Boston Blog Thursday night

Hi all,

The plane ride was ... yawn ... early but successful! At the Portland airport we ran into a band from Gresham off to Disneyland, a Salem volleyball team and we saw Courtney Klosterman (advanced orchestra violinist who graduated last year). Quick and easy, like a flash, we're in Boston. On the drive to the hotel we passed 37, count 'em, 37 Dunkin Donuts. There were tons of asian, italian, and seafood restaurants. They have Trader Joe's here (how civilized!!). In case you're in a competitive game of trivial pursuit, the Massachusetts license plate state motto is "The Spirit of America". They pronounce the name "Mark" like "Maak" and "Daryl" like "Daarul", and the word "airways" is pronounced "aaawaay". Guess they don't like "r" here. :)

Tonight we were thrilled and delighted to be entertained by the interior decor of the Hard Rock Cafe Boston. On the way to the Hard Rock we passed through the gorgeous Bunker Hill (?) bridge - a 3 year old suspension bridge - very modern. And, we went through a small portion of the "Big Dig Tunnel". The Hard Rock is down by the North Market, downtown. We ate surrounded by rock icons of legendary players and bands. After some heavy purchasing at the "Rock Shop" gift shop we wandered around the North Market/Faneuil Hall Market/Quincy Market (where we'll eat lunch tomorrow) - checkin' out the local foods and vendor carts with souvenirs.

We're pretty tired, but thrilled and delighted to be here in Boston. The hotel is crawling with musical groups from all around - we've met people from Indiana and NY so far. Late tonight the guitar ensemble (more guitars in one place that I've seen in a long time) folks came through the lobby.

Tomorrow morning it's a 7am (PST) call for breakfast and rehearsal. Tomorrow is the most chock-ful day - stay tuned for the next update.

Signin' off...
~Ms. S