Boston Adventures: Celebrating 71

Sunday was my birthday and Diana' was 8 days ago.  We both turned 71.  Unfortunately, I was bringing the Pershing 64 north and could not be there to celebrate hers.  Fortunately, the owner of the 64 called it quits in Albany (opting to have a delivery captain and crew finish the journey to Chicago) thus allowing us to be together for my birthday.

We deemed this our birthday weekend and began the celebration on Sunday with a visit to the Boston Ballet to experience the performance of Jewels, a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine.  My sister, Myrna, is a season ticket holder and she was planning to attend with a friend.  We decided to join her.

The ballet itself is unique in that George Balanchine, who died in 1983, is credited as the choreographer. The George Balanchine Trust licenced the Boston Ballet to perform Jewels under the condition that it adhere strictly to the George Balanchine Technique and Method, both licensed trademarks.

Jewels, created for the New York City Ballet in 1967, is unique in that it is considered the first full length abstract ballet (i.e., it is not connected to a story).  There are three movements, Emerald, Rubies and Diamonds.  The dancers are dressed like jewels.  It was spectacular, especially the grand finale..

From the Rubies movement

From the Emeralds movement

The ballet is performed at the Boston Opera House, a venerable old theater that was originally built by Edward Albee in 1928 as a memorial to his partner Benjamin Franklin Keith, the father of American vaudeville.  Interestingly, the theater, designed for vaudeville, was completed as vaudeville went out of fashion.  Joseph P. Kennedy later bought the theater from Edward Albee and renamed it RKO (Radio Keith Orpheum).  It was restored in 2004 at a cost of $38,000,000.

The trip to Boston via the ferry from Hingham Shipyard and getting tickets to the ballet both proved to be an adventure.

Guided Discovery is docked approximately 1/8th of a mile from the ferry.  Making a long story short, we made the ferry with zero minutes to spare.  Actually, they held the ferry for Diana at my request. You might say I cut it a little close.

Ferries docked at Hingham Shipyard Marnina

Ferry offloading in Boston at Long Wharf

Getting tickets to the ballet was also a bit challenging.  Diana went on line no less than 50 times and was unable to land two decent seats.  So, we decided to go to the theater and see if any seats were turned in at the last minute or if there were people outside trying to sell their tickets.  Forget the outside sellers, there were none.  The strategy to go to the box office worked.  Not only did we land great seats but the seats we got were right next to my sister's.  You should have seen her face when we sat down next to her and her friend, Elaine.

Diana & Les at the Boston Opera House

After the ballet we had drinks and hors d'oeuvres with Myrna and Elaine at Legal X, a lovely restaurant immediately across from the opera house.  My sister, who is very involved in Boston commercial real estate and Boston restaurants, told a great story about the "X" in the restaurant's name.  The owners wanted to name it Legal XXX because of its location in what was known as the "combat zone," which years ago was in the seedy part of Boston with strip clubs and pornograpghic movies.  The locals raised a big stink and the two of the Xs were dropped.

The family outside City Crossing

Sunday we returned to Boston, again on the ferry ($4.00 for seniors and 35 minutes - except on weekends when it's 55 minutes allowing for a stop at George's Island and Fort Mason).  We met this time a City Crossing (2 minutes from the ferry dock on Long Wharf) for a birthday celebration lunch with Myrna, Lesley, Scott and, of course, Amelia.

Scott, Amelia and Lesley

Diana and Myrna at City Landing

Lesley and Amelia "reading" a new book

Amelia is really cute

Following a leisurely lunch we crossed the street and walked on what is now called the "Rose Kennedy Greenway."  A little Boston history.  Prior to the "Big Dig," the waterfront was separated from the city by an ugly elevated highway, called the Southeast Expressway, that transported vehicles heading north across the Mystic River Bridge and east to Logan through the Callahan and Sumner Tunnels through Boston.  The Big Dig depressed the Southeast Expressway thus eliminating the ugly elevated highway.  The city turned the space into a park that stretches one and a half miles from Chinatown through the financial district and up to the North End (great Italian restaurants).  The cost of the Big Dig was $22 billion dollars.  Read about the Greenway with the link below.

http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org/about-us/greenway-history/

Amelia had a great time.  Now 19 months she is fully mobile and starting to talk.  She rode the Rose Kennedy Memorial Carousel and walked in the park.

Lesley, Amelia and Myrna on the Carousel

Playing in the park

Incidentally, the park itself is also unique.  Each section was created by a different architect and the funding for the park was a 50/50 combination of private and public money.  Boston created a jewel from what was once an eyesore.

Here are some views of Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway and the waterfront.  For perspective, Boston is a big city.  These views are just the tip of the iceberg.

Rose Kennedy Memorial Carousel

Fountain

Looking north

Looking south.  Harbor Fog, a user activated responsive sculpture
Go near it and it provides a cooling mist

In the background of the above photo is the Rowes Wharf, a mixed use complex consisting of offices, a hotel and condominiums.  My sister was involved in the building of this beautiful complex that now provides an anchor for the waterfront and park (it's also a ferry stop0.  The building was built during the period from 1983 to 1987.  Note the spectacular arch at the center of the building.  In 1987, when the building was completed the arch faced the elevated highway.  The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) required the developer to build in an arch that allowed the harbor to be visible from two streets to the west.  When the building was completed the elevated highway obscured the view.  It wasn't until years later, when the Big Dig eliminated the elevated highway was the promise of the arch finally realized.  But years before, the BRA had already envisioned the elimination of the elevated highway.  Sometimes government does good work.

View through the arch looking west across the park

The Odyssey (which once sailed the Chicago Lake Front)

Boston Aquarium at Long Wharf

Care to take a harbor tour on a WWII DKW?

Over the next five months we plan to make frequent visits to Boston via the ferry.  Stay tuned for more adventures as we explore this VERY historic city.

Written by Les.