CNMC 2010 Day 2

Friday was my first full day in Cambridge/Boston. I took a shower and got dressed and met Inge and Zina and the boys. Her boys are adorable! Zina made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and while they were being prepared I had cereal and tea. Inge gave me some cookies from The Netherlands that can be placed on a tea cup to warm them and then eat. Can’t wait to try them out! It was a lovely relaxed morning. Myra came right to me and let me hold her! Inge and Zina both took photos and it is now my avatar on my networks.

That girl is seriously cute. After she grew tired of me, Inge let me steal her MacBook (again!), but it was fair because she stole the Liss’ iPad! She definitely got the better deal.

Zina, Inge, Myra and I had all planned to take the Hahvahd Tour at 10:45, but we decided to take the 11:30 one instead to have a bit more time to get to Harvard Square. After breakfast, we walked down the street to T-Mobile so that Inge could get a SIM card for her mobile phone to be able to use it in the US. Zina bought a roll of quarters at the bank next door and then all three of us went across the street to wait for the bus. It took longer than we expected and we made it to Harvard Square just in time for the tour. Myra was still sound asleep and Inge put sunscreen on her face while she slept. She was out until one of the tour guides started yelling that the tour would be starting soon.

Both tours that I took on Friday were a lot of fun. They were the unofficial tours where they take you to the same places, but tell the stories you don’t normal hear about their history with lots of humor and fun. Tour guide Colin started out by asking where everyone was from in the crowd. When Inge said “The Netherlands,” he said “Holland” which is not correct. It was a very fun tour, but the group was so huge that if you were not right on top of the guides, you couldn’t hear them as they were shouting on the move. If you were too close, though, it hurt the ears. It was a challenge, but it was fun.

The tour ended with a “primal scream” we had to all do together.

After the tour, we stopped at a former parking garage that is now a mall for lunch. We went to a taqueria that had fantastic tacos (much like Chipotle) and delicious tea. Inge took this photo of me:

We found out that the Ducttape Family was already at the condo so we met them after the bus ride back. It was so great to finally meet Sean, his wife Nancy and their daughter Sarah! We stayed at the condo for a bit and then it was time to head downtown for the tour of the city they were taking with me. During lunch Kim sent me a message on Facebook asking where we were and I wrote back that we were in Cambridge and would have Inge text them because she was staying with them during the weekend. The started at Boston Common, so Zina instructed us how to get there via bus and the T (subway). Since the hotel was at the same stop, the group of us went to Park Street to get our tour and Inge could get to the hotel. Zina stayed home because the Sweeneys would be coming by in the afternoon to park their trailer.

We arrived at Boston Common just before the Boston Tour started. Once we got to the Visitor’s Center, the girls and I went inside to take a bathroom break. The tour had already left by the time we got out, but one of the guides came back to get us. This tour went all around the city explaining the history of different places with stories and humor. It was great.

It was a very small group, so it was much more manageable to see and hear everything. They even did a rap in the Granary Burial Ground, which made it worth the price of admission. 😉 I recommend both tours very much if you want to see the sites and have a fun time.

The tour ended at Quincy Market and we asked one of the tour guides how to get to the Omni Parkerhouse from there. It was very easy and we were there in minutes. It was almost time for the Meet and Greet! As Inge and I learned last year, the best way to meet people is to hang out in the lobby and this year was no exception. As soon as we arrived we saw Barb in Nebraska, who was busily adding people to her “People I Met in Real Life” Twitter list. Fr. Jay gave me a hug and I soon meet new people like Kim and her family. I wouldn’t have known who she was if she didn’t introduce herself, though, because she doesn’t have her photo as her FB avatar. I also met Joanne, Jenna from France and a few others. Fr. Roderick soon arrived and I finally got to meet and hug Cliff! He looks so good! He let me know on Thursday from the studio that he had read the blog post about him and was looking forward to meeting me finally.

After a bit I headed up some stairs seeking a restroom and met Deb and Denyse in the bar! Deb took this photo of me and we shared a cheese and fruit plate.

Note the redness of my face – it was a theme through the weekend since my sunscreen was in Cambridge and I didn’t take it with me on Friday.

After a while, it was time to head up to the Meet and Greet room. In the hallway I got a hug from Maria, met Carlos and Dane and said hi to a few people I met last year.

Here is a list of some of the people I met (although there were a few others):
Met again: Jeff Y, Shelly and Lisa, Capt Jeff, David S, Mac and Katherine, Angela, Nicholas, Matt (who had a gimmick – more on that in a bit), Steve, Ian, Sr. Anne, Lisa
In the hallway in line waiting for our registration packets: Dan
Met for first time: Mary W, Fr. Jim, Naomi, Pat, Allyson, John, Sarah R, Sr. Margaret, Sr. Kathryn, Sr. Sean
Unofficially met: Rachel, Sarah V, Greg and Jennifer, Brian, Lino, Danielle, Scott, Tom, Robyn

The Meet and Greet was a great time (even for me as an introvert). The food was great and it was a lot of fun. Zina came a bit late (alone), but she made up for it in her enthusiasm. Last year she had a newborn with her, so it was a little difficult, but she was back to her bouncy self this year. After a while, we decided it would a good time to leave so Zina, the Ducttape family and myself headed out to the T station and then the bus to get back to the condo. Once we returned, we said goodbye to Sean, Nancy and Sarah and then headed out to their campground for the night (another 45 minutes away). Sean gave me a gift of a Canada hat earlier in the day which was appreciated.

Matthew Warner had a gimmick for the evening. He had a small whiteboard and asked various people to write something and be photographed for a blog post. Here is my contribution to the project:

When we got in it was definitely time for bed. It was a very full and tiring day. My feet were so worn out! I listened to a podcast and then went to bed.

Stay tuned for Day 3 and 4 tomorrow (hopefully). To tide you over, check out the cutest little girl ever and a very cute dog 😉