Dale Chihuly, MFA , Boston, MA

Oh, for those of you who are not from the Boston area, MFA translates to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  Note: We like to abbreviate places in Boston, for example MOS is the Museum of Science, Boston (another of our favorite places.) 

This time we were on an art adventure instead of a science or nature trek.  In an instant of destiny, a moment of sheer serendipity, we happened to catch an awesome show on PBS Chihuly Fire and Light, about the fabulous and unique glass-blowing work of artist Dale Chihuly.  As we watched in awe, we knew immediately that we would love to see one of the exhibits described on the show. 

We had volunteered this past fall at the MIT pumpkin patch event, and have seen quite a few minor glass exhibits in places like Washington, DC and Montreal, and have often stumbled upon some beautiful glass shows. To our utter amazement, we found that not only was a Chihuly exhibit coming to Boston, it was coming within a few weeks!  We were hooked and heard destiny calling.

Truth be told, we ran down in advance of the exhibit to see the Lime Green Icicle Tower that was erected before the actual Chihuly opening at the MFA.  We combined a trip to the New England Aquarium with an afternoon taking in the permanent collections at the gallery.  A few weeks later, went just for Chihuly and launched our optical odyssey with the Ikebana Boat display which was just inside the exhibit entrance.   We sailed away on a sea of glass, which perfectly reflected the kaleidoscope of colors from the ship.   We moved from room to room in awe with eye candy everywhere,   We made our way through the Chandelier room and relaxed under  the  Persian Ceiling, taking it in from every possible angle.  Each section was unique and lighting was used in many ways to best reflect the tone of the piece, such as in the exhibit displaying the Neodymium Reeds on Logs.

If you can make plans to visit Boston this summer, Chuhuly, through the Looking glass will be in town through August 7, 2011 in the Gund Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts Boston.  The MFA is near Northeastern University, so there are plenty of restaurants and T-stops nearby. If you like color, you’ll love Dale!   http://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/chihuly

Super Full Moon Rise, Hamptom Beach, NH

Timed perfectly, we rumbled onto Route 1A heading north, just as the setting sun was making a blazing, spectacular exit over the salt marshes and marina in Seabrook.  We had just enough time to click off a series of sunset picture captures, before turning the car around to oceanside for the real show of the evening, or maybe of the century. 

Parking the car at Hampton Beach State Park, we rolled past the empty booth where the parking fee is collected on searing hot summer days, and into the near empty lot with the last chill of winter still running along the sea air.  Grabbing cameras and tripod we dashed through the dunes to scope out the prime spot for nature’s free show.  As seagulls combed the beach for their dinner, we shot a few glances and pictures of the now almost completely set sun.

The horizon stretching over the ocean was nearly inky black as we peered into the darkness. Suddenly a tiny red glow appeared directly on the horizon.  It looked like red tail lights shimmering on a new black hot top on a rainy night.  But no, it was the very top curve of the full moon, rising miraculously from the cold Atlantic Ocean, already brilliant hot-pink red with the reflection of its mother sun’s brilliant energy shining on it as it sunk in the western sky. 

With great speed, it began to rise like a giant waking from slumber, until suddenly we could see the entire orb still glowing a hot red, and giving the impression that you could reach right out and touch it, or run across the incoming tide to sit next to it on the water. 

We snapped pictures and shot video until another group of moon watchers found our ideal vantage point. We heard voices of little kids echoing over the sands. There were children in the group who were running with glee all around the cold sand in the dark, happy to be running free with so much open space.  Instead of using all of the free space, or course they ran circles around the tripod, which was delicately balanced on the dimpled sand, left rippled from that morning’s outgoing tide. One of the kids started to shake my tripod and grabbing it with two hands tried to pull it away and then we heard this yell in the dark, the mother of one of the boys shouted out, “Damian, stay away from that nice camera…”  By that point, the kid was acting very much like his namesake in the Omen movie, and the mom’s admonitions definitely went in one ear and out the other. Later the mothers struck up a conversation, asking us if we were scientists, but the children continued their frolicking

Despite the theater on the beach, the drama in the sky unfolded to the amazement of all. Our super moon, the closest to earth in 18 years, moved higher and higher and stayed red, then orange and time seemed to stand still.   We have been on the same beach many times watching fireworks to the gasping cries of the crowd, but this show in the sky had a completely different character to it, one of almost hushed awe and reverence.  

