Boston, etc.

I have been putting off a new posting for the longest. One main reason is I always have to come up with reasons not to do it. Another main reason is that I think a 'blog' has to be of some importance or subject. Why can't I just post some nonsense so people know I am alive? Better yet, to be a semi-regular 'blogger' so people that care can rely on hearing something new from me. There are plenty of "once-a-month" blogs. You gotta TRY and make an interesting dialogue for anyone to care.

Anyways, life has been good for the past month plus. I had to quit my job of 2.5 years because they wouldn't approve my customized part-time schedule (that worked around school). I can't exactly take night classes as an art student. Class times are limited and you have to take what they give you. After all, I am in classes with 18-20 year olds. I wonder if I look like a creepy old guy yet? I will know I am there when I sit in the front, raise my hand, make comments, and ask questions through entire class periods. (arg! I will NEVER be that old guy.) Other than school, I am running our pet-sitting business that is going well. I try not to say the name or provide a website link. Why? Because I wouldn't want prospective clients seeing comments that include pictures of man-ass, pig balls, cow balls, various animal penises, grotesquely fat people, and profane video clips. I wouldn't dare censor my friends' appettite for such things! [Hint: My wife gets 0 cow ball pics.]

We went to Boston 2 weeks ago for a family wedding. My cousin Catherine was married to her fiancee Chris. It was a beautiful wedding in downtown Boston and we had a blast. When we have to go somewhere by plane, we usually take advantage of being there in the first place. So we made a week-long vacation out of it. There is a slideshow on the main page, which I am sure everyone has already seen. Here is a quick schedule of events:

Friday: Arrived in Boston, went straight to hotel and Rehearsal Dinner. Got drunk and bought cheap cigars at CVS.
Saturday: Walked the Freedom Trail. You walk a red line on the sidewalk that takes you through the significant historic places of Revolutionary Boston. Went to wedding and reception that night. Had quite a few drinks, proceeded to far exceed buzz level of night before.
Sunday: Took a 'Duck Tour'. It is a tour of the city in a land/water military vehicle. Good comprehensive view of the city. Said goodbye to Mom and Dad. Went to see "Bodies". This is a museum exhibit of plastinated carcasses (think preserved bodies with no skin). It was pretty gnarly. Went to dinner with Wyatt/Jamie and Charles/Heather. Said goodbye to Wyatt and Jamie.
Monday: Took a bus tour of the New England coast. As expected, everyone else on the bus were senior citizens (almost everybody). It was still very pretty. Made stops at a beach, Nubble lighthouse, and the small town of Kennebunkport, Maine. The Bush family has a vacation compound that we saw from a distance. Daddy Bush was home.
Tuesday: Museum Day. First we went to Fenway, which was beautiful. Then went to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. There was better art at MFA, but ISGM was awesome. It is a 4-story mansion that belonged to its' namesake. She was a tad crazy and collected art, furniture, and lots of other stuff (i.e. - letters written by Washington and Franklin). So much stuff. But she left everything to the city, and they left is untouched as if she died yesterday. At dusk, we walked the Black Heritage Trail along Beacon Hill. Had dinner with Charles and Heather again.
Wednesday: Rented a car and went to Concord and Lexington, birthplace of the Revolution. Highlights include 1) North Bridge, first shots of the Revolution were fired here. 2) Author's Ridge, burial place of Thoreau, Emerson, Alcott, Hawthorne. 3) Walden Pond, where Thoreau lived in solitude for 2 years and wrote his journal that became his famous book. Other beautiful sites included battlefields and the towns themselves. The best part was in the Concord museum, where they had Thoreau's desk and bed that he used in his Walden cabin. Even better was his walking stick, which he notched everytime he had a profound thought. There it was, notches and all.
Thursday: Quick trip to the aquarium and left for the airport. They have a pretty nice aquarium.

It was a great trip. The city is beautiful. It is quaint for a big city. Lots of parks, grass, and trees.
Talk to you later!