Date #31 - Date Interrupted, ends with a bang!

If I have any readers left out there....my apologies for not sustaining this blog. We finished our thirty five dates, and then the holidays came rushing in with all the hustle and bustle that accompanies them. We spent a week in California with our west coast family, and then my laptop crashed and had to be replaced. Luckily all my data was recovered (thanks to my wonderful baby brother). I probably have a hundred other excuses, but that's all they are, just excuses.

I had really hoped to finish blogging about the 35 dates in time to have it published for TH's birthday, but that's not going to happen as his birthday is this week. Maybe I'll try for Valentine's day which is our pseudo wedding anniversary (everyone should have at least two). So buckle up and remain seated for the rest of the ride.

Date #31 actually started back in September. We decided we wanted to go to a shooting range where we could learn to fire pistols. I found a great Buy With Me deal at a place in Framingham that offered a course that would qualify us to apply for a Mass. Firearms License. So off we went.

Now I am not going to give this outfit any free publicity because they don't deserve it. Here's a photo from their website:

Sure looks like a shooting range, doesn't it? With headphones, safety goggles, and real pistol. Well I call that false advertising. Instead, we ended up in a classroom for 4 hours, learning everything we need to know should we ever want to be licensed (we don't). But did we ever get to shoot guns? NO!!!

This is what we got to do....

..............................we fired simulated arcade style weapons at a projection screen. Really?!

This was the longest, most boring, 4 hour date we'd ever been on. Needless to say, I contacted Buy With Me to voice my concerns and they promptly refunded our money as soon as we returned our certificates.

So two months later, we tried it again. This time we found a real indoor shooting range in Andover. Here's TH out front.

They offer a great learn-to-shoot opportunity, and we learned more about gun handling and safety in 20 minutes, than we did in the four hour course back in September. And then we got to put on the ear and eye protection and actually load and fire REAL .22 pistols, with REAL bullets.  No photos were allowed to be taken inside, but when the instructor wasn't watching I used my phone to snap this picture of TH.

We each received two targets and 100 rounds but, truthfully, after the first magazine was emptied I was ready to quit. My shoulderblades ached (talk about being out of shape) and I realized that I was actually holding a weapon of mass destruction that could end another human being's life.

I'd never in my life fired a gun with bullets, just bbs; but once was more than enough, thank you. And even though I used the special soap to wash my hands when we were through, I couldn't shake the smell of the lead residue all weekend.

Who's idea for a date was this?!

Date #30 - Don't Rub Me the Wrong Way

For date #30, we went to have TH fitted for a casket. He's decided he wants to go out face down.

Just kidding, of course. I don't believe we'll be needing coffins anytime soon.
Or ever....since we plan to be cremated.

For date #30 we went not to the funeral parlor but to a massage parlour for a Couple's Massage.
Once again, we were cashing in a discount voucher before it expired. However, this non-descript place in the basement of an office building in Quincy would never be mistaken for a spa at the Four Season. It was reassuring to know we hadn't paid full price.

In the tiny waiting area, we were greeted by our masseuse and masseur who informed us they were preparing the room and would call us in shortly. When they walked away, TH looked at me and said, "Please don't tell me that I'm getting massaged by a man." Of course not, I assured him..."he's doing me."

Hmmm....I never saw TH change his mind so fast!!!

Once in the room, they left us alone to undress and climb on the tables. TH was still so squeemish about a man giving him a massage, that he left his boxer shorts on and completely buried himself under the sheets. LOL

But wait a minute....something's missing from this picture. 
Me.
Oh that's right, I'm taking the picture. But where's my table?

Now this is how we envisioned a couple's massage.

Or, if we couldn't be head-to-head, then side-by-side would do

But our couple's massage was way less romantic than it sounds. And the reason I don't have any similar photos of the two of us together is because....

WE WEREN'T EVEN IN THE SAME zipcode ROOM. 

