Great day in Boston!

Friday was an up and down day, but Saturday was the answer to anything that ailed me. I slept all the way up on the bus and was ready to go when we hit the Kennedy Presidential Library. An incredible location, IM Pei building, moving exhibits - I was crying all the way through it! We spent 3 hours there and you could easily spend twice that and then there are great picnic areas all around it overlooking the water. Then off to downtown Boston and my plan was to walk the Freedom Trail, but I ended up heading to the NO NAME Restaurant for lunch. I had a very good memory of it from my Summer/Fall, 1975 time living in Boston before I headed to the Peace Corps. It did not let me down and I found myself sitting at the bar to eat and struck up a conversation with a man who had just finished a 3 month hike of the upper end of the Appalachian Trail. His wife joined him for some, his son for some, but he did the entire 3 month hike. He has a 26 yr old son and 24 yr old daughter who are both getting married next summer, so he thought he would take this summer for himself. It was a great two hour lunch over some incredible fried scallops. Then on to the North End in search of Italian Ice. On the way, my son called and I sat in a great park and talked for awhile. Then back on my search. The lines outside the Italian bakeries were blocks long! Then back to the pier area enjoying the weather, the water, the people, the boats. It was a great day. I almost cancelled because of work needs, but I am SOOOOO glad I did not.

Today, up and down the stairs already to get wash done. Have a list of to do's this morning - church, Kohls, Shaws, parents, work, small concert at a friend's home, back home for Q&A. That is my goal...

Got a call Friday night that the friend whose wife I go to the Italian restaurant for dinner with is not doing well. "The beginning of the end" as she put it. If he comes out of the hospital this time, it will be with Hospice assistance. So sad.
Found out yesterday that the women who put the Boston trip together has 3 daughters who graduated from the school where I work...small world.

Two things that stuck with me from the Library:

From his Inaugural Address: "All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin"

50 Miles in 20 hours: "In 1963, the initial inspiration behind the event came from then President John F. Kennedy challenging his military officers to meet the requirements that Teddy Roosevelt had set for his own military officers at the dawn of the 20th Century. That Roosevelt requirement was for all military officers to be able to cover 50 miles on foot in 20 hours to maintain their commissions. When word got out about the "Kennedy Challenge", non-commissioned military personnel also wanted to take the test themselves as did certain robust members of the civilian population." I had never heard of this before, but I am going to look for one of the JFK 50 Miles in 20 Hours events that I found on the internet when I looked this up. I walked a marathon in 4 hours 45 minutes, so I think I can do the 50 in 20.

Better walk down and get my clothes out of the dryer. Have a good week.