One Hundred Eighth Entry

San Francisco-Minneapolis/St. Paul-Boston: Friday the 16th

Got to the airport at 4am. Got our boarding passes. Checked in the baggage. My stupid mistake: I had a giant Swiss Army Knife in my pocket. I discovered this fact when I was next in line at the Security Checkpoint. Being retarded, I just threw the knife into the little baskets they give you to put all your change in. The Security guy:

"You are my easiest catch today."

That left me with two options: Mail the knife to myself from the airport, or check in my carryon. I tried to mail the knife to myself, but the FOB that worked at the bookstore didn't understand a single word I said. So I smiled and said thank you profusely and walked to the Northwest counter. I told the lady my situation and she told me that it would cost an additional $80 to check in another bag. Then she said that if I saw my bag still back behind the counter, I could just stuff it in there. I saw it, so I stuffed it. Phew.

I got back into the Security line and Jen was already at the gate chillin. So I waited and waited and finally got through with my carryon. Excellent. The flight boarded an hour later.

Our flight stopped in Minneapolis/St. Paul (Twin Cities). We meandered through the terminal. And a cool terminal it was. Very much like a mall. No smoking though...arrghh.

Flew in to Boston. My first impressions of Boston were that it is a busy city, and that, at least at the airport, the people were nice and friendly. They might have been tourists like Jen and I. I called up my friend Micah. She had emailed me directions on how to get to her apartment from the airport. But being new in the city, these directions meant nothing. I called her up on her 'briefcase' and asked to tell me what to do. Simple enough..."Get on the shuttle bus to the 'T' station. Hop on the inbound blue line and get off at government center. Transfer to either the 'B', 'C', or 'D' train of the green line and get off at Arlington. I will be waiting at the top of the stairs." Simple enough.

We navigated the subway network they call the 'T'. We met up without any major incident. Introductions made.

"Jen, this is Micah. Micah, this is Jen."

We followed Micah for about 5 minutes to her apartment. Her street is really beautiful. Trees line the street on both sides and make a clear view of the sky near impossible. On a sunny day, the green-filtered sunlight is really something.

We dropped our stuff off at our home for the next few days, got the tour of Micah's apartment, rested a bit, and took off for dinner and a BoSox game.

The place we ate at for dinner was called 'Marche'. "Allons au Marche!" That was the coolest place we ate dinner during the whole trip! It was set up in the style of a French market. There were different stalls in the restaurant. Some with raw meats that they would cook up right then and there, some with different kinds of hot soups, some with Asian foods, some with desserts.
How it works:

You are given a sheet of paper upon entrance to the restaurant. You go through and if you see something you like, you ask the person behind the stall for it and they stamp your card. Its as simple as that!

The tough thing is controlling how much you take...it all looks so good. So, nearly $30 later, I was on my way to the BoSox game with Jen and Micah. We hopped on the 'T' and got off near the park. The walk to Fenway Park was full of encounters with ticket scalpers.

"Need tickets for the game?"
"Got two tickets for tonights game...TWO TICKETS!"

The game was fun. We got there in the middle of the 4th inning. The BoSox were up by 2. But true to form, they choked and ended up losing. The game itself, however, was not the most entertaining part of the game. The crowd is what was the main attraction for me. We had great seats. Right behind Center Field. Right next to the loudest, crudest, drunkest fans ever. I couldn't help but laughing because their accents are so foreign.

"Yoh bray-kin mah dahdeh's haht!"
In English:"Your breaking my daughter's heart!" (Still doesn't make sense out of context)

So we walked back to the 'T' after the game. On the way to the 'T', we saw something that would be imitated, mostly by me, for the rest of the trip. Apparently, Bostonians like to stomp on things, especially the grates one sometimes finds in the sidewalk. You know, the metal gate-lookin things you walk on top of. Anyway, Bostonians particularly like to stomp and scrape their shoes on these grates while cussing under their breath. And so it was for the rest of the trip.

"God-dammit son-of-a mother, gaad"

Boston-Providence-Boston: Saturday the 17th

We woke up early on Saturday because I had made arrangements to take the train down to Providence and hang out with my family. I have several cousins in Providence, by the way. I had heard a lot about these cousins, but nothing I had heard could have helped me prepare for them. They are the most energetic and friendly people you would ever want to meet. Apparently, I had met them when I was a lot younger, but I don't remember.

