My New England trip now officially holds the record for the longest vacation I have ever taken. Clocking in at 19 days, it was a magnificent trip that saw all sorts of bucket list items and checklists being crossed off of my life pursuit. If you have enjoyed reading about these types of road trips in the past, then this one will be one nice, long doozy for you. I not only enjoyed nearly every minute of it (except for when Don yelled at me), but I will look forward to writing and posting about it – which is about as close as one can get to actually living it over once again.
The trip began on July 4, 2012. I had had only about four hours of sleep when I dragged myself out of bed at 3am that morning. The good news was that I had been fully packed for the last two days (another record of sorts!), so it was just a simple matter of showering, dressing, and driving to my Dad’s. He took me to the Dayton International Airport and I caught my first flight at 6am without issue, arriving in Baltimore at 7:20 and thankfully sitting next to no one. I was slightly concerned with the tiny 25 minute layover, but this simply meant that I could walk from one gate to the next and get right on the next flight to Boston, in which I sat next to a blonde woman, who along with her husband on the other side of her, were absorbed in their books.
I arrived in Boston, Massachusetts right on time at 9:05am, claimed my luggage, and located the Budget car rental shuttle. Upon arrival there, I met up with Bob, who had gotten into town the night before, and was now renting our Crown Victoria. I plugged in the GPS, and just like that, a two-week road trip had begun. Incidentally this was not only my first time in Boston, but my first time in Massachusetts. By my count, this would make the 30th state I’ve visited (using my stringent rules as to what constitues an official ‘state visit’ – but we won’t go into that).
The first stop of our journey wasn’t far away at all – but it was a biggie. In fact, we arrived there exactly an hour after my flight had landed. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum represented my 8th of the 12 currently existing Presidential Libraries. Bob and I browsed the museum for a little over an hour and then had hot dogs in the museum eatery, all the while witnessing one of the staff scold a teacher because one of her students dumped a box of straws on the floor. I was also dismayed that Bob put mayonnaise on his hot dog. But you can read about the more interesting aspects of the visit in my JFK posting located here.
Bob and me at our first stop of the long, tall journey
Enjoying an official JFK hotdog in the gift shop cafe
Overlooking Boston Harbor outside the museum
Next up was another crucial biggie involving John F. Kennedy – that being his birthplace in Brookline (on the outskirts of Boston). This was about a 40 minute tour, and then we popped by one of his other homes in the area, both of which are also covered here.
Bob and our guide Steven on the front porch of the JFK birthsite in Brookline
With a campaign poster in the birthsite gift shop
It was around 1:30 when we arrived at Fenway Park, which is currently the oldest Major League baseball stadium in use. In fact, since it opened in 1912, this marks the 100th anniversary of the stadium, so it was an extra thrill to be here. This marked my 15th Major League ballpark visit (and although today’s activity would only be a tour, I had plans to catch a Red Sox game two weeks later).
Fenway Park – my 15th Major League Ballpark visit
The tour itself was pretty crowded and it began with one of the guides in the souvenir store bellowing out some old corny jokes, then continued in the stadium, where I momentarily thought I had gotten separated from the group. It was kind of neat to visit seats behind the “Green Monster” and to sit in the pressbox, but other than that, the rest of the tour just took place in the spectator seats. Still, it was fun to hear the behind the scenes stories about Fenway in the blazing heat. There was also a small museum area to check out as we left the park. When we got back to the car, we were saddened to see that a hotdog vendor that we had been eyeballing before the tour had sadly closed.
Bob and me touring the Major League’s oldest stadium
Commandeering the nearest possible baseball golf cart
I was happy to be touring Fenway
In a section with the only remaining wooden seats in baseball – original to a 1934 restoration of the park
Hello from the Green Monster
The Red Sox’s impressive display of pennants
The Mickey Mouse at Fenway, similar to the one I saw the year before at Chase Field
The lovely view from the pressbox
The Lone Red Seat, marking the spot where Ted Williams hit his 502-foot home run
An impressive display of bats
The Teammates statue outside the park, featuring Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Dom DiMaggio
Back in Brookline, we hit a couple more JFK sites, the former Saint Aidan’s Roman Catholic Church, which has been converted into a condominium, believe it or not. And finally, we visited the graves of JFK’s parents Joseph and Rose at the Holyhood Cemetery. Once again, see the photos of these sites here. While there, Bob also planted his first of many special flags he had purchased to honor the deceased Medal of Honor recipients, this one being laid at the grave of Edward J. Houghton, who was awarded the medal for his service in the Civil War.
Bob plants his first Medal of Honor Recipient flag at the grave of Edward J. Houghton
This was quite an auspicious smattering of activities for the kickoff of our trip. The only thing that we couldn’t manage to pull off was to visit a signer of the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July. By the time we finished at Holyhood, it was 4:30pm, and we had promised a fellow member of the Sons of the Desert named Cliff Sawyer that we would attend his Independence Day party at his house in Worcester, which was about an hour west of Boston.
Bob and I got to Cliff’s at around 5:30, and immediately were drawn to the sound of the celebration going on in his backyard area. He had dubbed the pool and gigantic patio as the Party Palace, and that is exactly what it was. We found Cliff at the grill cooking up burgers, chicken, and hotdogs, and a gigantic table filled with all sorts of fabulous side dishes including oriental noodles, sausages, baked beans, and potato salad. Bob and I mingled a bit, meeting Cliff’s family, friends, and neighbors. The pool looked very inviting, but I never did make it in there.
The Party Place
Cliff slaves over the grill and Bob enjoys the spoils. The more wood you chop, the more you get to eat!
I had no problem filling up my plate with the scads of great food. Now take your eats with you!
Of particular note was the visit of my old pal Rich Finegan. I hadn’t seen Rich since 2004 when we attended the Sons of the Desert convention in Columbus, Ohio. We used to talk frequently on the phone, but had fallen out of touch for the past six or seven years. It was really fun to catch up with him and to meet his friend Janice, one of the friendlies and chattiest gals I’ve encountered in a while. She did get in the pool and attempted to save the lives of many of the bugs who were caught in the waters. She was also pleased to touch Bob since he had met Robert Blake, who had possibly met James Cagney. Yes, we were all puzzled.
Reunited with old friend Rich Finegan, in front of the new sign in Cliff’s collection
The party went on until around 10pm, when the final guests had taken off. Cliff showed Bob and me the tip of the iceberg of his incredible collection of Laurel and Hardy memorabilia that he kept in his basement/museum. I slept amongst all of it on some sort of fold out bed/chair, while Bob took a room upstairs. Cliff and his wife would both ask me how uncomfortable the chair was the next morning, but I couldn’t answer since my sheer exhaustion brought on by the early wake-up, flight, and day packed with events ensured that I pretty much passed out right away.
Surrounded by memorabilia, I check out a powder flask prop used in The Fighting Kentuckian starring John Wayne and Oliver Hardy, as well as Ollie’s personally owned and engraved pocket watch
Some late night pinball machine admiration
The 2012 New England trip will continue…
Bypass the New England road trip and continue with the Sons of the Desert convention…
Bypass the entire trip and continue with 2012…
That seems to beat Uncle Carrolls basement and entertainment. Wow!
Bev
August 6th, 2012