Early Thursday morning, my aunt Wendy flew from Sacramento to Seattle where she met up with mom. They flew together to Boston Logan Airport. Meanwhile, I hopped on a Peter Pan bus and met them at the airport. My mom had a great time “checking in” on Facebook, and this picture had more comments than any photo I’ve ever posted.
We arrived at the hotel to learn that there was over night construction being done on the street right outside the hotel. Their apology? Free drinks- the perfect opportunity for a champagne toast!
The view from our window. 
(The next morning the bridge went up and some boats went under. I love watching that stuff)
Wendy had never been to Boston before. I browsed google maps to find a good historical sight to start with. Paul Revere’s house looked like a good place to start.
His house from the street:
From the courtyard:
Inside, the historical Grandfather clock looked so much like the one that’s been passed down through our family to land in Wendy’s house, that I broke the rules and took a picture.
Since I got away with that one, I took one of the room. 
The guides inside the house said they didn’t have a spiel for the room, but they did have very long and colorful answers to simple questions. They told us which furniture pieces were once owned by the Revere’s and which ones were from the time period. They told us that the house used to have some extra rooms that they accidentally tore off when they were trying to restore the house to how it was in Paul’s day, thinking they hadn’t been there during his time, but they were.
We stopped in a gift shop and spoke with a lady who had a legit Boston accent. My mom and Wendy loved it.
We wandered toward the sight of the Boston Tea Party, and I found the street that belongs to my good friends, Mr. and Mrs. Richmond!
When we got to the water, Wendy suggested we take a little boat tour. I love boat tours! My mom does too! The next one left in half an hour.
There’s the skyline!
We learned that Boston harbor was so essential to the town that when they ran out of room, instead of moving inland, they leveled the hills and put the dirt in the water to extend the harbor– so a lot of Boston is on man made ground!
A little farther out…
There we are!
We floated past an old ship that is being restored.
Back on land we were getting hungry. We started walking toward the Cheers bar. On the way I found the building under construction that was preserving the doorway:
And the Irish Famine memorial!
It was a little different than the one in New York
I mean, since it had statues of people instead of a hill floating above ground.
We found the Cheers bar!
This was the one at the location where the original bar was (called the Bull and Finch Pub) that the show was based on.
Ironically, the neighborhood bar “where everybody knows your name” has turned into a tourist attraction.
I loved it. 
I don’t know what’s bothering Norm, but I’m disgusted too!
Wendy isn’t.
Outside the door
We walked back through the park, and I ran into Daveed Diggs!
Aren’t we a cute couple?
And there’s his buddy’s street!
Two pints of
but I’m working on three!
(forgive me, I’m still high from seeing the show two nights before)
We took a Lyft back to the hotel for a quick rest before heading out to see a show. Our driver had lived in many places through his service in the military. When we started asking for details we learned that he grew up in Iran and came to the US as a teenager. He told us stories of being so confused when he was pulled over at 19 for speeding. He kept waiting for the police officer to ask for a bribe. He didn’t. He gave him a warning because his little machine that clocked the speed didn’t work– he wasn’t able to get proof. He was surprised by the cop’s integrity and baffled by the worthless piece of paper he had been given. He told the story better. We were enthralled.
Months ago, Wendy said she’d like to see a show in Boston. I tried to find some on the internet and I couldn’t find any! Then a couple of weeks ago, Amanda was telling me about how her old neighbor was working backstage for a show in Boston that was getting good reviews– perfect! Stephen Sondheim wrote the music for Merrily We Roll Along– My mom and I are big fans of Sondheim for his complex melodies and Shakespearian/LinManuelMiranda dense lyrics– the kind where you keep getting things out of it the more times you listen to it. I had first heard of the show when I watched a documentary on Netflix (Best Worst Thing that Ever Could have Happened) about how the original show on Broadway was a flop. After we got tickets, I started searching for the soundtrack so I could be familiar with the play, and there was a concert version with my buddy Lin playing one of the main characters!
Merrily tells the story of three friends from the end of their friendship to the beginning– you got it, they tell the story backwards. The characters aren’t likable (a big con in my mom’s opinion), but the production was well done– it came off of a successful run in London.
Some of the songs were very thought provoking. Like wondering what the moment was that started something that spun out of control and shifted the course of your life and how old friends are different from other kinds of friends. The music stuck in my head for a solid week.