Goodbye Boston!

It's been a long and wonderful 9 years in Boston, and in just a few short hours, Trevor and I depart for California. We'll be there for at least a year, and after that, who knows? I've been saying "We'll just have to see" a lot over the last few weeks. I've also been having a lot of Lasts over the last few weeks - last time at Fenway, last day of work, last volunteer shift at Rosie's Place, last ABC Club, last dinner out with friends.

Just as important as the Lasts, I've been doing a lot of Firsts. Nothing like a rapidly approaching departure date to put the fire under you to actually go all those places you always meant to. I am referring to The List, a note I've kept in my iPod since April, tracking restaurants, bars and attractions that I'd somehow just not done yet. Not everything is crossed off - if I lived here for another 9 years I probably still wouldn't make it to all the appealing bars and restaurants - but I am pretty pleased with my progress:

Complete:

• Cantab Lounge (Dive bar fantastic)
• Cuchi Cuchi (Freshly muddled blackberries and gin? Yes, please! Waitresses dressed as flappers? No, thank you!)
• 28 Degrees (Blue cheese stuffed olive martini? Done. This night also checked off the bonus accomplishments of Sibling Rivalry and Hammersley's Bistro - two South End hot spots I hadn't thought to include on The List)
  
  
  
• Sam Adams Brewery (Must do!)
  
  
  
• Dinner @ Centre Street Cafe* (This one comes with an asterisk because we actually had lunch here, a place we normally go to for brunch when my sister is in town.)
• Flour (It is a good thing I live far enough away from this South End bakery & its recently opened Waterfront counterpart, because this was amazing. The Sticky Sticky Bun, as we'd seen on Throwdown with Bobby Flay, was just as good as promised. Yum.)
  
  
  
• Twin Donuts (You just can't beat a good ol' rundown 50s style donut shoppe. Seriously.)
• Clink* (I actually still haven't been to Clink, but I did go to its sister bar in the Liberty Hotel, Alibi, so I am marking it off. It's my list - I make the rules!)
• Falafel Palace (I walked by this often during my last year of commuting, and apparently it's a bit of a Cambridge landmark. Tiny, cheap and delicious.)
• 1369 Coffeehouse* (Another asterisk! After hitting up the Mass. Ave. location for their famous cold-brewed iced coffee, I realized I had actually been to the Inman Square location before. Alas. Mark it off.)
  
  

Outstanding:

• Parish Cafe (Deluxe sandwiches and a beer mug club? Damn!)
• South Street Diner (When Sarah heard I'd never been to this 24-hour downtown diner, she said "You must never have been clubbing with me downtown." Yes, that would explain it.)
• Wally's (Famed jazz joint, this is the one I'm most disappointed to have not marked off yet.)
• Improv Asylum (But, hey, at least I've been to Blue Man Group)
• The Friendly Toast (This place just opened, so I don't feel too bad for missing out on it.)
• ICA (The recently moved Institute of Contemporary Art, it's now on the Waterfront with a Shepard Fairey exhibit.)
  
• Angela's (Would have loved to try the guacamole here, but East Boston is just so far away.)
• Santarpio (See above, just substitute "pizza" for "guacamole".)

Definitely gives me a few more reasons to come back and visit soon.