Ray and David Gray

Our first big outing in Boston back in August was to the Ray Lamontagne and David Gray concert. We thought (hoped) Ray was the main act. Not so. Apparently David Gray is big time. Nonetheless, we enjoyed an amazing evening of great music. Ray joined with the Pariah Dogs to produce his most recent CD and take his one man act to quite a concert production, but has managed to keep his humble presence and intimate feel. With four CD's out, Ray has a slew of numbers to choose from. I really wanted him to play one song...and he ended up playing it...the song that Bryan and I danced to at our wedding (I could hold you in my arms) and it made my night. Mush mush. I still loved it.

Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs

I think the thing I love most about the set is that Ray is off to the side (yellow)...no need to be in the middle.

David Gray was great too.

Happy Monday!

We ventured out of Boston for the day yesterday and had the most amazing time and saw the most incredible leaves. I wish it were fall all year round!

White Mountains, New Hampshire

The Hudsons

Our first friends to visit were Jill and Ryan Hudson. I'm pretty sure they bought their plane tickets to come see us as soon as we signed a lease in May. I think they were in denial about the fact that they had just moved to Charlotte, to be with us of course, and then we decided to leave. They came two weeks after we got here and with them, they brought Red Sox tickets! Thanks to Mr. Ridley, we got to go to not one, but two Red Sox games while Jill and Ryan were here. And the seats were amazing.

I'll tell you a little something about the Hudsons...they love the Red Sox. So, they've actually been to Boston a number of times. They ended up showing us around our new city. They took us to the Northend (unofficially Little Italy) to an amazing authentic Italian pastry shop called Modern Pastry. The line was out the door, but of course we waited, and then took our little boxes of pastries to the ball game and enjoyed a blissful evening of desserts and baseball.

It felt too fast and I was sad for them to leave, but it was fun to have good friends see our new world and live in it with us for a few days.

Modern Pastry, Northend

Yawkey Way, Fenway Park

Walden Pond

"There is a calmness of the lake when there is not a breath of wind... so it is with us. Sometimes we are clarified and calmed healthily, as we never were before in our lives... and without an effort our depths are revealed to ourselves. All the world goes by us and is reflected in our deeps. Such clarity, obtained by such pure means, by simple living, by honesty of purpose."

From Thoreau's Walden, or Life in the Woods

Walden Pond...one of the greatest inspirations of literary prose, ever. I honestly don't remember reading Thoreau in high school, or college, or ever. So when Bryan asked if I wanted to go to Walden Pond...I thought...sure, I love water...not, are you kidding I've always wanted to see and feel the same things Thoreau did when he wrote some of the greatest literature of all time.

Although it's famous and gets thousands of visitors every year, the state has done an amazing job of preserving the area and surprisingly, both times we've been it hasn't been busy at all. It's small enough to be boat free (about a 1/2 mile or more across) and because it's on a good bike route, it's a hot spot for triathletes. Supposedly early in the morning you'll find tons of swimmers taking advantage of the open water. On our most recent trip I swam across the lake and back. On the way back I stopped in the middle and floated on my back and thought about how fun and different life has been recently. I don't always feel that way in the moment of my day when I'm tired and feel burdened with the task of molding young minds to be future social activists...but it was definite clarity. Thank you, Walden Pond, for living up to your reputation.

Berkeley

Most of you already know that I really love my dog. There should be no surprise that there's a post completely devoted to her. I hope you enjoy these pictures (a few of the many) I've taken of her over the last couple months. More to come as I continue to flashback over the highlights of life recently.

Back to the leash, poop bags and all.

I still don't understand how she sleeps like this.

Worn out after a day of exploring.

Possessive and selfish...like I actually want to eat one of your nasty bones, Berkeley.

The real beginning...

So the real beginning of our New England adventure began when we left the mountains in August. It was bittersweet to be leaving a summer of no work, lots of play, traveling, family, friends, leash-less runs with Berkeley, cool weather, and no commitments, to begin our 20 hour, 3 day drive to our new city. Our stop in Charlotte was uneventful compared to moving day back in May when we tried to fit everything we own into a storage unit that was too small (which we successfully did with the help of loving, patient friends)...during a torrential downpour. We stayed with the Hudsons for the night, then packed a small Uhaul trailer with 1/20 of our possessions from storage, and hit the road, only to stop 2 hours out in Chapel Hill to spend the night with the Bryans and have breakfast the morning after with the Brighams. Then...we were finally on the road. We detoured to Scranton, PA for the night, then drove the final leg to Boston. It was an easy trip (for me at least considering Bryan drove 18.5 of the 20 hours).

Our apartment is great and perfectly situated between Harvard's campus and some of my favorites...Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and CVS to name a few. We're right down the street from a dog park, the river, and running trails. A 15 minute walk to campus for Bryan, a 25 minute drive to work for me. We really lucked out...except for the fact that we're probably paying more for our 1 bed, 1 bath apartment than any one of our homeowning friends pays for their monthly mortgage...and supposedly we got a good deal.

This is how Berkeley rode pretty much the whole trip...

Our first meal in the new digs.

Still assessing...her old home was so much more exciting.

The beginning...

So, I'm starting this blog a little after the fact. But, we figured that doing a blog would be a fun way to document our year in Boston and share about our adventures in Beantown and beyond. And really, who doesn't have a blog? If you are reading and are bored with what's going on in our lives, please visit tylerstanton.com

Our 3rd round of guests are here this weekend, but they're going to be highlighted first since we love them the most (sorry Jill, Ryan, and Gennie), and because Bill asked.

Bill, Nancy, Vickie, and Jeff arrived Friday night. We braved gross weather, three connections on the "T" (Boston railway system), and Bill accidentally getting on a train by himself and getting separated from us, soon to be reunited, all to eat at Boston's famous Legal Seafood.

Saturday was the perfect day: sunny, 60's, and blue sky...just what Vickie ordered. We walked along the Charles, ate lunch at High Rise Bread, and gave our first tour of Harvard's campus. It was a great day, with great weather, and great company.

Bill and Jeff in one of Bryan's classrooms, such characters.

On the steps of the library with the Sprinkles.