Brookline and Boston

(All the pics in this blog are from my iPhone. I'm on the train now and don't have easy access to my Madge photo archive. Amtrak, seriously, no wifi?)

My stay in Brookline was sweeeeet! It was so great to see the Gallaghers again: Steve, John, Gina and Isaiah. I arrived Wednesday night just in time to help Steve but Gina and Isaiah to bed. Then we spent some time catching up.

On Thursday I worked in the morning and then met up with John and the kids. They gave me a tour around Brookline - which is a little town surrounded by Boston and Newton. It's very pretty with lots of lovely old homes and trees and parks. Then they dropped me off at Steve's office at the Harvard Business School (HBS). Steve and I hung out together for a while before heading home for a chill evening.

The front of Steve's office - he's in an old school house.

On Friday I took the Green Line to Copley Square. This is right at the main Boston Library which, according to Steve, is the first public library in the country. Trinity Church is also right on the square and I happened to show up just in time for a free organ concert. After the concert I wandered over to Newbury Street and walked around for a while, checking out the fancy shops and beautiful buildings before heading back to Brookline. John and the kids and I went grocery shopping and later the evening Steve and I meet up with Tracy for dinner. We had such a great time and it was so good to see Tracy again. I didn't realize how much I'd missed her until then.

Me waiting for the trolley.

Trinity Church on Copely Square.

A sneak photo inside the church,

Yum, Boston cupcakes!

Saturday Steve, Isaiah and I went out to visit Uncle Erik and Aunt Lynn in Lexington. Lynn was sick and in bed, but we had a fine visit with Uncle Erik. He and Steve are total computer geeks. Isaiah loved their garden and the impressive koi that live, quite happily, in their pond. We then went off to Harvard proper, where we had lunch followed by a Steve-led stroll around the main campus. Back at home, we cooked dinner together; Tracy and her family were coming over. Steve and John said this was their first dinner party in the new house. Needless to say, we had a terrific evening and we also had fun of celebrating Steve's birthday (I won't embarass Steve by saying how old he is - suffice it to say he's no spring chicken, heh).

Steve and Isaiah.

A view of a church in Harvard.

Isaiah and Gina dressed up for our dinner party.

Sunday morning the Gallagher crew took me to South Station in Boston. I was able to sprinkle a little bit of dad on the tracks before waving goodbye to all and climbing aboard the Lakeshore Limited to Chicago.

Aboard the Lakeshore Limited.