Once the moon was high in the sky and turning a yellow-white hue, we went back to the car and blasted the heater to warm up from the wind and chill down on the sand.   We rode north on 1A and saw the reflection of the now-high moon on the water as we made our way towards north beach.  

On the way home, we stopped at Lena’s Seafood for a late night dinner and headed home eager to download pictures.

82nd Annual Sled Dog Race, Laconia, NH

Laconia is beautiful and fun at any time of year.  We passed the backhoe putting snow IN the road to make a path for the races, and asked the driver for directions to the starting line.  The race start was just around the corner, so we parked along the road side and walked towards a stunning view of the Presidential Range off to the left, with a field of brilliant white blanketed snow.  It was a sunny, clear and cold afternoon, but the area was bustling with people watching the races in progress, sledding and cupping steaming hot chocolate with their chilly glove covered handsst up was the single dog race with tiny sled-masters racing to the finish.  It was difficult to tell who was having more fun, the driver, the dog or the crowd cheering the kids on to victory. The big sisters, clutching stuffed huskies stooped to pay homage to the heroes of the race.

The 82^nd annual Sled Dog Derby is an international competition with folks in town from the US and Canada to take part in the races.  Like every good international event, the national anthems of both the United States of America and Canada were proudly sung with flags waving as the eager participants dodged the ski-doo-driving trail scouts in the waiting area. 

Present and posing for pictures was this year’s Miss Lakes Region, sporting a lovely golden plastic tiara on her strawberry-blonde hair.  

By the time the final event of the day, the multi-dog team race, the fiercest of the competitors could hardly wait for the race start, and were chomping at the bit to be on the trail to lead their driver to victory.  One eager beaver leapt into the air repeated, as he was ready to run.

Everyone was a winner at this annual event, and we knew that we were with kindred spirits as we walked back to our car.

On our way back we made a stop at the Laconia Outlet Mall and I got myself a pair of shoes at the Bass Outlet Store.

Percy Geoffrey & The Bostonians

As soon as the plane touched down and we cleared the airport, we took a quick tour through some Boston’s narrow, winding neighborhoods, saw the Bunker Hill Monument, the Tobin Bridge and the Leonard Zakum-Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge and dashed over to Papa Ginos to sample the new burgers and fries.  We rushed over to the USS Constitution hoping for a quick tour, only to find that the last group starts at 4:00.  We missed the tour.

On Saturday morning, the alarms and cell phones rang early for the dash down 93 to MIT!  We arrived at “The Infinite Corridor” and found it already teeming with happy, enthusiastic students getting in position for their first classes.  We ran over to the gym, building W32 as it is known at MIT,and joined the check-in line which was long, as this session of Splash was attended by a record number of middle and high school students, and then headed back under the dome track down the first class.

We were right back at it again on Sunday as we headed back to campus for the second full day of Splash excitement. The gray November weather didn’t dampen any spirits, and it was evident that all of the participants and staff were having a great time. After dinner at Grassfields, we celebrated November 21 with strawberry cake with strawberry flavored butter cream frosting and ice cream!  Yum!  Luckily we had lots of leftovers to make the rest of the week a mini-party!

On Monday we let the morning rush hour go by, and then headed back to Cambridge to visit
Harvard Yard and the Square. Geoffrey is sure to get top grades, since he touched the statue of John Harvard, and participated in a long-standing tradition that has left a shiny brass impression on the statue’s foot.  We ducked into Bartley’s for yummy milkshakes (frappes as the locals call them), and then dropped into Newbury Comics on Harvard Square for a minute.

Tuesday found us at the Sullivan Square T station, hopping on the Orange Line into Boston.  We got off downtown and walked through Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall, and stopped to watch an energetic street performer with a unicycle and bagpipes. That was some combo!   
We made our way past the newly erected Christmas tree and on to the aquarium.   

