Independence Day

My favorite day of the year.

Especially when I’m in Boston.

And this year was no different although it definitely took me on a roller coaster ride.

My morning began as my mother, roommate and I decided to go to Zaftigs Delicatessen in Coolidge Corner for brunch.  As per usual, there was about a half an hour wait time. But that’s where the ordinaryness of our brunch outing ends. As we are about to be seated standing by the door, I notice that the host goes outside to get someone who is next on the list without calling out their name. I didn’t really think too much about it at the time. But then my mom leans in and whispers, “Is that Robert Downey Jr.?” My head whipped up and I stared him down. It really looked like him! I stared for a few minutes, convincing and unconvincing myself, until we got seated a little ways across the restaurant.

His back was to the rest of the restaurant, but his wife and child was facing us. So I did what any sane person would do and made my friends and stepmom and anyone who would answer their phone first send me a picture of what his wife looks like. We then held up that picture to this woman, who had almost no makeup on, and realized that it really could be the same woman.

So we I just kept staring and staring until I officially convinced myself that it had to be him. He has a very distinct look and the staff was definitely acting different.

Needless to say, I was freaking. out. He is one of my 3 favorite actors. But I had no idea what to do. I was so distracted through the whole meal that I downed my food without even tasting it and didn’t take pictures or anything. (So I guess I’ll have to go back again to officially review it when I’m more focused.)

So then he was standing up and leaving so I did what any completely crazy/creepy/fangirl sane person would do and jumped up and followed him outside. The Zaftigs employee who was walking him to his car just glared at me like, ‘walk away!’ But I didn’t.

The conversation that ensued:

“Hi, Robert.”

“Hi, how are you?”

“I’m good. I just wanted to say Hi and you’re awesome/I love you work/ohmygod have my children.” (I still can’t exactly remember what I said here…it’s all a wonderful blur.)

“Thanks. Happy Fourth!”

“Happy Fourth!”

And that was that. Life=Made.

You think you can keep it cool when you meet a celebrity but it is a whole different story when it’s actually happening to you, I was freaking. Hands shaking, hyperventilating, smiling from ear to ear and giddily giggling. Bad.

So yeah, that was my morning. And I should have known that things could only go downhill from there, but I really wasn’t prepared for the devastating heartbreak that was to come.

So me and my roommate, Vic, headed to our standard spot on the Cambridge side of the Esplanade to camp out for the day. We found the perfect spot right near the Mass Ave bridge in front of MIT (and more importantly MIT’s air conditioning and wifi), right in front of the food and ice cream trucks, in the shade!!!!, and right behind this adorable dog.

 

We sat with our books, music and snacks starting at 2pm for a long, relaxing, hot afternoon. Perfect.

 

But then tragedy struck.

 

Heart=Broken

Devastated.

Chiarelli, why?????

But more on that later.

Back to happier times…

 

As the day went on I took a few trips through MIT just to cool off in the AC, but it usually made it worst because I felt 15 times as hot once I stepped back into the heat, but it was really nice.

And then it was ice cream time!

My first visit to Frozen Hoagies was last fourth of July and I fell in love. So I was super pumped to see that they were back this year!

 

And then later I stopped by Chicken & Rice Guys for dinner. Those guys must have made so much money off of hungry Bostonians! They were the only real food truck right there and everyone was going there, but they were cranking that delicious food out like nobody’s business.

 

Delicious.

And one of my favorite parts of the day is watching the sky and lighting on the buildings change as the evening goes on.

 

Notice the police boats in all these pictures. They were super strict and really getting on any boats who got near the no-sail zone. But I guess it’s a small price to pay.

One thing I do have a beef with though is the restriction on garbage cans in the area. I get it. They are targets for people placing bombs, but to not have a single garbage can on the entire Esplanade? That’s ridiculous. You’re just asking people to litter and make a mess.

But like I said, I get it. It’s just annoying.

It was really creepy for me to think the entire day that they were supposed to have attacked Boston on that day. Where would it have happened? Would someone I know have been hurt? What would that day have been like? I can’t even imagine. It just really creeps me out to think about.

Okay sorry, I’m done with the sad talk again.

Say hello to glow sticks!! Or should I say, glow earrings!

 

And then finally, about 8 hours after we sat down, it was firework time!

 

I wasn’t too impressed with the fireworks this year. Especially the finale. If the entire crowd says, “Is that it?” at the end then it wasn’t a good finale.

 

My absolute favorite part of the show though was the reflection of the fireworks in the Pru! I don’t know if you have to be at a specific angle or what, but I don’t remember seeing this last year. Check out the video I took and watch the Pru. I was mesmerized!

I hope you all had a Happy Fourth! And be on the lookout for RDJ, he’s out there filming a movie in Boston! Just try to keep it together. Do as I say, not as I did.

Frozen Hoagies Ice Cream Truck

T.G.I.F!

For real.

This whole having a holiday week in the middle of the summer thing really threw me for a loop. Because when this week came around I was not prepared for 5 days in a row of work again. I think we should have Wednesdays off every week if you ask me!

