The Islands and a Return to Boston

Sag Harbor, located north of  East Hampton, has long been one of Karen's two favorite south shore locations. Sag Harbor was a thriving village during the days of  the Crown prior to 1776. Briefly a port of entry for the state of New York, the James Howell Inn stood at the  site of today's American Hotel.  Dating  from 1846, it was a welcome reprieve during the whaling industry boom. Today there are 8 well appointed double rooms with Frette sheets and a delightful sitting and dining room where you can share one of its 17,000 bottles of wine. The outdoor porch is the perfect Main Steet view.   

Sag Harbor is located north of East Hampton on Gardiners Bay, is a bit off the beaten path and long been a low key location. Historical buildings, superb hardware, home furnishing, mid century furniture, a five-and-dime store; this feels like a true village, albeit well curated.

Their is a public marina that abuts one of the town's two private marinas that are on both sides of the town's well known Long Whatf built in 1780.. A windmill is located at its base as well as a wonderful ice cream store. The small marina office belies its resident ships which covers the gamut from small 20 foot run-abouts to those sporting toys and alternate means of transport - note the Mini Cooper.  There is a local laundromat, bagel store, IGA and organic grocery stores for provisioning.  A number of excellent restaurants can be found within easy walking distance.  Dopo, Lulu, Muse and Page are favorites. Bay Street Theatre, numerous music, film and an excellent book store all speak to the villages cuktural focus. Sag has been discovered so find your way here quickly! 

Go just a few miles north through North Haven and the Shelter Island ferry will take you partly across Gardiner Bay, closer to Long Island's north fork. Locals have rejected suggestions for a causeway, preferring the ferry that can take as many as four cars, a few bicycles and a handful of walk ons. The cedar shingle homes are passed down from generation to generation.  There are only a handful of Inns.  Try coming out of season with a heavy sweater for a magical experience. 

Less than 15 miles away from both Montauk Long Island and Rhode Island, is the ever charming Block Island, named after the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. 40% of the island's 10-square miles is conservation land. A little over 1,000 people live on the remaining acerage.  Take a one hour ferry from Montauk Long Island, New London CT or Newport RI. If you reserve a spot on Blue Chip, we will be grabbing a mooring or anchoring in its incredibly protected harbor.  But captain Steve might tell you it's the delivery of fresh baked goods each morning that is the harbor'  best attribute. 

Block Island to Menemsha on Martha's Vineyard southwest coast is a mere 25 nautical miles.  MV has several towns, each with their own distinct persona.  Menemsha is a working harbor and perfect if you looking for a low key escape. 

Blue Chip stands out at this modest marina. A long sandy beach is worth a stroll and the sunsets can be spectacular. 

Wander the surrounding village for fresh seafood. A small ferry takes you across the harbor for secluded bike riding.  

Artists from the early 1900's would find Menemsha not much changed.  

Current artists continue to find inspiration here.  So take the ferry from Woods Hole or New Bedford, MA. But when you arrive at Vineyard Haven make your way west and explore the farming and fishing on the island's west coast. 

Onset is located at Buzzards Bay. This large protected harbor is located just to the west of the Cape Cod Canal. Guess this means it's time to head home, but look at that sunset! Maybe we should give Boston a second thought.  

The 7 mile long Cape Cod Canal was completed in 1914 as part of the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway to cut through Cape Cod by joining  Bourne, the location of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, with Scusset Massachusetts.  Bourne and Sagamore bridges allow boat clearance of 135 feet. A parallel bike path provides wonderful views as boats make there way through cruising at a maximum of 10 mikes per hour.  

Situate provides one last night of anchoring out - aka "swinging on the hook" - before facing life on land and a new school year.  Besides beautiful light, a harbor launch runs until 11, if you care for a bite at the local yacht club.  Hmmm, maybe we should consider just one more night! 

Ah, but here we are, home at Boston's Constitution Marina.  She is still as comfortable as when she arrived 14 years ago. It's been a good year of cruising. Please do let us know if you'd like to join us next year. You never know where you might end up.  

