Ms. Nellerson said to me, "We didn't cross the highway to get here. I think we're going the wrong way."
On the wrong side of said highway, we found lucky map number 2. We searched the area we should have been in for the streets we had actually passed while joking about how we were probably looking in the wrong part of the map. Ha Ha Ha. ... Ha Ha Ha. .... Ha...... oh.
And turn around we did right quick, heading back toward the Common, having realized that we took Tremont... in the wrong direction.
Luckily, we were in no hurry. So on our way back to the ... erm, right way, we decided on a stroll through the Public Garden since we really hadn't been paying attention the first time around.
We saw so many lovely things there...
Trees.
Water.
Public indecency.
And finally found ourselves back on track and conveniently following rule number three of Boston adventures: Follow Ye the Freedom Trail if Historic Monuments Ye Seek! And that brought us right back to Government Center.
We did however, step off the trail to visit the Holocaust Memorial.
Finally, finally, we made it to our only real destination for the day's events: Faneiul Hall. At that point, we had walked close to 5 miles and our feets were startin' ta ache. So we headed to the basement restaurant Zuma and sipped a couple of margaritas in the cool, sunlessness.
Afterward, we watched the street performers...
and wandered through some of the more interesting shops.
After Fred called to see where to meet us,
we got some coffee and decided to attempt to find the TD Bank North Garden formerly the Fllet Center. By this time, it had started getting dark and we realized that rule number four of Boston adventures involved Finding the Killians, for it conceals behind itself a map o' the city.
Except this one... which we were very disappointed in
Eventually, after many map stops and the harassing of random art pieces, we found the garden. We did a couple laps around the neighborhood, looking for a cozy bar WITH STOOLS and found Sullivan's Tap. It was there we checked the pedometer and found that pre-show, we had walked a total of...................................
6.55 miles. And we never could have accomplished it without... getting lost. Many times. Thank you total lack of direction!
By the time the show was over, however, and we had finally found the car again, the total was 7.77. Not a bad day's work, my friends. Not bad at all.
The best part of the adventure.... I'm sorry, the second best part (because going to see Dane was the first best) was the absolute lack of plans we made other than "be at Garden 10pm." We therefore spent the day walkin', walkin', walkin'.
Let me start by telling you that *I* forgot my map. And if you know me at all (or have read some of my more colorful posts) you know that I have no sense of direction and therefore desperately, pathetically need maps to get around. Thank the gods of good city planning for that spattering of information booths and mounted maps around Boston. We'd be in Canada by now without them.
We parked in a garage near Government Center and started out right away in the wrong direction, having emerged from a side entrance into a neighborhood instead of... out the front door right into Government Center--a place I actually know and recognize. We walked down a giant hill.... we walked up a giant hill... we saw a really huge building... we... decided we were lost. And then, miracle of miracles, through a wrought iron fence, I saw a Duck Boat. "Nell!" says I, "Duck Boat! Let's go toward the Duck Boat!" Hence, rule number one about Boston adventures: Follow the Duck Boats; they know where they're going.
The Duck Boat brought us out to the Public Garden and through the Common where we found the first of our lucky maps. Lucky map number one told us that we... had taken a little stroll through Beacon Hill. Hmmph. Never been there before. So we traced a little line along our path and giggled like the stupid stupid tourists we were.
OH but there's a MAP now. NOW we will go in the right direction for the MAP shall lead us! Follow Tremont! (which became the second rule about Boston adventures: Tremont shall lead the way.) And eventually, we shall end up at Fanueil Hall!
20 minutes later, as we crossed over the highway, Ms. Nellerson said to me, "We didn't cross the highway to get here. I think we're going the wrong way."
On the wrong side of said highway, we found lucky map number 2. We searched the area we should have been in for the streets we had actually passed while joking about how we were probably looking in the wrong part of the map. Ha Ha Ha. ... Ha Ha Ha. .... Ha...... oh.
And turn around we did right quick, heading back toward the Common, having realized that we took Tremont... in the wrong direction.
Luckily, we were in no hurry. So on our way back to the ... erm, right way, we decided on a stroll through the Public Garden since we really hadn't been paying attention the first time around.
We saw so many lovely things there...
Trees.
Water.
Public indecency.
And finally found ourselves back on track and conveniently following rule number three of Boston adventures: Follow Ye the Freedom Trail if Historic Monuments Ye Seek! And that brought us right back to Government Center.
We did however, step off the trail to visit the Holocaust Memorial.
Finally, finally, we made it to our only real destination for the day's events: Faneiul Hall. At that point, we had walked close to 5 miles and our feets were startin' ta ache. So we headed to the basement restaurant Zuma and sipped a couple of margaritas in the cool, sunlessness.
Afterward, we watched the street performers...
and wandered through some of the more interesting shops.
After Fred called to see where to meet us,
we got some coffee and decided to attempt to find the TD Bank North Garden formerly the Fllet Center. By this time, it had started getting dark and we realized that rule number four of Boston adventures involved Finding the Killians, for it conceals behind itself a map o' the city.
Except this one... which we were very disappointed in
Eventually, after many map stops and the harassing of random art pieces, we found the garden. We did a couple laps around the neighborhood, looking for a cozy bar WITH STOOLS and found Sullivan's Tap. It was there we checked the pedometer and found that pre-show, we had walked a total of...................................
6.55 miles. And we never could have accomplished it without... getting lost. Many times. Thank you total lack of direction!
By the time the show was over, however, and we had finally found the car again, the total was 7.77. Not a bad day's work, my friends. Not bad at all.
posted by Wendy @ 9:51 AM
1 Comments:
At 3:31 PM,
Anonymous said…
Next time we walk the freedom trail. Be prepared, my friend.
Oh and remind me to bring the map.
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