Boston Boot Camp

Boston Boot Camp

Our friends Mike and Mary came to visit us last week-end and I think we killed them. Steve and I planned a tour that looked good on paper but was a bit rough in reality. When we told our friends that Boston was a great walking city they responded, “Great! We love to walk. We’ve walked all over Europe!” So of course that was our cue to walk them to death. I think we forgot that we’re not sprightly young things any more.

We met our friends two years ago on a cruise to Nova Scotia. Originally Steve and I had planned to spend the week romantically tangled in each other’s arms and so we requested a table for two. That first evening after gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes for about five minutes we realized that it would be nice to have a few other people to talk with during dinner. So the next night we found ourselves at Mike and Mary’s table and within the next few hours, crazy as it sounds, we fell madly in love with each other. Friendship at first sight.

It helped that we were all on vacation with nothing to worry about but what drink to have with dinner and nothing to do but enjoy ourselves and talk long into the night. It’s rare to make friends later in life, even rarer for couples to make room in their lives for new people, especially when they don’t live around the corner. Mike and Mary are from Macon, Georgia so week-end dinner plans are not a possibility.

That first year we talked on the phone, e-mailed constantly and talked about the next summer. When Steve and I planned a vacation out West our first stop was Macon. We were nervous when we got off the plane in Atlanta but happily fell right into talking and laughing and realizing that we really did like each other. A lot. So this time around the only thing that we were worried about was how much we could cram into one week-end.

We made up two sets of plans, one for sunny and another for rainy weather. We prayed for sun because is there anything more beautiful than Boston when the sun is out, the breeze is gentle and the Charles stretches out like a diamond necklace? Our prayers were answered when we had the best weather of the summer. Mike and Mary came in on Friday afternoon and after an evening of stuffing ourselves with the amazing steaks that they had brought over in a cooler (Mike told the airlines that he was carrying a liver for a transplant!) and the requisite lobstah we told them our plans for the next day.

Saturday we began our trek at Boston Common, walked through the Public Garden lingering to watch the swan boats, then meandered down Newbury Street stopping for lunch at Stephanie’s. It wasn’t till after lunch that the real trek began. We showed off Copley Place and the Library then headed for Beacon Hill and the State House. It was while trudging up Charles Street that Mary commented, “Oh, now I see why it’s called Beacon HILL!”

We continued through to the Harbor Walk and Faneuil Hall where Mike and Steve went off for a refreshment stop. Mary and I sat on a bench watching a clown twisting balloons and debated whether or not to get an air brushed tattoo but were saved when Mike and Steve reappeared. We continued on to the North End where we planned to have an early dinner before heading home. Mary and I collapsed on a bench at the Paul Revere Mall while Steve and Mike strolled. I was thinking that I wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to get up again when Mary whispered, “Do you think that we could get a cab back to the car from here?”

I told her that we would definitely do that after dinner. But I hadn’t counted on the Saturday night crowds and my husband’s determination. We managed to get up and head out to our favorite restaurant only to see that it was already packed at 5:00 in the afternoon. After a hurried consultation we decided to eat at a restaurant close to home. When we told Steve about our cab idea he said, “Are you kidding, it’s a really short walk from here to the Common. We don’t need a taxi!”

At that point we should have hit him over the head and thrown him into a cab but we were too stupid with exhaustion to think straight so off we went following him like Quack, Mack and the rest of the ducklings. Over to Faneuil Hall, back to Beacon Hill and the State House, past the Parker and over the Common. By the time we collapsed in the car we were hysterical with exhaustion.

“Little did you know that you were coming to Schottenfeld Boot Camp!” I told our friends. “God, you’ll never visit us again after that trek!” Mary then confessed that yes, they had walked all over Europe but with lots of refreshment breaks. It’s just a miracle that Mike and Mary are still our friends after the great Boston death march. But we’ve learned our lesson. Next time when Steve assures us that it’s only a short hike to wherever, one of us will just quietly deck him.