Blips of thought

[eohartman]

With the help of Christin (scottique), I successfully released five raccoons this past weekend! Video forthcoming. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty darn proud (of myself and the raccoons). It's been a crazy summer and it was such an incredible feeling to release them out into the wild and watch them start their new life. I vaccinated them, taught them how to catch live food, set out a feeding station for them (with dog food) until they get used to the surroundings, and released them on the most perfect 450 acres imaginable.

I've still got four raccoons in the GIANT habitat that Dustin and I finished building. Check out photos of the raccoon habitat here. The remaining raccoons are enjoying themselves. Three of them will be ready to be released in a couple of weeks, while the last one, Rowdy, is going to stay with me over the winter. He's the one that was imprinted, and I'm hoping that by keeping him until the spring, when he sexually matures, he'll wild up a bit. He needs a companion in there this winter, but I don't want to hold any of my guys back, so I'm stealing taking a spring-releasable raccoon from another rehabber in order to give Rowdy a friend. I have a lot of pictures and video that I need to upload/resize/post. Hopefully I'll get a spare moment to do that soon.

It just dawned on me that Dustin and I are leaving on Sunday to go to Boston for six days. He's got a training session Tuesday - Friday, so we're flying up on Sunday, wandering around Boston on Monday, and while he's in training for the rest of the week, I'll be working from the hotel room (that sounds dirtier than I meant it to be). It's a good way to see a new city without having to pay for all of it, considering his job pays for his flight, hotel room, and gives him food money. Hoorah. It's been so far in the back of my mind, though, that it just crept up on me - I have no idea what we should do while up there. So, I ask you, dear flist - what should we do while we're in Boston?

Also, this means that my 26th birthday is on Sunday, the day after Talk Like A Pirate day (and the day after we supposedly have a barn concert, though the guy hasn't been very good on the communication front). I'm quite looking forward to being 26. I figured it's something I've never tried before, so I might as well go into it with an open mind. Who knows what the next year will bring!

Comments

[ftmichael.livejournal.com]

OMG YOU ARE COMING TO BOSTON!

Also, you suck, because Nathaniel will be here in two weeks and that means you will miss him.

Stuff to do, just off the top of my head:
* Duck Tour!!!
* Walk the Freedom Trail
* Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market
* Boston Public Garden (ride the swan boats if the line isn't miles long!)
* Wander around Boston Common (across the street from the Public Garden)
* Museum of Science - one of my favourite places ever. Tons of hands-on stuff.
* Your wildlife-loving self might enjoy some of the stuff available through Mass Audubon.
* See a Red Sox game at Fenway Park! (If you take the T, be aware that the Kenmore stop is actually closer to Fenway Park than the Fenway stop is.)
* Wander around Harvard Square in Cambridge, if that's your thing. Cambridge is a separate city next to Boston (across the rivah), but the public transport all goes there.
* See Paul Revere's house (it's on the Freedom Trail, actually). Admission $3.50. Did you know that Paul Revere didn't make it from Boston to Lexington to warn Sam Adams and John Hancock, and it was his friend William Dawes who did? Paul Revere was captured by the British. He was a total propagandist as well. If you don't mind a more traditional (romanticised) view of him, you can have a look in his house and listen to people talk about him. ;)

For stuff I didn't think of: http://starthereboston.com/

And buy this map! Boston is a walking city, but is easy to get lost in, and you will be very glad to have a good map. You will likely not need another one while you're here. I have it and it's been so super helpful.

DO NOT RENT A CAR. You do not want to drive in Boston. I have lived here all my life and I refuse to drive in the city because I don't have a death wish. Between walking and public transport, you can get where you want to go. Cabs exist, but you can't flag them as easily in Boston as you can in, say, Times Square. You can probably flag them in a few of the busier downtown areas, but I've never tried. You can also call a cab company and have them pick you up, of course. I recommend walking as much as you can stand. There's so much to see!

For help with our public transport, see http://mbta.com/ . The map I linked to has a map of the T (subway) on the back to make your life easier, but the MBTA website has info about things like buses, getting from the airport to wherever you're going (shuttle bus to the Airport T stop, then from there to wherever you want), etc.

