Tour guide hat again

At the beginning of my adventures 11 months ago I put out an open invitation for anyone to come and visit me wherever my travels would take me. If I had a friend that was traveling and staying in some pretty great locations, you can bet your butt that I would visit them and take advantage of the free housing! Much to my pleasant surprise, Jen from KC scheduled her trip to Boston. She arrived on Thursday around noon and managed to make her way from the airport, taking the blue line to Bowdoin stop, walk 2 blocks to my apartment and let herself in! I was at work all day and had a lunch meeting so I couldn't get away to meet her for anything that day. Jen then found her way around Boston, toured the US Constitution, took a ferry to the long wharf and made her way through Quincy Market area. She is a great self-tourer thank goodness! I met her after work at the Belle in Hand, which is the oldest tavern in America. We shared an interesting appetizer of shrimp wrapped in potato strings and lightly fried, paired with a nice beer. From there we took off to the harbor and walked the harbor walk pathway around to a restaurant with outdoor seating only, the Fresh Catch. I enjoyed a grilled swordfish over pasta and Jen had a broiled Haddock and salad. Very delicious! We completed the harbor walk and then took a cab home to sit on my patio and enjoy the beloved view.

Friday morning I had the day off because I had worked the Sunday prior anticipating Jen's arrival. As normal as brushing my teeth everyday, we took off for a day in Maine, after getting some coffee of course! We went up to Cape Elizabeth, my favorite head lamp in So. Portland, ME for rock climbing and picnicking as usual. The water was much calmer than when I had been there most recently with mom which made it a bit less climactic but still absolutely breathtaking. From Portland we headed down to Kennebunk, meeting Rachel and her friend Travis that drove up after work from Boston to be in Maine for the first time ever. We spent many hours lounging on the beach, even venturing into the cold water only up to our waist. After our fun in the sun we went back to Bartley's to enjoy some Maine cuisine. We had an array of food from calamari, tomato and mozzarella salad, Caesar salad, baked stuffed lobster and a baked haddock and scallop dish. Travis took the top prize though with his 3.5lb baked stuffed lobster finished by some blueberry pie! I have never seen a lobster that size in my whole life and Rachel had never purchased an $80 lobster before either!! After dinner we went our separate ways, Rachel and Travis heading to the Kittery outlet mall, Jen and I headed down route 1A along the shoreline at sunset to get our last glimpses of Maine. This would end up being my last trip into Maine for this year I'm afraid. Can't lie, I was a little choked up about it! :(

Saturday morning Jen and I headed out for some Boston adventures. We took the orange line out to Jamaica Plain to go to the Samuel Adams brewery and then we took the free trolley to Doyle bar and pub where it is said the first of Sam Adam's beer was served. It was a fun trolley ride and the pub was more like a museum which made the experience really neat. Then a walk around the suburb to have lunch at an Indian restaurant. Jen's first experience eating Indian food and thank goodness it was a good one! After a few beverages and a full stomach, the ride back into Boston was pretty quiet on our part, leading to a 3 hour nap at my apartment! After we awoke, we went walking around Boston, down Beacon street and along the Charles river. Ended the evening sitting along Cambridge street outside at Kinsdale pub sharing a beautiful evening and a great steak tip salad! Sunday was a rainy day, but we went according to plan no matter the weather. Rachel met us with coffee outside the government center T stop, where we picked her up to head to Cape Ann, MA. Rachel had never been and obviously Jen had not either, so it was fun for me to tour them around Gloucester/Rockport area. We tried to do the usual I always take people too including but not limited to; Footpath to the Atlantic, Rockport pier, Gloucester seaport walk, and lunch at Causeways restaurant. Rachel and I had some pretty fantastic lobster pie and Jen did not enjoy her coconut rum crusted haddock:( After a long day of traveling and adventuring we returned to Boston and headed back to the apartment for another nap. We were supposed to go on a guided freedom trail walking tour, however the rain stopped that trip for sure. We opted on movies and burritos, chillaxing in my apartment with the cool breeze flowing through my apartment. We were getting really ready for Fall!

