... birds of a feather

people who have engaged in youth ministry for any length of time often seem (to me, at least) to have a slightly crazed look in their eye and an openness to what they see as "ministry". whitney is a bit like that, i think, and only in a good way. i've been in contact with her off and on for a couple of years now, part of my casting my net for people to catch up with while i'm travelling and who might be inclined to show me around different parts of the country.

on my visit to boston i have been blessed to find in whitney a local bwana who could show me a bunch of boston that i doubt i'd have found for myself. she pointed me to a holocaust memorial down behind the boston city hall, then showed me the quincy markets. that would have been great by itself but when i shared about my desire to see gloucester, she said it was a place she was familiar with from family trips and offered to take me. extra-great.

so my plan had been to go to the crow's nest, which is the bar featured in the perfect storm. i read a bunch of less than flattering reviews on yelp about it which, in the cold light of twilight, started to outweigh my desire to stand at the bar there. in any case, i visited a couple of statues dedicated to those in the fishing industry that is the lifeblood of the town: one to the wives and children of those who go to sea, the other to the fishermen themselves. around the balustrade of the boardwalk that surrounds the statue of the fisherman, there is a list of the men lost to the sea over several hundred years. it's a starting reminder than even now, with our sonar and safety and giant boats, the sea will still have what the sea wants.

instead of drinks at the crow's nest, we stopped into a diner of the classic style - shiny metal outside, red and white vinyl booths, pretty great - and one of the biggest burgers i've ever eaten. still not the biggest (that honour remains with a burger i ate at a shopping centre food court in canberra almost a decade ago) but the heavy dent i had already made in the accompanying salad, fries, and onion rings, meant it was a tricky proposition. i think whitney managed maybe half of hers, to her deep surprise.

the drive back to boston was broken up with a stop in to the movies to see a good day to die hard. we definitely don't need any more of these.

then tonight the trip was to the prudential tower. this is the place to see boston by night and it is definitely those closest i've been to the boston i've seen i b-unit photography for the tv shows i mentioned the other day. time disappeared quickly and then i was back at the hostel saying goodbye. whitney has been great and i hope we keep in touch.

off to bed - checkout tomorrow.