When I was done with my FTY site at Arlington I drove to CMP( An elementary school along the Charles River that serves as a FTY site for the Boston Truck on Wednesdays) and parked my truck, got on my bike and hit the bike path to the Esplanade. I rode over the river and past my freshman dorm at BU, past all the buildings built since I graduated in 1987.I pedaled past Kenmore Square and beneath the Mass Ave Bridge and exited the Esplanade at Copley and went to Emack & Bolios for an ice cream. It was a beautiful sunny day in the 70’s with a light breeze and Newbury Street was PACKED. I don’t think I have ever seen a Boston street so crowded. 1 in 100 were wearing a mask and I put mine on when immersed in the crowd.
I got my ice cream and biked back to the Charles River and sat near my favorite tree for a bit gazing out over the river and the city sprawled on both its banks. I then got down to business. The lava rock from Alaska that I have worn around my neck for the past 26 years broke while at the Arlington site. I was a bit in shock. I guess the rope running through it weakened it over the decades.
Before getting ice cream I stopped at CVS and bought some super glue and now I tried to super glue the rock together getting my fingers stuck to each other and not having much luck. I almost gave up but persevered and got the tiny piece somewhat in place. I didn’t trust to wear it so I rolled it up in a plastic bag and tucked it in a zippered pocket before heading off on my bike to Fenway.
Over the weekend when I was done mortaring the stovepipe wall on the sauna I used a bit of mortar to reinforce the repair.
I parked my bike on BU’s campus outside the Student Services Building that wasn’t there in my day and walked thru Kenmore Square and up Beacon Street over the bridge I have crossed to Red Sox games a hundred times at the least. This was the first game I have gone to alone since 2004 and I was free to wander around the park at leisure. There are so many new buildings. I saw one holdout, the one story Irving Garage which must be 70-80 years old. How much longer until it is replaced with something fancy and bigger.
Once inside the park I made a point to walk up the very same tunnel to the field I walked up my very first time at Fenway Park in 1975. I think I love Fenway more than the Sox! I was an hour early and spent it entirely up in the bleachers taking everything in….the park slowly filling, the players warming up on the field, the small crowd already in the bleachers, the crowd on Lansdowne Street beneath just over the wall and the city spread out beyond.
One immediate thing I noticed was the huge music and event hall going up beyond the right field bleachers. I used to stand at the top of the bleachers and gaze out behind me over the wall at the Pru and the John Hancock Tower and the skyscrapers of downtown but now that is all obscured behind this behemoth being built.
I found a nice spot to watch the game at the far right top corner of the bleachers overlooking right field and the game was entertaining with lots of hits and runs and lead changes. I even high-fived a stranger after J.D. Martinez hit a solo home run in the 3rd!
There were only 25,000 or so fans even though all restrictions are lifted but those who were there were hopping. Lots of groups having a good time, dancing to the music between innings, rocking it out on the big screen, cheering the hits, booing the Astros doing the wave. Happy to be out and about and back at the ballpark again and I among that number.
The game did drag and I left at the end of the 5th right after Christian Arroyo tied the game 7 all with a 3 run homer. It was already 9:30pm and I did not want to begin the three hour trip back to Vermont after 11pm. As I left and made my way back to my bike I listened to the game on the Sirius XM app. (The Astros went ahead 8-7 as I reached my bike and as I was in the truck heading East on I-90 right outside Fenway Bobby Dahlbak hit a two run double off the wall to put the Sox ahead 12-8. The game ended at 11pm as I was crossing the line into New Hampshire. Unthinkable that I should leave before the game ended but that was then, this is now. I enjoyed listening to the end of the game in the company of the Red Sox broadcasters knowing I had been there for the first five innings. At the game I miss the radio broadcast. I’ve tried to listen but it’s out of sync and distracts from the Fenway Experience.
Who would of thought back in the 80’s that there would be four such flags flying
Potato Rock
On Sunday I finally made it to the Potato Rock swimming hole my girls have been talking about for years. It is a nice spot on the Mad River right above where it joins the Winooski and features a narrow gorge and some deep pools to swim in beneath an old train trestle which is now part of the Cross-Vermont Trail.
Construction Update: Sauna
The exterior of the sauna is complete. I finished the cedar shingles and the stone stovepipe wall and am now working on the sign to go above the door. I had several thoughts on how to do this. I tried chiseling the letters but did not like the attempts, I tried to cut cursive letters on the bandsaw and the blade broke. Wood burning appealed but I don’t have the equipment. In the end I cut block letters with the table and jig saws. Files and sanded the letters are now ready to be glued in place. I decided against a stain because the rest of the sauna is light in color and I did not want the name to stand out too much.