But alas, Friday has come. As it always does. And this weekend is going to be a doozy. 95 DEGREES TOMORROW! What is this madness?? Luckily, I’m going to Revere Beach where I will probably spend the entire day in the freezing Atlantic to escape the oppressive heat and humidity.

Do you know what else can help you escape from the oppressive heat and Boston humidity?

ICE CREAM!

Frozen Hoagies is here to save the day!

I finally had the opportunity to try them when we were waiting for fireworks on the Fourth of July We were lucky enough to be stationed right near this truck for the 6 hours we sat waiting. And on a 90 degree day in the blazing sun, this was exactly what the doctor ordered! And thank God they gave us bowls and spoons to eat the sandwiches with just in case. Which we definitely needed.

I got the mint chocolate chip ice cream (the kind that has the mini mint patties in it!!) with a chocolate chip cookie.

The mint with chocolate chip cookie combo was actually really really good. And it was the perfect size! It’s called the “slider” and I thought it was plenty! And $4 isn’t bad at all! I even had to eat half the ice cream out of the middle with a spoon before I could sandwich it up. I really really like the cookies too! It’s pretty hard to mess up a chocolate chip cookie, but they managed to make them hard enough to hold as a sandwich but they were still chewy on the inside. Perfect.

And then I found out that they’re on BU’s campus several days a week. Uh oh. So me and a friend made a little trip over there the other night after walking around Boston in the heat all day.

This time I went with the coffee heath frozen yogurt and a Heath bar cookie.

The cookie was very thin and kept breaking as you can see, but it was still good. I think I’ll stick with the chocolate chip cookies from now on though. It was a little messy to eat without a bowl and spoon but I managed to nail down a proper system of using the broken cookie pieces as spoons and then licking it like an ice cream cone and then eating it like a sandwich and then back to the “spoon” method. It’s a real science. Just make sure to grab several napkins before you walk away!

Especially if you decide to consume one this weekend, because I’m pretty sure it’s logistically impossible to eat one of these before it turns into ice cream soup when it’s 95 degrees out. But best of luck!

Everyone stay cool! Hit up the beach. Enjoy your air conditioners if you are lucky enough to have one. Eat lots of ice cream! And have a fantastic weekend!

Fourth of July!

Yay! I was finally able to be in the best city in America for the Fourth of July!

And it was everything I dreamed it would be. Lots of crowds. Annoying tourists. Lots of waiting out in the sun. Amazing music. Some good ‘ol crazy Boston weather. Incredible fireworks. And a great time!

We began the day by walking around downtown and checking out all the boats and such.

Then it was over the river we went to spend the rest of the evening in Cambridge, looking at Boston.

We settled in at about 3:30pm and got a pretty decent spot! I was surprised by how many people were already there. We were right in front of the fireworks barge smack dab in the middle of the Pru and the Hancock Tower. Only problem was that we were directly in the sun. Because if we sat in the shade then the trees would be blocking the fireworks. It was such a conundrum. But in the end we just plopped ourselves down in the middle of the sun and prepared to be miserable for the next few hours.

And we were right near the Frozen Hoagies ice cream truck. Another plus!

Exactly what we needed after walking around in the blistering sun all afternoon! Unfortunately, it was impossible to eat it all before it became a melty mess, so I was sticky and gross the rest of the day. Oh well. So worth it!

My American flag and my umbrella. The only two things I truly needed that day. (The umbrella ended up being quite useful at blocking the sun and torrential rain pellets.)

The other side of the river was quite crowded as well!

And the sun began to set and more and more people piled in…

Then the National Anthem and flyover. (Which personally I thought was pretty lame compared to the awesome 5 plane Blue Angel formations we’d been seeing all day.)

So festive.

And then we were all told to evacuate. Hah. Right.

We had seen the lightning looming behind us and knew that there was a good chance of thunderstorms all day, but no way were we moving after sitting there for 6 hours. But alas, they delayed the Pops concert and fireworks (while everyone else at home was watching the pre-recorded concert). And they tried to usher everyone into storm shelters.

That wasn’t happening. We decided to take our chances with good ‘ol mother nature. Sure enough, a half an hour later, things started up again after absolutely nothing happened. Not even so much as a sprinkle of rain. Even though they kept desperately pleading for us to seek shelter because (direct quote here) “This thunderstorm contains lightning.”

Really? Really, Boston Police? Did you learn that in 6th grade Earth Science?

So then finally…

And after waiting  6 hours in the blistering sun begging for anything to cool us off, the skies finally decided to open up seconds after the fireworks started. Of course!! Still an awesome time though! Despite the giant globs of water that got in our eyes as we tried to look up at the spectacle above.

Here are the few pictures I managed to get before I had to put my camera away to save it from water damage.

And we were pretty wet by this point.

And the grand finale!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July and thank you to everyone who has in the past and is currently serving our country so that we can enjoy the freedoms we often take for granted. We are truly blessed to be living in America. And I am so blessed to be living in the wonderful city!