Monday, I had to work again so Jen was left to her own vices. She had planned to take the trolley tour around Boston for the day, but again it was raining all day long. She still managed to make it around the city in good fashion, eating at the Union Oyster House for lunch, shopping and touring around as able. After work, Rachel and I met Jen at the apartment for a quick change then headed to the North End for some dinner! We ate at Lo Conte on Salem street and it was fantastic. Following dinner we went to Mike's Pastry, not because we needed more food, but Jen needed to witness this pastry madness. We each selected our favorite dessert then found a stoop and sat on the step together all digging into the same box of pastries with our plastic forks and big old smiles on our faces. Jen was a little disappointed that I had waited until our last evening to take her to this pastry shop! I needed a wheelbarrow to get me home after all of this eating!! I managed to pull my self together though, walking Rachel past the T stop and back to the apartment in order to get Jen's things packed up. Tuesday morning I again headed to work and Jen successfully made it back to the airport. Wednesday after work, I then headed out to NE for my cousins wedding and family fun. Got to Omaha on Wednesday night, mom and Tom picked me up and drove me to the farm. Steph, Rafe, kids and Simon joined us on the farm after driving from Texas. Thursday the kids, mom, Steph and I went into Lincoln for bridesmaid dress shopping purposes, then back out to the farm for a wiener roast and family time. Friday we packed the van to the gills and headed into Omaha, got RJ's tux, ate at Runza, checked into the hotel, took Simon to Katie's apartment and had some fun swim time with the kids in the pool. Kathy met us for some much needed catch up time as I have not seen her in years! What a treat!! Friday night, Katie and Matt met us at Fudruckers for dinner and I got to meet Matt for the first time. What a guy:) We then hurried back to Katie's apartment to help her pack her things to begin her move to IA. Saturday morning we met the other bridesmaids minus Carley, to finalize which dress we all wanted. Leaving Katie the big decision of color!! Amy's wedding was a great success, well obviously she got married and all, but it was a great party and dancing as well. Sunday morning was back to the pool with the whole Vosta clan poolside for breakfast and water time. Steph and family packed up and headed back to Texas. Mom, Tom and I helped Katie pack up to move to Iowa. Them mom, Tom and Simon dropped me off at the airport to head back to Boston for my last week of work!!! WHEEEEEEW!

Thank you to Jen for coming to see me! It was great to share my experiences with you and to gain some new ones along the way! Great memories and one wild and crazy week. I think I could probably sleep for one whole week at this point and I just might after my move home!

Situation leads to Scituate

Rachel is my OT friend from work here at MGH. Originally from PA, her family was coming to Scituate, MA for a week of vacation to visit her mother's side of the family. Most of you know me enough to know that I don't collect too many things, so when it comes to buying souvenirs I don't really buy to many of them either. Since being in Worcester, MA back in October I had been eyeing a type of bracelet that many MA gals were wearing around. I didn't really try very hard to figure out where to get these such bracelets at the time but then moving up to Boston the sightings of these bracelets increased by far, so this upped the curiosity. Now complicate things buy about a million times when this season on the Bachelorette (ABC reality show for those of you that don't follow) one of the contestants Chris L. gave Ally the bachelorette a special "Dennis" bracelet from Cape Cod, MA. After seeing this episode I was quite happy though because I was one step closer to finding out where these bracelets came from. The next day, after the episode aired, I went to work and immediately saw a nurse wearing one of these bracelets. I walked up to her and asked if she knew Dennis. She oddly looked at me and reported that she had no idea who Dennis was. I calmly said, "you know Dennis, the guy that makes those bracelets on the Cape". The following was the reply after about 5min of hysterical laughing, "Becky you do realize that these bracelets are from the town Dennis, MA?". Well NO, no I did not realize that or I won't have just embarrassed myself greatly!!!

