On the issue of work I refer you to the wisdom of Maynard G. Krebs.

Is it possible to blog events as they occur? I'm feeling left out.

Is the cigar lit yet?

Well all I have to say is, NO cigars in my house. You can stand on the porch like they to in the Republic of Cambridge. Seriously...looking forward to seeing all of you. Those of you unable to attend, I am SURE one of these verbose Fodorites will come forth with a Tome of unequaled verbage, and the rest of you will want to throw up. See ya..

'one of these verbose Fodorites will come forth with a Tome of unequaled verbage...'

No, I just said, I won't BE there.

Maybe YOU could try and squeeze a couple of words out,kmk -

I hope that at least the Golden Toaster awards will be published as soon as they are announced.

A Dog biting his toenails is not something we want to think about for too long. Of course he shouldn't worry as it must surely be a forgone conclusion who wins.

I know you'll all have a great time. We're sorry we can't be there, but we are preparing fro our upcoming trip. Maybe next year!

OK, I'll start! The weather has been absolutely perfect so far, and I think it is expected to continue throughout the weekend. I brought this great weather on because I packed an umbrella in my suitcase this year!! (memories of a couple of BOS GTG's in recent years) If this is all it takes, I'll pack it again next year!!

Bob and Karen provided very tasty finger foods and a nice selection of wine before dinner. They have a very warm and inviting home in Needham! Thank you for the superb hospitality, B and K. You went above and beyond the call of duty... so helpful and welcoming! Thank you, thank you.

It was great seeing everyone once again. There were 13 of us for snacks and then dinner at Skipjacks. Having Bookchick, Mimi, and Jackie at "my" end of the table was nice, as we usually don't get a chance to chat at the big lunch gathering in Cambridge. And to Mimi, happy birthday today, the 11th.

Lucy and Ken traveled the farthest, from Honolulu (or maybe the dogster is the winner, coming from Melb'n??). Anyway, always nice to see these two Hawaii fodorites... and Lucy, good to see you feeling much better! Ken, have a good time in Bangkok! You two, be sure to encourage Peter and Linda to come next year!!

Bob and Andy were at opposite ends of the table (smile) so that eliminated much of the bantering back and forth. (Don) Rizzuto, Laurie and Erik, and Karen and Beth kept the two boys from getting into too much trouble. Good job, guys and gals! The waiter (Tony.. who was great) enjoyed the barbs, I think. His asst didn't smile much but I think he was also enjoying our sometimes rambunctious (sp) group.

Dogster was at Bob and Karen's, but did not have a seat at the dinner table at Skipjacks. I'm sure there will be photos posted, so be watching to see what the mysterious "dog" looks like!!! (in his speedo) I'm not sure if he was drinking white or red wine...

There were a number of toasts at dinner... one for our friends who could not be with us last night. We were thinking of many of you!

After dinner, Bob and Karen had a mini-GTG in their room here at the Hyatt. Hope we didn't keep the neighbors from sleeping, as we chatted and laughed until just past midnight. There were 5 of us, B, K, Laurieco and Erik, and myself. These suites at Hyatt Summerfield are great for small gatherings like this.

It was a really fun evening! And I'm looking forward to seeing more fodor friends today!

OK, I'll let someone else chime in now. See you at lunch today.

Carol

Oh, well I'm glad I was there.

Strangely, I don't remember anything about it. I must have been ver-r-r-y drunk. Did I behave myself?

dogster, we decided that you were sitting quietly, behaving yourself, and studying all of us the whole time. Maybe we'll be in your next trip report. Who knows!

(today you were smoking a big cigar)

More on today's festivities later!

Carol

I was expecting Gpanda to be in the speedo, but was glad to see that Dogster fullfilled that promise.

It was great meeting everyone!

Dogster in a Speedo?

I'm not sure all of Dogster's magnificence could be contained in a Speedo. It'd be like trying to fit an eagle in an envelope.

Is there a website where everyone's photos are? I'd love to see what some of you look like, lol.

Actually the Speedo was too big, as it was falling off by the end of the night.

In Australia people call Speedos 'budgie smugglers'.

This is a reference to budgerigars. Just thought you'd like to know.

Dinner was delightful. There were 23 attendees. The food from Similans was superb as always. Appetizers of dumplings, spare ribs spring rolls and sate. the entrees were three taste shrimp, chicken curry, duck curry, Pad Thai and Rad Na. The conversation was enlightening to pandas.

