The update before last mentioned that I had to cut things short as we were going to use one of the presents I'd gotten Sarah for Christmas. That present was a little mini-vacation in Boston, the end result of some long-ago planning to go somewhere during the time we had off between semesters. I'd originally hoped to go farther away, but you do what you can when you're working off of the pittance we make working in higher ed.

We stayed for 2 nights at the Park Plaza. Normally, the only way we'd be able to stay there would be if we slept in where the ice machines are. But they put on a deal for New Year's, being the official hotel of First Night, and that pretty much sealed it. I had two set activities: seeing Boston Ballet's version of The Nutcracker, and taking in Shackelton's Amazing Adventure at the Museum of Science.

We got to the hotel a little early, but no problems with check in. The room was by and large very nice indeed. Good size, comfortable furniture, solid desk, a shower with a reasonably positioned head, and so on.

But there were a number of little things that make me thing the room doesn't get a lot of attention. First off, there was no overhead light. Bedside lamps provided plenty of light for that half of the room, but the other half only had the desk light to go from. Odder still was that there was an overhead light in the closet.

The heat in the bathroom worked well. So well, in fact, that keeping the bathroom door open at night made the room too hot. But you would then have to air the bathroom out a little before using so it wasn't too hot in there. And no, since you're asking, there was no way to control it.

The oddest thing? The exercise bike by the desk. Perhaps it was a none too subtle hint.

Oh, and the TV made this buzzing noise when graphics came up on the screen. And the bathroom tap was reversed, with hot on the right and cold on the left (which I suppose you could claim is European). So maybe the room wasn't the best, but it did the job. At least the remote wasn't stuck to the bedside table in one of those rotating cradle things.

In any event, we went to The Nutcracker the first night there. Two things concerned me about this. First, I've never been to the ballet, though I have wanted to see The Nutcracker to figure out what all the hype was about. The second problem was the large number of kids present. Should have anticipated that.

But it turns out I enjoyed it just fine, and most of the kids kept their cool during the performance. If the girl sitting next to me was any indication, this was achieved through the widespread use of candy.

The dancing was great, at the level where it looked almost effortless. But then I see some of the guys jumping around at chest height, and I realize that the only thing that would make me jump like that is high explosives. I developed a much deeper sense of appreciation for the effort involved, if not the artistry. I should also note here that the tights the men wear provide a relevatory experience where anatomy is concerned. Were we closer to the stage we probably would have been carded.

I also realized during the performance that most of the Tchaikovsky that I know is from this ballet, but more familiar to me either as the music for dancing hippos in Fantasia or in radio ads for Friendly's Jubilee Roll. A curious analogue to getting a classical music education through Bugs Bunny cartoons, but probably not that different from the average American's experience.

The second day in Boston saw our sojourn to the Science Museum. Along with the movie tickets we had exhibit hall tickets. We made the strategic error of walking to the museum from the hotel (a doable if longish walk) via the North End for lunch (Rabia's on Salem Street, highly recommended for lunch). By the time we got to the museum, walking around the exhibit halls took much more effort than normal.

But I would recommend going and seeing the museum, especially if you've not been in a while. A lot of new exhibits, with some of the favored older ones still around. The new T. Rex is pretty cool, and the electricity shows have that bug zapper writ large appeal.

Fatigue led us to also get tickets for the movie about the Nagano Olympics, which was pretty good for at least putting us in a proper mood for Salt Lake (I'm sure a future installment here will center on NBC's coverage). The movie on Shackelton is a must see, if just for the story. It's a tale of great bravery and success borne of man's contempt for nature. I have no doubt that if Shackelton was of this age, he'd have died long ago speed skiing or driving a bobsled down Everest or something.

We wound up not going out for First Night, being cold and tired from the walking (having then walked to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner). Speaking of which, what is the fascination with the Cheesecake Factory? It's no better than the majority of chain restaurants, but many people I know can't rave about it enough.

And that was that. A nice trip, fun things to do, and got to spend New Year's not standing out in the cold for the first time in a while. Now if we only didn't have to go back to work the day after New Year's...