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Monday, June 14, 2004 - 9:10 a.m.

Vacation Log: Boston and Braintree

This road trip came about because of our previously planned Memorial Day weekend on Cape Cod and the bachelorette party Casey would attend in Boston the following weekend. So why go home? we figured. Our trip actually went, chronologically: Cape Cod, Boston, Lowell, Maine, Boston. I've condensed the Boston events into this one log entry.

On Memorial Day, we -- along with my parents -- awoke early at the Cape and helped with the cleanup of the house before escaping the peninsula before 10 a.m. The brilliant sunshine likely pushed the exodus back to the late afternoon, but we had a brunch invitation in Braintree anyway, so we were on our way.

We arrived at Bryan's new house and got the tour. He's the first East Coast college friend to make it to home ownership, a result of his determination and real estate obsession. He bought the place in November and already has gutted and remodeled the living room, kitchen and dining room (once two rooms, now one), the bathroom upstairs and the front yard (bushes, gone; grass from the backyard where there's now a garden, transplanted). Impressive. Eventually the bedrooms and basement will be redone too. Plus new windows.

I spent Memorial Day on the open waters of Boston Harbor, sailing with Bryan and his father on his dad's 30-foot boat. It was sunny and warm on shore, but the breezes out on the water ensured that the sweatshirt never came off. We spent relatively quiet nights in the suburbs, going out to bring in pizza on Memorial Day night and make more home improvements in the purchase of Trivial Pursuit.

Tuesday morning, with Bryan and Jim off at work, we packed the car and headed for Maine via Lowell.

Back in Boston/Braintree on Friday, we ate more pizza. But this was Regina's in the North End, a tiny place with surly waitresses and pitchers of beer. And Leanne and Bill. Yummy.

Then Saturday. Casey left early for Cambridge to see her way around the museums of Harvard. I tagged along with Bryan and Jim to the garden center for more home improvement, horticulturally speaking. After seven days of nonstop driving, sightseeing and visiting, I was happy to kick back and relax. I watched some TV -- a little Fox afternoon baseball, a little Belmont Stakes -- and read more of Doctor Sax. I kept in the back of my mind the internet report I'd read that morning saying Ronald Reagan was in bad shape. I noticed how ESPN mentioned it and figured it had to be true, unlike the numerous reports that surfaced every few months for the past 10 years after he announced his Alzheimer's. I figured a report quoting either Nancy or someone else in the family as saying, "This is it," had to be true, because why would that be reported if it couldn't be confirmed? The death of a former president, to me, seems like something you'd want to have right and not screw up.

I did end up watching a little of the coverage, until it was time for the Belmont. And I got enough of it on Saturday. No need to drag it out for a week. If nothing else, I learned a new word: "hagiographic."

That night, Bryan, Jim and I went out for Mexican and came home to watch HBO, tiring just after midnight. It turned out to be the best end to the vacation for me, a quiet, relaxing day topped off by a filling dinner and more beer. Casey called early the next morning from the T, and after another Dunkin' Donuts breakfast, we packed and got a jump on the drive home. We left early enough to be home by 3, giving us plenty of time to unpack and unwind and begin the recaps.

Oops.

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