There was a very kind birthday presentation to the panda. Boston Harbor (apparently someone with way too much time on her hands) made up a faux front page listing the panda as a potential James Bond replacement. It was a stretch as was the obligatory speedo picture. A speedo luggage tag, yankee bear and GWB card were also part of the festivities. Evil Lcuy gave me a nutcracker. I leave the reasoning behind that to your imaginations.

All in all, it was a very successful GTG. Some new faces blended in with some old faces (think Bob).

At lunch, Fodors had provided some goodies that were given away as door prizes. Bob's system for dispersal was absurd, but no one objected.

a big mahalo to bob, andy, beth and karen for a great boston gtg. also, a few more mahalos to karen for the gift bags, to carol for the dolphin fan,and other items, to the lady who provided the borders gift card(so sorry, i forgot your name), and to karen/andy for the roll of necco(wow! i didn't know they still made them, what a treat) and to bob for getting the fodors bag from fodors(thanks katie). and of course to my fellow hawaii traveller, lucy for the mac candies. never get enough.

also, mahalo to bob and karen for their kind new england hospitality at their lovely home.

it was good to see old friends again, and meet new ones.

and yes, mahalo to carol for the beautiful weather all weekend. continue to bring your brolly to the bos gtg.

memorable quote by:

finally, at dinner, we were watching the sox-rays game, and the camera closed in on daisuke looking fiercely at the catcher for the signal. the person next to me said: "he looks like he has a sushi in his mouth". lol.

ht, you and linda gotta go to the next bos gtg.

ahh, three perfect days in boston.
:-) :-) :-)

Adding my kudos to Bob and Andy and Karen and Beth, for yet another successful BOS GTG. I really enjoyed seeing "old" fodors friends once again, and as always, the newbies bring delightful experiences to share. I hope everyone will watch this board for the announcement of next year's GTG, and try to join in. It's always planned well in advance, and is pretty consistent as far as the date, which is so helpful for those of us who have to get plane tickets and hotel reservations. Hope to see more of you next time!! I'll pack my brolly again, so we'll have sunshine!

I think we were about 35 at lunch at Sidney's. Dogster made it 36, sitting in his seat of honor. The buffet brunch was very tasty, as always, and the conversations around the room were many.

Dogster, we all raised our glasses to you. There's a photo to prove it. Your interesting postings were discussed; you'll soon have some new "followers" I think. You'll need to get back out on the road and find new writing material!!

Everyone stood up and shared a travel story; some funny, some were very special for their human interactions. No one can top laurieco's story last year, but it was still fun hearing the new stories about Europe, Africa, China, Bangkok, flights, experiences in baggage cars on trains, barge trips, lost room keys, Barmitzvahs (sp), etc. The list goes on and on. Thanks to one and all for sharing a special piece of yourselves.

We were 23 at Similan's. There were yet a few more new faces at dinner. Lots more laughter and stories about our common thread, travel! I think this is one of the most interesting groups of people one might want to meet. I want to encourage others out there, who may be thinking... "do I REALLY want to meet people from the internet?"... The answer is a resounding YES you do!!

I'm meeting up with Bob and Karen and Craig and Jeanne and Laurie and Eric for one final breakfast before we go our separate ways. Me, I'm headed up to northern New Hampshire for a couple of days to see some of the beautiful fall colors!

Do enjoy your day, where ever you are spending it.

Carol

Ken, Brad says to call when you get back to Bangkok. He has new places to show you...

Jim and i were unable to make the afternoon GTG, but were able to attend the dinner at Similan"s. There were no gift bags and goodies, but the great food and wonderful conversation more than made up for that. It was so nice to meet so many Fodorites, especially Bob whom I had the good luck to be seated next to. And for those who are wondering, he is as nice in person as he appears to be on this board. Thanks so much to everyone who organized the dinner.

ShellyK-I completely agree that Bob is exactly as nice in person as he is on this forum, i.e., not at all. There's little chance that you guys will ever return to a Boston GTG after being stuck with Bob for dinner. It was an oversight, I'm sorry.

The good news was that Bob was not part of the dinner financial transaction, so it was done in a fair and equitable fashion. He did clearly make a profit from lunch.

the pictures are coming i am uploading them as we speak...

karen and i agreed on our drive home that the weekend was an entire success from beginning when laurie and erik arrived at our house for lunch on friday at noon until said goodbye to some folks about 11AM on sunday...

we were blessed by fantastic weather all weekend...and we are not finished with it.... we've decided to put the roof down on K's car this PM and go for a nice drive....gas is now below $3 so we can again afford such rides....haha

more later...

bob