Date #20 - They're still having fun...and they're still the one

For our 20th date, we crashed an anniversary celebration. Sorta.

We received a last minute, out-of-the-blue, invitation and it was so much fun it became our second group date.

Our friends J and D were celebrating their 43rd anniversary. When J posted this news on her FB page, my first thought was Holy Shit Wow!....is it possible we actually have friends old enough to be celebrating 43 years of marriage? In fairness to them, they were babies when they married - still in high school - and they are both younger than TH. But they've "been together since a way back when" (and now I can't get that Orleans song out of my head).

We've known J&D for about 17 years now...our sons played hockey together in high school and against each other in the minor leagues...but our sons are still good friends and so are we. The only problem is that they live way down Plymouth County, which is only about 45 minutes away. However, they own several businesses, and their work schedules differ from ours, so we are lucky to get together even once per summer. Sometimes years go by without seeing each other. But the great thing about our friendship is that we can pick up right where we left off as if we'd just seen each other the week before. Those are the best kind of friends!

So imagine my surprise when J sent me a message that afternoon, that they were celebrating in Boston and inviting us to join them for dinner in the North End. Nothing is better than receiving an unexpected spur-of the moment offer which we are actually available to accept. And those always turn out to be the best of times! As soon as TH arrived from work and changed into play clothes, we were on our way to join them at a restaurant we'd never tried before on Hanover Street.

When we arrived, J&D were already seated down in the bowels wine cellar of the restaurant. They had earlier been to the Omni theater at the Aquarium, and then stopped at several bars on their way to the North End attempting to get a frozen drink for D on this hot summer evening, but without any luck. And this restaurant was no exception (strike one). Nor did they have any champagne by the glass (strike two).

Our entertainment was provided by the waiter; this tiny old man in his eighties (maybe nineties) who had no sense of humor and mumbled everything with an Italian accent so that it was impossible to understand anything he said (strike three). However J&D had been there before and raved about the food, and that certainly didn't disappoint...we cleaned our plates (home run)!

And truthfully, we had such a great time laughing and catching up, that the incredibly slow service didn't matter one bit. There was no place else we'd rather be. It was shocking, however, to come out of the restaurant and discover that it was still daylight....we had been sitting in the dark for what seemed forever. So we decided to skip dessert and find a bar with outdoor seating where D might finally get a frozen drink.

Hanover Street was packed and there were lines outside most of the establishments and, to make matters worse, when we reached J&D's car it sported a brand new accessory, compliments of the City of Boston...a $40 parking ticket. Rather than risk having the vehicle towed, we suggested leaving the North End and heading over to the vibrant new South Boston Seaport district. (Who's stupid idea was that?)

When we arrived, the waterfront and all the outdoor cafes were alive and hopping. That was the good news. The bad news was that it was Thirsty Thursday and we couldn't get near any establishment...they all had waiting times of several HOURS, and the bars were jammed twelve deep with every young kid in the city. We strolled the new Liberty Wharf weighing our options (none) and trying to figure out how to get one of those drinks. It was like being 15 again and waiting outside a packy store for someone to make a run.

Here's a picture of J and Me outside Jerry Remy's.

D took the photo, when we clearly weren't ready.

J is pointing and getting ready to say something, and I'm digging in my bag.

So, as darkness descended we continued our search for a drink. We tried several more restaurants further down the waterfront, but with the same results. Finally, D and TH decided they could wait no more, so they walked right into the very next restaurant and bulldozed their way to the bar.

Of course (you know where this story is going) they did not have any frozen drinks or champagne. And they only had two bartenders for the six thousand people trying to buy a drink. But finally, at long last, we had adult beverages in hand and went searching for a place to stand and drink them. However, the noise level was so loud we wouldn't have been able to hear if the fire alarms went off, let alone attempt to carry on a conversation. Is this really how kids go clubbing these days? There was no room to dance, not that you could even hear the music. Everyone was just screaming to be heard.

