In Albany & In Boston

Hey! I’ve spent basically the last week with a bad cold, napping a lot and generally having zero fun. But weekend before last, we had a weekend packed with plenty of fun, so I’ll catch you up on that.

First, on Friday, I saw “Maggie May,” a joint production with Harbinger Theatre and Albany Civic Theater. This is a play about a woman with dementia and her family, which was not as depressing as it sounds. Here’s my review on KidsOutAndAbout.com.

I had agreed to see the play and write a review before I processed that it was happening at the same time as one of M’s soccer games, which was a bummer. It also meant that my date ditched me: can you just picture Cute W weighing his choices “hmmm. . . daughter playing soccer. . . play about dementia. . . .”

Luckily, I could at least catch the first half, if I was wily about it, so I took my laptop to Delaware Supply to nurse a hard cider and watch M play. I hadn’t been to this bar near the Spectrum 8 Theatres, but I would definitely go back. It had an extremely happy vibe and a small food menu that made me feel like I was in Europe having aperitivi.

As it happened, M scored her first collegiate goal in the second half, while I was watching the play. Bummer! But luckily I was able to watch it on replay. And those of you keeping score (which is nobody; just those of us unduly obsessed with M’s soccer career) might say, “Didn’t she score a goal with that penalty kick when the championship game went to penalty kicks her sophomore year?” and the answer is yes, but apparently that one doesn’t count in the statistics, but this one does, even though it was also a penalty kick, but a penalty kick that took place in the middle of the game because of, you know, an actual penalty (a yellow card that should have been a red). I don’t get it, but whatever. Yay, M.

On Saturday, we drove to Boston to see a concert on Saturday night. We arrived and checked in at Found Hotel, our cheapest option that was within walking distance of TD Garden for the concert. It actually turned out to be a lovely location. Our room was comically small. The bed didn’t seem like it could possibly be a double (but we both fit just fine), plus it was pressed up against the corner walls and the remaining floor space of the room was smaller than the bed. I don’t think it would’ve been an option for a week’s vacation, but for a night or two it was fantastic: clean and cozy. I should have taken pictures, but I forgot.

Shortly after we’d checked in we were hungry for an early dinner, and if we’ve only got a day in Boston, our plan is obviously a lobster roll. We didn’t need anything fancy, though, so we hit a chain, Luke’s Lobster, and it was really delicious.

We each got a lobster roll and then we shared a cup each of New England clam chowder and lobster bisque. Once we’d finished, we still had time before the concert, so we went to haley.henry, a wine bar, and sat outside to split a bottle of prosecco. A nice date!

Then it was off to TD Garden to see Kacey Musgraves, with openers Father John Misty and Nickel Creek. We had floor tickets, thanks to a Spotify presale, and while that was fabulous for the concert, they sent us on a crazy journey down stairs, up stairs, around corners, inside, outside, and up and down stairs again to get access to the floor. This was extremely aggravating, especially as I heard “The Lighthouse’s Tale,” one of my favorites from Nickel Creek, while we were still navigating the stadium.

After getting the tickets, I’d been a little bummed out to learn that Kacey’s current set list is almost entirely her most recent albums and only one song (“Follow Your Arrow”) from her first two albums, which are my favorites. Sigh. I get it: you’re an artist, you need to evolve. But the concert was really quite fantastic and side note: Kacey Musgraves may have the most beautiful skin that I’ve ever seen in real life. She just glows.

After the concert we stopped for Insomnia Cookies on the way home, which was frankly a little disappointing (they were out of almost every cookie, and then the one I finally did get had too much cinnamon for my tastes), but they couldn’t spoil an otherwise fantastic day.

The next morning I slept in while Cute W went for a run (because he is super-human), and then we drove to Smith College to take J out for a tasty breakfast at Familiars. At that point she was still in the middle of getting all of her class choices squared away, so we talked about that, and it sometimes feels impossible that a human can be so like me in so very many ways and yet have completely opposite academic interests. Like, the class she is most excited about is organic chemistry 2. I find that entirely baffling. Like, baffling-but-awesome. She was also getting organized for the upcoming activities fair because she’s on the board for skate(board) club and Italian culture club. So, basically, she’s living her best life.

And then, after all that fun, I got home and thought to myself that I wasn’t feeling the greatest, and I’ve basically been in a phlegm fog since then. But I’m finally coming out of it!