Laura Maas, Tour Guide

As someone who, admittedly, does not transition well (who me?!), I have spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to build a support system in the place where I maybe-maybe-not want to move - Boston. I delight in finding out another friend is thinking of moving there, despite the fact that a) I, myself, do not live there, and b) IF I get a job, I probably STILL won't be living there for at least a year.

This is pretty much how the conversation went when I met up with the inimitable Laura Maas (of the delightful Maasachusetts blog) a few months ago in DC. Maas and I are old-as-dirt GW friends (house staff together back in the day... oh how far we have come!).

Just two youngin's, with so much ahead of them!

When she took a road trip around the country and I managed to score a lunch with her, she told me her dilemma: she was considering which grad school offer to accept - one in South Carolina and one in Boston. Naturally I spent the entire lunch convincing her Boston was the place to be, ENTIRELY so she could be added to my collection of friends - despite the fact that I had no job in the city at that moment. I like to think I was the deciding factor in her choosing to move here.

AND - the best part! I did end up getting a job at a Boston university! Granted, I'm only in the city for a month before going abroad to work for said university, but we actually are currently employed by the SAME institution and living on campus together!! Basically it's like we are back at GW.

This is all just a really long way of saying that Maas and I did the Freedom Trail together. She was our Tour Guide with the Mostest (...), mostly because of her delightful way of inserting what I am calling "Maasisms" to almost every site. And now, a tour of the Freedom Trail, with Laura Maas.


Every good Trail of Freedom is kicked off with the Declaration of Independence (even though I saw this more towards the end...) (Also, could the people in the background look ANY MORE like tourists??)

Aaaand, we start, with the trusty book!

First Maasism: as I take this picture, she starts to read about Mary Dyer, the "Quacker." It took me a few seconds before I turned around and realized - "Wait. Do you mean Quaker?" Oh Maas!

Next Maasism: "So with this building, what Berkley was to the 1960s, this was to the Colonial era." Me: "That is SUCH a good Maasism!" Maas: "Oh, that's not a Maasism. That's a bookism. See page 98."

"See this building with the golden dome in front of us? It's definitely gotta be important. It's got a golden dome!" Unfortunately, it turned out to just be the Transportation and Tunnel headquarters.

The one building we actually paid to go in to: the Paul Revere house. Boyfriend not only had SIXTEEN kids (wowza) but also a house filled with excellent fake food, although the fake meat looked a bit dodgy.

We ended outside the Washington Memorial Garden, as happy (and sweaty) as two Colonials who had just walked a zillion miles could be.

In conclusion: Laura Maas is incredible. Publishers, please pay her to write a book.

No cute cats to end the post but I do have ducks!