Frank & 'the girls'

I returned home from a lovely holiday in Boston last night. It was, as always, difficult to say goodbye, and that is not just to Frank. Every time I visit my lovely man, I fall in love a little more with the beautiful city of Boston, it's history, it's culture, it's restaurants & eating places & it's natural beauty! Every trip I spend time with friends whom I love more & more with every hour spent in their company. Every time I leave with deep wishes I could visit more often or even stay indefinitely!


Boston this time held lots of wonderful meals at some of my favourite places - The Border Cafe & Wagamama's, both in Harvard Square. Four Burgers in Central Square, close to Pandemonium, and S&S & Punjabi Daba in Inman Square! If you're ever in Boston & wondering where to get a delicious, inexpensive meal, Punjabi Dhaba serves genuine, quick, road-side-cafe-style Indian food, in a casual setting! There was also a new culinary experience, the most tender Porter House Steak at the Texan Steak House in Shirley! (I also had my 'fix' of Cheese-it's & peanut butter M&Ms!!)


We walked the girls every day in the Middlesex Fells. Since my last visit Frank had discovered a whole new section of this beautiful, natural woodland in the heart of the Boston metropolitan area. We bought a map, and struck out on various pathways, hiking up sheer rock faces, through little gullies, & along ridges with beautiful views of everything from the suburbs below, to the skyline of Boston's central business district, and right across the still-frozen surface of Spot Pond (which is really a lake feeding the watersupply of Medford, Winchester & Stoneham). The only day we didn't venture into the Fells we headed to Mirror Lake, close to where Frank's friend Kevin lives in Shirley. Another beautiful walk with snow still on the ground & I got to use 'micro spikes' on my boots for the first time! Making it all so much more special was the gorgeous weather for the first 6 days of my stay! Beautiful, clear, blue skies & sunshine, deteriorating to a gale with torrential rain on the Saturday, but easing in time for my flight home on Sunday!


The friends I have made on past trips become more & more special with every trip! In addition to seeing folk in person I am getting to know many of them online, mostly via facebook, but also by email & even phone calls! This time I didn't get to catch up with many browncoat friends, as there were no shindigs planned, and we couldn't make it to 'Geek Night' at our friends Deb & Rob's in New Hampshire, nor could we get down to Rhode Island to see Frank's closest friend Mark & his lovely wife Bea, one of my favourite people! It didn't feel right not catching up with them on this trip!

I did manage to see a few of my favourite folk, however! Chris is a friend I first met on Fireflyfans.net & have got to know via facebook, the NEBC (New England Browncoats) mailing list, & meeting up on previous trips to the USA. He & his lovely lady, Tal, came to Boston with her 2-year-old daughter to spend the afternoon with us. Along with Frank's good mate, Scott, and his 5-year-old son, Aiden, we visited the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and had a fun (& rather delicious) meal at Flat Patties burger place in Harvard Square. On Tuesday evening we went to Punjabi Dhaba with Joe, who is Frank's colleague & friend from the Harcourt Bindery, Joe is such a fun, intelligent & talented guy! We had a ball! On other days we visited Pandemonium & The Hobby Bunker where we caught up with a few of Frank's gaming buddies, who seemed to be pleased to see me there... (I played two games with Frank, but I think he despairs of me learning & understanding the rules! I really am getting to enjoy Warhammer more each time, though, and was surprised at how much I remembered from my last visit!)


I had really wanted to catch up with another NEBC friend, Jill, who has had a bit of a rough time lately, and with whom I always get along really well! She lives not far from Frank so we made plans to get together on the last Friday of my visit. As we were planning our evening Frank suggested Scott might like to join us, so we got together & had a wonderful meal at The Border Cafe (another highly recommended venue which serves amazingly good Tex-Mex style food at a very reasonable price - but expect to wait for a table, especially on a Friday!) They hit it off so well we all went out for dinner the next night, too!! I was also fortunate to catch up with Cathy Reuben who is one of Frank's dearest friends, a gifted musician, and wonderful lady, as well as spend an evening rehearsing with the vocal section of Urban Myth, Jessica & Robert as well as Frank making me feel so welcome! I loved singing again after a break of two years, and singing with Frank was a real treat! I cannot express quite how wonderful his friends are at making me feel at home!




So, finally, very early on Sunday morning - even earlier than anticipated as it was the first morning of daylight savings & we'd lost an hour we hadn't anticipated losing - I finished packing my bags & headed to the airport. Maggie, Frank's gorgeously loyal & lovely border collie/labrador who has always kept a close eye on me & takes good care of me, looked like I was betraying her, as she always does! She knows, even before I pack, that I am preparing to leave. Lucy is always happy to see me, but less perturbed when I leave, as it just means she gets more of Frank's attention! I always have tears at the airport, and there are always the sweetest kisses imaginable just before I go through the security check point! I always get on that plane feeling like it's the last thing I want to do! I just want to know what it's like to arrive in Boston with no plans to leave, one day!

The strange thing that I often think of is that I never, ever wanted to live in America. Even as I fell for Frank I was hoping that if this relationship went anywhere he might want to move to Australia or England. I am a citizen of both countries by right of my birth, and that is a blessing I am very grateful for! As I got to know Frank & his beautiful girls, Maggie & Lucy, I realised that he was happiest in Boston, and that he could never leave his precious puppies for long. I can't imagine him putting them into quarantine in order to live in another country... nor could I imagine him living in Victoria, where the temperatures regularly reach the low 40s (centergrade) when he considers the low 30s to be "a scorcher" even with 95% humidity!! We learn not to breathe in too quickly as we hop into a parked car or even step outside in Melbourne - a scorcher is actually when you can feel the intense heat drying out your lungs as you inhale!

I have had such a beautiful, wonderful few days with Frank in my 'other home' & have loved every moment of it! I love life in London, but I am already looking forward to my next visit & to seeing more friends, experiencing more of Massachusetts life, and creating more memories of my relationship with Frank & his beautiful girls!