A Blogger On Lockdown At The Marriott Long Wharf In Boston

by Meg Nesterov on

Last night, I posted a photo from Boston this week that I took on Tuesday near the Common and close to the site of the Marathon bombings. The city was starting to feel normal again, and the signs of what happened on Monday were of the positive variety: restaurants offering free meals for first responders, guerrilla fundraisers for the victims and families, and everyone showing their Boston pride with Red Sox shirts and caps.

We went for dinner in the North End, waiting on the street for a table to open at one of the popular Italian restaurants. While we stood outside, several special police vehicles pulled up to the corner to investigate some boxes left on the curb. They quickly cut into them, found them uninteresting, and moved on. Usually the sight of bomb squads would cause some alarm, but moods were light (“Don’t they have robots for this?”) as we had all adapted quickly to heightened security. Earlier in the day, I had stumbled upon a few bright spots in the North End: a gorgeous Peace Garden in full bloom and a small alley gallery of saints.

I spoke to the caretaker of All Saints’ Way, who has had visitors from every country in the world (and will quiz you on what church you attend at home), but he reported fewer visitors this week after the “terrible thing.” Too bad, regardless of your thoughts on faith or religion, it was a perfect place to reflect and try to regain some feelings of hope and peace.

We were awoken this morning with a call from one of my husband’s colleagues; the office was closed today, due to a citywide lockdown. We turned on the news, took to Twitter and Reddit for updates, and began following the story that seemed like something out of the movie “The Town.”

Early lockdowns were just for the towns surrounding Watertown, but soon all of Boston was included. Our hotel, the Marriott Long Wharf, has put up signs to inform us that all MBTA and Amtrak service had been suspended, but did not call us to inform us of the developments. Needless to say, we’re still abiding by the lockdown requests from officials and staying indoors.

Our plans today were to check out of our hotel downtown and rent a car for the weekend, checking into another hotel outside the city, but now I was suddenly extra grateful for the leftover pizza and pastries from last night. The hotel has closed except to registered guests, and we were again grateful for the Starbucks in the downstairs lobby, open for business and fully stocked. Hotel security advised us to hold on to key cards if exiting the building, as all visitors will be checked on the registry list and bags searched.

Looking outside, traffic was light and the city seemed a bit quieter than usual on a Friday morning, but one dedicated construction worker remained with his backhoe, digging up dirt. As the morning wears on and media outlets are stretching out their old news and vaguely relevant interviews, life is starting to move on. You can see planes in and out of Logan Airport, and my husband’s colleagues were able to rebook their flights for this morning, though taxi rides were delayed by vehicle searches on the road. Taxis began trickling in and out of the queue outside the hotel about an hour ago, but most guests are still coming and going by foot. My baby (late to bed and to rise) finally awoke, and we changed the TV from CNN to Sesame Street.

Hopefully, by the time you read this, the suspect will be apprehended peacefully and the lockdown lifted, so Boston can get back to healing, and we can get back to showing our support to the city’s businesses and people.

[Photo credit: Meg Nesterov]

National Park Week Begins Tomorrow!

by Kraig Becker on

The National Park Service and the National Park Foundation will kick off their annual spring celebration of the parks tomorrow, as National Park Week officially gets under way. The event will run from April 20-28 and will feature a number of special activities throughout the parks, including free entry Monday through Friday of next week.

The national parks have long been favorite destinations for travelers who enjoy exploring the natural and historical settings that have earned the designation. All told, here are 401 total units that have been given the title of national park, monument, memorial, historic site or recreation area. They represent more than 17,000 miles of trails and 12,000 campsites spread out over a combined 84 million acres. Each of them has something unique to offer visitors and many of them are free all year long. There are so many park units in fact that every American lives within 100 miles of some type of national park experience. To find one near you, check out the complete list of parks here.As a big fan of the parks – and what they have to offer travelers – I am a major supporter of National Park Week and anything else that acknowledges these amazing places. But I do have to take the Park Service to task for skimping out on the fee-free days this time around. While I love that they’re allowing anyone to enter the parks without having to pay Monday through Friday, couldn’t they have found it in their hearts to extend the fee-free days to one or both weekends as well? After all, school is still in session and the summer vacation season hasn’t started yet, so how many people are actually going to get the opportunity to take advantage of the free entry? Perhaps they simply don’t want to give up the funds they bring in on weekends in the face of budget issues due to sequestration. Considering the NPS may even start charging seniors more for their lifetime passes, we may actually be on to something.