Our tables were in two separate rooms, with the pocket doors between the rooms left wide open. We were about 8-10 feet apart...you could have parallel-parked an SUV between us. The only thing we shared during this massage was the same music system that was propped on a chair between the two rooms.

There were no flowers, no candles, no champagne, no chocolates, no ocean views, and no interaction of any kind. Most of the time we couldn't even see each other because our heads were face-down or the therapists were standing between us.

The only redeeming value of this date was that the hour-long massages were indeed fabulous. They were so relaxing that we each admitted to dozing off briefly not unlike many of our more recent romantic encounters.

We were briefly left alone again after the massages to dress, but with the therapists waiting just outside the door (for their tips) there was no opportunity or desire to get frisky.

Date over!

Date #29 - When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like a Big Pizza Pie...

While researching ideas for dates, we've learned of so many things we never knew existed in our wonderful city. And so many of them are free. One fun fact we discovered is that the Museum of Science on Friday nites, and Boston University on Wednesday nites, open their observatories to the public, weather permitting.

One night in November, we were leaving Cambridge and driving across the river when we couldn't help but notice a beautiful full moon with one bright star to its right. It happened to be a Wednesday evening, the sky was crystal clear, and Boston University was directly in front of us....so why not? Nothing like an impromptu date nite!

A college campus is a cool place to hang on a weeknight. There is just so much vibrant energy around young minds at work and play. And, surprisingly for a school night, there were also quite a few families with young children at the observatory. But who could miss the chance to see such a beautiful moon up close? As it turns out, that bright object we thought was a star...it was actually Jupiter.

And what this graphic doesn't show is that, with the powerful telescopes on the roof at BU, Jupiter's moons were clearly visible as well that evening. It was awesome!

Here's a photo taken with my cheap phone....where you can't see Jupiter or its moons, but our moon was still a sight to behold.

Thanks to the endless spring we have enjoyed this autumn, it was a beautiful nite to be up on that roof, looking up at the moon and down at the city. The views over the river were spectacular...I wish I had pictures that would do them justice. Here's the Hyatt Regency across the river.

"When the stars make you drool, just like a pasta fazool.....that's amore!"

Here's the late, great, Dean Martin sharing our sentiments for what turned out to be a very romantic date.

Date #28 - Love that Dirty Water

Well our 36th anniversary has come and gone....
YES we completed our 35 dates...
YES we are still married...
YES I will blog about the 8 remaining dates. And YES I know I am waaaay behind schedule, so for that I apologize, but thanks for hanging in there with us and sharing the journey.

Date #28 was the ONLY date we went on in the month of October. And it was now so long ago I can't remember why. The California branch of our family tree was here for a week in the middle of the month, and we had our first ever sleep-over with both grandsons....best night ever! We also learned we would welcome another grandchild on the west coast in May, and we had an early first birthday party for grandson M. Other than that, our only excuse for not dating is that work (and soccer) and life probably got in the way.

For Date #28, we went "Down by the River, Down by the banks of the River Charles."  Since our first grandson C was born, we have spent a lot of time on the Cambridge side of the river, walking our grandbaby and our grand-dog. Last spring Groupon was offering discount vouchers for a riverboat tour, and our son thought it would be a fun family outing, so we purchased four coupons and promptly forgot about them. Occasionally we would remember and try to coordinate our schedules during the summer, but there never seemed to be a good time.

The vouchers were set to expire October 15th so, rather than have them go to waste, we turned them into a last-minute date. While we were in line for our tickets, we gave the two remaining vouchers to a pair of women waiting in front of us. Turns out they weren't tourists either, just two women from Cambridge who had nothing better to do on a lovely autumn day. LOL.

The one-hour cruise left from the Cambridgeside Galleria Mall. Our tour narrator was a lovely lady from Dorchester with quite an accent.
No...not a Boston accent.
She was from Dorchester, England and had a lovely British lilt.
But really?!? There are no local born-and-bred college students they could have hired? I am sure that visiting tourists would much prefer to hear an authentic Bostonian like TH mangle the local language, rather than a proper Brit speaking the king's English.

