Cummings B&B

Last week we acted as a Bed & Breakfast for 8 days straight and 3 different sets of visitors. It was exhausting but fun and we wouldn't have it any other way!

For starters Chuck's sister, Shawn, who we just visited in Virginia, came into town to visit with us a for a few days before she had to attend a work conference in downtown Boston. We don't get to see Shawn a whole lot so it was a treat to see her twice within two weeks! Chuckie had a lot of work to do so he spent as much time with us as he could but had to go to meetings and class here and there throughout her visit.

As soon as Shawn came in on Saturday, she and I hit the local nail salon and got a mani/pedi while Chuck did some homework. It was great fun to watch the manicurist try to get the 5 layers of teal and glitter polish off my toenails before starting my pedicure. (Who needs gel polish when you can just get your nieces to layer regular polish on thick and cover it in glitter?)  When we were done, we swooped by the house to change into warmer clothes and get Chuckie, and then we were off to the North End for dinner and cannolis. Shawn got to experience the legit Italian food and wine and wait in the long line at Mike's Pastry. It was perfect!

Sunday we took a Target trip and walked around Harvard Square while Chuck met with a group to do homework. When he was finished, we hopped in the car (I love that we can do that now) and drove northeast for about an hour to Rockport, MA- AKA my new favorite place in Massachusetts. The town is so quaint and perfect it almost seems fake. It's probably why they chose it as the setting for the movie "The Proposal."

After walking and sight-seeing and ice cream, we got back in the car and drove 30 minutes back towards Boston and stopped in Salem, MA to walk around and have dinner. It was chilly and kind of slow, considering it was after 5 pm on a Sunday night, so we just walked where our noses took us and then ended up eating at a restaurant called "The Old Spot" which I thought meant the place was really old but in fact had something to do with pigs or pork or something.

When we got home around 9:30, Chuck had YET ANOTHER school group meeting (via google hangout) and Shawn and I watched "The Proposal" to see what places we recognized from Rockport.

Monday, Chuck had class all day so I acted as tour guide again and took Shawn to see MIT, the Freedom Trail, and Qunicy Market. I've lost count now as to how many times I've been on the Freedom Trail but MAN do I know a lot of random trivia about Paul Revere and John Hancock.

Monday night Shawn checked into her hotel in Back Bay and our visitor #2 arrived. I should say visitorS because it was Robbie and Jessica- a fellow LGO and SO who were in town for Robbie's "midstream review"- the halfway point for the on-cycle LGOs to come back and give presentations on their internship projects. Chuck stayed with them when he came to Boston for a few days back in April, so we were returning the favor!  Soon after they arrived, we all headed to Harvard Square to meet Shawn for dinner at one of our favorite spots in Boston, Border Cafe. Their food is really random but good and the margaritas are tasty.

Tuesday we all worked and Jessica and I met another SO for dinner and ice cream near our apartment.

Wednesday we didn't have any visitors, as Jessica and Robbie left to stay with another couple and I did laundry and cleaning in anticipation of our next visitor. I also watched 5 episodes of the Netflix show Orange is the New Black and got addicted, all while Chuck was still at school attending meetings and doing homework. (I get to have all the fun. It's really not fair. You should all feel a little sorry for Chuckie. But not really because he's getting to learn at MIT, so, it's not really THAT bad but, he doesn't get to binge watch TV shows and get mani/pedis like me. Not that he gets mani/pedis but you get what I mean.)

Thursday our visitor #3 arrived in the evening. Matt, a friend from church in Louisville, got in around 9 and was immediately swept off to a Japanese C-Function and then the regular Thursday night karaoke. Friday, he and Chuck explored Harvard until I met up with them around lunchtime. We had lunch in Harvard Square, then went into Boston to go on a tour of the Harpoon Brewery. Unfortunately all of the tours were sold out until 5 pm and we didn't have time to wait, so we decided to just do a tasting and then head to Fenway for the Red Sox game.

Matt treated us to the game (thanks, Matt!) and we had awesome seats in center field where we could see the whole field and had a good, close-up view of the Monstah. The game proved to be quite interesting, as our seats were surrounded by members of the Wounded Warriors group and at one point in the 6th inning, one of them took off his prosthetic leg, handed to a friend, who then proceeded to chug a beer out of it up in front of everyone. You definitely don't see that every day, huh? Soon after that, I made a bathroom run where the girl in the next stall puked and apparently missed the toilet but hit the ground BIG TIME and puke splattered into my stall onto my shoes. Someone had one too many vodka cranberries before the game I believe. Luckily for me, Sperries are meant to get wet and were pretty easy to clean. But, ew.  This picture was taken pre-puke incident. That's why I still look happy.

Saturday, Matt ventured out into Boston for several hours on his own to explore the JFK Library, Beacon Hill, the Old North Church, and the original Cheers. Chuck and I watched the UofL game and then Chuck was able to get a little homework done. That evening, we took Matt to the North End for Italian and pastries as we didn't want to break our streak. We've taken literally every visitor there so far. Can't stop now. Plus it's a good excuse to get a cannoli.

Sunday we lounged around the apartment most of the morning and then headed into Central Square for a late lunch before Matt had to leave for Louisville.

And then our 8 days of acting as a B&B ended.  We loved all 3 sets of visitors and wish we could have had a full week with all of them! But we made the most of the short visits we had and can't wait for our next set of visitors in November!