Celebrating Allie’s 25th birthday, new apartment and new kitten, Perri, in this difficult year of Coronavirus.
In the first nine months of 2020, we had only seen Allie twice for a total of about 10 days: for our trip to Aruba in March and when she came down for a short break to the Eastern Shore in July. In August she moved into her new apartment and in September got her new kitten, Perri. We originally planned to go up in early September but the virus and other activities made that impractical. Allie’s birthday on October 5 seemed the next best occasion to try to fit in a bit of time together before the expected resurgence of the virus. I looked into flying but we soon decided to drive, especially upon considering the amount of stuff we wanted to bring to Allie.
Massachusetts had been in pretty good shape for several months with low transmission of the virus but the state had fairly rigorous travel restrictions requiring either a negative COVID test or quarantining for up to 14 days. Maryland was near the threshold to waive Massachusetts’ testing requirement but never actually crossed that threshold, so we needed to get tests before leaving. After checking a number of places, I found a clinic that offered testing for both of us without a doctor referral or symptoms. The test sample would need to be taken within 72 hours before arriving in Massachusetts.
We did the tests at RightTime Medical Center in Columbia on Wednesday, September 30. I called that morning to make an appointment for the both of us. Mine was at 1:30 and Barb at 1:45pm. I checked in on time and the test itself only took 5 minutes, a single swap up one nostril. Then they made me wait 20 minutes in another room for a nurse to come in and check my breathing and ask a couple of questions. They told us over and over that it would be 3-5 days before we got our results. As it turned out, we got an email the next night, less than 30 hours after taking the test. Both of our tests were negative so we were good to go. I filled out the Massachusetts travel forms and finally felt legit.
Later on Thursday the news broke that Hope Hicks tested positive for COVID, followed shortly by Trump and Melania, kicking off a whole other frenzy. On Friday afternoon Trump went to the hospital and things spiraled from there. But that’s another story.
Friday, October 2
We drove up to Boston on Friday, making only one stop at a NJ Turnpike plaza (Fennimore Cooper). I got Barb a Burger King burger and fries. I wanted a chicken sandwich from Popeye’s but it was closed so I got a turkey sandwich instead. It was pretty good when I ate it several hours down the road. We drove 5-½ hours from there to Boston without stopping which was a little long for my taste. My feet were aching but I didn’t want to stop. We eventually got to Allie’s by 6pm.
We unloaded some things and dropped Barb at Allie’s while I went on to the Hyatt nearby to check in. That evening we saw Allie’s apartment and met Perri for the first time. Perri was very sweet. Play, play, play. She took immediately to us strangers.
Allie’s apartment in The Kensington building looked great. Very comfy. We ordered Japanese food from Tora nearby, a good mix of soup, poke, noodles and things. We unwound with a couple of new episodes of the Great British Baking show before heading over to the hotel.
The Hyatt was just two blocks away. Rates were reduced to less than $150/night due to COVID (they would otherwise be double that, at least); there was no restaurant, valet parking or maid service (unless requested). Our room was quite nice, two queen beds and a big TV. I kind of like the idea of reduced hotel rates for reduced service.
We realized we forgot to bring our jackets for the cooler weather. Barb borrowed one from Allie but I needed to do some shopping. The weather was mostly mild but we would be eating outdoors in the cooler evenings.
October 3
I got up and wandered around the corner from the hotel, looking first for a Macy’s (formerly the flagship location of Jordan Marsh — Mom’s favorite department store in Florida), but it wouldn’t open for another hour. Across the street was a Primark with its doors open. I chose a warm jacket for an astonishingly low price of $25; made in Myanmar under questionable labor practices, no doubt. We had first encountered Primark in London in 2018 when the girls were shopping for gloves. I didn’t realize until now that the store is Irish and I still don’t understand how they can sell such a variety of clothes at such low prices. I felt a little guilty but I had a decent coat that would keep me warm for the trip.
We headed over to Allie’s and she ordered brunch from Tatte Bakery. I had eggs in a hole, very good; I think the girls had eggs Benedicts of some variety but I wasn’t paying attention. We hung out in the apartment and played with Perri while Barb watched some New Tricks episodes on Allie’s Hulu account.
Dan came over at 2pm, we set Barb up with an awful Netflix show, Julie and the Phantoms, then Allie, Dan and I went for a walk. We crossed the Common and went up the Esplanade about a mile, maybe, before I gave out and we found a bench. We sat for a while, watching the boats and birds on the Charles. There was a lot less activity without the sailing lessons that are usually there. But it was a lovely day. We walked back to the Common and headed up to the Duckling Lake, eventually finding another bench in the shadow of George Washington’s statue. It was a nice afternoon; we talked about nothing much in particular but had a good time. Around 5pm we headed back to the apartment to get ready for dinner.
We’d made reservations at Aquitaine, a French bistro in South Boston where we had a good steak frites the year before. We walked there, about a mile, and they sat us outside; the restaurant and its neighbor (Black Lamb, which looks good) took over the side street for more outdoor seating. We shared two escargot appetizers, I got onion soup and the girls shared an heirloom tomato salad. Barb got steak frites (she approved of the frites), I got sole that honestly didn’t seem like sole. Allie got duck which looked good, and Dan had gnocchi that I didn’t even see.