To put this all together for you, after hearing that my buddy Rachel was going to the Cape and then figuring out that these bracelets known as Dennis bracelets or Eden bracelets can be bought from the little store in Dennis, I politely invited myself to go with her for the weekend! Rachel was really excited because I have a vehicle, so that meant that she had a free ride to her family's home. Unfortunately after doing some research on the Eden store, due to increased demands stemming from this Bachelorette incident, the store hours had been greatly reduced. I really didn't have much of a chance of getting the bracelet now for this weekend, but I had promised Rachel a ride anyway. Saturday I picked Rachel up from work at MGH and we drove to Scituate, MA which is at the opening of Cape Cod, some people would argue that it is the South Shore. On the way to the Cape, Rachel explained the massiveness of her mother's side of a very Italian family. I kept trying to tell her that my mother's side of the family is quite overwhelming also, however not in the least bit Italian! We arrived to Scituate to her Aunt Mo's and Uncle Tony's lovely beach home and side home that they typically rent out. The homes are positioned in a very quiet little bay/harbor about 20feet from the sea wall that barriers the ocean. I cannot explain the beauty of this location or the warmness of this family with words alone.

The main house is a 2 story home with 2 huge wrap around decks that face the ocean. We were sitting on the main deck talking to her grandmother, Nana, whom is the cutest little Italian women I could have ever imagined, as the family began to sworm onto the property. Rachel's dad, mom and sister Cheryl had driven 10hours from PA and had brought me a PA treat. When I did one of my fieldwork rounds during college, I was positioned in Scranton, PA. There is a beer that is distributed state specific, Yuenling, and her family brought me a whole case of it from their home town!! After all the guests had arrived there were roughly 30 people gathered on the deck. The fun part about this was it was unplanned! People just randomly gather at their home and enjoy the company, family and friends a like. So there we sat for most of the evening sharing stories of life and leisure over dinner and great beer, Yuenling:) I say most of the evening because at one point in the evening/night, her cousin Anthony asked us to go on a boat ride. I didn't put it together until much too late that it was about 9:30pm and we were in fact on an ocean. The boat was also missing the tail running lights. I was assured that Anthony was an experienced driver and he had not been drinking any of this fabulous beer. You would think that the 20min it took to drain the water and get the boat started would have been a clue to us, but we forged on with our fearless leader. The beginning of the cruise was great, listening to music, chatting along watching all of the sailboats and yachts in the harbor busy with people. Some people actually take a dingy from their beach front homes and dock at the beach front restaurants. Paying a $5 docking fee or as we might call it, parking fee. The cruise turned slightly scary when the speed increased to the point of making a fair sized wake behind the boat. The cruise got terrifying when the speed reached, "too fast" and when you look forward you see nothing but black ocean!! I do know how to swim and the part of swimming in the dark is not the worst thing I could imagine. The worst thing however was the thought of swimming at night in an ocean, into the fishing docks where they dump old fish parts into the water at times for feeding purposes!! It was only when we returned to the dock that Anthony revealed the reason we stopped and turned around for shore was the fact that we were headed out to sea in the "inbound" channel! Holy crap, don't share this one with my mother!

Sunday we woke up and watched her Aunt bake scones and Irish soda bread. Then all the women just sat around chatting on the main deck eating fresh baked goodies and sharing coffee. Before lunch Rachel, her dad Paul and I went for a walk along the rock wall/sea wall that leads you around the ocean's edge, to the back of many large homes, much like the "cliff walk" in Newport, RI. Rachel is now convinced that I am a mountain goat, however I just explain the length of my legs has nothing to do with agility or climbing skills. Rachel is all of about 5foot 3in and had quite the time scaling those rocks! After the sea wall adventures, we opted to walk on the road for the way back home. We then sat on the main deck and had lunch and of course a Yuenling, then Rachel and I took to the upper deck for some sun bathing. For dinner this evening was a special treat prepared by her Nana. Fresh, homemade Italian pasta and sauce, YUM! After some sad goodbyes and begging from them for me to not leave, I headed back to Boston quite late in the evening. I left them with an inclining that I may return later in the week if I became ill and couldn't attend work:)