Our first stop was the seal tank outside, where several seals were putting on a show for
the kids with noses pressed up against the cold glass.  We visited the exhibits in the aquarium and saw penguins, turtles, sharks, and stunning tropical fish and jellyfish of all types. Next, we made our way over to the waterfront to wait for the water taxi over to Charlestown so that we could have another try at the USS Constitution.  We had a great boat ride through Boston Harbor and the waterfront area and saw lots of ships, Coast Guard cutters, battleships, fishing boats, sailboats and tugboats.  Boston has the best and least expensive waterfront cruises, all sponsored by our friendly MBTA service!  Where else can you get a scenic ride like that for $1.75!  Try it some summer –you’ll love it.

So, we arrived in Charlestown again and walked through the Navy Yard Yard to see USS
Constitution aka Old Ironsides, only to find that they had implemented the
winter hours and the venerable ship was not open that day! They call Boston a walking city, so we walked back over the bridge out of Charlestown, past the Garden and headed for our next destination, the North End. 

By this time we were ready for lunch, so we stopped in one of the many, many, many Italian
restaurants that boasted “Best Pizza in the North End” on a handwritten sign in
the window.  We had a hot pizza and then headed over to the Paul Revere Mall and the Old North Church.  We arrived just in time to hear a quick history of the church and Paul Revere’s ride given by one of the church historians, as we sat in the boxed-in white pew.  You could definitely picture the lamp swinging from the church steeple and the redcoats sweeping the city for rebels! 

After the church, we ran into Hanover Street’s famous Mike’s Pastry to pick up some
cannoli and an apple pastry stick, elbowing our way through the always crowded
shop to the glass counters beckoning with cookies and sweets of all kinds.  A new favorite is the espresso cannoli!  It’s “to die for” good!

We retraced our steps back to the subway, ducking into the train back to Sullivan Square
with commuters in time to head off the bulk of the rush hour crowd on I 93North!  

Wednesday morning we took it easy and got a fairly late start, and were in no rush as we
headed to New Hampshire and Maine to see the coast and lighthouse.  We got on 95 and passed from Massachusetts to New Hampshire and then into Maine in less that 15 minutes. 
New England makes for easy state-hopping, and we crossed three state lines in a jiffy!  It was a sparkling, sunny, clear day, but the wind was really blowing, which when along the coast quickly makes it feel much colder than it is.  We stood on the rocky outcropping across from Nubble Light and ducked back into the car quickly.  So different from the summer days where we jumped from rock to rock and watched seagulls cruise overhead at leisure.  The water was a brilliant blue and the Christmas wreaths were already up on the lighthouse. Several other brave souls were there to see the light. 
We wound our way back down the coast and cruised along Route 1A in Rye and Hampton and saw all of the houses that we will buy when we win the lottery!  Many were for sale too, so we hope that ticket comes in soon.   We had lunch in a seafood place that is standing room only in the summer, but very quiet on this November weekday afternoon.  You might want to try the
fried chicken dinner.  It was HUGE! 

The week went by very quickly and soon it was Turkey Day and time for watching football and eating lots of food.  We watched our New England Patriot’s win and then sat down before the Dallas Cowboys game started, to our Thanksgiving Day feast.  The menu had at least 19 items:  Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrots, baked beans, sambar, rice with peas, dinner rolls, crescent rolls, corn on the cob, baked butternut squash, applesauce, sweet
potatoes, apple pie, ice cream, and cranberry sauce.  The table setting was beautiful and everyone had enough to eat.
  

Friday it was time to pack and head to the airport, but we did take a quick trip to the
Rockingham Park Mall in New Hampshire for a few minutes and spent some time
with our friends the Beatles! at the Apple Store.  Geoffrey needs to come again in the summer so he can see the Constitution and the other 10 billion things that are left to see in New England.  Hope he can make it again.  

2010 Head of Charles Regatta - Cambridge , Massachusetts

 After Mass at St Paul's we walked the JFK Street towards the Weeks Bridge.
Tents once again sprang up along the banks of the Charles and students, parents and general spectators gathered to watch the annual race. 
The Canada Geese had to compete for the river as the best rowers from our nation’s colleges sped along with precision under the famous Harvard bridges.

Vendors of all kinds set up stands, giving away free samples of pumpkin latte, granola cereal, energy bars and drinks to all who passed by.  The energy was in the air as well as parents, fellow students and coaches shouted encouragement to the rowers.  All had a wonderful time, and will be sure to come back to Cambridge next year to see their team win! Later we had the lunch buffet at the Tamarind Bay restaurant near The Garage.