The desserts at Aquitaine did not tempt us so we wandered up the street checking out several places with nice outdoor seating. No luck. Then we went a little further and found Bootleg Special, the New Orleans-ish place where we’d had seafood boils a year or two before. We sat outside and had beignets and drinks. We walked on back to the hotel, watched part of the opening episode of SNL (fair) and then passed out, not before checking that I’d walked 20,000 steps.
October 4
After sleeping late and checking emails, we headed over to Allie’s around 11am. We ordered dim sum from Winsor Dim Sum House including onion cakes and Barb’s shrimp rice rolls (we chose more than we really needed, but it made for lots of good leftovers). All the dishes were good and I daresay a better selection that we typically got at Hei La Moon on previous visits. A new winner, though maybe best for takeout.
Otherwise it was a day of New Tricks while Allie was on an endless string of Zoom calls for Chi Omega recruitment, to her resentment. The price of volunteering. It was OK; in this COVID environment there was nowhere else for us to be.
While at Aquitaine the night before, Allie said she always wanted a Baked Alaska. I searched on Yelp to find that Oceanaire served one, even if it was indoor seating. We planned to make a meal of appetizers and dessert. When we got there a little after 6pm we were the nearly the only ones there in a cavernous room. We ordered a selection of appetizers: clam chowder, a seafood salad, lobster mac and cheese, a chopped salad for Barb. All was very good. Then we got the Baked Alaska which came with a proper show of making it flame. The single dessert was plenty for the three of us; in fact, we couldn’t finish it. Allie was happy to finally have it and probably won’t be in a great hurry to have it again.
October 5
Allie’s actual birthday was Monday and she had to work. We did a little shopping in the morning; Barb found a Boston Red Sox t-shirt for someone at work and some cute masks at Old Navy. We got breakfast sandwiches at McDonalds and took them back to the room. Barb did emails and I read for a while. Finally around noon we asked Allie if we could come over and play with Perri. It was allowed.
We went over and had leftovers for lunch before Allie had to get on a staff call at 1:30. I inadvertently Zoom bombed behind her at one point and was introduced to her colleagues.
Allie’s boss encouraged her to take the afternoon off after the call. We watched a Song Exploder episode on the Burr song “Wait for It” from Hamilton, followed by “My Octopus Teacher” on Netflix. Perri snoozed through it all.
For dinner, we walked to Atlantic Fish Co. where we again leaned into appetizers. The chilled shellfish platter was excellent with lobster, shrimp, crab, oysters and clams. The oysters and clams, which I rarely have raw, were especially good. I could become a convert. We also had mussels and frites which were not nearly so good, overcooked and gritty. We rounded it out sharing a lobster roll with a side of spinach. The lobster was again very good and Allie approved of the bun. We shared a complementary birthday slice of Key Lime pie.
We walked back to Allie’s for a last hour of Perri time and to catch the end of a Great British Baking episode. Then it was time for some teary goodbyes. We’re not sure when we will next see Allie. She may or may not come down for the holidays. Probably not Thanksgiving since she typically has a lot of work. Maybe for Christmas but it depends on the virus and her feelings about bringing Perri. To be determined. These are strange times.
October 6
Our drive back home was uneventful. We made a total of three stops for snacks and bathroom breaks and the whole journey took a little over 8 hours, par for the course for us, even though Google says it should be less than 7 hours.
The focus of this trip was really to see Allie and Perri, spend some time together, get some good meals and avoid getting infected with the virus. We didn’t explore any Boston sights, didn’t move the car once from its parking spot at the hotel, didn’t do any of the shopping we thought we’d do for Allie’s birthday, didn’t try to contact anyone else other than seeing Dan for half a day. There was no entertainment available to speak of other than what we watched on TV. I suppose some museums were open but I didn’t want to spend any extra time indoors with people than I had to (Allie wanted to see a special Pixar exhibit at the Science Museum but we never acted on getting tickets…fortunately Dan will be taking her in a few weeks).
That seems to sum up travel in the time of COVID. It is possible to travel and take precautions against the virus but it’s not a normal experience. We wore masks whenever we walked outside, and most Bostonians seemed to as well. We minimized time indoors with others. Some brick and mortar stores were already shuttered due to the virus but many were still scraping along. A number of restaurants added outdoor seating options. Takeout options were abundant. The lack of anything else to do made dining an event each day.
If the object is to see specific family or friends, it is possible to do it and have a good time. Allie’s (very likely) going to put that notion to the test later this month to go to Denver for Sara’s gender reveal party and to see some other friends. I don’t know if we’re ready to go anywhere else; nothing is on our horizon for the next six months. We hope to hunker our way through and come out the other side to a better spring.
It was great seeing Allie and Perri; they both seem to be doing very well and we’re glad they have each other in a nice setup for the coming months. We’re very glad we finally made the trip. I wish we knew when we will see them next.
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