Locals are generally friendly and helpful (unless behind the wheel - then you learn why we're called Massholes), but do yourself a favour and never ask these questions:
* 'Which T stop should I get off if I want to go to Boston?' Most of the stops are in Boston proper (within the actual city limits, as opposed to greater Boston, which includes some suburbs). If you want to go right downtown where a lot of stuff is, get off at Park Street, Government Centre, or Downtown Crossing.
* COROLLARY: 'Which train goes to Boston?' They all do.
* 'How much does it cost to get to (whichever stop) on the T?' T fare is the same no matter where you're going. You pay $2 and ride until you want to get off. If you want to buy a 7-day LinkPass, which I recommend, that will cost you $15 and give you unlimited rides for 7 days. I assume you're staying at a hotel right downtown, so the closest place to buy such a pass is the Customer Service Centre in the Downtown Crossing station. You can see other places in Boston to buy passes here; if you're not sure which of the Boston listings is closest, stick with Downtown Crossing. :)

[sprixie.livejournal.com]

I'll send you a list of the things we enjoyed when we visited but I echo most of what ftmichael said. The Freedom Trail is amazing, definitely something you would like together. But it is quite a bit of walking so be prepared.

Also, they have 7-11 in Boston so fill up on slurpees. We grabbed them almost daily, a few times a few days.

Faneuil Hall is great and lots of fun. There's a comedy club in it where we saw Jeffrey Ross who was amazing.

The train is phenomenal so don't worry about transportation. The 7 day pass is perfect.

I'm going to pull old credit card statements to remember restaurants you might like.

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

lol at the slurpees. I haven't had an original slurpee in years because we don't have many 7-11s down here!

I'll have to check out Faneuil Hall and see what's playing there next week. Maybe there's something that will be interested in!

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

I knew you'd have a lot of good advice! :-) Thanks for all the links - Dustin and I will check them out tonight and see what we can go see. I think his coworkers are planning on meeting up for dinner Monday evening (before the training begins) and they haven't decided if they're meeting up in Boston proper or outside of the city. Have any good restaurant recommendations if we eat in Boston?

Where are you in relation to Boxborough? That's where we'll be staying - according to Google maps, it's about 45 minutes outside of Boston on the west side. Is that anywhere close to you? While Dustin will be in training Tuesday - Friday, I'm planning to work from the hotel room, so I have some availability/flexibility during the day if you want to meet up somewhere and grab lunch or something. Because I'd love to hug meet you in person!

Unfortunately, I think we're too far out in the suburbs to rely solely on the T - it doesn't look like it goes far enough out to reach us in Boxborough. But we'll probably rely on it once we get into Boston proper. The Museum of Science looks so cool, though I'm bummed that the Harry Potter exhibit doesn't open for another month! I think we'll definitely have to go there, though.

[ftmichael.livejournal.com]

I'm in the western suburbs too, but not as far as Boxborough. I thought you were staying right in the city! Boxborough is bumfuck compared to what I'm used to. ;) I have a car and can reach you if necessary, and I'd love to meet up and hug hang out! The hotel staff will know a lot more than I do about places to eat/sightsee/etc. in that area. Boxborough is just inside route 495 - if you look at a map you'll see what I mean - which means it's just barely eastern MA rather than central MA. Greater Boston is usually considered everything inside route 128 (which is also I-95, although 128 splits off north of the city and drifts toward the coast, while 95 continues up into Maine). You'll probably get to see some foliage out there though! The leaves are just starting to turn.

My best days next week to meet up would be Monday or Wednesday, so probably Wednesday (the 23rd) is ideal? I don't have to leave for work until 5 pm that day, so I could easily hang out earlier.

If you can get up to Littleton or over to South Acton (both about ten minutes from Boxborough), you can take the commuter rail into Boston. It takes about an hour and will drop you at North Station, where you can get on the orange line or green line on the T. Littleton Station is at the junction of Grimes Lane and Foster Street in Littleton, and has free parking; South Acton Station is at 10 Central Street in South Acton, and parking is $2.50 but there are nearly 300 parking spots, whereas Littleton only has 47 spots. (Count your blessings - if I take the T, I generally drive to Riverside Station rather than take buses or the Commuter Rail, and parking at Riverside is $5.75.)

