Phase 15: The return
to the Common.
We thought we were
returning to the common life. We really did. But then I noticed that when L had
asked me for the clue list in the Beantown Pub, she had marked each remaining
clue (over 20, still) with the location (e.g. “BC” for Boston Common, “F” for
Fenway, etc.) – and suddenly I realized, she wanted to finish this at least as
much as I did. A slight glance at
her and I saw she was raring to go.
We had already decided we might head back to the Common to get a couple
of shots we wished we’d gotten when we started out, but that we hadn’t quite
decoded yet. So we ventured back to the common… and onto the second “big” Phase-with-a-capital-P
of the day. For we were really just beginning (though without a crucial team
member – making it even more epically difficult!).
#47: Two Princes having a Semi-Charmed Life. This
is another clue that marked a break-through moment for us. Near the time I figured out that “cold”
meant really, really “cold”, M and I also had a brain-storming session about
what “Two Princes” could me – and we realized that Frog Princes almost have a
charmed life. We also realized that M had, just for fun, taken a picture of me
posing there – but only with one.
So the rest of the crew (at this point, just “Jamel-toes”) returned to the
princes, and took the shot.
#13: Gangway for goslings. So catchy, and somehow so close to “Make way for ducklings”, that we
could only assume they were analogous!
#65: This ugly duckboat grew up. I cannot remember which team member made this break-through,
but someone (perhaps L?) recognized that ugly ducklings might grow up to be
swans—and reside on very different boats than their duck compatriots. Also,
going back to the Public Garden made me realize how very, very beautiful it is
(even if swan boats seem super cliché).
Phase 16: From
Boston proper to the west!
So far, all of our
ventures had been very close to the tiny radius comprising Boston’s downtown.
No clues, in fact, had much to do with the slightly sprawling Back Bay which I
am much more familiar with, and Fenway had just seemed so, so far. But I’m glad we made the venture. And
our first “destination” was on Mass Ave.
#5: A really long kick line. Though we failed at finding a kickline at the Boston Opera House, we
happened upon an organic version (albeit a 3-person-long version) on the way to
our next destination, coming out of the Public Garden. Three ladies swinging
their toes in line.
#43: A hidden village in the middle of the city. I was lost on this one, and it definitely
took some smartphone action to figure it out. Apparently Bay Village, in the
epicenter (ish) of Boston, has a population of barely over 1,000. So, there we hiked!
#28: Reflect upon this church. This was obvious to us – and we were happy to get to the beautiful
Christian Science Center’s reflection pool. None of us really knew the beauty
that awaited us! You have to walk
behind a building or two to find it, but it’s glorious, and there is also a
great view of the Prudential and a certain building with a crown. We took the
scenic route through some parks in the South End (an area I know because E.
dog-sits there several weeks a year), and everyone was the happier for it.
#36: An artsy photo (no Instagrams/filters!). Originally we had planned to use this shot for #28,
but L rightly remarked that it was definitely the artsiest we had (with a close
second from a beautiful shot that J took in the common). A reflection of a
reflection – where it’s unclear what is real and what is an image of something
else, the city behind both us and behind the reflection pool.
#52: A building with a crown. There were so many opportunities to photograph this building on the
way back from the South End, but this one (next to the Pru, in front of the
reflecting pool) really struck me.
Phase 16: On to
Fenway.
Perhaps one of the
first locations to come to mind when thinking of Boston, we made it to Fenway
pretty late in the game, with several clues on our list in our minds to check
off. We wasted no time in getting to Bleacher Bar, where we’d planned to have
dinner, but it was a bit too packed.
Not to worry, these scavengers had no problem finding food at the nearby
Mexican place down the road.
#21: Holding up theCitgo sign. Perhaps not the best job, but we captured this time the first time
we had anywhere near a decent angle to do so. Props to L for holding up
something that heavy, and to S for finding the right angle.
#16: Most Bostonian person. We toyed with the idea of faux Sam Adams, but today’s Most Bostonian
person clearly needed to be a Red Sox fan in Bleacher Bar near Fenway watching
the away Red Sox game. Clearly.
#78: The Sacred Cod.