Jen and I got off the train at about 10:30. The plan was that Jen would go off and 'explore' the city, while I hung out with the family. As we got off the train, I got my cell phone ready to call my family. That was the plan. I would call them and they would come to the train station and pick me up. I got to the top of the escalator from the platform and I vaguely recognized three people sitting on the bench waiting for someone. I walked up to them and said,

"Hi, I'm Phillip."

They all stood up and introduced themselves again and hugs and handshakes all around! I was so happy! My peoples!

I introduced Jen to Elio, Lucy and Tia Serafina. This was the part where Jen was supposed to go off and 'explore'. But we quickly got sucked in to the "Da Rosa Whirlwind". So much for Jen 'exploring'. Before you know it, we were at a Dunkin' Donuts, one of millions we would come across in our travels. There we took the first pictures. (I forgot my camera, so Jen became the official Providence photographer. Thanks Jen!)

After a quick cawfee and donut, we were whisked to my aunts house. My aunts house is an old tenement house. There are six apartments in this three story house. Each apartment is occupied by members of the same family. After a tour of two of the apartments, Jen, Elio, Tia Serafina and I were off to eat lunch at a Portuguese restaurant called Riviera. It is owned by someone my dad grew up with in his village back in the "old country". The food was pretty good. I haven't eaten in a proper portuguese restaurant in quite some time.

After lunch, we went back to the house. We hung around for a while and saw the grounds. We saw their wine making tools and actually got a bottle of wine to take with us back to Boston. We also got some sweet bread to take with us. Yummmm.

We made plans to go to Newport, a pretty town on the coast of Rhode Island. This time the whole family went. Tia Serafina, Lucy and her two daughters Mikaela and Stephanie, Vital and his son Joshua and Elio. Off we went to Newport.

In the car on the way to Newport, everyone was talking at the same time. It was so cool. All the kids were listening to Eminem. At some point, I was asked what California was really like by Joshua (14 yrs). To which I responded...

"Everyone is tanned and surfs a lot."

In Newport we got to see the mansion Jackie Bouvier grew up in. We got to see the church she and JFK got married in.

In Newport, there is a street that is lined with giant mansions built by old money in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. For a reasonable fee, you can tour as many of the mansions you want. They were just beautiful...and giant!!! We didn't get to see any of them because we were on a tight schedule. We did stop at a monument honoring the portuguese people of Rhode Island. It is right on the coast. We took a family photo there (thanks Jen!) and then climbed down a scary lookin ladder to the actual shoreline. It was full of tidepools, full of warm Atlantic Ocean water. Very picturesque.

The highlight of the drive, had to be the pitstop at a seafood shack on the side of the road. It was a tiny little building. They serve all kinds of seafood machinations. The things I had were Clam Cakes. They were sooooooo good. Mmmmm-mm. Jen had something called a quahog. It was stuffed, and supposedly good.

After the Clam Cakes, we drove back to Providence. Once we got there, it was very nearly time for Jen and I to get back to the train station. So we said our goodbyes and with sweetbread and wine in hand, Lucy drove us to the train station. At the train station, we found that we had 20 minutes to kill because the train was late. Lucy, Tia Serafina and Stephanie all hung around with us til it was time to leave.

When it was time to say the final goodbye, it was sad for me. I did not think I would ever enjoy visiting my family this much. I thought it would be awkward and clumsy at first because I couldn't remember meeting these people. But they didn't care. I was family, and Jen was as good as family. They are a very hospitable family that made me feel welcome. They were already making plans for me to go there next year!

I felt kinda bad for Jen because I know she wanted to go and 'explore' Providence. But when I told her I felt bad for that, she said it was cool and had fun. Sweet!

So, the train ride back to Boston was uneventful, as it should have been. I called Micah once we got back into historic South Station. I was supposed to snag her keys so I could get into her apartment. She was going to dinner when we got into Boston. So we hooked up and she gave me her keys.

We got to her apartment and unloaded. I busted open the wine and drank some with Jen. I'm not usually a wine person, but this wine was good. Then I remembered that I was supposed to call Lucy to let her know that we got back OK. I did, and I again expressed my gratitude for their hospitality.

After resting a bit, we took off for dinner. We decided to go to Chinatown. We found a decent looking Sushi place and grubbed. It was pretty good. The pearl tea wasn't too hot, but oh well. We walked around Chinatown a bit and made our way to a CVS. CVS is just like Rite-Aid. We bought toilet paper and water. There were tons of people walking around downtown. We walked around a bit more and headed back to the apartment. We watched some TV and drank the rest of the wine. Then we went to sleep.

