Pumpkin Uprising

Happy Halloween!!!

Red Sox Victory Parade

The Boston Red Sox made their way through the city streets in Duck Tour vehicles (World War II-era amphibious duck boats) today amid the excited roars of over-excited fans. The vehicle with the Sox's General Manager, Theo Epstein, was held up in front of us for a few minutes and the crowd figured it was a good time to voice their opinion by yelling "re-sign Lowell!"--I think Theo was happy when the parade started moving again! Jonathan Papelbon didn't disappoint and even donned a kilt while performing his jig on the back of a truck with the Dropkick Murphys. The top picture is a view from Boylston Street and the bottom pic shows construction workers with a prime view of the parade.

Two Days Left...

The pumpkin distribution line at the Boston Pumpkin Festival. Does anyone know if they broke their own world record from last year of 30,128 lit jack-o-lanterns?

Red Sox Win the World Series!!!!

I watched the winning game of the World Series at a bar opposite Fenway Park last night. Despite it being an away game, the streets surrounding Fenway were alive with people dancing and cheering while police dressed in riot gear kept a watchful eye over the proceedings. At 2:00 am there were thousands of people still on the streets, cars honking their horns in celebration, police in riot gear lined-up at all the major intersections, tv cameras everywhere and several helicopters overhead--the city of Boston was (and still is) overjoyed! (Pictures: the Red Sox celebrating their win shown on screens above bowling lanes at Jillians; Andi and I rejoicing with the police; and Red Sox fans celebrating on Boylston Street.)

Four Days Left...

Either this was one VERY large spider, or this homeowner is ready for Halloween!

Five More Days!

The Marlborough Street Fair was last weekend, to raise money for the John Winthrop School along the street. There were pony rides, a train, bouncey castles, and ambulance to explore, a band to dance to, plenty of snacks...and of course, pumpkins to decorate!

Photo by Whit, I just posted!

Halloween Countdown: Six Days Left...

Come on Sox, eat 'em alive! ;-) Today's pictures celebrate both Halloween and Red Sox Nation madness. The picture above is yet another pumpkin from the Pumpkin Festival on the weekend. The picture below is of the Prudential Center which was lit up last night for Game 1 of the 2007 World Series.

Let's Go Red Sox!

Tonight's the first game of the World Series...anyone who knows Boston knows that this city is going nuts right now (and how jealous am I of my boss who scored tickets to tomorrow night's game?!). You can't turn around without seeing something Sox related, and it's even on everyone's mind at the grocery store - when I was at the grocery store someone apologized to the person behind them in line for taking a long time and the person responded "Hey, as long as I'm home before the game starts!"

This is one of Whit's photos from the Pumpkin Festival...there were at least a half dozen that we saw with this same sentiment!

Halloween Countdown: 8 days left...

Today's shot is again from the Pumpkin Festival at City Hall Plaza this past weekend. This little guy puts his pumpkin to good use pretending that it's a bowling ball!

Halloween Countdown: 9 days left...

More from the Pumpkin Festival: the goal was to break the Guinness World Record or jack-o-lanterns (well, and make some money for Camp Sunshine) - which means having 30,128 lit jack-o-lanterns all in one place and one time. Here's an idea of what they had when were there about two hours after they had started.

Halloween Countdown: 10 days left...

Here's another shot from the pumpkin festival yesterday. Let's go Patriots...let's make it 7-0 today!!!

Halloween Countdown...

This is Arizona, who is the start of our Halloween countdown. Whit and I cruised through the Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Festival at Government Center today and got our fill of pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. Arizona was getting into the spirit and hanging out in her bee costume, proudly sporting her Red Sox leash in anticipation of their win tonight!

"Don't Let the Suuuun Go Down on Me"

Another day, another sunset. This shot was taking while driving back to Boston from Freeport, Maine on I95 South. I love it that the plane's flying in the center of the picture.

