July In a Nut Shell

Coming out of June as tsunami survivors, we sweated out July with an insatiable quest for fun on all fronts. The Tall Ships made their way into port, no thanks to Menino, which equated to Sean and I working a six-day series of doubles sans photos or glances of the ships other than those caught from the boat as the D.J. for the cruise narrated the two-hour journey around the harbor.

The middle of the month continued to bring us daily treks to The Arboretum and Jamaica Pond as well as a new location, Castle Island. Located at Pleasure Bay in Southie, Castle Island was built in 1643 and later renamed Fort Independence. Serving as Boston's first military base, it was also used for the protection of the Massachusetts Royal Administration's family members. The twenty-two acre fort now serves as an excellent spot to have a picnic or go fishing.

Though the city has it's benefits in the summer, it's still necessary to bust out of Dodge and take a quick vacation elsewhere. That's where Provincetown came in. We rendezvoused at Race Point beach, introduce bonfire, and lounged around P-Town for a few days. Itching to permanently stay real, I decided to stop into Mooncusser Tattoo and have my feet done, or whatever they call it. Our buddy Ty works the desk there and set me up to Get Real with Marty, one of the shops visiting artist. Marty hooked it up real nice and I was out in an hour. Sean and I gathered up our gear and went out separate ways, he to Boston, me homeward bound to Falmouth.

The latter half of July was consumed by four-day vacations and horrible hours at work. With the exception of work, the four-day vacations were welcomed with open minds as we gathered up everyone to blast trips throughout the entire city and the 'burbs. Castle Island was back on the map as well as a trip to the Quincy Quarries, which is a killer spot, but real grimy. Unused for at least the last twenty years, the Quarries are a cesspool of rainwater, motor oil, rubbish and most likely rubbers, but it's a damn good spot to cool off. Laced with graffiti and featuring several jump-off spots, so to speak, the quarry ride is by far the best trek in the city.