Regardless, spring is a great time to visit the national parks as everything is starting to come alive. In Yellowstone it will soon by calving season for bison and elk, while the wildflowers are already in bloom in the Great Smoky Mountains. In Yosemite, the spring thaws will swell the numerous waterfalls that dot the landscape and in Death Valley the cooler weather makes for a more comfortable experience all around.

Enjoy National Park Week and be sure to take advantage of any opportunity to explore “America’s best idea.”

[Photo Credit: National Park Service]


Photo Of The Day: Boston Running Shoes

by Meg Nesterov on

Hello from Boston, my hometown and location for the week. I arrived Tuesday, just about 24 hours after the horrific Marathon bombings, and found the city somber but also kinder and gentler than usual (hardly any cars honking). My first stop was Boston Common, for a walk through the park and gardens. Though the streets were lined with news trucks, and there were more than a few police officers out on patrol, the city felt like any other spring afternoon. On Beacon Street, where thousands of spectators watched Monday’s race, I spotted this house with some special decorations on their window boxes: running shoes, left out to support Marathon runners. This is a tradition that locals do each year, but it felt especially poignant now, along with hundreds of runners still wearing their Marathon jackets around the city. Boston is tough, Boston is resilient, and Boston is open for business; come visit and show your support.

Share your Boston memories with us in the Gadling Flickr pool or on Instagram for another Photo of the Day.

[Photo credit: Meg Nesterov]

Courtney Love Opens Her First Art Exhibition

by Sean McLachlan on


Courtney Love has opened the first museum exhibition of her artwork at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London, Connecticut.

“Mentoring Courtney Love: David LaChapelle and Courtney Love” showcases Love’s artwork and examines the role artist David LaChapelle has played in mentoring the musician’s experiments in a new medium. Love’s artwork on display are all portraits sketched on paper using a variety of methods such as pastel, watercolor, graphite, colored pencil, charcoal, acrylic and marker. Some are self-portraits, such as this one shown here courtesy of the museum. It’s titled “Don’t You Know Who I Am, 2012.”

David LaChapelle is an artist and photographer who focuses on realistic portraits. He was a protégé of Andy Warhol.

“Mentoring Courtney Love: David LaChapelle and Courtney Love” runs until August 10. If you can’t make it to the exhibition, a 360-degree view is available on the museum’s website.

[Image courtesy the Lyman Allyn Art Museum]

Memorial Day Travel Ideas: Consider The Source, No Cheating

by Chris Owen on

Memorial Day weekend begins Friday, May 24, and marks the start of the summer travel season. One of the most popular times of the year to travel, finding a destination that fulfills our three-day weekend dreams can take some work. Considering a visit to the Upper East Coast? Maybe not such a good idea to visit beaches ravaged by last October’s hurricane. Or is it?

If you are looking for a quiet break from your normal routine, avoid busy places like big cities, theme parks and major tourist attractions. Reverse that decision if daily life rides a cubicle and getting lost in a crowd is required. We could do a lot of research, compile lists of possible destinations and make up budgets to get the plans – or we could cheat.

Earlier this month, Kayak released the results of 100 million monthly searches made so far this year. These are numbers that represent places Kayak users are actually thinking about going as opposed to destinations promoted by airlines, hotels, tour operators or cruise lines.In the results, Kayak saw searches cut in half for Atlantic City, New Jersey, a top Memorial Day destination last year. That makes sense: thank you hurricane Sandy. Digging a bit deeper though we find a different scene.

“Despite the vast destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy, all of our State parks and beaches on Long Island are expected to be open for New Yorkers and visitors by Memorial Day weekend,” assured Governor Andrew Cuomo in a LongIslandPress article.

Your mother was right, cheating is wrong.

Instead, consider a variety of sources and read between the lines. Look down deep inside and ask, “Where do I really want to go?” The answer might take you no further than your own back yard.