10 Days of Complete Business

It began with the arrival of the Oregon Kaufman's on July 3rd.  The first in about 7 years and Evie's first visit. Here at the Maperium - a Boston original and a way to experience the globe from the inside. This is a unique experience you'll only have here, can't really describe and will never forget. 

This is Boston with the Kaufman's so there was boating. Swan boats on The Commons, a tradition since 1877 - the replica WWII amphibious Duck boats - and of course Blue Chip with Captains Evie and Steve at the helm. 

July 4th, which meant fireworks on the Charles, viewed from our back deck with the Boston Pops playing in the background. (We're happy to arrange anything for Evie, Clara, Erin & Jeremy and invite all of Boston to attend.) Clara and Jeremy clearly enjoyed driving and bumping at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH.  Evie and Bubbie over did it in the twirling cups and decided pitch-prize games might be a better option.  And we all agreed that the New England Aquarium was the perfect rainy day activity.  Definitely visit during feeding times for giant sea turtles, penguins, and seals. Also stop and pet the sharks and man-if-rays - but NOT during feeding time. 

We were very sad to see kids leave and hope they return soon - there's so much more exploring to do! While Steve got back to work, Karen got back to earning traveling points. 

A quick trip to NYC proves you can successfully put lipstick on a pig! The LIRR and NJ Transit are finally going through s renovation it's needed for 40+ years. It's truly amazing what a little "lipstick" can do. 

Above ground - movie makers take advantage of New Yorkers exiting the City for the cooler beaches.  Hoever, in the evening it's clear that vacationers are here in full force, despite the fact that in the summer Time Square becomes a de facto oven. (Where is trip Advisor?)

A quick run to Florida for a dentist appointment (don't ask) also means a stop on Useppa.  Late day storms creates beautiful sunsets, complete with rainbows. The rainy season has everything blooming, including  beeblam and Passion flowers.  The butterflies are thrilled! It's also a great time to plant, if you can work the timing around the 100% heat index. More water please. 

Southwest Florida loves its Gulf Coast shells.  Although typically seen decorating mirrors, boxes and lampshades, why stop there? This 2005 VW Beetle is covered in 60 different species of shells to commemorate the first National Seashell Day which was proclaimed by Lee County, FL and first celebrated on June 20, 2016. It took 65 volunteers 1,200 hours to apply 20,000 shells using 100 tubes of Amazing Goop marine glue. Okay - we've  now debunked any rumors that Florida lacks innovative spirit!  Has anyone contacted Ridleys? 

Summer has just started.  Clearly we are determined to make the most of it. We'll keep you posted. 

Fun Fourth - Boston Style

Every locale has its own unique approach to celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In Boston it's all about baseball, the Boston Pops and fireworks. 

First stop Fenway - a perfect evening with bright blue skies, not-too-hot temperature and just the slightest breeze. To Steve, Fenway brings a lifetime of memories. Like many Bostonians, it comes close to being hallowed ground. 

Like nearly 40,000 others, we were there to chear on the Red Sox. But in truth, this is David Ortiz's year.  Number 34 has announced this is his last year and it's turning out to be one his best, breaking his own records and passing the long standing home run record of another Sox of fame, Ted Williams. At 40 (and most believe he's 40++), the designated hitter is about to join his 10th All-Star game. The city can't imagine the Boston without their BigPapi - likely the last Sox to ever wear #34. 

 The Fourth was a beautiful day. Living along the Charles River, our deck is perfectly poised to watch thousands drift into the grassy Esplanade. Early arrivals go a few blocks away to find a spot at the Hatch Shell to listen to the Boston Pops and various contemporary guests. 

The balance stake their claim to enjoy the fireworks - or they come to our deck, within a couple of hundred yards of the launching barge. This year, fireworks were also launched from the Harvard Bridge, on Mass Ave, crossing the river to MIT, just a handful of blocks away. The result was incredible! Photos never do justice to this light show, so maybe next year you should give us a shout. If we're around, stop on by.  

