Nomad Life - Day 3

I didn't feel like I'd had enough sleep by the time I woke up this morning (0430) but I got out of bed anyway.  After getting ready, I ate a light breakfast (snacks) and then went outside to wait for my cousin, Gerard, to arrive (from Plymouth) to pick me up for Mass in Boston.  While I was waiting, I saw a rabbit and countless birds that sang and flitted happily around me.  Gerard arrived at 0640 and we headed into the City (via MA-3 and I-93).  We ultimately parked near the Northeastern University campus (across the street from the Christian Science "Mother Church") at about 0725.  From there, we walked around Boston for the next 90 minutes, stopping (briefly) at various sites of interest: Symphony Hall, Copley Plaza, Trinity Church, John Hancock Tower(s), Boston Public Garden (including Park Street Church), the Massachusetts State House, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, the Esplanade, the Charles River and the Prudential Center.  Once again, the weather was wonderful (low 70s, sunny, no breeze). We talked for the whole time about family history (and connections with the city) and my newly inaugurated Van Life - it was a nice day of family and outdoor activities.  Our target was St. Cecilia's Catholic Church, a non-descript building next to Berklee College of Music - we arrived there just after four miles of walking (0900).  For the next half hour, Gerard and I waited inside the sanctuary for the 0930 Mass to begin and, during this window, the entire church filled to capacity.  The service was an amazing blend of fellowship, musical performances, interesting anecdotes and inspired teaching - it was clear why this is Gerard's favorite church in the area.  Mass concluded at 1100 and we went down into the Parish Hall for an amazingly fancy "coffee and donuts" (which actually included pastries from a local bakery and several kinds of fruits).  This "lunch" was quite good!  At about 1200, Gerard indicated that he'd like to depart and we walked a few blocks to his waiting car.  Even though the weather was still good, it was clear that we'd need to enter the busy traffic flow on I-93 and MA-3 (most people headed to Cape Cod for an upcoming week in their Holiday Rental Cottage).  Fortunately, Gerard knew a lot of shortcuts and the drive only took about 45 minutes.  He dropped me off at Katie's just before 1300 (as he'd predicted/promised) and wished me well on my upcoming journey.  Inside the house, I visited with Katie and Johnny (making plans with him for dinner and games later in the evening).  Feeling tired from two days of "go-go-go", I excused myself and took a nap from about 1400 to 1630 - it felt nice to relax!  Once I was awake again, I did some more visiting with Katie and John, cleaned and organized my bags/boxes and prepped myself for an evening out with Johnny.  We departed Hanover at about 1730 but we encountered major traffic near Weymouth - Johnny deftly found a way around and we made it to the Dave & Buster's at Braintree Mall by about 1800.  Our first goal was to get some dinner and beer - everything (fish & chips, chicken sandwich, appetizers and drinks) was good.  Gabi (Johnny's girlfriend) arrived at about 1900 and we enjoyed a dessert (chocolate brownie & ice cream).  At about 1945, we started playing some of the many team games that D&Bs has - MarioKart, Space Invaders, Hungry-Hungry Hippos, Centipede, HALO, Rampage, Pong, racing cars, ski-ball, air hockey, motorcycles and others.  It was really fun and we passed the time  taking turns and competing.  Gabi's face was lit up with happiness when she beat either John or me - she was pretty good!  At about 2115, we departed D&Bs after our extremely fun evening and headed back to Hanover.  Traffic was much lighter, thankfully, and we arrived at Katie's before 2145.  By this point, I was quite tired but I ended up in a conversation with Katie and John (Johnny actually went to bed) for another 30 minutes.  Eventually, I was able to get to bed and, after a small amount of reading, I drifted off to sleep (2230).  What a day!