Its traveling day today for Barney…he’s all smushed into his box and awaiting for his next destination. Today, from what I am told, is the first in person delivery of Barney on the Kill Barney Tour. It turns out that the next pawrent and I work very close to each other so she is stopping by to pick up the purple menace.
Barney in a Box
Thank you again to Holly & Clyde’s pack for sending him onto to Boston (truth be told, I live in Newton and not actually withing the city limits of Boston, but Newton is home to Fig Newton, Heartbreak Hill and some claim Boston College, but that’s really Chestnut Hill). It was so much fun playing host to Barney, to smell his stentch, to have him meet the extended members of Angel Lupe’s pack and to read about the wonderful adventures he has had prior to his trip to MA.
If you haven’t hosted him before, I HIGHLY recommend you request to do so…even if your sweet Tripawds has earned their wings. It just so happens that today it has been 7 months since my sweet girl did, it seems fitting that Barney moves on today as well to another family.
Barney finally did make it into Boston! I live and work in the suburbs so Angel Lupe’s Auntie Maria (see previous post and below for picture) took a special trip in to show Barney around…it was the day after a pretty decent snowstorm so some of the planned stops had to be cancelled. It wasn’t a duck tour but we had a blast!
First stop was a scared place to the members of Red Sox Nation…Fenway Park! The park was closed but Barney got to explore Kenmore Square and see the oldest ballpark in the major leagues. Honestly, if his visit was during the season, I would SO have brought him to a game. There is something electric about this stadium, the noise of the crowd, the crack of the bat and singing Sweet Caroline during the 8th inning. I’ve been to about 1/2 of the major league parks and while I think the new ones are amazing, Fenway is a must see…I’ve even had Yankees fans agree to that statement 🙂
Outside Fenway 🙂
From there, Barney crossed the river into Cambridge to gaze upon the oldest institution of higher education in the United States, Harvard University. He got to see Harvard Square (which is a lot of fun if you ever get a chance to come to the area, fun shopping, good food and a great place to just walk around) and insisted that I pull over and get a picture of him in front of Harvard Yard…mind you it was a no parking and no standing zone, but how could I resist?
Bahney pahked his cah nea Hahvahd Yahd!
There were tons of people walking around and I got a lot of funny looks and snickers for holding a raggedy purple dinosaur in a skull dress up for a picture…like that would bother me?! Noticed the gates are locked…they know better than to let a houligan like Barney in to such a prestigious institution 😉
Barney crossed the Charles again passing the waterfront (couldn’t get near the U.S.S. Constitution unfortunately) and the North End (the Italian neighborhood…awesome food and Mike’s pastry shop is a must stop for cannoli…the line moves fast and its worth the wait!) on the way to Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall.
Outside of Quincy Market
Barney was so excited to see this historic area, especially when I explained to him that this was a meeting place for the colonists just before the Revolutionary War and is referred to as the “Cradle of Liberty”. We tried to get over to the Cheers that on the other side of the market but it was closed. This is not the original “Cheers” which is the Bull & Finch over on Beacon Hill, but a replica of the tv set…Barney had said he wanted to sit on the bar, next to a Sam Adams and have people call out his name like they did with Norm. Speaking of Sam Adams, I had also hoped to take Barney to Sam Adams’ grave but it was covered in snow and so were the duck statues from the book “Make Way for Ducklings”…darn snow!
On New Years Eve, Barney came with Maria and I (in spirit only) to a concert at the House of Blues on Landsdowne Street (right across from Fenway Park). The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were playing the last of their 3 night annual shows and I became a huge fan of theirs back in college. It was a great way to say good bye to 2012 and hello to 2013, singing and dancing around.
Maria and I outside Kenmore Square – New Years Eve 2012
The Bosstones put on an amazing show as always! Their set was spectacular, they had a replica of the CITGO (or when a Bosox player hits a homerun…C It Go!) with working lights and the were wearing tails and top hats…no plaid but hey it was a fancy affair.
Dickey Barrett (lead singer of the MMB)
Barney’s time with me is coming to an end…I’m just waiting to hear back from his next host for him to move on. I truly enjoyed having him stay with me. I know Lupe would have loved to see him, cuddle him, chew on him and of course smell him. The spirits of the tripawd warriors is within him and now Angel Lupe’s has been added.
Thank you all who have participated in this and his other adventures. Thank you Spirit Jerry and your pack for keeping this going. And to the purple menace, thank you for bringing fun and happiness in my life in a way I didn’t think was possible for a stuffed dinosaur to do 🙂
Round and round he goes, where he’ll end up nobody knows…well, for now only a few do 🙂
Just before New Years Barney had an overnight with another of Angel Lupe’s “Aunties”…she had a lot, hey my friends adored her and on their own declared themselves official “Aunties”…what can I say she was a rockstar 🙂
This one with with her Auntie Dawn and her dogs, Shilo, Koda and Angel Jaxx. Barney wanted to see Gillette Stadium so in a driving snow storm, we took him to Foxboro. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get too close to the stadium, there was a game the next day and the snow was pretty bad, but he was excited to see the home of the Pats!
Go Pats!
Barney met the sweet Shilo, although Shilo is not a fan of stuffed toys, guess she got into trouble after destroying some stuffed animals when she was younger. But we were able to get a shot of her and Barney together…
Barney & Shilo
Then Koda decided she couldn’t let Barney just sit on the counter or pose for pictures, he needed so quality chew and playtime…so she took it upon herself to give him so pitbull love. Honestly, we were concerned that this could have been the end of the purple guy…Koda is pretty rough with toys (she has destroyed a number of the “indistructible” Kongs).
Koda & Barney…action shotThis Barney is MINE!!!
It took quite a bit of coaxing to get Mr. B from her jaws but we were successful and he was in one piece…a little stinker and VERY dizzy!
In the next post, Barney will share with you his visit to town (Boston & Cambridge)…unfortunately, his travels around the city were hindered by snow but he did get to see a few of the big sights and had a blast doing so 🙂
So I’m a little late on updating Barney’s visit to Boston…please forgive my tardiness but he has had some fun!
Christmas day he met Lupe’s friends the Shapiros whom I have known since I was college, they were one of the families at the daycare center on campus. Their 4 year old is now 24 ish, yikes I’m old! Anyways, I mentioned their dog Eli in my last Barney update. Unfortunately, Eli wasn’t in a playful mood so we only got a picture of him and Barney lounging around…
Barney & Eli
Barney also behaved and posed with their Christmas tree…unfortunately I was unable to get an ornament for Lupe this year, so it will have to be next Christmas.
Merry Christmas Barney!
Barney also got to meet one of Lupe’s “Aunties”, Maria. Maria was one of her favorite humans because she has very long nails and gave the best scratches. Maria also would Lupe-sit whenever needed. Auntie Maria came to Boston for New Years, 2012 was a tough year for both of us so we decided to spend the last days together and rock in 2013 (more on that later).
Barney & Auntie Maria
On Saturday, things got a little crazy…more to come on that 🙂