Nonetheless, it was a beautiful and clear fall day, and the views of the Boston skyline were spectacular from the river.

We did learn a lot of fun facts from our tour guide (none of which I remember at the moment), but many we already knew (the Smoot measurements on Mass Av Bridge). I do remember that she messed up the poem that explains the weather light atop the old John Hancock building. She also made a disparaging remark about Charlestown, calling it one of the poorer parts of town. I guess she hasn't priced the real estate there lately! LOL

One of the highlights of the voyage was riding under the BU bridge, one of only three bridges in the world that spans water above a railroad bridge.

Did you know that Portland, Oregon and Lisbon, Portugal are the two only other places in the world where a boat can sail under a train, that's traveling under a car, that's driving under an airplane? That's a pretty astonishing piece of trivia when you think about it. And who actually did the research to confirm that?

This date was probably the most uneventful of all our dates so far. There was no alcohol or food involved; just the two of us floating down the river, pointing out shapes in the puffy clouds, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine...and each other. And sometimes, that's all you need!

Date #27 - The Oompa Loompa Tour

The eating portion of our date project continued with a visit to the Taza Chocolate Factory in Somerville. TH was all on board for this date. He considers himself a chocolate connoisseur, although his taste for chocolate doesn't extend much beyond his Oreo Cookies. I wasn't sure this would qualify as an original date because we have been to Chocolate World in Hershey about 20 times (my brother lives nearby).

However, the Hershey tour is nothing but a disneyesque ride where you never actually see the inside of the factory. At the end of that ride, they give you ONE tiny snack size portion of a Hershey Bar. We are guilty of riding the tour numerous times on one visit, just to get that tease of chocolate at the end. But I can now honestely say that, until our visit to Taza, we had never visited a chocolate factory.

This tour is amazing, and only costs $5. The tour starts and ends of course in the factory store where, amazingly, they provide free samples of all their chocolate. Free UNLIMITED samples. Whoa boy, talk about entering the danger zone:

Because we had arrived about 20 minutes early, we had nothing to do but taste every sample... several times. And then we washed it down with their heavenly hot chocolate. Oh lordy....talk about decadence. And this is nothing like the sweet American or European chocolate we've all grown up on. This is pure organic Mexican style chocolate...heavenly. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet, and we were instantly addicted and unable to stop.

Finally, it was time to don our hair nets for the tour. Here's TH holding a cocoa pod.

And it was an amazing tour. Taza is one of the few bean-to-bar operations, and they do it in this amazingly tiny space with just a handful of employees. We were able to visit all areas of the production:

Here are the beans imported from Dominican Republic where they are harvested as part of a fair trade agreement with farms that do no employ child or slave labor.

Then they are winnowed and made into chocolate liquid. It's really an amazing process. The name Taza comes from the Spanish word for ''cup'. One of the cofounders lived in Mexico and was taken by the custom of having a cup of hot cocoa every day. It's a great story and you can read all about it on their website.

And along the tour, they continue to offer you chocolate as they explain the different flavors and processes. However, our taste buds were pretty shot at that point and I actually had to refuse several of the samples.

We couldn't enter the actual chocolate making room because it was in production. Here are the real life oompa-loompas at work:

And even the wrapping, packaging, and shipping process is all done by hand with less than a half dozen employees.

When ready to ship, all local deliveries are made by bicycle or vendors can pick the product up at the factory. And shipping is done via eco-friendly methods only. They are serious about sustainability.

Our date ended early on this evening because, once again, we had eaten dessert first and ruined our appetite. All plans to continue on to dinner and drinks were quickly abandoned as we rolled out of the factory, like Augustus Gloop and Violet Beauregard...Shame on us!