Boston: Sunday the 18th

Sunday morning I awoke to the ringing of my cell phone. It was Micah. She spent the night over at her sisters house and needed someone to let her in to her apartment when she got there. I said sure. I really had no choice since I had her keys. I got up and milled around the apartment for a while.

Micah showed up with her cousin John. He seems like a pretty cool dude. He's married and has a kid...and looks about my age.

Jen and I got ready and left the apartment. We visited historical Faneuil Hall. It is a pretty cool shopping area. There are a bunch of buildings, old and new. I had some pretty good Fish and Chips. We walked up and down the promenade they have there between buildings. Very pretty, lots of people.

Outside of Faneuil Hall, there was an Australian Tom Cruise look-a-like Street Performer. He was some sort of a contortionist with a screw loose. His accent was funny, it was a mix of Australian and Bostonian. I wasn't too impressed with his act. I have seen stuff like that before on the Late Show w/Letterman.

Afterwards, we found the Holocaust Memorial. Very moving. I had a moment...

Then we found a trail of double bricks that weaves all over the city known as the 'Freedom Trail'. This trail, when followed from start to finish, passes by all of the historical places in Boston. We started at Faneuil Hall and walked all over the city following the trail. We saw Paul Revere's house, the nation's oldest restaurant, Little Italy, Old North Church, some cemetaries that have some really old dead people, Bunker Hill (the famous Revolutionary War battle site), and ended up at the USS Constitution. In all, it took us the major part of the day just nonstop walking. We even got a little lost when looking for the Constitution. We had to walk under a freeway in a very shady neighborhood.

On the way back into downtown, we decided that it would be best to take the 'T' since neither of us wanted to walk all the way back.

Back in downtown, we found a Borders and did a little more sightseeing.

I called Micah because we were to have dinner with her and her family. She met us in Boston Common and walked us to her sisters house. After walking the whole day on the 'Freedom Trail', the last thing I wanted to do was walk some more. But it was a short walk.

Micah's sister, Karissa, had just had her Bridal Shower and there was tons of food left. I pigged out on deviled eggs and cake. It was good! As it turned out, Micah's family was not too interested in eating out. Micah still wanted to go, and so did her Aunt and cousin, so we met them at the Cheers bar in Faneuil Hall. Again, we walked there.

Micah's aunt and cousin are really cool. Ron was also there; he is a very good friend of the family. We all just hung out at the Cheers bar (which looks nothing like the one in the TV show, even though it claims to be an exact replica of the set) for a little while. Then Ron took off after consuming several beers. When it was time for the rest of us to leave and go eat, we discovered the Ron, who had said he would take care of the check, had done no such thing. Well...

In any case, we made our way to Little Italy for some Italian food. Micah claimed that this place was the best Italian food in Boston. She wasn't too far off the mark. I really liked it. We did have to stand outside in line forever, but it was worth it. Micah's Aunt Mary is hilarious!!!

After dinner, Micah and her family headed back to her sisters house and Jen and I went off and ate some Gelato. We couldn't find anything close to authentic Italian Gelato. It was all too creamy. Oh well.

Little Italy was hoppin that night. Tons of people and cars. Everyone wanted to eat Italian that night, I guess.

We made our way back to downtown and chilled in Faneuil Hall. We just sat down on one of the benches and rested. It was a long day and we needed a rest. It was then that we noticed a strange man throwing stuff about. We feared for our lives and took off.

At about 10:30 at night, we walked through Boston Common. Boston Common is the Central Park of Boston. It isn't nearly as big, but serves the same purpose; it is a haven in the middle of downtown which provides a calm, peaceful setting amid the noise and traffic of urban Boston. It was very nice. Very pretty.

For some reason, I can't remember what we did next, but I know I ended up back at Micah's apartment and fell asleep.

Boston: Monday the 19th

Monday was Micah's college graduation. Micah got a Master's degree in English. Very good! Congratulations Micah!!

I got up at the butt crack of early and helped Micah iron her gown because she doesn't know how to iron.

"Oh, how very domesticated of you!"

What am I a cat??

