My wife, Tess, and I flew to Boston for the weekend to attend a wedding. Her cousin’s. We were very excited - for her to reconnect with relatives she hasn’t seen in many years, and for me to finally meet them. This trip turned out to be much more than we hoped for.
This was our first time in this part of the US and we looked forward to do some sightseeing. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to do much of that but that’s ok. Meeting so many interesting people more than made up for not seeing new places. In addition to the relatives, we also met quite fascinating Uber drivers. Yes Uber drivers, but let me talk about the wedding and the relatives first.
May is definitely the best time of year to visit Boston. The weather was perfect - sunny with temperatures in the 50’s to 60’s F. We got there Friday morning, checked into our hotel, and had time to take a few hours of nap before the wedding rehearsal in the afternoon. Unfortunately, we were late for the rehearsal because we overindulged on the much-needed nap. Tess had a reading part in the ceremony but not being able to practice was not critical, her relatives assured her and were very gracious about it.
From the rehearsal we went to a meet-and-greet dinner hosted by the bride and groom who were very nice to give us a ride there. Bryan, the groom/cousin of Tess, is an accountant in a brokering firm. Wendell, the bride, is also a CPA at another firm. They’re both children of migrants from the Philippines. They met at the Freshman orientation at the Northeastern University, which as if on queue, we passed by as they were relating the story. They’ve been together since, and now, 15 years later, they were going to be married. The popular Italian restaurant was packed even more with the arrival of our party of 50 plus. The atmosphere was lively and meet and greet we did the friendly friends and relatives from all over including New York, California, and Canada. We compared travel experiences: bumpy flights, traffic jams, and weather delays. All in good spirits. Coming from Hawaii, we held the record for longest-traveled.
The dinner extended into the late hours that by the time we got back to our hotel, where most of the out of town guests were staying, it was close to midnight. It turned out there was one more pre-wedding event: “drinks and small bites” at the lobby bar. It seemed that the bar forfeited our reservation since we were late by at least an hour and they were not ready to host at least a dozen people. Jun, the groom’s brother, had an impromptu solution and had us gather round with our lounge chairs at the lobby area. He brought down a bottle of Japanese whiskey from his room and saved the day. The party was just warming up when the bar manager came over and had a chat with Jun. It seemed that our self-help alcohol provision was not appreciated by the management. Oh well, the Hibiki single malt was almost gone anyway and it was getting into the wee hours of Saturday. We slowly dispersed.
The 2pm wedding on Saturday was at the iconic Boston Cathedral that has one of the most impressive pipe organs I’ve ever seen and heard. I don’t know what it is about weddings but it always chokes everyone. The Pineros are no exception. If anything, they’re the most emotional bunch I’ve seen in a while. My wife’s eyes moistened up as soon as the first few notes of Pachelbel’s Canon blasted from the pipes for the wedding march. The groom’s mom can’t seem to let go after her son hugged her at the end of their walk. The ring bearer did not make it to the altar, he started crying with a few pews left. So close! The groom had to compose himself for a minute before he found his voice for his vow. Otherwise, the ceremony, a Filipino Catholic wedding mass, was picture-perfect and very beautiful. It included the traditional donning of the veil and cord, and the handing of the arias. And yes, my wife’s part - the Prayer of the Faithful - was flawless, at least to my biased ears.
The reception was at the Harvard Club, a very nice and cozy banquet hall. Before we signed the Guest Book, we took selfies with a Polaroid camera and the print went with our entries. What a great idea! The reception started with a cocktail hour that was lavish with drinks and hors d'oeuvre. Once all the guests were seated, the program started with the announcement and entrance of the wedding party. It was immediately followed by the bride and groom dance, then the father and bride, then the mother and groom. Then everyone was on the dance floor! Lots of dancing that night; Filipinos love to dance. At one point, the father of the bride had an intermission number and sang a wonderful rendition of Unchained Melody. Thr 4-course dinner was eventually served with a choice of salmon or beef for main entree. The band was not bad at all, the singers even led some of the dances on the floor!
The party ended just before midnight with an invitation to a nearby bar for a night cap hosted by the newlyweds. Tess and I did, but not after a circuitous route that turned out to be quite an adventure, i.e., we got lost. But that’s ok because we ended up running into some interesting Bostonians, a few whiffs of MJ, and we even stumbled upon Fenway Park, where the Red Sox play.
Sunday was our departure day. We said our fond goodbyes with promises of reunions at the breakfast buffet and off we went to the airport for the next stop of our vacation: New York. Our stay at Boston was very memorable, I wish we could have stayed longer to sightsee. Hopefully next time.
Boston Über Drivers
From the time we arrived at Logan Airport until we departed, we used Uber to get around Boston. I think it’s the best way to commute, especially as a visitor unfamiliar with the perennial busy traffic of the city. And per the hotel concierge and some of our fellow guests, it is cheaper than taxis. But the best part was that we met some of the most interesting people - the Uber drivers.
Our first driver, Hawar, a Kurd, asked me a tricky question - if I knew where Kurds are from. Luckily, I’ve had a personal experience with Kurd refugees when I was in the US Air Force and I knew they are a scattered group of people. Hawar is originally from Iraq. He is a student and moonlights as an Uber driver "to improve his English." He’s not a big Trump fan.
Jose, who drove us to the wedding rehearsal, is originally from Mexico. He was mostly quiet and concentrated on his driving. Following our urgent request, he got us to our destination quickly with only one near-miss!
David is a construction worker and is a seasonal Uber driver - when construction work is slow. A local white guy, he had strong opinions on rich people buying rental properties in Boston then jacking up the rent and chasing residents away to the suburbs. According to him, these people still have to drive to and from work in the city and are the main cause of the traffic jams.
Andrea, is a black girl driver who immediately apologized for the dirty rap music she was playing on her car stereo and asked if we mind. Tess did, I didn’t. I’m all about freedom of artistic and speech expression. Plus she had a cool car stereo with nice bass response. And so the rap music blared throughout the trip.
Mouloud is originally from Rabat, Morocco. Even though he’s a Muslim, he doesn’t mind Trump at all. He said there are already enough people who hate him (Trump). We mentioned our fond trips to Morocco to his delight. He likes his new full time job as an Uber driver and ran down the numbers: he makes more money, pays less taxes, and has more free time.
Our last driver was Ibner from the Dominican Republic. I got to practice my meager Spanish with him. We made a connection. He bade us, “Vaya con Dios,” after he unloaded our luggage at the airport.
This trip was very memorable, as in many of our previous trips, because of the people that we met. They were all very interesting and had fascinating stories to tell.
