Having just had a wonderful winter weekend in Boston with Kira a few weeks ago, this trip felt like a bonus and a bit of a companion piece to that excursion. Originally, I was going to take us to the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, as Kira has not yet been, but when she said she had tickets to the aquarium, our plans were made. It’s been a few years since I’d last been, and more than a few since Kira’s days of working at the gift shop there, so this was a happy time to revisit the place under the sea.
Before that, however, our wild and crazy Friday night entry consisted of a Vietnamese beef stew dinner that I whipped up, and a quick catch-up of the previous weeks. Winter is traveling along rather nicely, and meeting up periodically makes the passage of time seem a little bit quicker – a boon to the wretched weather months. We sat in the cozy condo looking out over the street and enjoyed a hot, homemade dinner. Candles glowed warmly, and a pot of tea was about to start whistling in time for dessert.
We woke early, perhaps a bit of a cruel plan for a cold Saturday morning, but the aquarium is better if you can beat the crowd, so we splurged on an Uber there and avoided walking in too much wind. The night before I had had a restless sleep thanks to the gusts that rattled windows and blew through the tiniest cracks and fissures.
Once inside, the dim light of the sea drew us underwater, and I was reminded of the peace and tranquility of visiting the aquarium – not entirely unlike the serenity found in a museum. Beauty and nature provide both inspiration and relaxation. We let out sighs of relief as we marveled at the colorful forms of the sea anemones.
The intelligent and watchful eyes of the octopus were on rare display. Almost every other time I’ve visited this magnificent creature, it’s been hidden in a corner. On this lucky morning, she sat regally near the front of the tank, observing us as we observed her, her arms languidly unfurling their tentacles, calm and secure in her elegance. {For a fascinating read on this cephalopod, check out ‘The Soul of an Octopus’ by Sy Montgomery.}
The penguins stole the show, mostly by noise and show of force, with the Little Blues making the kind of screams that would be tarrying coming from birds three times their size. It’s always the little ones that make the biggest commotion. (No word on whether Lilico was still part of the tribe.)
After the aquarium, we continued our impromptu tour of classic touristy Boston with a stroll through Faneuil Hall, and lunch at the Union Oyster House, which has always been too crowded for us ever to get seated. That’s the beauty of an early lunch – there’s usually an opening.
We wound our way through Downtown Crossing before heading back for an early afternoon siesta. A nap would make up for our morning start, and despite the wind, the sun poured into the bedroom as we finished watching ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evilâ’ and enchantments of Savannah set our minds to beautiful daydreams.