We had to be on the 'T' and meet the rest of the family by 8am. OK. We all met up at the 'T' and boarded. The 'T' was completely empty. There were no other graduates on the train whatsoever! We all started to tease Micah and say that the graduation was actually on Sunday and that her "special" graduation was on Monday. We also teased Micah about her cell phone which was jokingly, but pretty accurately, refered to as a briefcase. Her phone is huge!! It looks like one of those mini hand held TV's. According to John, she could fend off many an attacker with that giant phone.

The teasing continued well after we got off the 'T' and headed for the stadium. There were tons of people out there. Everybody and their mother came to this graduation. We sat in full sun on the side where Micah was supposed to come out. Well, the full sun got the better of us and we all trekked to the other side of the stadium where we were in full shade. Excellent. We waited for what seemed like an eternity, and then the graduates started filing out. We looked and looked for Micah, but we couldn't see her. Ray (Micah's step-dad) finally got up and walked down as close as he could to the grads, and found her. We all waved. She wasn't looking.

After the massive graduation, with its many boring speeches, we hiked to Micah's small ceremony. We could see her a lot better there. When her name was called, we cheered and she got up. She owned the place...for 10 seconds. She strutted (inside joke) across the stage and shook everything she had. Fire!!!

A reception followed the ceremony and it was just a 'coffee and' type thing. Micah (forcefully) told us that she wanted to take pictures in front of a pretty building. It was nice indeed. But too many pictures!! Just Kidding.

We then headed downtown, back home. I called Jen to see if she wanted to meet up or something. She said she was cool and that she would see me at the BBQ. Micah was having a BBQ at her apartment for her graduation. I needed to go do something so I told Micah that I would be there later. I was on a mission. I needed to find a BoSox hat.

Micah had suggested a place called Lids. I went there, but they had every size except for mine. Arrrrgh.

I tried another place. They told me that I should just go over to Fenway Park and buy one there.

I stopped by Bath and Body Works and bought Micah her grad present. I also bought her a card with some sexual innuendo, because what would a card to Micah be, if it didn't have any sexual innuendo?

Present taken care of, I went to Fenway Park to complete my mission. I found the BoSox shop and shortly after entering it, I noticed a loud voice that seemed familiar. I listened, and turned toward this man. It was one of the crazy guys from the game on Friday night! Very interesting!! I regrouped, continued my mission and bought a clean, fitted, 7 3/8 size BoSox hat. Mission completed.

I decided that the walk back to the house wouldn't be that bad so I walked home. Boy was that a mistake! I saw stuff that I really wouldn't have seen otherwise, though. I saw Back Bay Park...uh...thats about it. It was a long walk.

I remembered that I was supposed to walk Newbury street. So I did. Very interesting. A bunch of stores.

I was dead tired from all that walking. So I stopped at the Public Gardens. I sat there for a good half hour just people watching. There were a lot of young professionals walking around like they just got off of work, all talking on their cell phones and talking with that cool accent. While people watching, I noticed that Jen was walking around too! I was going to call her, but then said no, she is probably on her way somewhere. But then I thought, what the hell.

Jen had the idea to buy flowers for Micah for graduation. Awwwww, how sweet! She bought her a Gerbera flower in a pot. Very pretty.

At some point in our walking that night, I bought a puzzle ring from a street vendor. More on that later...

At some other point in our walking that night, we went to Trader Joes and, on the way, ran into Lisa's future husband, Ed. He said it was way far. We weren't deterred. I bought some nasty snacks for the bus ride into NYC and some candies for Micahs party. Excellent. We made our way to Micah's.

As we were walking to her apartment I had to stop and take a picture of a restaurant which had the name of one of my coworkers. Via Matta, it was called. While I was stopped fiddling with my camera, a homeless bum came up and started harassing us. I ended up giving him a cigarette. Not too bad.

Micah's BBQ was fun. Good food, lots of fun people. I actually mingled a little bit. I surprised myself. Then, I decided to take off my puzzle ring and mess it up. That was a mistake and that was 9 hours of my life that I want back from the street vendor that sold the ring to me. The rest of my night was spent trying to put it back together again and asking other people to help. I went to sleep and the ring was still not put together.

Boston-New York City: Tuesday the 20th


New York City: Wednesday the 21st


New York City: Thursday the 22nd


New York City: Friday the 23rd


New York City: Saturday the 24th


New York City-Boston: Sunday the 25th


Boston-Detroit-San Francisco: Monday the 26th