So as luck would have it I ended up being "sick" on Thursday so I could return to Scituate on Wednesday evening. I arrived just in time for lobster dinner with the family! They fight over lobster parts as my family would fight over turkey parts. Rachel's favorite is the claws, Cheryl and her mother, Fran like the knuckles and her dad likes the tail. Works out great if they all agree to share! I did learn quite well as to how you are supposed to crack and eat lobster, and boy was it good! After some research on these bracelets we figured out that the store is in fact closing for a while due to increasing demands and inability to keep up because each bracelet is hand made at this store. We got up on Thursday morning at 6:30am and drove through Dunkin' Donuts for a few coffees and bagels for our 1.5hr road trip. We arrived at the shop hidden back in the woods a few miles out of Dennis, Cape Cod to find there was already a line forming at the door of the shop that doesn't open until 10am! We quickly got in line as a nice lady informed us that you had to have a ticket to get into the shop for any jewelry. We said, no problem, where do you get the tickets. She sadly informed us that they had come the day prior to purchase these tickets. My heart sank to my feet as I realized the chance of obtaining my bracelet was dwindling! After a short discussion we left Cheryl in line, Rachel and I in a hunt for these tickets. At the other door to the shop, which is approximately a 20ft x 15ft structure, there was another line forming and a man with some tickets.

The nice man told us that the tickets for this morning to go into the shop were sold out and we could come back at 1pm or the next day at 10am if we wanted a ticket for those times. I told him we wanted to buy a bracelet right then and we had driven a long way to obtain this beloved bracelet. We were then enlightened to the fact that there are 2 lines; 1 to go into the shop and look around prior to purchase and another express line in which you already know what you want and CANNOT GO INTO THE STORE!!! We quickly called Cheryl over and staked our claim near the front of the express line. The best way to describe this ciaos is to say it is like Black Friday sales. There are people running around everywhere, lines forming, people scuffling about their spot in line, police man directing parking to the very few 20 parking spots around the block, and the workers attempting to settle every one's "issues" about all of these issues. The actual story of these bracelets is a heartfelt tradition for the persons of the Cape or families that travel to the Cape yearly. It is a tradition to give a Dennis bracelet to their young ones such as we give baby rings, and then each year return as a family to collect their souvenir of their summer memories. Due to this reality show however, the tradition is quite ruined for many people to enjoy. It was a bit disheartening, but also exhilarating all the same. Everyone in the express line were looking around at the wrists, fingers, and ear lobes of all the women around to make their final purchase decisions due to the fact that we were not allowed to go into the store, there is no online options of viewing, and certainly no signs posted of pricing or anything. At 30min prior to the posted opening time an angel of a lady brought a stool, calculator and purchase pad to the front of the line. One by one, each lady went to the stool, told the lady what she wanted to purchase, the lady measured your wrist or finger size, went into the store emerging with the selected jewelry. All transactions were done outside with cash or check only, and then you left the premises. I probably haven't had that much adrenaline moving through my system since high school sports participation! We all left with our desired purchases, smiles on our faces and memories of an overwhelmingly amazing experience. Hopefully this will be tradition we could continue!!

Thursday was spent basking in the sun and playing Apples to Apples game with her family on the upper deck, then sharing a dinner prior to having to return to Boston. On the way out the door, Rachel informed me that her Aunt Mo said I could take an ocean buoy with me. I have been craving one of these buoies that usually just wash up on the shores and are collected by locals for lawn or business deck decorations. For functional usage, these buoies are used to float or mark lobster pots out in the ocean. I now have my very own buoy to hang on my fence in Kansas!! What an adventure, like Christmas to me, complete with Yuenling, bracelet, lobster and a buoy! Yet again an unforgettable week that I could not have planned even if I had spent days or months researching the area. I have been so blessed to be in the right places with the right people to gain the best experiences ever imaginable.