If you get on in Littleton, you're in Zone 7; if you get on in South Acton, you're in Zone 6. Fare is determined by zones (farther from the city = higher zone number). A Zone 6 pass (ticket) is $6.75 per ride, while a Zone 7 pass is $7.25 per ride. Zone 6 and Zone 7 passes are also good for unlimited travel on Local Bus, Subway, Express Bus, Inner Harbour Ferries, and Commuter Boat.

If you choose to drive, as I said, do yourself a big favour and don't drive into the city. Park at a T stop like Riverside or a Commuter Rail stop in the suburbs, and ride the T in from there. this shows you what zones all the various stops are in (it doesn't matter what line you get on to go into Boston, as long as you get on an inbound train - all the Commuter Rail trains end up either at North Station or South Station, and you can get the T from there), and this tells you the fares for each zone. Remember that you don't want an Interzone pass, as those don't let you go all the way into the city - they're for travelling between more outlying stops only.

Most of the stops are in suburban areas, but may or may not have parking. Riverside, though expensive to park, has over 900 parking spots, and is on the T itself rather than the Commuter Rail, so it's just $2 to ride. It seems to even out money-wise, whether you drive to a station near Boston and pay more to park or take the Commuter Rail from farther afield and pay more to ride.

http://mbta.com/rider_tools/trip_planner/ is very useful too. ;) I just had it map a simple route from South Acton Station to Downtown Crossing, and it says it'll take you just over an hour and cost $8.75 (not counting the $2.50 for parking, I assume).

Forgive the novel. ;) Can you tell I love my city and get excited to share it with people?

[sprixie.livejournal.com]

We took the commuter rail out to Haverhill when we were there and it was nice - a cool way to see parts of MA. Only problem is it doesn't have a potty so make sure you go beforehand.

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

My goodness, you are such a wealth of information! :-) Thank you so much for all the tips - I've printed them out so I can take them with us on the plane and such, when we're going to figure out exactly where we want to visit and how to get there. :-) You rock.

Wednesday would be the best for me. I'll be working from the hotel room that day, but my schedule is flexible so I can meet up with you somewhere. I'm bringing my GPS, so if you tell me a good meeting place and a time, I'll be there! :-) I'm not opposed to driving a bit to see you - considering I'm already going to be in your state, what's another hour or two of driving, right? :-) OMG I am so excited about meeting up with you!

[ftmichael.livejournal.com]

YAY! Me too!

Riverside at 11? It's right off the highway so it's easy to get to, and we could either take the T into the city or I can drive us to somewhere in the suburbs, depending on what we want to do.

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Riverside station?

[ftmichael.livejournal.com]

Yesyes. It's exit 22 off of route 95. My guess is you'll want to take Mass Ave (route 111) east (for 5 miles or so) until it meets up with route 2, then take route 2 east to route 95/128 (exit 52A), then take 95/128 south to exit 22, which puts you on Grove St. Riverside is on your left just past the hotel. You can't miss it. :)

Unrelatedly, something else you need to know to navigate around here: how to say/pronounce stuff.

The Massachusetts Turnpike/route 90: The Pike, or the Mass Pike
Worcester: WUSS-ta
Gloucester: GLOSS-ta
Haverhill: HAYVE-rill ('hayve' rhymes with 'gave')
Massachusetts Avenue: Mass Ave
Commonwealth Avenue: Comm Ave
Copley: COP-ly. :P People seem to want to pronounce it COPE-ly for some reason.

You may not go to any of those places, but if you have to say them for some reason, and you say them wrong, you will be made fun of. :P And if we say them, you should know what the hell we're talking about.

Oh, and have you ever driven in a rotary/roundabout/traffic circle? ;)

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Several questions for you:
1) Driving around, both in Boston and in Boxborough, the fast food restaurants don't have drive-throughs (it took us awhile to figure out what looked "wrong" with the buildings!). Why is this?

2) I drove Dustin to his training this morning and we were stuck behind a school bus. BUT not only were we stuck behind a bus, but also behind a van that had a "bus" sign on top of it and flashing lights. Is this a normal thing around here? Is it just for added safety?

Yes, I've driven in a round-about before, and so has Dustin. Despite this, we ALMOST got into an accident yesterday because someone ELSE didn't know how to drive in one. We were on the outside lane, he was on the inside lane, and suddenly decided to get off the round-about...and very, very narrowly missed us. Thankfully, Dustin was driving and he has quick reflexes, so an accident was avoided. We were pretty shaken up for a while after that, though.