We sought out the only semi-quiet place in the joint. The hallway to the rest rooms. This also happened to be where the line formed for the stairway to the roof deck...so we joined the queue. Apparently there was a limit, and they only allowed a few patrons up the stairs at a time. By the time we reached the front of the line our drinks were just about empty, but they made us pour them into plastic cups and then let us climb the stairs.

At the top of the stairs we encountered darkness and bedlam. We were trying to figure out how to navigate a path through the gazillion people to reach the outdoor space when the cutest little waitress came right over and yelled in my ear, "Do you want a table outside?" Hell yeah....but where on earth was she going to find one?

Amazingly, she led us right outside and sat us down at the only empty table in the place, right at the railing overlooking the harbor. And no sooner were we seated than the most amazing fireworks display went off directly in front of us!! We were shocked and had no idea why there were fireworks on the 30th of June, but TH and I told J&D that we had ordered them special just for their anniversary. LOL.

 J took these great pictures.

And (can this story get any better)...this little angel brought us drinks almost immediately. We might as well have died and gone to heaven. We all just kept shaking our heads...not quite sure what we did to receive this special treatment as hoardes of bodies stood all around us straining to get a glimpse of the spectacular.

The fabulous fireworks display went on for a good 30 minutes (we later learned they were sponsored by the Fallon Company to kick off The Extreme Sailing Series). But D and TH barely noticed them. They were so smitten by our cute young waitress, they were swooning and making google-eyes like two pathetic puppies. J and I had a good laugh just watching them. It was too dark to get a picture, but they looked something like this image I borrowed from disneyclips.com:

The waitress could not have been sweeter. I wish I thought to get her name because I'm adding her to the list of Angels Among Us elsewhere on this blog, not just for the great table and service, but also for putting up with our two little boys (she earned the great tip J left for her). And to top it all off, they were wearing these silly Mariachi hats that were on our table. The quality of the photo is not good, but you get the picture....

A good time was had by all.

Our date didn't actually end that nite. Two nites later we drove down to the South Shore and went out to play with J&D again. Even though this particular restaurant was packed and the service slow (and the dance floor was now a parking lot LOL), the food was excellent and we finally found a place that served frozen drinks and splits of champagne!

In my last post, I mentioned my astonishment at the two outlaws who spent 16 years alone together while on the lam. But I have to say that J&D's marriage is so strong after 43 years, I truly believe they could survive far more than 16 years on a deserted island with just each other and not kill each other still be madly in love. We are blessed to count them among our friends!



Date #19 - Water and Wine (and Whitey)

Our 19th date was on Father's Day. But since neither of our sons were in the state to celebrate with their Dad, we decided to leave the state as well....and drove to Newport, R.I.

Newport is a beautiful city and always a favorite destination of ours. We try to get down there not often enough at least once every summer. Through the years we've biked the historic 10-mile drive, visited all the mansions, walked the length of the cliff walk, gambled at the Jai Ali fronton, and even watched our son compete in track meets at St. George's.

For our date, we decided to do something completely different that we'd never done before...we took a cruise of the beautiful harbor and Narraganset Bay on the Majestic, operated by the Newport Cruise Company.

Thanks to Groupon, we only paid half price for the one-hour voyage, but we would have gladly shelled out full price for the trip. It was terrific. The tour took us through the harbor and around Goat Island into the Bay. Our narrator/guide was an older woman who was quite versed in everything you'd ever want to know about Newport and, best of all, she had the strongest Rhode Island accent...the letter R never passed her lips. LOL

We sailed past Fort Adams and some of the grandest mansions in Newport - Hammersmith Farm, Castle Hill, and Ocean Cliff - and they were even more impressive and beautiful when viewed from the sea. The most amazing mansion was Clingstone, which was literally built on a rock in Narraganset Bay. It's accessible only by boat, and can be rented for the bargain rate of $7500 per week. Here's a picture I stole borrowed from http://www.rhodeislandbaycruises.com/

And if exotic and remote vacation destinations are your thing....we discovered another within spitting distance. The Rose Island Lighthouse is a working lighthouse and museum that you can visit by ferry. However, you can also spend a night in the museum or (I love this) you can actually be a full time keeper for the week. But before you get any romantic notions, keep in mind that it's a working vacation where your duties include raising/lowering the flag, managing the electrical and water system, cleaning the lighthouse, greeting the museum visitors, hosting the overnight guests, and collecting fees. And, get this, not only do you volunteer your services, you get to pay $1000-2300/week for the pleasure. Click here if you have lost your mind and would actually consider this a fun thing to do!

