Love That Dirty Water

THIS is the week I have been waiting for! It is our residency at the Hanscom Air Force Base, which is in MA! I've already blogged about this, so if you keep up with me, you already knew this, but I'm writing it all the same.

On Saturday, I got to go home, which is where I snapped the most adorable photo of MCT's newest TAD, Freo! And yesterday, we got a lot of stuff in before and after arriving on base and prepping for this coming week.

We started the day out with a trip to Concord, because it's only about 15 minutes away from where the base is.

Did you know that they close Walden Pond? Because they do, apparently. We wanted to visited to see all things Henry David Thoreau and were sent away because RUDE. I understand running out of parking but we weren't allowed to be dropped off by the gate either, while tons of other (smarter) people just parked down the road and walked over and were apparently welcome.

Shot heard round the world and such

We got lost in downtown Concord for a bit, of course. There were actually a lot of things that I wanted to see there! I haven't been there since I was a kid and I definitely didn't understand it's literary/historical significance back then. After we found our way, we visited the Old North Bridge because FREEDOM! It's where the Battle of Concord/the first battle of the Revolutionary War took place. Paul Revere and all that (more on him later).

Next we went to the house of my life idol, Louisa May Alcott. I'd been there before (technically, I think I'd been to the Old North Bridge before as well, but Louisa May Alcott is cooler in my humble opinion) but I was still very excited. I love Little Women so I think the idea that it is set in that house and that you can actually go in there and see all of the things that inspired such a classic is phenomenal.

Orchard House. Because old houses get cool names.

After that, it was time to meet our contact at the base. So far, the air force has been the hardest base to get onto. Our contact had to meet us at the gate and they had to print us passes that actually had our pictures on them! Can't lose that, otherwise, I'll be in big trouble...

After a quit turnaround, we met my mom back at a Stop and Shop so that we could ditch the truck and go into the city (Mom doesn't have a pass onto the base, so we have to go to her because I am not driving that monstrosity of a vehicle in Boston...).

Have I mentioned that Boston is the greatest place on Earth? Because I think it is. First off, they've got some great snapstickers!

We drove around for a while to show Melissa a lot of the different sights and sounds and then we started to follow the Freedom Trail into the North End for some sight seeing and dinner. We walked to Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church (I told you that you'd be hearing more about that guy!). They both closed before we got there but Melissa really only cared about seeing the outsides and wasn't too concerned with touring them, so that was fine.

After that, we got some really wonderful Italian food (what a surprise, considering that we were in the North End, aka Little Italy). After that, it was time to head for the base, but not before snapping a great pic with my mom! Somehow on the drive home, we conned her in to helping up out on laundry day, so we'll be heading back to Dedham this afternoon!

Happy to be home.

MCT's Newest TAD

Look at that pup! He's ready for the road.

If I Had One Wish...

I should clarify that I was at The West Point this last week, like the famous military academy. I don't think there is another West Point in New York, but my mom asked me this morning so I figured that I should mention it.

On Thursday, we got the opportunity to walk around West Point and see some spectacular views. We went to Trophy Point, which is kind of like an outdoor museum and amphitheater. It doesn't have great views or anything... Just kidding, it's gorgeous and while we were there, a helicopter was landing on a field across the street, because why not? I've lived on the east coast for a long time and yet, it continues to surprise me, but I don't think that's a bad thing!


Yesterday was show day, but that didn't stop up from checking out a local winery in the morning. We visited Brotherhood Winery which is the oldest winery in America, circa 1839. We got to do a tour and tasting. I would like to say that I learned about wine, but I didn't. It was really beautiful. I got to try some really good wine, apparently Bill Clinton served Brotherhood's Riesling at State dinners, so that was good to know.

It was a really lovely week and so, I end this post and my week in West Point with something a kid said to me as he returned his costume, "If I had a real genie and one wish, I would wish that you would come back and do another play with us."

