Sunday, September 26, 2010

Fall Adventures



It's been quite a few weeks here in Boston! The weather has swung back and forth between cold and hot.

Last Saturday we were left cold at Jacob Wirth's when Harpoon didn't show to give out free tickets to Oktoberfest and liter steins as promised. Thankfully we did get some excellent beer and german food and our complaints on facebook got us our tickets and stein. So now that they've made it up to me, I encourage you to become a friend of Harpoon. They have lots of free events and card holders get into Oktoberfest for 1/2 price. Go here to register.

This week I also snuck a tour to the Just Beer Brewery in Westport on the South Coast. I happened to drive past this sign on my way to a meeting.


Well, I had to stop on my way back. Just Beer is a fairly new brewery. The owners have been making wine for a while, and decided they needed something to drink during football games, I suppose. I tried for ales and the standout was their Harry's IPA. I bought myself a growler.



This weekend was JP Open Studios, always a fall highlight. We saw a lot of good and bad art, drank a lot of free wine and checked out sweet JP apartments. I really got a kick out of checking out others' gardens too. These guys gave me some great ideas.


We ended Saturday with a trip to the Amesbury Brew Fest, which was filled with strange red-necks and some decent beer. A good $15 spent overall.

For some extra dough you could get inside this thing and ride down the mountain.


Cops were on hand to flirt with, I mean keep the peace.


A big Red Sox fan.


By the end things devolved quite a bit. We knew it was time to hit the road.

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Boston Ahts

Well, Boston is no Paris. We don't have the Met like New York or the Getty like Los Angeles. But Boston has 'ahts'. Yes, that's arts with a Boston accent.

This weekend is the annual Boston Ähts Festival. The event takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Christopher Columbus Park. (Just plug in 105 Atlantic Ave., Boston, MA into google maps.)

I haven't been before, but their website looks pretty cool. Their acts range from indie folk rock to ballet to New Orleans R&B. There'll be visual art from glassblowing to ceramics to metalworking with a lot of hands-on demonstrations. I'll definitely checking it out in between the Greek Festivals. (Somerville and Brookline)

And that's not all Boston is doing to celebrate the Ahts. Check out the Public Art Boston website they've got a great map you can download with all the public art like old statues, murals and modern installations. Lastly, another great resource is the Boston Open Studios Coalition - there's a lot! Though of course my favorite, of course, is JP Open Studios. It's totally homey and has lots of great snacks. It's September 25th -26th, so mark your calendars and I'll see you there.

Monday, September 06, 2010

Back in Boston


I'm back settled in Boston after a long summer of travel, some chosen places, some not. And last week on the hottest day of the summer, we moved. Not far, just a mile away. It was still hard work in the heat and my back is still a bit thrown out. But the new apartment is absolutely lovely; just a block from the best restaurant in JP and equidistant to two T lines.

I've missed most of the summer festivals, unfortunately, but I promise to keep up even better my Boston of the Cheap calendar. Here's a few of the delights I've taken in since I've gotten back:


Swimming at Blue Hills National Park



Lunch at the Clover Food Lab in the Rose Kennedy Greenway


View from Nira Rock, a Boston urban wild



View of the historic Shirley Eustis House from the public orchard there


Labor Day tour of Harpoon