November 14th 2012: Exploring the Boston Logan Airport

Today after work, my colleague was kind enough to bring me to the Boston Logan Airport, where I was to embark on my 2 week trip back home to Singapore. I was hoping to be able to check in my large luggage bag, but according to the airline people there, they cannot accept bags until 4 hours prior to departure, which would only be at 5.30 am tomorrow morning. To make matters worse, the people would only be arriving to work at 3 something tomorrow morning. With that, my plans to head back out to Boston for dinner were smashed immediately.

I had little choice but to stay at the airport for the rest of the night, but I was determined to not let the night go to waste. Instead, I resolved to explore the entire airport, except for the areas where I would need to be body searched in order to enter.

First up, dinner. I decided to have it at Currito: Burritos without Borders, located in the food court at Terminal C. I decided to go for the Beef Cajun Burrito, which comes with cajun spices, black beans, roasted corn salsa, sour cream and rice. It was actually really good, for a fast food kind of place.

After dinner, I started my tour of the airport. First, Teminal C, where I was to depart from Boston. I did not know that there was an underground chapel, Our Lady of the Airways Chapel, here.

Terminal C

Dick and Rick Hoyt

Our Lady of the Airways Chapel

Giant Dunkin Donuts Cup 

Next, I headed toward Terminal E, the terminal for international flights.

On the way to Terminal E

At Terminal E, there were some interesting setups, including Design Museum Boston, the grand opening of which is actually tomorrow morning when I am already in the air, showcasing air transportation fashion, and several projections of the world throughout various eras, including the modern homolographic projection of the world.

Baggage Claim

Interesting Ball rolling setup

Design Museum Boston

Terminal E

Entrance to Secured area

World Projections throughout the ages

Gnomonic Projection

Sinusoidal Projection

Octant Projection

Icosahedron Gnomonic Projection

Next it was on to the Hilton Boston Logan Airport hotel, which is linked to the terminals by a long series of walkways.

On the way to the hotel

Terminal C at night

Floor Decor

I emerged onto the second floor of the hotel, then headed down to the ground floor, lugging my huge luggage bag behind me.

Entering the hotel

On the ground floor

Hotel view from the outside

Feeling hungry and tired by now, I decided to check out the hotel bar restaurant, Connolly's Publik House. Thankfully, their kitchen had not yet closed for the night, so I was able to order their Sweet Pea Ravioli, which came with sauteed carrots and ricotta, looking very green on the whole.

However, the pasta itself was hard, and the sauce not very tasty. Not a good experience at all, especially for a tired traveller.

After my disappointing meal, I headed off to Terminal A, where there were nice paintings on the walls.

At Terminal A

There was nothing much to see at Terminal B though.

At Terminal B

It was at this point that I realized that there were signs for a 911 memorial, and apparently it was where the Hilton was located, but somehow I missed it while I was there, so I decided to head all the way back there to locate it and take pictures of it on Terminal Drive, out in the freezing cold.

With that, I was done with my tour of the airport. I tried to use the hotel internet, but I was soon chased out by hotel security for not being a patron there. Thankfully, it was already 2 in the morning, so I made my way back to Terminal C slowly to wait for the United Airlines people to arrive so I could finally check in my heavy bag. Unfortunately, they only arrived at 4am, so the wait was that much longer, but thankfully everything else went without a hitch, and I was soon on board my plane to Washington DC, where I could finally have a quick nap.

November 13th 2012: Chicken Dinner at Wing It Up, Worcester

Today I had to go home early to start packing for my upcoming trip back home to Singapore, so I decided to grab a quick dinner at Wing It Up in Worcester. Before heading there, I managed to catch sight of a double rainbow from my office window.

As can be expected from the name of the establishment, it is more of a fast food restaurant selling wings. The thing is, this place offers up a total of 75 different flavors to coat your wings with, so I had a hard time deciding which flavor to get. I finally decided to get 7 wings with Jalapeno Ranch, which came with fries on the side, and a can of root beer as well.

It was actually not too bad. I might come back again to try the 74 other flavors.

November 12th 2012: Buying Shoes for my Niece in Wrentham

Today after work, I headed to the Wrentham Premium Outlets in Wrentham  to try to buy some shoes for my niece. I headed to OshKosh B'Gosh  first, but they did not have much in terms of shoes. At Carter's, they had much more to choose from, but I had no idea what size would be best to get, so I ended up getting 2 different pairs of shoes in different sizes. The larger pair actually lights up when stepped on as well.









Done with my shopping for the day, I then headed to Lafayette House in Foxborough for dinner, where I had a $50 groupon to use, as always. This place has an old fashioned feel to it, with most of the clientele being of that age too.