It's official! One month from this very day, I will be flying to San Francisco to see the glorious Amanda Lauren Belscamper! I miss my former tour partner and I am so excited to see her!!!!!!! We're going on an adventure!

It Doesn't Matter How Quickly You Walk...

After a very interesting morning that involved the comedy of errors in printing (apparently, West Point doesn't allow flash drives on any of their computers...), auditions and rehearsal, Melissa and I decided to go for a hike. Technically, we decided that we'd go hiking last night but we actually went for the hike today, so who cares?

We went to Bear Mountain State Park since they were the first park listed in our hotel's guide book! We got a trail map, that had a bunch of trails labeled easy, difficult and challenging. None said moderate, which I should have taken as a sign, but I didn't. Half of the trails were like one mile and the others were 10, so we went for a four-ish mile hike that would take us up to the Perkins Tower (still not sure what it is, but it was somewhere to walk to). Early on in the hike, I started telling myself that it didn't matter how quickly I walked because it was going to be the same number of steps either way and I wanted to enjoy every moment! I had Colors of the Wind stuck in my head for a lot of the day, I was feeling very zen and one with nature. Very soon, however, I just didn't want to take anymore steps. This hike was 10-miles worth of work in a four mile package!

On the hike, I saw this rock that said "Your Intuition Led You Here." In the back of my head, I thought that my intuition is usually what makes my hike up the wrong mountain in Canada, but that's nice. Intuition is also what makes me pick a "challenging" trail when I don't want to be challenged!

Most of the hike was at a 90 degree angle. I don't care if that technically isn't possible because it sure felt like it! It was nuts and I was exhausted but I made it to the top and that is what matters!!!

I always look cute after doing the impossible!

20 States and Counting

Today, I hit my 20th state since June. (I'm sorry to anyone who I informed that it was 21, I miscounted apparently, it's 20). Since leaving Missoula on June 4th, I have driven through/stopped in 20 different states (including the District of Columbia).

Yesterday, before we left Maryland -- State #17 -- we stopped at the Samuel Mudd House. Dr. Samuel Mudd was the doctor who set John Wilkes Booth's leg after he assassinated Lincoln.

We were just at Ford's Theatre a few weeks ago so it was pretty interesting to continue that little walk through American history. Apparently, the Samuel Mudd House has been named the most haunted house in Maryland, not that we saw anything special while we were there. We did see the couch where John Wilkes Booth sat when he arrived at the house.

It was a pretty spiffy little tour and when it was over, it was time to drive through State #18 (Delaware) and into State #19 (New Jersey) to spend the night in South Plainfield with Mr. Ryan Lind. For those of you who do not know, Ryan is basically me but a boy. He came to visit me in Philadelphia last week and we're seriously starting to wonder how we ever made it more than five months without seeing each other when nine days was a legitimate struggle. We caught up on some Teen Wolf and ate some diner food (Melissa didn't know that New Jersey is diner country; we made sure that she learned that diners are just about all they have). We left this afternoon and I miss him already but now it is time to get cozy in State #20, New York! We will be working in West Point this week, which unlike a lot of the other places I've been, actually has some name recognition! It's such a change to have people actually have some idea of where you're going next. Quite refreshing if you ask me!

CRABS

Well, I'm in Maryland, so I needed some blue crabs. My mom told me this. Repeatedly. She also told me about how I'd get to hit them with a hammer and that was very appealing to me.

Melissa doesn't really like seafood and I'm not sure she appreciated the anatomy lesson that my meal offered us both but I really liked hitting things with a hammer.

I'll admit that when I got my meal, I wasn't entirely sure what to do, so after gutting one crab unceremoniously, I looked up a tutorial online and things went a little more smoothly after that. I really enjoyed my dinner tonight -- I enjoyed hitting it, eating it and holding it up to make it perform like Sebastian in The Little Mermaid (Disney version, obviously. There aren't any crabs in the MCT version).

Also, on our way back to our hotel from dinner, our truck, Marcus, turned 60,000 miles. They grow up so fast.

Dinner theatre, starring my dinner.