Boston Library and Fenway Park

We got downtown and, guess what? It was raining. We got to the library and had no idea where to look for the collection of my grandfather's writings, so we ask the gentleman at the information counter. Fully expecting him to say "Of course I know where the Max Sartin writings are, we all do! They're right there, in the middle of the main hall. By the way, can I get your autographs?", I was surprised when it took him several tries to find it on the computer. We found it in Rare Books Department, which was not only closed on Saturday, but also requires that you set up a viewing in advance. Bummer, we didn't get to see the collection, but at least we know that it really exists, and we got to wander around the library. Having used up just a fraction of the time we allotted for the library, we decided to hop the T and head over to Fenway Park. There was going to be a game later that day, so you could see them gearing up for it, the scalpers were out and we were asked at least a dozen times if we wanted tickets. We walked around the area, got some good pictures and then headed out to the family reunion.

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MBTA, or just simply "The T"

Day 2 started out with an early run into Boston to see the Fondo L'Adunata Collection at the Boston Public Library. This includes the writings and corrospondence of Max Sartin, the original. We had decided that driving into the center of Boston would be a) confusing, b) expensive to park c) impossible to navigate, d) frustrating or e) all of the above, so we figured we would park the car close to where the family reunion was going to be (at 1:00) and take the T into town. My older brother was old enough when we lived there to have taken the T as a teenager and wanted to check it out, and since my friend (you may know her from here as nikita4773) always talks about the T, I decided to join in the adventure. So we went to the Grove Street exit right after Needham, parked the car and hopped the train. In some ways riding the T was just like riding Trax here in Salt Lake City, and yet at the same time it was completely different. Getting on the T without paying would be a hard feat to achieve, Trax is not so hard. The biggest difference was the scenery on the way in. New England countryside is completely different than Utah (duh), you'll see that by the pictures when I get them done. Two things struck me the most on the ride, one was that this was an old, old system. The stations, the rails, the tunnels, bridges and all, especially when we got into city and went underground into the subway system that has been around since 1914, was nothing like the shiny new Trax we're used to. The other was the effect the humidity and rain has on all of this. Bridges don't get rusty here like they do in New England. Yeah, our cement cracks and breaks, but the metal stays fairly fresh. Rust is everywhere back there. Moss too. Stuff grows on every surface that isn't constantly rubbed clean. Well, we finally made it downtown, it wasn't raining hard and the clouds that were hovering below the tops of the buildings gave for an awesome sight. (see picture at right). That's all for now, next post will include The Boston Public Library and Fenway Park, in the rain!