Our cruise ended right where it began, at Bowen's Wharf.

From there we strolled next door to The Landing Restaurant, where we snagged a table on the upper deck and enjoyed the great weather and some fabulous food and adult beverages while enjoying the view of all the yachts in the marina. It was mind-boggling to consider the $$$ that were floating before our eyes. Just how many gazillionaires are there in this tiny neck of the woods?

After our leisurely lunch, we meandered through the shops and boutiques that are ubiquitous in every coastal town. And I'm a sucker for every one of them....although on this particular day we were simply looky-loo's because we didn't buy anything. I lie...we did splurge on some yummy gelato. Then we made our way back to the car and drove to the last stop on our date.

Once again we had half-price vouchers (from Eversave.com) for a tour of the vineyards and wine-tasting at Newport Vineyards. But unlike the harbor cruise, we both agreed that this experience wasn't even worth the discounted price of admission. Maybe we were spoiled from the only other vineyard tour we'd ever taken...the Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa...but this didn't even come close.

Our wine tasting took place in the gift shop, where we were handed a menu of all the wines available and told to select five. Then they proceeded to pour one mouthful two-fingers of each wine we'd selected. That was it. There was no explanation of the differences, no lesson in tasting wine, no recommendations, nothing. Just a basket of crackers and a carafe of water to rinse your glass between tastings. There was one person pouring for about six couples, and the only interaction was when she'd ask, "Are you ready for your next one?"

I don't believe we had the equivalent of a full glass of wine by the time we finished. And the worst part, their sparkling wine was not included in the wine tasting. But they were more than willing to sell me a bottle of Brut for $34.95. Really?! When all was said and done, there wasn't one wine we tasted that was worth purchasing (and TH drinks wine almost exclusively, but he didn't care of any of them).

After the wine tasting, it was time for the tour. And if we thought the wine tasting was a waste of time, the tour was worse not much better. A young college-age girl conducted the tour, and I couldn't stop focusing on the fact that every third word out of her mouth was either "like" or "um". And it didn't help that we had some obnoxious hillbilly in our group that kept asking her stupid questions like "what's the difference between champagne and sparkling wine?" At least she answered that one correctly.

We toured the unimpressive vineyards out back (their main/larger vineyards are not at this location), and the barrel rooms. And after about 15 minutes, the tour was over...that quick. Then our tourguide led us into an outdoor tent where there were counters with the same baskets of crackers and carafes of water. She passed out the menus and told us to select five wines, while she went to get glasses. We stared incredulously at some of the other couples who had already tasted wine with us earlier...but it didn't appear that anyone was going to tell her. TH and I just looked at each other and headed for the nearest exit.

But we did get to take home our wine glasses as souvenirs!

So three days after this date, Whitey Bulger was captured... which brought its share of excitement to our family with both our sons having front row seats. But when I heard how Whitey and Catherine spent their 16 years on the lam, all I could think was Holy Crap! While I was happy to hear she was still alive (contrary to popular local opinions), I was flabbergasted to even imagine what those years must have been like. While I love TH, I could not contemplate spending 16 days completely alone with him, let alone years. I would surely have killed him by now. 

With no girlfriends for her to hang out with, to shop with, to get drunk and vent with; no buddies for him to watch a game with or have a beer with; no children or grandchildren to enjoy and play with; no family to share holidays and special occasions; no co-workers to interact with; WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO TOGETHER FOR 16 YEARS?! She doesn't deserve jail time, she's already served 16 years in almost solitary confinement!