Alternatives

Not everyone needs an SUV! I've seen this...umm...what is this? I don't know. But I've seen it locked up outside my office a few days lately.

Shorter Days

The days are getting noticeably shorter lately, so I've been catching a lot of sunsets on the way home from work. This one was striking - amazing how the clouds go from so bright to so dark quickly.

Sorry folks!

Having some technical problems today, but will resume posting tomorrow...

Gondola di Venezia . . . in Boston?

Yes, it's true. Your eyes are not deceiving you. That is an actual gondola, complete with an accordion player, cruising alongside the esplanade. Gondola di Venezia uses authentic Venetian gondolas that are built in Venice, Italy. They seem to be popular for romantic dates or marriage proposals...

Different Team, Same Sentiment

We may be playing Cleveland right now, but it's the same sentiment! I think Red Sox fans all over are just as happy to see the Yankees NOT in the playoffs as they are to see the Red Sox in them. GO SOX!!!

Not sure of the name of this store, but it's just next to the Starbucks on Winter St in Downtown Crossing.

Itty Bitty

This is the window at Adriano Goldschmied on Newbury Street. I'm a big fan of a good window display (there was a point in time where I wanted to be have Hollywood's job from the movie Mannequin!), and I've loved this display since the day it went up. You can't even complain about them never changing the display because it's so awesome, why would you bother?

The State Room

I went with a friend to her wedding walk through at The State Room (at 60 State St). I couldn't help but take photos. Watch or the night view in a month and a half, as the wedding is in December. This is the view from the mezzanine in the Great Room, looking down onto Christopher Columbus Park (on the right along the water), the Mercantile Building (the taller of the long buildings beside the park), and into the North End, across the harbor and into East Boston.

Sailin' on the Charles

Believe it or not but this picture was actually taken in the early afternoon. The light and seasons are a'changing!

Sunshine on a Rainy Day

Okay, maybe no sunshine for us today, but at least we can look at pictures from last weekend and pretend! This was a pretty dahlia (I'm pretty sure?!) that Leyre and I saw while we were roaming through Roslindale Open Studios last weekend.

Melan-collie

Does anyone know the story behind this dog statue in front of a house on Commonwealth Avenue?

Run it, walk it, love it!

The 31st Annual Tufts Health Plan 10k for Women took place in Boston yesterday. Being both a public holiday (Columbus Day) and rainy and wet, the city seemed exceptionally quiet except for the runners making their way through the city.

Lovely Weather

It's been a grey, rainy day.

Rowes Wharf

Rowe's wharf has a lengthy history (see below), and today is home to the Boston Harbor Hotel. During the summer you can sit on the steps overlooking the harbor (just through the archway pictures here) and enjoy free live music (soul, swing, or blues depending on the night) or enjoy Movies by Moonlight - a classic film series that is projected onto a screen at the end of the wharf.

Here's the lowdown on the history of the location:

In 1666 a protective battery called the Sconce, or the South Battery, was built at the foot of Fort Hill in the area now known as Rowes Wharf. In peace the Battery had a company assigned to it in case of invasion, but had only one gunner. During the 1740's, the Battery was extended into the harbor and was manned by thirty-five guns. In the early 1760's, Rowes Wharf was built on the site of the old Battery. John Rowes' ships sailed the ocean filling his shop and two warehouses with imported silk stockings, ribbons, Spanish silks, linens, woolens, Indian and English taffetas and salt. His whaling sloops brought in oil, and he also dealt successfully in coastal fishing. In July 1767, Rowe notes in his diary that his "warehouse fell in with fish." He was also the owner of a tea ship which had its cargo dumped during the Tea Party in 1773.