Date #26 - Crepes a la Google

For our 26th date, we wanted to take a cooking class. We had many options to choose from, that included everything from soup for beginners, to five course meals with wine pairings, to make-your-own-pasta, to gingerbread cookie house creations. We finally decided on.....(drum roll)....making crepes.

TH and I have always been big crepe fans. Early in our marriage, when eating out was always a treat, one of our favorite restaurants was a creperie in Faneuil Hall called The Magic Pan. We don't have the pleasure of enjoying crepes too often anymore as that restaurant is now long gone, and there aren't any local creperies in our area certainly none close enough to deliver take-out, and we never EVER thought to cook them ourselves. They just appeared too complicated, and we didn't own a crepe-maker.

The scene of our date: Dore Creperie in downtown Boston. This was a new restaurant and, as fast as it appeared, it is already gone. They claim to have been Boston's first pop-up restaurant/creperie. A former lunch spot, Sandwich Press, moved out of this Beacon Street location with five months remaining on their lease. So the investors decided to pop-up a creperie from June to November.

It was basically a one-man show, and Greg was the man. He was our teacher and the head crepe chef. He also had a couple interns working with him. The class was held in the evening after the creperie closed for the day.

There were three other couples and another single woman taking the class with us. We started out seated on the customer side of the counter while Greg and crew showed a powerpoint presentation of the history of the crepe. Then Greg started to demonstrate how early crepes were made with buckwheat. As he was ladling the batter onto the griddle, I happened to ask where he acquired his culinary skills. Without looking up or so much as a pause he answered, "Google."

Google? Did he just say, Google?

We all looked at each other, quite puzzled, not sure we'd hear his answer correctly. Google? Really?

Surely he was going to say, Gotcha!  But he didn't.

Greg readily admitted that he had no culinary background and had never made a crepe before this summer. When the partners decided on a creperie, they bought some crepe griddles, and turned to Google for a batter recipe and crepe-making directions. Kinda funny. Did I mention they are already out of business?

And then it was our turn to come around the glass and learn to make crepes. We started mixing two different types of batter...one sweet and one savory. It was a bit crowded in the mixing corner.

From there, it was time to make the crepes. Interestingly enough, we didn't get to use our freshly made batter to make our crepes. Instead we all ladled from a large vat of batter next to the griddles. I have a sneaky suspicion that the batter we ultimately used is a pre-made commercial concoction, while the batters we had just mixed would probably have tasted like paste.

With very minimal instruction, we each got to work creating one sweet and one savory crepe, using any of the dozens of available fillings. Here's TH working the griddle:

And here's his savory "pizza" crepe under construction.

When all was said and done, there wasn't a whole lot to learn about making crepes. As long as you have the proper griddle and the little wooden spreader...you are all set. The secret is in the filling and the folding. As you can see, we didn't do so well on the folding:

I don't even remember what I made, but I do recall that most of us created more than two different crepes. And once again we ate WAY TOO MUCH. Everyone in the class just kept turning out crepes, and we just kept on tasting. We were supposed to select a winner that would be featured on the next day's menu...but by the time we got around to deciding on a favorite, we were all too full to care.

And remember all that batter we created at the start of the class? Well, as a going away gift, we all received large cardboard soda cups filled with our very own batter ....so that we could go home and continue to make crepes. We also received $10 gift cards, just in case we might want to return for more crepes.

The name for the creperie, Dore, comes from the French word for gold. But I think it's safe to say that this 5-month pop-up venture did not line anyone's pocket with gold. I followed them on Twitter until they closed, and every day there were giving away crepes and offering discounts or free crepes to all the college students. With discount vouchers which everybody had that evening, the class was just $30 per person. I guarantee we all ate and drank more than our money's worth...not to mention the free batter and the gift cards we took home. Did I mention they are no longer in business?

As for those gift cards? Gave them to a former colleague who still works downtown. And the batter? Well I'd love to tell you that TH and I went right out and bought a crepe griddle and put our newly learned skills to work. But that didn't happen. After schlepping the four large cups of batter home on the subway, they sat in our fridge for another week and then they went in to the trash, unopened.