Drive-In Movie at Fenway

You have to be of a certain age to recall the joys of going to a drive-in movie. Well if Boston's boys aren't doing particularly well, why not rally the troops and invite them to Fenway for movie night 

There we were on Thursday night with about 10,000 of Red Sox Nation's own watching - well what else - Fever Pitch. 

Super fan Jimmy Falon (before he was Jimmy  Falon) plays across from super achiever Drew Barrymore. Obsession & practicality find love with humor best understood by the fans. (I can remember playing hookie from work and  getting "the look" from Steve when bringing my blackberry to Sox games), Fenway  food, popcorn and singing along to our Boston's iconographic eight inning stretch - "Sweet Caroline."  Certainly takes the sting out of not making it into the off season. Ok - some of the sting. 

Drive in movies on Useppa boast golf carts and have their own tradition,  but Fenway - definetly  worth a go! 

Music Weekend - Tanglewood or Boston's Copley Square

The weekend of July 24 had lots to offer - with thunderstorms threatening at every moment. 

We started with a Boston Pier reception to launch Boston's 4th annual Summer Arts Weekend.

Saturday morning Karen took off for  a quick overnight visit with her neice Crysta at Mt Holyoke College, where she's working for the summer. From there, it was an easy drive to Tanglewood, Lenox (we reccomend Alta's wine bar for amazing food) & charming Lee. Back to S Hadley and the Daniel Stebins B&B. 

Steve remained behind in Boston for an evenjng of music with, among others, R&B's Betty LaVette and Grammy Award winning Emmylou Harris with Rodney Crowell. 

Sunday afternoon was kicked off with Boston's 200 year old, continuously performing, famed Handel & Hayden Socirty  presentation of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, with it's moving Ode to Joy. Finished in 1824, when nearly completely deaf, it is said that the composer needed to be turned around from the conductor's podium to witness his audience's standing ovation with arms swaying in the air. The music engendered the same response today by over ten-thousand who had gathered in Copley Square. Ludwig is clearly still a rock star.

Followed by the fiddling and dancing Natalie MaMaster and New Orleans' own son Aaron Neville, there was something for everyone. 

Of course you could drive to the Tanglewood's  Berkshires, but then Copley Square is just a few short blocks away. We suggest you mark your calendars and we'll see you next year in Bodton. 

50 Years - They Just Fly By!

                        

At Harvard Business School (HBS), after 50 years - you get 5 jam packed days of celebration. It all starts with a reception at the garden of Dean Nitin Norhea's house and then where off - for grads and their partners there will be 5 days filled with lots of sunshine, blue skies and little sleep!

For the non-initiated, each graduating class spends its first year divided into a group of about 90 students called  "Sections"  and so HBS reunions are as much about being with your SECTION, as your class. Our festivities began with a private "Section A" dinner at the Algonquin Club on Commonwealth Ave. Early the next morning the class of 1965 joined other significant graduating years and off we go for classes - and you had better have read your cases in case you get cold called. There are tours, luncheons, speakers - and yes that would be Mr. Steve Kaufman - head of of the 50th year reunion - addressing the class of 1965. Some things - okay a lot of things - have changed since the school was established in 1908, but then there's landmarks like Baker Library (above) which has been around since 1911. 

                         

So how to top it off? How about an evening with Keith Lockhart leading the Boston Pops for Harvard Business School graduates? Symphony Hall, inaugurated in1900, is cleared and cocktail tables set up as we settle in for an evening of music, laughs and fun. Sunday morning the class of 1965 lingers over brunch as if they've never been apart. We're already missing each other and certainly won't be waiting another 50 years to get together again. Oh - and we're thrilled there's not an HBS tradition of distributing weird colored, poly blazers when you hit the big 50. We're still trying to figure out what to do with the MIT crimson fashion statement blazer from the 50th undergrad reunion 2-years ago! Anyone have any ideas?

Three Sure Fire Ways To Tell That Spring Has Arrived in Boston

1. The Kaufmans go with the Lassiters to a Sox-Yankee game at Fenway.

                         

2. Trees that were budless and bulbs that had barely broken ground simultaneously explode - transforming Winter into Spring for about three weeks before we slam into Summer.

