Good to know

Pretty impressive, good to know, welcome to Harvard

Pretty impressive
I was sitting up in bed the following morning listening to the new episode of The Now Show on the radio when there was a knock at my door. Stephen poked his head round the door and asked if I fancied going whale watching with him & Robin. I jumped at the chance. We got in the car and drove north from Boston to Gloucester passing Wakefield, Reading, Manchester and Essex. There is something oddly unsettling about passing through places with English names in completely the wrong order like that.

  

 

We picked up our tickets for the afternoon boat trip and then continued a little further up the coast for a walk round Rockport. Rockport is a quaint little town on the coast, surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic. The harbour side is a nice mix of galleries for local artists, cafés and fishing huts. We called in to a shop called Fudgery, which had been a backdrop in some Sandra Bullock film – they had photos of her up on the walls. I stated laughing at a couple of signs that read “Our fudge melts in your mouth, not in our box” and “We have elephant ears”. For a 33 year old I really do find the most childish things amusing. We had lunch in Rockport, some amazingly fresh seafood, while sitting out in the sun, overlooking the harbour. I stayed outside while Robin and Stephen ordered – I don’t like seeing my lunch still alive in the tank.

After lunch we drove back down to Gloucester to the whale watching place and queued to get on the boat. The queue seemed to be mostly Americans, a couple of whom were on the slightly larger size. I whispered to Stephen that the whale watching had already started. The captain took us through the safety procedures and explained that we would probably need to sail for about 90 minutes before we got to where the whales were expected to be feeding. I settled myself into a seat on the sunny side of the deck next to a mother and daughter who chatted to me for a while, pointing out various sights and landmarks. She pointed out the greasy pole, used for the greasy pole contest. I managed to not laugh like a schoolgirl.

After nearly two hours of seeing nothing but sea I was beginning to think that the day might be a complete bust and that we wouldn’t get to see anything. However, we were rewarded shortly after with the most spectacular sight of a mother and her calf, feeding and playing in the waters right next to us. It was breath taking. The grace with which they moved through the water was amazing. I was glad of the pap mode on my SLR and a large memory card as getting photos of them was not the easiest thing in the world. I knew that I would probably end up with several hundred photos of nothing but the sea and maybe a few dozen shots of the whales but it would be worth it if I could capture the beauty of the animals. After a while following the whales around we headed back to shore, very contented.

Good to know

We had another great seafood dinner at a place called Latitude 43 before driving back to Cambridge.  After a very quick shower and change (under 20 minutes – who says gays spend ages getting ready?), Stephen & I headed over to some friends of his for their housewarming party. Stephen introduced me to some of the other guest he knows from singing in the Gay Men’s Chorus. They asked about my trip and where I had been so far. The list of places to tell people I have been to is getting longer and longer. I am going to get to a point where I might not be able to remember them all.

I pointed out a guy at the party that I quite fancied, Stephen didn’t know who he was so couldn’t introduce me. I chatted to Stephen and his friends for a while before making my way over to the guy in question. He was chatting with a couple of people so I joined their little group and got in on the conversation. After a while I found myself chatting one on one with the guy I fancied. He asked who I knew at the party and I explained about my trip & pointed out Stephen as my current host. The first thing he said to me was “Your friend is really cute”. Bugger, so much for me spending a night flirting with an attractive guy and maybe getting a snog at the end of the night. I really have to work on my flirting technique.

John Harvard

Welcome to Harvard

The next day I took myself up to Harvard in the morning while Stephen and Robin went over to their friend Mathieu’s place to help set everything up for a birthday barbecue for Stephen later that afternoon. Harvard was bustling with tourists and students and a charming little place to wander around. I read up about the statue of John Harvard, also called the statue of the three lies. The inscription on it simply reads “John Harvard, Founder, 1638” despite the fact that he was only a contributor to setting up the university and not its founder; Harvard was founded in 1636 not 1638; and the statue is a likeness of someone else. Apparently it is good luck to rub his left foot, although I didn’t do that as I had also read that by night the Harvard students like to pee on the statue, knowing that tourists will be rubbing the foot for luck in the morning.

Mathieu was hosting the soirée as he had an amazing roof terrace with stunning views across Boston. Some of the same people from the party the night before were in attendance, which really tested my ability to remember names. The cute guy from the previous night, however, was not one of the guests. Stephen, being a Brit, had got Pimm’s for the party. Hardly any of the Americans in attendance at the party had tried Pimm’s before. It really showed some differences between the Brits and the Yanks.  Firstly, they insist on calling the drink a Pimm’s Cup rather than just Pimm’s. I don’t know why. Secondly, the fruit & herbs that are in the Pimm’s seems to confuse them. Maybe it is because they aren’t used to seeing fresh fruit or maybe because the drink looks more like a meal? Thirdly, they can’t say herbs, instead insisting on calling them “erbs”. Finally, they don’t realise how strong Pimm’s can be, especially when it is homemade.

We spent the afternoon and early evening eating & drinking, the Pimm’s flowing as freely as the conversation. After the sun had set most people had drifted off home, it being a school night and all. A late arrival at the party joined us up on the roof terrace. He was strikingly handsome and Stephen caught me staring at him. I was introduced to him and became immediately self-conscious, stumbling over my words and generally making a tit of myself. Boston was really not a good place for me for flirting. I blame the sea air. When the guy headed back downstairs to grab a drink, Stephen started taking the piss out of me. He did a coquettish look, fanning himself with an imaginary fan and saying “Why, Mr Darcy, it is delightful to meet you”.  I told him to sod off.

We settled round the patio table and someone suggested a game of cards. We played a game called Shithead, which I had a vague recollection of playing once or twice before although the rules seemed different. Mr Darcy sat down next to me. Stephen kept fanning himself and smiling at me. My flirting didn’t get any better although I did get a hug from Mr Darcy at the end of the night. I would have to make do with that. We headed home and I thanked Stephen and Robin for being great hosts and for introducing me to their nice friends.

The following morning I packed for my departure, ready to head back to NYC on the bus before getting the Long Island Rail Road out to Huntington and the next stop on my travels. I got the subway to the bus station and made my way to the terminal. I stopped to pick up a bottle of water and a snack for the four-hour bus ride. I asked the woman who served me if she used the subway. She said she did. I gave her my ticket as it had about $10 left on it. Having done my good deed for the day I boarded the bus, stuck my iPod in and settled in for the journey.

“Pretty impressive, good to know, welcome to Harvard” 
Lyrics from The Harvard Variations from the musical Legally Blonde the Musical