For the $50 I had to spend, I had my work cut out for me. I started with the French Onion Soup Gratinee and the Oyster Lafayette, made of fresh shucked oysters smothered with mushrooms, spinach and minced shrimp bechemel sauce topped with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, for appetizers, both of which were pretty good.

French Onion Soup Gratinee

Oyster Lafayette

For my entree, I decided to get the Tournados Lafayette, consisting of grilled twin filets topped with sauteed lobster, asparagus and mushrooms in rich Cabernet Sauce, laced with Bearnaise. The combination of flavors paired the beef and the lobster really well, and it definitely improved my view of the restaurant as a whole.

Tournados Lafayette

To end it all, I decided to get the Grapenut Pudding for dessert. Apparently it is a custard that is popular in New England, but I wasn't too big a fan of it.

With that, I headed home, full and happy with the purchase of shoes for my niece. Hope they fit though.

November 11th 2012: Flying a Helicopter in North Andover

Today, I had an appointment with a friend to go try out flying a helicopter in the town of North Andover at the North Andover Flight Academy, situated at the Lawrence Municipal Airport.

The airport itself borders the town of Lawrence, and the wide open space offers expansive views of the surroundings.

The airport

After giving us an overview about how to fly a helicopter, much of which I definitely did not remember. It was time to do the real thing itself. While our instructor checked out the helicopter to ensure everything was working fine, I took a few pictures of it.

The cockpit itself was pretty small, with lots of pretty interesting gadgets on the dashboard.

After further explaining how the helicopter worked and what all the meters on the dashboard were, we were off. Thankfully, I did not need to do the lifting off part. Here are some pictures my friend took of me from the ground heading away from the airport and up into the sky, and the photos I took from inside the cockpit itself.

Pictures from the ground

Heading into the distance

On the runway

Views of the town of Lawrence

Piloting the helicopter itself was actually pretty difficult, as the controls were very sensitive to my touch, and any slight movements would send the helicopter veering one way or the other. There was also a lag time between my move and the helicopter's response, and jerky movements were an absolute no-no.

Me piloting the helicopter

Thankfully, I was able to handle the aircraft moderately well, although my instructor had to constantly hold on to the stick to guide me in the right direction. Finally we headed back to the airport, where the instructor took back control and we landed safely. I would not have been able to do it myself. Definitely not something I would venture to do again by myself, considering the cost of learning how to fly a helicopter, the cost of the helicopter itself, and the danger involved with flying one.

With that, my friend went up next, and after he was done, we headed into town to have some brunch at the Good Day Cafe, a nice deli where I had a groupon to use.

I ended up getting a raspberry scone and a roast beef club sandwich with smoked salmon added on, while my friend got a roast turkey cafe sandwich wrap. I throughly enjoyed my meal, with the smoked salmon addition a definitely good choice on my part to make.

Raspberry scone

Roast Beef Club Sandwich

Roast Turkey Cafe Sandwich Wrap

After our meal, my friend and I parted ways, and I explored North Andover a little more before heading into Cambridge, where I had an appointment to meet up with my friends at Shabu-Ya, a Japanese steamboat place.

One High Street,
High Street and Water Street

Veterans Memorial Park,
Bradstreet Road and Greene Street

Stevens Memorial Library

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

First-Calvary Baptist Church

Trinitarian Congregational Church

With that, I headed back to Cambridge, where I parked near the Harvard Lampoon Building before walking around in the Harvard Square area for a bit, exploring more Harvard University buildings and the Cambridge Common area.

Old Harvard Square Theater,
10 Church Street

First Church of Christ, Scientist

Lesley University Doble Campus

Littauer Building, Harvard University

Austin Hall

Hemenway Gymnasium

Wasserstein Building

Langdell Hall

Hauser Hall

Cambridge Common

John Bridge

Memorial

Entrance to the Common

Christ Church Cambridge

First Church Cambridge

Finally, it was time to head to Shabu-Ya. This restaurant, located on the second floor at 57 JFK Street, looks pretty catered to the teeny bopper club, with lots of bright colors and simple furniture in the restaurant.

I had to wait for a bit for my friends to come as the Anderson Memorial Bridge traffic was terrible as always, and it was hard for them to find parking as well. When they finally arrived, we immediately got down to ordering. For 5 people and $50 to spend, we got the Seafood Platter and Lamb and Beef Combo with the beef broth and the vegetarian mushroom broth, which were both complimentary.

The soup

Seafood Platter

Lamb and Beef Combo

Complete Setup

On the side, we also got the Beef Topokki (rice cake with sweet & spicy sauce), which came with Korean side dishes as well.

Beef Toppoki

To be honest, the portions for the shabu shabu dishes were all so small that I was still feeling hungry at the end of the meal. However, I had a meeting to rush to, so I had to bid farewell to my friends early and head home. Thankfully, I was only a few minutes late in the end.