I had to keep correcting myself from saying "Copely." I don't know why - I think maybe it's because I mentally transpose the e and l? Thanks for all the prnounciations, though. Worcester does not at ALL look like it should be pronounced that way, and yet, that's how everyone says it around here. Y'all are so weird. ;-)

I don't have quite as much time available as I thought I would, because my manager gave me more work, but meeting at Riverside is do-able. I originally thought "oooh, we should go to the Science Museum!" but I would want to get lost in there and there's no way I can skip out on that much work - we've got some hard deadlines on Friday and next week that I can't fall behind on. :-( Maybe we can meet in Riverside and you can show me around the subburbs? How far away is Riverside from your house? I'd love to see the area in which you live (though you may not want to actually take me by your house, so I can't stalk you). ;-) Are you still feeling up to meeting tomorrow?

[ftmichael.livejournal.com]

1) McDonald's and Burger King do, and I think some Dunkies do these days. When they're there, people definitely use them. As for others - Wendy's and such - I imagine some of them do! I don't really eat drive-through stuff so I don't tend to notice! You're sure the drive-through wasn't just around back? I think it often is around here. There should be a little sign for the drive-through with an arrow, if there is one.

2) The vans are also school buses, just (obviously) smaller. They may be in areas where only a few kids need to be picked up by bus, or they may be specifically for students with special needs, so the driver can give them a bit more attention if they need it, they're not overwhelmed by a huge noisy crowd of kids, mobility aids can be accommodated more easily, etc. Anything with 'BUS' and flashing lights should be treated as a regular school bus, even if it just looks like a glorified van. ;)

The guy in the rotary who cut you off was in the wrong. I'm glad you didn't crash! He should have been drifting safely from the inside to the outside, timing it so he could get out easily. If he was still stuck on the inside when his exit came, he should have just gone round again. That's why rotaries are so nice! No backtracking if you miss your exit, and you don't have to go 2 mph to make sure you don't miss it.

They're English town names! We pronounce them the way the English do, since it's their words and all. ;)

*glares at your manager* I'm definitely still up for meeting tomorrow. Still Riverside at 11? I'm happy to take you on a little tour of the suburbs - it's not an unreasonable distance to my place. If you promise to be a very nice stalker, I might even show you my house! :P Do you know about how much time you'd have to hang out? I wish we could go to the Science Museum too, but it's definitely an all-day thing to do.

Are you enjoying the New England architecture? When I was visiting the Atlanta suburbs, my local friends commented to me how the houses were all 'big-little' - the attached garage looks like a little version of the house - and were pretty much all the same. Nathaniel loves seeing all the houses around here because they're all so different - stuff tends to be cookie-cutter in much of England too.

And isn't the foliage pretty?! I love seeing trees that are only partly changed and are still partly green, like the colour is slowly creeping over the tree.

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Riverside at 11 sounds good. Unless there's a better place nearby to meet up. According to the link you sent me above, that station has a BUNCH of parking spaces. Is there a place nearby that would be better for spotting one another, or should we meet in a particular part of that lot? I've got a GPS so just tell me where to go and I'll be there! :-) Also, I assume the number from which you texted me the other day is your cell phone, and I can call that if I get lost/can't find you, right?

I promise to be a nice stalker. Besides, I'm the one who'll be hopping in the car with someone I've never met before, so technically you have the upper hand... lol

OMG I'm so excited!

[ftmichael.livejournal.com]

You can park anywhere - hopefully the main lot won't be full. The main lot's on your right as you enter the station; you can't miss it. If it's full, you'll need to park in the overflow lot, which is to the far left. If you need to do that, just text me and I can meet you over there.

Assuming you do park in the main lot, once you're parked, walk out of the lot towards the little booth where you paid to get in. You'll see a handful of parking spots just in front of you, which are ten-minute spots intended for people who are picking folks up. I can park there and meet you.

Remember that parking costs $5.75!

Yesyes, that's my cell. :) Feel free to call or text!

Oo, you make a very good point. Well I promise to be a nice kidnapper, since you'll be a nice stalker.

I'm so excited too!!

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Sounds good to me! I'll see you in a couple of hours!