So we looked this up. It was in the State House. The State House was closed. We
took a picture. I couldn’t find the picture, and it wasn’t of a cod anyway. We
had been pervaded by cod. Codzilla, crazy monkfish-labeled-as-a-cod, etc. So .
. . we decided that instead of a sacred cod, we’d submit a sacred Mexican
wrestly. Because WHO puts photos of Lucha Libre in the bathroom? Well, that random Mexican place on
Lansdowne (or nearby?) – that’s who.
#22: Most Red Sox paraphernalia.
The guy from #16 was also a contender, but S was able to snag this shot of the
Red Sox official store.
Phase 17: Smoots.
One of the best
clues, in my opinion, was simply labeled, “A Smoot!” Exclamation necessary,
explanation not. The so-called “Harvard Bridge” (far from Harvard, close to
MIT) is labeled with “Smoots”, a length of measurement which is the actual
length of a specific individual, and in which is measured the length of the
bridge linking Cambridge’s Mass Ave. to Boston’s Mass Ave. Halfway across from
Boston to Cantabrigia is “Halfway to Hell.”
#79: A Smoot!. And
there you have L, posing next to one of the many markings on the bridge (we’re
on the left-hand side going from Boston to Cambridge, technically the “wrong
way”).
Phase 18: Using the
“T” for real.
We were tired. We
were going back to the
North End to rally for one of the hardest photos on the list. And we were in
Fenway. The only thing for us was the (shudder) Green Line.
#34: A tourist carrying both Mike's and Modern boxes. We caved and pseudo-staged it, I’m not going to
lie. But we also had the experience of waiting in line at Mike’s for some
pastries (which were so delicious I almost forgot that our primary goal was the
box), talking in Boston accents about the Kardashians with some randos in line,
and asking a Modern Pastry box holder to take pics with our Mike’s box – and
being responded “Oh no, that’s the Antichrist!” The perfect response.
Phase 19: One of the
first clues we figured out.
Early in the game we
recognized a clever clue as pointing us to Post Office Square – a location
quite near to us, as we were still in our starting point at Boston Common.
However, the excitement got to us and we ventured on to bigger and better
things, forgetting to stop there. But never fret! We made it back, near on
11pm.
#29: A short 4-photo panel comic. First, we stopped for some tomfoolery near Government Center. We
had debated what to do for this clue – it seemed something that could be done
anywhere, at any time. My initial interpretation was that we were supposed to
find a comic to photograph. Other interpretations involved drawing comics
(something we wanted to recruit E. for, but my phone was dead). Finally we
realized we could just stage our own photo-comic – and that we finally did,
once inspired by the insane statue featured at the end. Note: make sure to
click through all four pics if viewing from the link here.
#17: USPS * USPS. Obviously:
Post Office Square. They don’t call us MIT students for nothing.
Phase 20: The last
hurrah.
One more pretty
quick trip on the Green Line took us home-ward, and also toward the last few
stops on our list. We thought we only had two more items to check off – turns
out, it was three.
#6: Reptilian guard of the place where lightning is made. Others on my team figured out this one
early on, but it was hard to get to – the closest (well, almost) clue to
Cambridge. The raptor guarding the
Science Museum was also guarding some school-age kids who were having a lock-in
there!
#54: The Charles River locks. I’d originally
thought a “lock” was a physical object projecting into/out of a river, but in
fact it makes more sense – “locks” are small enclosed bodies of water within a
larger body of water. We had our closest encounter with the po-po while trying
to trespass (though there were no signs) down to get a better view/picture.
#7: You’ll know it when you see it. And our LAST
photo of the night was impromptu/serendipitous – as it absolutely should have
been. We originally took some
shots of the strip clubs / porn stores in Boston in Chinatown (you know.. you
get it), but we KNEW when we saw disco bikers that they were what we knew when
we saw (‘em). DISCO BIKERS!
Phase The-Last-One:
Cambridge.
We thought we were
done. But then – we took the long way Atwood’s, a pub where my friends were
meeting… turns out they were meeting from about 5-7 pm. Eventually this became
clear, and after walking for nearly an hour, S. picked us up and brought us
more inbound to Cambridge, where, S, L and I (J had already departed
MIT-/home-ward) enjoyed some frost libations before the (SO SHORT) prance home.
What. A. Day.
