The New Freedom Trail

We didn't just drink beer and eat meals when we were in Boston, you know.

 No, the second day we drank wine and ate meals.

It's a great way to see a city, actually: walk a little, stop for a glasssa and an appetizer, walk a little more, stop again . . . you get the picture.

Thursday morning, after that marathon 15-inning baseball game Wednesday night, we walked for a long time, mostly because I was navigating and Boston turns me upside-down, but finally we came across this sign, on Newberry Street:

Glass of Wine with Savory Chef's Taste? For $5? 
Yes please.

It was just exactly what I wanted . . .

. . . and ol' cheffie did not disappoint.

Slices of quesadilla, cheeses, bread and arugula salad?

Perfect.

Oh look! Me walking ahead of Mistah again!

Later in the day Mistah found a book shop . . .

. . . and *I* found a bar across the street. I settled in with a book and a glass of wine . . .

. . . and had a great view of the proceedings across the street.

It really was a very nice book shop . . .

. . . and it really was a very nice bar.

And then, well, we continued walking . . .

I started to finally figure out that ding-dong town, wherein when one wants to eat more good food and drink more good wine . . .

. . . one goes to the North End.

Yum . . .

. . . and yum . . .

. . . and yum.

Oh look! Another restaurant!

With more salad!

And insanely decadent lobster ravioli for my friend Mistah . . .

. . . and fabulous mussels for me.

There are a *lot* of photos of me looking like this in Boston.

And then, just like that, there was no more time for wine or food.

There was a last selfie to take . . .

. . . and a station to get to . . .

. . . and a train to catch.

But fear not; all is not lost:

Bar Car, baby.

powah

Ahhhhhh, San Elijo.

What is it about that place?

When I first made the magical arrangements for my girl to extend her stay in the Cee Tee and be accompanied back home by her Grammy, I forgot that the one lowly night we'd managed to secure at San Elijo would fall right in the middle of mom's San Diego visit.

We considered cancelling the reservation, I was travel weary and busy at work. But everyone was looking forward to it, and the kids both had a friend in mind to bring along. unfortunately, my boy's designated buddy busted his foot at the skate park and was not deemed fit company for the camping/beach/88 stairs to pee agenda, so the two of them opted for a landlocked destination on our one night.

Which meant but one thing.... grrrrrrrrrrlllllllllllzzzzzzzzzzz  

Specifically, girls on surfboards.

Behold:
   

girls rule.

My current circus

I am always working on something. I'm one of those annoying 'seeker'-types who is always trying to figure out how to better live my life.

Yes, I love the self help section of the book store. I admit it. I mean, I certainly don't know what the hell I'm doing, so if you have some mind-blowing theory, lay it on me. I'm willing to hear you out. And yes, I'll pay a nominal amount of money to do it.

Does this sometimes lead me down a dead-end path? Maybe. But at least I'm on a damn path, right? Do I waste my money sometimes? No, not really. I can't say I've ever read a book or went to a lecture where I didn't learn something of value, and really, isn't that worth more than the over-priced appetizer I had out tonight? I truly believe that if I learn one thing of value, one thing I can take with me and utilize in my day-to-day life, then said activity it was worth it.

Does it make me annoying? Probably. Sorry for this close family and friends, but, I don't see any end in sight. I enjoy gathering all these tid-bits. And I'm going to force some of these on you now, in this very post.

Right now the three things I'm working on are: detachment, authenticity, and vulnerability.  Yes, just like at your child's elementary school, where they highlight a positive character trait each month: responsibility, character, honesty, etc..... (you get the picture). Except this is self-driven, very much not limited to a month, and I'm working on a crazy triad, instead of one at a time.

I shared my current three with a friend lately and he commented that, hmm, detachment and vulnerability, aren't these in complete opposition? And you know, he has a point, they could be. But they don't have to be.

To me detachment means letting go, not grasping at what I can't control.

I recently saw this quote:

And that's what I'm talking about. If it's not directly about me, or even if it is, but there is nothing I can do about it, let those monkeys do what ever the fuck they want. Eat all the bananas you can, monkeys. Go crazy.

Cuz I'm letting it go. Or trying to.

Authenticity; well, like detachment, that's probably going to be a life-long goal. Because really, if we aren't who we genuinely are, nothing good or real is ever going to come out of any of this crazy life. This seems so basic, right? But how often do we do what we think we should do, what society tells us we should do, instead of what we really think we should be doing?

It ain't always easy keeping it real. I think it takes real effort to be authentic, so I'm working on checking in on this. Often.

And thirdly, and perhaps most difficult, is the vulnerability aspect.

I mean to be vulnerable is not comfortable. It's hard. It's risky. It's uncomfortable.

I don't know about you, but I don't like to be uncomfortable. I don't like to be left hanging out there. I don't welcome the opportunity for rejection. But is this 'opportunity' necessary?

Well, interestingly, the universe in all its glorious wisdom sent me an answer to this question exactly when I was pondering it a week or two ago. In the short-term I needed break from the monotony of work so I clicked over to the Ted talk website. But for the long-term, what do you think was waiting for me? Right there, just one mouse click away? This, this scientific "proof" that vulnerability is necessary, at least if you want to be a connected, whole person:

Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability



I know that you all might not have the 20 minutes to check out this video right now. But I really think it's worth your 20 minutes at some point.

In fact, I bet you the price of the self-help book that it is ;)

West With The Libations

When one arrives in Boston, one walks. And in our case, one walks West. And when one Walks West, one stops for Libations . . .

. . . Yum, Libations.

We drank . . .

. . . we ate . . .

. . . we walked . . .

. . . and walked . . .

. . . and walked.

I think this was Mistah's view the whole time we were in Boston: the back of my backpack.

Thankfully, there were libations along the way . . .

. . . libations wherever we looked . . .

. . . man, those peeps in Boston drink a lot of libations . . .

. . . clearly, we were in the right town:

And that was only the first day!

But, hey, we enjoyed at the non-libation sights, too . . .

We walked *right* through the community gardens . . .

. . . and enjoyed their beauteous joy . . .

. . . right in Back Bay. And we kept right on walking . . .

And wait, look, what's that in the distance?

Could it be?

Oh, yeah.