In the early 19th century, schooners imported fruit and other products and continued the salt fish trade with the West Indies and the British Maritime Providences. Though the big sails could be seen at the wharf, by the 1840's and 1850's packet ships predominated. Packets set sail for coastal points south and north from Rowes Wharf while they plied the route to Liverpool, England, from Foster's Wharf. By the last part of the 19th century, the steamship had taken over the seas. The south shore was served from Rowes Wharf by the side-wheeled steamboats of the Eastern Steamship Line from the 1860's to 1940. The Boston and Bangor Steamship Company debarked from Foster's Wharf at 5 p.m. every afternoon in the summer and semi-weekly in the winter. In 1879, the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroads built their wharf and ferry terminal between Rowes and Foster's Wharves, where for more than 40 years their ferries serviced East Boston.

Boston's waterfront began to show signs of decay by the 1930's. At Rowes Wharf, the wood piers began to rot and ramshackle sheds lined the docksides. Even so the Bay State Navigational School at Rowes Wharf and the Cape Cod Steamship Company at Foster's Wharf stayed through the 1940's. At the time of the urban renewal in the 1960's, maritime activity, such as James Bliss and Co., ship chandlers and Boston Yacht Club, left Rowes Wharf. However not all activity ceased. The Massachusetts Bay Lines has operated boats from Rowes Wharf for more than 20 years and the Boston Harbor Commuter Service started service from Rowes Wharf in 1984. Now with the revitalization of the waterfront, Rowes Wharf is one of the most distinguished addresses in Boston. The Boston Harbor Hotel stands as a gateway to and from the harbor. Private yachts from around the world and events such as Operation Sail and the BT Global Challenge call the wharf home. Once again, Rowes Wharf has become an integral part of the city of Boston where "merchants" of the financial world meet.

Hancock the weather man

Just behind Trinity Church is the original Hancock building, complete with it's weather forecaster on top. See the blue lit tower on top of the building? Here's how you use it to prepare for the ever-changing New England weather:

Steady blue: clear view
Flashing blue: clouds due
Steady red: rain ahead
Flashing red: snow instead (except during the summer, and then it means that the Sox game was canceled due to rain)

The Landmark

We've had some foggy mornings lately. The taller building in the back is the Bank of America Building. In front is The Landmark, a 26 story art deco style that was Boston's first skyscraper when it was built in 1930. At that time, the building was called the United Shoe Machinery Building.

Christian Science Plaza

This quote is engraved into the water wall outside the front entrance of the Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity. The library is part of the Christian Science Plaza - where you can also find the church, the Sunday School, the Church Administration building, a fountain, and a 98x686 foot reflecting pool. The library itself is also home to the Mapparium - a three story tall, stained glass globe. The Christian Science Monitor is also published from a building on the Christian Science Plaza.

Out My Window

I think some of you already know that I live in a building that was part of the old Baker Chocolate Factory...here's the view out my window! Okay, it's the view out the skylight in the loft, so from the 5th floor of our 6 story building. The building across is another old chocolate factory building, and the tress beyond are on the Neponset River Reservation - our "back yard", complete with bike/walking path and gorgeous vistas.

For Sale

I was in Jamaica Plain for Open Studios on Sunday, and came across this while headed down a side street looking for the next studio.

CDP Theme Day: Cemetery / Tombstone

This little angel rests on top of a family headstone at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Dorchester. I'm not sure what the rocks are all about - I noticed a number of headstones through out the cemetery that had piles of small stones on top of them - some a few spread out, some piles of 6-10 clumped together.

We couldn't resist giving you just one photo, so below is a photo Whit took of the markings on a headstone in one of the burial grounds downtown (the same burial ground where Sam Adams is buried!).


As it turns out, the skull and crossbones are not an atypical grave marking for the Colonial times - it was actually one of the most common found in early New England cemeteries! It is believed that the skull and crossbones can represent the mortality of man, or it can be a symbol of death and resurrection (I guess pirates and angels have something in common?!). On the other hand , it was also used to mark the graves of those who had died of contagious disease as a sign that you shouldn't disturb the grave "lest the disease be awakened".

ETA: Thanks to all the commentors for filling us in on the meaning of the stones left atop the headstones - I knew the CDP community was a smart one! ;)

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