Rhonda Bracey: At Random

Our last day in Boston today, and it was a free day for everyone. Some went to various museums and art galleries, some went to Harvard, some went shopping, some went on the hop on/off bus, some went to the laundromat, and I caught up with my best friend, Char.

She picked me up from the hotel and we went to the Boston Public Market (inside and outside stalls), and the very moving Holocaust Memorial nearby. We popped into the Union Oyster House where they’ve been shucking oysters at the bar since 1826 (in the photo below, check the concrete ‘sink’ in the curve of the bar and the rocks on which they shuck the oysters).

Then we drove to her house where I met the very adorable Whidbey, a black lab who’s an ex-guide dog, the black cats, and her husband and her son’s girlfriend. Our time together was limited as Char flies out to Las Vegas for a conference this evening. But we’ll see each other again at a conference in Florida next March. (Sorry, no photos of Whidbey — she’s VERY black all over, including her eyes, so she’s very hard to photograph. We couldn’t go outside as it was raining too much.)

After Char dropped me back at the hotel in downtown Boston, I went looking for a place to have a very late lunch/early dinner. Not much is open in downtown Boston on a weekend, but there were several places at the fringe of the financial district that were on the tourist route, so I went to one of those. I had a delightful (and small, but a perfect size for me) burger with some fiery sauce, and then the most amazing apple cinnamon thickshake — think of the best apple crumble you’ve ever tasted, add a touch more cinnamon, then some rich creamy vanilla ice cream and blend it all together… Yummo!

(Note: When Char picked me up around 9:45 this morning, the weather, while wet, was quite warm — a t-shirt and light trousers were sufficient. By 4:00pm the weather had turned quite icy, and even my rain jacket wasn’t enough to keep out the cold. I think Fall is finally setting in…)

Tonight we pack — our bags are being collected from our rooms at 7:30am and we’ll be in the big tour bus and on the first day of our road trip by 8:30am. And tomorrow will be our first real day of quilty stuff! We overnight in New Hampshire tomorrow night.

BTW, 10 of the group (out of 24) are going to the Boston Bruins v Montreal Canadiens ice hockey game tonight. I’ve opted out — while it’s a supremely skillful game, I find it all a bit brutal.