Boston- Meet the Cajuns!

Home…we had the typical queasy stomach driving through the city. But, once we hit Winter Island Park and pulled into ‘our’ spot, we were ‘home’. We decided to come in a day early to give ourselves a chance to get ready for the Cajun invasion. And then they arrived. John and Brenda came in about 11:00, EJ and Sharon at noon. The train station was in motion. We met them at the 128 exit ramp and guided them through the tangle of streets to Winter Island Park. The Cajuns had fought our guided drive- but grudgingly admitted the wisdom of our recommendation after they arrived.

With the pending arrival of Ernesto and the probability of several days of rain and storms, we decided to take the Salem Trolley Tour and give them an orientation to Salem. Our driver was full of interesting antic dotes.

True to prediction, Ernesto arrived the next morning with a bit of drizzle and cloudy skies. The guys took off for Logan to pick up J.C. and Carol Ann while I took the girls to downtown Salem for a bit of shopping. We met up in Marblehead at the Landing and had a great lunch of chowder and crab cakes.

Sunday- and Ernesto was at full force with heavy rain and chilly weather. But, we decided to persevere and drove to the Salem Witch Museum. A new experience for all of us- it was a bit like a low-tech Ned Kelly. The story of the Salem Witch Trials was well told- but really kitschy- lots of bad mannequins and a narrator with a voice like Boris Karloff. The rain was a bit lighter after the show, so we walked to Derby Street and had lunch at “In a Pig’s Eye” – more chowder. We ended the afternoon at Finz where we met a group of local Bostonians celebrating a birthday. Michael –owner of a chain of Laundromats in Winthrop- had the Cajuns going. But, his wife, Maria (the ‘pit bull”) really got the guys going. She was a stunner- and the boys were in heaven. We were having a great time- but John (Dippa) decided that it was time to leave…we left in such a hurry that we left our camera on the table….(Note: camera found – in the motorhome two weeks later…) That night, we had po-boys made with a roast that J.C. had cooked. It was excellent!

Labor Day Monday- and the sun was out. We got everyone out and headed to the train station for our first day in Boston. We did a full day tour of Charlestown, the Navy Yard and the North End. It was strange to be back “home” with a group of Cajuns. More chowder at the Warren Tavern. We took Chestnut Street down to the Navy Yard and saw the changes to our old street. Our house was looking very tired- the shrubs were unkempt and paint was peeling from the front door. It was sad to see. After a stop at the Constitution, we had a drink at Tavern on the Water.

The girls got a taxi to the North End, the boys hoofed it. We met at Café Paradiso and headed to Pagliuca’s for dinner. This was a recommendation from Michael- and was he spot on! Maria, one of the owners greeted us--Michael had called to let her know we were coming. We had a huge corner table and after getting wine, the food started flowing—bread, antipasto, salad, veal parmesan, chicken cutlets, shrimp fra diavlo… A success!

Tuesday and another sunny day. At last, we were experiencing typical September New England weather. Another Boston day- train to North Station. From there, we picked up the Old Town Trolley and got an orientation to downtown Boston. We hopped off by the Boston Common and walked through Beacon Hill. Hitting all of our old hangouts, we had lunch at the 7’s. We picked up the trolley and took it over to the Back Bay. We took a self-guided tour of Trinity Church and walked through the Public Gardens. At this point, the guys went on strike and found a spot at Joe’s on Newbury while we shopped. Newbury was a bit high style for our motorhome taste, but it was fun to walk and people watch. We couldn’t let the Cajuns leave Boston without a dinner at Addis Red Sea- so we walked over to Tremont and let them experience Ethiopian cuisine. Remarkably, they liked it!