Urban Adventure with Arthur

Due to the Mother Nature celebrating her immense freedom of slamming the Eastern Seaboard with Hurricane Arthur, the Boston Firework Spectacular was moved to July 3rd. Seeing that it was a quick decision and being on a business day, we guessed that it might not be as crowded as our first adventure to the show a few years ago. So we parked at Alewife, took the subway into Cambridge and found a spot right in front of the barge on the Charles River.

The Boy and I playing Trash while waiting for the big show. Good to see him not glued to his phone.

The Boston Pops performed, a children’s choir sang that “Frozen” song, and the Beach Boys played three songs.  Everything needed to be slightly rushed as the skies grew darker.  For some reason, right before the fireworks began, Fenway’s lights came on and illuminated the entire river.

Yes, the firework show was indeed dazzling, even though the Pops did not get a chance to play the 1812 Overture. And no, I do NOT have any pictures or videos of the spectacle, as I am NOT a dee-oosh who blocks everyone’s view of the fireworks with their stupid phones!!!  You know who you are dee-ooshes!  Yeah! You show up at the last minute, standing in any crack you can find, totally in the way of spectators who claimed their spots an hour ago and aren’t jerks who set up camp on the sidewalk!  Seriously, does the show look better through your tiny damn phone screen?!

Deep breath. But the fireworks aren’t the story we will be telling our family at Christmas or our future grandchildren.

With smoke still lingering in the indigo Boston sky, everyone packed up chairs. We froze when hearing a commentator over the loudspeaker thanking everyone for attendance, but we needed to

E V A C U A T E.

Like cattle, hundreds or thousands of people herded across away from the river and towards the Kendall train station. First, the sky lit up again.  But the fireworks were over.  Lightening illuminated Boston’s cloudy, churning sky.  Thunder rumbled.  We reached the outbound train station and within a couple of minutes, people began screaming like a tidal wave was spilling into the streets of Cambridge, Mass.  We could then hear rain pellets pounding the buildings.  Then, WOOSH!

As Arthur’s edge collided with fronts from the north, huge rain drops pelted us poor souls.  More screams of unnecessary panic rang through the wet streets as people dashed to the Mariott hotel, towards the Chipotle, or under whatever covering they could find.  We crowded the entrance to Kendall Station, and my heart beat raced as I feared the impact of panicked humans, and the Mister voiced that someone may get hurt. Umbrellas fanned out, but quickly folded backwards as Arthur’s winds gusted.  Raincoats began wearing people instead of the other way around as the water fell relentlessly.  The Boy, frustrated by drunk or rude spectators during the show, donned his Ramones sunglasses in the blackness of the storm and stood defiantly out in the downpour until the crowd slowly piled into the safety of the train stop.  When the wind died down, he opened the umbrella.  As the weather and people calmed a bit, the Mister got out the camera.

Caught in the storm! As you can see, the Boy was not amused at first.

Soaked to the bone while waiting for the train!

My husband and I laughed loudly as our wet clothes clung to our skin.  My Chuck Taylor shoes turned into puddles that splashed with each step.  Finally the crowd started moving under the direction of the T’s security.  I was bumped and shoved as we inched towards the steps and called out politely for people to remain calm and not trample me.  It worked, as others scooted away from me. Hanging on to the Mister’s hand so not lose him, we carefully took each slippery step down. The Boy predicted the ride on the subway to be “soggy human soup.” And he was right. Soaking people sat in chairs and hung on to rails, but all were in good spirits, at least on our car.

Four stops later, we reached Alewife where the Beetle was parked. While waiting 45 minutes in line to exit the parking garage, I took off my shoes and rung out my sopping socks.  Not many radio stations came in under the garage, so I slid in my Ramones collection CD and we rocked out to American punk to make the wait easier.

Although I will always have the fireworks beautifully exploding in my memories, Arthur’s July 3rd storm will was the moments that brought on the most laughs and memorable moments.

Enjoy your holiday weekend, America!

Urban Adventure with Fine Arts!

This Memorial Day weekend, admission to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts is free. So naturally, we spent a rainy Saturday in Boston, mostly exploring this massive place.  Like most Boston day trips, our adventure began on the subway, where I was bummed because the Mister did not want to share a car with people dressed up for the Anime Boston convention.  Darn.  I really wanted to sit next to the people wearing cloaks and orange and black horns.

Anywho, back to the museum.  We visited the MFA about five years ago when first moving to Mass.  We did not see the entire museum that day, nor did we yesterday.  But we were primarily there to see the Samurai! exhibit.  Taking up the expanse of the basement, this display holds full samurai armor, including full body armor, dozens of helmets, weapons, and even some war drums.  On Saturdays, children can make their own warrior “armor.”

This exhibit left me breathless.  The suits were boldly amazing, woven with beautiful colors.  Here are some pictures taken from my cheap cell phone:

Here is my favorite helmet. The rabbit ears are for longevity. I could so rock this helm…

Samurai on parade.

See the detail in the mask?

Even some of the horses wore armor!

Awesome! Of course, the MFA website I have a link to at the top of this post has way better pictures.  When reading facts about the weapons on display, I learned that wives of samurai often defended their homes with spears tipped in curved blades while the menfolk were out fighting. Can you imagine that, ladies?  Putting the smack down and disemboweling a burglar with a spear?  If you check out these warriors on display, make sure you see the armor made for a boy, located towards the back of the exhibit.  Warning! If you go on a crowded day and venture into the samurai gift shop, they won’t let you re-enter the exhibit.  You’ll have to climb the stairs back up to the courtyard and possibly wait in line again.  Drat.

The Samurai! exhibit will be on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts until early August.

PS: After visiting the MFA, we ran into other Boston Anime adventurers, including Aang the Avatar and some Sailor Moon chicks.