                           

3. Hundreds of  lilacs bushes bloom in Audubon Park for the 40,000 Mothers' Day visitors. (Some of us cheat and show up a day early to escape a crowd that is larger than a sold out Fenway stadium.)

                              

Welcome to Boston. We wait a long time for Spring, but when it arrives, there's nothing better!

     

      

    

What happened to the palm trees?

Well the picture pretty much tells the story. No, that's not a small igloo or a gigantic coconut covered "Snowball".  That's a view from our Boston deck with the Prudential Center. 

We got back home just in time for a Patriots Super Bowl win and 18" of snow. I say it's  all about balance. Steve is checking for flights to Florida. 

More on our trip to Useppa later. 

Re2pect

It's a little more than a week since Derek Jeeter made his last Fenway appearance as a Yankee. 

Number 2 has had a multi decade career with the Yankees, always playing the same position. No matter what you think of him, (remember we ARE Sox fans), you have to congratulate him on his professionalism and a scandal-less career. And EVERYONE at Fenway did. September 28 was Jeeter Day. Although about a third if the stadium had likely come from NYC, everyone stood, cheered and gave this player the Re2pect he deserved and few others have earned. 

Boston weekend!

We had a truly super and relaxing Fourth of July weekend. Hurricane Arthur had us starting early, but the best, besides a Red Sox win (we're overlooking the loss), was having family visit. Tim came and immediately dug into a renovation project. Jen brought her friend Chris to share her discoveries from her last visit, although Chris had done some of his own research, so there was plenty to choose from. 

Captain Steve took us all out for a Sunday luncheon harbour cruise on Blue Chip. Immediate relaxation and the hope they'll come back to visit Cal and us soon. 

Arthur delivers Independence Day a day early!

Like much of the east coast, Boston has been eyeing Arthur's path up the east coast. Wednesday evening, the city announced that the renowned July 4th Boston Pops & fireworks were now rescheduled for July 3rd.  The city scrambled and there were far less than 500,000 attendees, but all of the Kaufman's guests made it to our deck. The fireworks launched on the river, just in front of our house were terrific!

The Beach Boys squeezed in a performance, but the Pops never got to the 1812 Overture. Suddenly, 20 minutes early, the sky exploded with light!

Within 10 minutes of the fireworks ending, we could feel a few random drops and then the sky let go with an absolute downpour. Let's talk about perfect timing! 

Today - July 4th - we're relaxing, enjoying nephews and nieces who came by for the weekend and, as the rain pours outside, thankful that the weather guys got it right!  Happy Fourth!!

The randomness of fate

On Wednesday this week, we were in Florida,  in the company of grandchildren on school break, when calls from Boston began to arrive about a 9-alarm fire on our street. High winds and an explosion made it difficult to get the flames under control. 298 Beacon Street was completely lost and the one to its right, partly destroyed. Even more devastating was that two local firemen lost their lives. 

This view is from the back of the buildings on the day of the fire. Our building is a mere two doors down. We share a wall with 304 Beacon St, whose residents will not be able to return for quite sometime, due to serious smoke and water damage and, for now, no electricity. The night of the fire, there was 3-inches of water on the ground floor of our building. The water is since gone, but the young family with 6-month old twin girls, will have to move out while the floors of their bedrooms are restored. Common area carpets, floors and wallboards are being torn out and an elevator short circuit repaired. The windows were open today, despite the still cold temperature, to mitigate the strong smell of smoke, but in the scheme of things, we feel extremely fortunate. Our Boston neighbors warn that we will return to a devastating and all too sobering site, which our community will be living with for quite some time. 

We thank our family and friends around the globe who have reached out in an effort to check on us. It is unfortunate that it takes disaster to remind us of how random fate can be and how truly fortunate we are. 

And so it ends - 1st time in 85 years & 3rd time in a decade

The Red Sox became MLB World Champions on Wedensday night. 87% of all Boston televisions were watching the game and pretty much everyone else was there at Fenway. But, not to worry if you missed it, because this story is surely a movie in the making. 

