I bought some souvenirs at the Harvard Coop.
Then we took the T (MBTA, but people just call it "T") there. They had an elevator here. So my stroller went down ok. Along the way to Kendall station where MIT is, ds2 fell asleep in the stroller.
When we reached Kendall, to my horror, there were no elevators and there was a steep long flight of stairs. I was alone, with a huge diaper bag, a bag of souvenirs, a stroller with ds2 in it, and ds1, who was getting tired too. So I stood at the bottom of the stairs, thinking if I should carry ds2 out, hold ds1's hand, bring ds1 and bags up the stairs, put ds1 with bags way up there, then still carrying ds2, come down again, fold up stroller and carry stroller up, together with ds2.
Or should I carry ds2 within the stroller, but I might fall down the stairs.
Just as I was thinking, an MIT student, Indian guy, walked up and asked if he could help me carry the stroller up! Ahhhh... relief! Gratitude!
I carried ds2 out, he carried the stroller, I held ds1's hand, and we all climbed up the stairs. Yay! I thanked him profusely and at once had a good impression of MIT's students. hehe.
We walked around MIT too. It doesn't have as much an atmosphere as Harvard Square, but it is also beautiful in its own way. Being newer, it doesn't have the long history Harvard has, so naturally the buildings and campus need more time to gain character.
I also bought some small souvenirs from the MIT coop for friends back in Spore, my sis and bro in law too. Then I hailed a cab back to the motel, since even ds1 was going to nap, and I didn't want to carry him and ds2 together.
After a short 1hr rest, I brought them out again. This time to the Esplanade along Charles River where the Hatch was. Boston Pops is performing her 4th of July celebratory concert, and dh and I love the 1812 overture a lot. They were going to use live firing from the cannons while performing that!
Even though I was more than an hour early, there was already a long queue. They would give out wristbands for entry, and when the quota was reached, no more bands would be given out and thus no more entry allowed.
Both ds were still tired though. Sigh, so they were unwilling to walk quickly, to climb the bridge and walk the fairly long distance to reach the entrance. I had to carry ds2 and half drag ds1, while telling him about the cannons to motivate him to walk by himself.
The queue was long but orderly. Just like in Spore. I heard in China, people cut queue all the time, even for weighing veggies at the grocery store, taking a cab or at the bank. When it was our turn, our bags were thoroughly searched, and then the kids were given small USA flags and a program booklet.
When I entered the cordoned grounds, I was amazed to see so many people with all their lawn chairs, picnic baskets and games. They were certainly well prepared! I was just glad to gain free entry to such a great performance. It was tough getting a spot though, because everyone was lying on the ground or sitting on their lawn chairs. Us sitting behind those on lawn chairs would mean a totally blocked view. Finally found a teeny weeny spot, so both ds sat on my lap. I then smsed dh our position and told him to hurry and get here, cos the space really looks limited. He said he is taking a cab over.
I started taking pics, and actually got a lot of cute kids with their patriotic tees or bandannas, flags and face tattoos. Also got some funny pics cos families all wore the same thing, including their dogs... Pity all the pics were lost. The young couples beside me (4 couples) brought wine and were eating some gourmet sandwiches. Wow. Their huge cooler contained everything, from ice to pretty cloth napkins.
Some families with kids had ice cream and well, everyone had huge coolers full of yummy food. My kids? they munched on Goldfish cheese crackers bought from the CVS pharmacy at Harvard Square.
Dh reached just in time. Then the concert began. The program was good. Some classics, then the anthem, and then 1812 overture. Really very grand. Then all the patriotic songs.
The Blue Man Group also performed. They were wonderful. I liked the way they used unique objects to make music. The kids were mesmerised. Of course, maybe also because of their blue appearance, which look alien-like to them. haha.
Some other famous people sang and performed too. Then came the dancing part. It was getting late, so we left earlier. There were some small fireworks but the real deal would be on the 4th of July.
Oh It was so fun. Glad it was open air and free, that way the kids can enjoy all these too.
The conductor actually comes to Utah to conduct the Utah Symphony too, and they also perform the 1812 with live cannons but those are paid concerts. And usually they only allow kids above 6 or 8.
