Boston Adventures, January 2011 - Part 1

New Year's Eve, December 31, 2010

We flew into Boston a few days early so we could attend their New Year's Eve Gala. It was a lovely night of dancing to the sounds of Shawn Hershey and the Fried Bananas and guest vocalist Jan Marie, hosted by Boston Swing Central. Jan Marie, in addition to being fabulous company and a very talented dancer, has an unbelievable voice.  (I told her at dinner a few nights later that she may look like a small white girl, but it is evident from her voice that she is in fact a large black woman.) David and I got all dressed up for the occasion in black and green, but we unfortunately completely failed to get a photo of ourselves.

The evening also had a short break for some entertainment: The Harlem Hobos

The Boston Museum of Science, January 2, 2011

Saturday - New Year's Day - we spent with Grayden and Koren, who were hosting us for the night.  We hung out in their kitchen, partaking of an excellent breakfast, courtesy of Koren's housemate, Phil, and Phil's friend, Tasha.  After breakfast there was a long period of iPad fascination and chit-chat that culminated in evening plans that never happened.  Instead of exploring downtown Boston, David and I explored a hotel swimming pool and some really terrible pizza.  I highly recommend a heated swimming pool and pizza as a post-New-Year's-Eve-in-Boston activity. 

On Sunday we had brunch at Jacob Wirth, well known for their beer selection and their chowder, both of which turned out to be excellent.  

After lunch we were torn between visiting the Robotics exhibit at MIT, the Natural History Museum at Harvard, the New England Aquarium, and/or the Boston Museum of Science. It was a really tough call (yes, I know; we're geeks), and we had originally hoped to get to two of them, but a late start meant we had to pick only one.  In the end, we decided on the science museum.

We saw neat exhibits on M.C. Escher, optical illusions, the senses, light, and math.

In the first one, the reds are both the same color and the blues are both the same color.  In the second one you have to pick out the one + or O that is not like the others. If you click on the image, you should be able to view the larger image.

When you click the button on any side of this box, the shape(s) hanging on that side dip into the soap solution below and come up with bubbles in the shape. I actually didn't read what mathematical hoopla this proved or demonstrated, because I was so fascinated with the shapes the bubbles made. 

 

  

There was a lot of cool stuff in the math exhibit; even though I don't particularly care for math, the machines and demonstrations were very impressive.  David particularly enjoyed the probability illustration: balls were dropped from the center top of the box, and they fell randomly through the pegs to create a bell curve. [Quote on the probability box: "The theory of probability is nothing more than good sense confirmed by calculation."]

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo...

David and I visited the Cleveland Zoo.  It's December, so it was cold out, but the zoo prepares for that.  The rain forest area is in one large (and well heated) building, and they have coat racks so you don't have to haul your coat around.  And when you're ready to head into the zoo, they have a shuttle (also heated) that takes you up to the aquarium and cats building (I know! Really weird pairing).  

David took a LOT of pictures.  When we got to the zoo, I discovered that my camera battery was almost dead. So I got some shots (like this one), but David got many more. 

Sometimes, we were not entirely clear about who was on display -
the animals or us:

River otters and children

Orangutans and children

Gharial and woman (tasty snack?)

 

Something cute and small (and us, not pictured)

 

And we saw bats, of which David managed to get several very nice photos, despite the room being completely dark.

And a dwarf crocodile. He was only about three feet long, and didn't move, blink, or twitch the entire time we looked at him.  (David wanted to know if he was fake.)

 

These guys were off display for the winter, as was the entire Australia section of the zoo.  However, when we left the rain forest and headed to the aquarium/ cat building, the shuttle was no where to be found.  It was rather nice outside, despite the cold, so rather than wait, we decided to walk.  On the way, we encountered the kangaroos' winter home. Two were outside when we came upon the building, and while we stood, a couple more went in and out. They looked very cold, though.

 Just as we were getting ready to continue on, along came the shuttle, whose driver very kindly stopped and let us board. 

This is a prehensile-tailed porcupine.  At first we just saw two sleeping, but then a third came up and started running all around the trees. They have an enormous nose.  It's a little hard to see in the picture, but it's that large pink spot at the end of his face.  (It looks really fake.)

And cute turtles.  There was a large section in the rain forest with turtles and frogs for a very long time.  They were all cute, but they just didn't differ that much from each other. 

The ant eater seemed bored.  Unlike the otters and the orangutans, he had no interest in us, and just wanted back through his door.  So he paced back and forth.  It was very sad. 

This is a spiffy pink bird that pretended like I didn't bother it.  We looked at each other, and then I casually strolled up to the railing and we chilled for awhile.  He kept looking at me and shuffling his feet like he wasn't sure if he should come closer or move away. 

And then there were the R.O.U.S.es.  I don't actually remember how 

the zoo had this guy labelled, but really, could he be anything other than 

a Rodent of Unusual Size?

 

And we couldn't quite figure out what kind of animal was in this cage, 

or why it had so little room.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas (or *insert holiday of choice*)! And I hope you have a fabulous New Years Eve! We'll be in Boston for New Year's and for an exchange the weekend after.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving weekend! I am in the process of writing a post for our trip to Seattle which you can expect to come out in the next couple of days. In the meantime, I hope everyone can find something to be thankful for and that everyone has their fill of Turkey Day feasting.

David and I are splitting the holiday, joining his parents yesterday and mine tomorrow. I am pleased to report that our visit with his family (a.k.a. the meeting of the parents) went fabulously.

In the spirit of the holiday, things for which I am thankful include, in no particular order: my family, David, Renata, Elizabeth, the cup of coffee that is getting me through today, my impending move and the ensuing adventures which the move represents, my library, my cat, the incredibly fluffy blanket purchased in Seattle in which I am currently wrapped, and the sunlight streaming in through the window.

I would love to hear what you are thankful for right now - please make use of the comments section to share!