This team ended their last season with the unenviable record of WORST in MLB baseballl. And Boston is one tough, unforgiving, unrelenting sports town. You blow it and we'll let you know it!  But if you pull together and give it your all, we'll stick by your side and travel coast to coast to support you. 

The 2013 team did just that. There's been endless talk about their chemistry, beards that haven't been shaved since Spring training, talent and guys just having fun!  The pay off - Boston fans celebrate the MLB World Champion win with their Sox here at Fenway for the first time in 85 years. How long ago is that? World War I  hadn't ended and 23-year old Babe Ruth had not yet left his curse on the Sox for trading him to NY. 

All of Boston is bleary eyed and smiling.  And after the kids come down from today's Halloween sugar high, their teachers just might be able to get them to  focus again on the classroom. Next, it's the Saturday parade, with Duck Boats driving through th city before floating in the Charles River and hosted by our 20-year in office Mayor Manino, whose retring later this year. Hey, we take the long view here! 

It's been a tough year in Boston. The Red Sox went above and beyond to make it brighter in so many ways. MLB World Champions? Yeah, we'll gladly take it and applaud every last one of the guys on the team!

And so it begins

It's October in Boston. That means there are one of two options. If the Red Sox haven't broken your heart already, you are now holding your breath to see how the the rest of the month unfolds.

2012 was beyond heartbreaking. The Sox made history as having what was probably their worst melt down, ending their season 62 - 100, a full 40 games out of 1st place. Needless to say, hopes were not high in the beginning of this year's season. But in 2013 the Sox take 1st place in the American League with 97 - 65 wins. What a difference a year can make!

So where were the Kaufman's this weekend? Need you ask? At Fenway, rooting on the boys? Friday's  win was 12-2 and tonight was 7-4.  The next two games are in Tampa and, if needed, the boys will be back Thursday for game 5. So, the breath holding has begun! 

Boston - We're back!

Boston may be a city with a rich history, but at its heart, its a sports town. For Steve, who was born here, loyalty to Boston teams may simply be part of his DNA. For me, the New Yorker, it may be in the water. (Hey, MIT and Harvard collaborate regularly and this is the US center for bio-med, so anything's possible!)  We've been home for a month, and besides unpacking and going thought the mail that's accumulated over the last 7 months, we've been lending our support to Boston's athletes. 

Up first - we hadn't gotten over jet lag, but we're there July 20 and the 21st, to support the Red Sox as they took on the "Evil Empire". This ball was wizzing right for my face. The fan next to me caught it with his cheeck and saving me from a definite black eye. 

Next was the Boston Arts weekend, with midnight concerts and Baroque music brunches.  Karen went to visit family in NYC, followed by a weekend of guests. What to do to recuperate? A double header - Patriots and Red Sox. 

Friday August 16, the Patriots took on and beat the Tampa Bay in pre season. Must say the boys looked good. Next two days we were back in Fenway for more Red Sox - Yankees, with mixed results. The new neighbors downstairs have Celtics tickets and we've got Bruin connections - so yup - were back in Boston!   Hmmm - maybe we need to take another trip for some R&R!

50 years - but whose counting?

MIT grads have much to look forward to. Some would say you know you've really arrived when you receive the MIT cardinal jacket. The class of 1963, of which Steve is one, did just that this past weekend. 

The celebration was a week long series of festivities. A special night at the Boston Pops, reception at the MIT presidents house, rowing on the Charles and joining the current graduating classes procession, who then gave the class of '63 a standing ovation. 

The Pi Lam fraternity spent an evening at the Kaufmans. You'd never guess most of them hadn't seen each other in 50 years. Frat brothers and wives talked and laughed like old friends. 

Finally, the dedication of one tech dinghy to the MIT sailing program. The Miss Clara, named for our oldest granddaughter, was officially launched on reunion weekend. Anyone think Steve is planting seeds? BTW - Clara just turned nine this week!