However, I'm sure we'd have no problem replicating that batter if the crepe-making bug every bites again. Because, even though we didn't write down the recipe....I suspect it's readily available on Google.

Date #25 - Howdy, Rex

"Howdy there, Folks, we're glad to see you...in Boom...Boom...Boomtown" 

If you are over 40 and grew up in the greater Boston area, you probably know the rest of the words to this song, and you definitely know exactly what Boomtown is. It was a locally produced kids television show in the 50s and 60s, hosted by a real cowboy named Rex Trailer who became an icon in New England. Everyone has nostalgic memories of Boomtown tucked safely away. And if you were lucky, you actually might have gone on Boomtown.

Neither TH or I ever got to go on Boomtown. Or Bozo, or Major Mudd, or Romper Room, or any of the other great shows created for us Baby Boomers in the early decades of television. But even more than wanting to go on Boomtown, I always wanted to go on the school vacation trips to Sunny California that were heavily promoted by sponsor Crimson Travel. But I had as much chance of going to Disneyland and KnottsBerry Farm with Rex, as I had of blasting off to the moon with Major Mudd. Didn't happen.

I did, however, host a backyard carnival to raise money for MDA with a kit I received from Rex in the mail. He was an Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and in later years we had the opportunity to meet Rex at several MDA events where we introduced him to our sons...but they weren't the least bit impressed. How could you not love a tall, handsome, singing cowboy who could twirl a mean lasso?!

So imagine our surprise when we heard that Rex Trailer was going to appear at our local library on a recent Monday evening.

Rex Trailer?

          Really?

                  Right here in South Boston?

The funny thing is that, everyone we shared the news with asked the same question: "Is he still alive?"

Turns out that Rex is very much alive and kicking at the age of 83. Apparently, this is the 55th anniversary year since the inception of Boomtown. Five years ago, a producer named Michael Bavaro (in conjunction with Rex) created a documentary film with nostalgic footage to commemorate Boomtown's 50th birthday. And now, 5 years later, Rex is on a tour through New England screening the video. TH and I rushed right over and grabbed front row seats to spend an evening with this legend from our past.

It's interesting how an adult perspective differs so greatly than that seen through the eyes of a child. (I am always amazed when I ride by my seemingly mammoth childhood sledding hills and realize they were nothing more than slight inclines.) The child in us yearns for everything to remain exactly as we remember, and it's a shock and disappointment to discover that everything changes and ages along with us.

Such was the experience on this particular evening when Rex finally walked in. Oh he still wore a cowboy hat and bolo tie, but gone was the tall, handsome hero with the booming baritone. In his place stood a wizened old man with a weak little voice, who struggled to keep his dentures suctioned in when he spoke.

But it was still the same Rex we all knew and loved. When he walked in, he said, "Howdy, Boys and Girls" and you can bet that we all shouted out, "Howdy, Rex!"

The documentary was great and brought back a rush of wonderful memories. The video also featured many celebrities, such as Jay Leno and Tom Bergeron, who grew up with Boomtown and shared their fond remembrances.

When the film ended, Rex shared some stories of his own and answered questions. His body might now be a shadow of its former self, but there is nothing wrong with Rex's mind...he's still sharp as a dagger.

Nothing wrong with his penmanship, either. Here's our autographed copy of the DVD, featuring a much younger Rex Trailer on the cover:

This is definitely a keeper. There is some great old footage from two decades of Boomtown with Rex Trailer and all his sidekicks through the years. If you want to feel like you are 9 years old again, check out The Official Rex Trailer Fan Club.

This turned out to be among our favorite dates. Did I mention how much we love and use the library? You never know what you'll find there!

"So dosy-do and swing around, grab your gal and promenade down to Boom,.........BOOM,...............BOOMTOWN!"