Red Coats, S’mores, and Pink Floyd on Saturday
Dan and I had a busy Columbus Day weekend (also knows as Indigenous People Weekend) in Boston. We kicked things off on Saturday by spending the day in downtown Boston where we enjoyed the spectacular Fall weather (another perfect weather weekend!), while contending with those pesky Red Coats from England. We followed this by having dinner outside around a fire, and attending a rock concert.
We started our afternoon by attending the Revolution 250’s commemoration of the British Army’s landing in Boston in 1768. The troops arrived as a response to the Colonists’ protests over the Townshend Acts, which had placed taxes on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea, and led to the Colonies’ arguing to Parliament — “No Taxation without Representation”. The landing of the red coats in 1768 began a seven-year occupation of Boston by the English Army that only ended when the British were run out of town by General Washington on March 17, 1776.
As you can imagine, Boston-citizen were not very happy with the occupation, which led to tensions between the Colonists and British troops. The Red Coats occupied Boston Common when they arrived where the soldiers camped out (the officers were able to find lodging in private homes), which created an uproar among the citizen. While on the Common, the troops engaged in practice drills, which infuriated the citizens of Boston.
The Revolution 250’s reenactment had the Red Coats pitching period appropriate tents, where some of the reenactors spent the night. (The reenactment went on all weekend.) The British troops also engaged in a war of words with some of the local militia, and even did some practice drills using powder. We saw some of these same troops in prior reenactments, and everyone is very nice and excited to talk with spectators about colonial history, which I personally love to learn about.
Following our experience in Boston Common, Dan and I had an early dinner at Mare in the North End. We were able to snag a spot outside around one of the many fire pits and enjoy the nice evening. For food, we shared the Alaskan King Crab; Zucchini Blossoms with ricotta and lobster, mixed greens, and lobster meat; Grilled Stuffed Calamari with lobster, clams, scallop, shrimp, lemon essence, all served with broccoli rabe; Fries; and Raw Oysters on the half shell. For a cocktail, I had the Italian Mule with Belvedere infused with rosemary, ginger beer, fresh lime juice, and a splash of cranberry. Our dinner was good, and the Squash Blossoms were excellent. The fries were thick, crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside — the perfect way to eat them. I loved sitting around the fire pit on a cool evening and it afforded us with a perfect view of the excellent people watching. We will certainly go back next year once patio season comes back to Boston in the Spring.
For dessert, we walked to the Battery Wharf Hotel and sat outside around (another) fire pit at Aragosta where we had the S’mores Deluxe dessert. This consisted of Marshmallows, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey’s chocolate, sliced berries, and Graham Crackers. Dan also ordered us both a pour of Woodford Reserve Bourbon (10 years). It was another great experience around the fire pit, and I loved making the s’mores (something I never did as a kid). Having the peanut butter cups was inspired, and I wonder what other chocolate candy would be good on a s’more. KitKat? Three Musketeers? Milky Way? A note to keep in mind when making s’mores— DO NOT lick the piping hot metal poker immediately after you take off the marshmallow, as it will burn the crap out of your mouth. (We were both stupid and did it.) Having the s’mores dessert is the only reason I would ever come back to Aragosta, as the food and atmosphere inside the restaurant isn’t amazing. However, sitting outside the fire pit on a cool evening roasting s’mores was fun and I would definitely do that again next year.
We ended our night at the Boston Orpheum Theatre for the Australian Pink Floyd Time tour. Built in 1852, it is one of the oldest public theatres in the country, and I wish someone would renovate it, as it needs some love and attention. The biggest issue is that the theatre doesn’t have air conditioning, which makes it hot — even on a cool night. Despite being a bit warm during the show, we still had a good time. This has to be the fifth or sixth time we’ve been to see Australian Pink Floyd, and while it was a good show, I loved the two performances we saw years ago in St. Louis where they played entire albums (plus a mix of the hits), as I think the best way to listen to Pink Floyd is by the album (in order). The light show is always amazing at any Pink Floyd show and I liked the inflatable kangaroo during “One of These Days” and the tall skinny creepy guy during “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2”, though I was sad to not see the floating pig during “Pigs”. However, the video presentation during “Pigs” was more political that I was expecting (in a good way) and alluded to the classic George Orwell book Animal Farm with the pigs on top and everyone else below them. (It also referenced the fake media, so one guess on who it was mimicing.) If you want to see videos of some of the songs, check out my Instagram page (@julieschultz79), as I am unable to post them here.
Overall, we had a busy but fun Saturday in downtown Boston. I love all of the reenactments, and can’t wait as we approach the 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War, as there will be lots of events in Boston between now and 2026 commemorating the many Revolutionary War events that occurred in and around Boston. I enjoyed having both dinner and dessert around fire pits, and it is never a bad thing to end your night at a Pink Floyd concert.
(Saturday, October 6, 2018 / @julieschultz79 / #mycrazylifeblog)
