My wife came up with a great idea that we take a trip to Boston for the weekend to celebrate my birthday, April 12.

We took off of work on Friday and drove 4.5 hours form New York to Boston.  She found a pretty good deal on Expedia for nice hotel called The Langham, so I was psyched.

Last time we were in Boston was in September, and this rookie name Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter. So there was some deja vu when I found out that the Yankees just happened to be in town with Buchholz pitching that night.

We checked into our hotel and went for our dinner reservation at 7:00 (5 minutes before the first pitch). We went to a pretty cool seafood place in the North End called Legal Test Kitchen. I like this place because, in addition to great food, the place is loaded TVs and Boston sports fans.

We watched the beginning of the game at the restaurant, as both Buchholz and Chien Ming Wang looked really solid. Buchholz battled out of some tough jams and left after 6 innings with the score 1-1, a very impressive outing. Unfortunately Wang was also strong, and Mike Timlin's return from the DL resulted in 2 quick runs and the loss.

As much as losing to the Yanks sucked, I was happy to see my BEST RECORD IN THE NBA having Boston Celtics beat up on Milwaukee for an easy win. This team is SO good... Bring on the playoffs.

The next day I wake up and treat myself to a nice birthday present. I logged into http://www.auctioncapture.com from my cell phone (while my wife was still asleep), and placed a bid on a 1991 ProLine Mark Clayton certified autograph.

Twenty minutes later, I won it for $11.23 + $3.25 shipping. I know that I overbid! But there extenuating circumstances, as this was the last card I needed to finish my 1991 ProLine autographed set. Here is a scan of the card:

This is my first fully signed set (after 14 or 15 years of working on it), and they say your first is always your favorite. Even though I'd like to replace the 3 certified ones (Mark Clayton, JT Smith, and Erik Howard), I'm a happy camper.

So we woke up and grabbed a light breakfast - I had a french toast bagel with walnut honey cream cheese from Panera Bread - awesome stuff.

We decided to go to the big Aquarium a few blocks from the hotel. Even though I am certainly no expert in marine biology, I find these types of places fascinating. We all sorts of jelly fish, octopus, sharks, penguins, rays, and turtles. There is a huge tank in the middle of the building that is 4 stories high and probably 1000 total fish inside, and it absolutely amazing the way so many different types of fish are able to co-exist.

Then my wife came up with an incredible birthday surprise... the Langham had this amazing Chocolate bar. Even though this completely killed any dieting I have done this year and guaranteed me with a lovely with my eliptical machine, it was the most incredible desert offering I have ever seen.

After I came out of my temporary sugar induced coma, we went over Quincy Market for some shopping. Right around this time the Sox-Yanks game was starting - Beckett vs. Mussina.

Manny hits a homer and double to put the good guys up 3-2, followed by a Kevin Youkilis RBI to make it 4-2. My wife really couldn't care less as she was busy shopping, but I did manage to convince her to pose for this picture showing her team spirit (yellow smiley has been used to protect the innocent):

Boston got quite a bit of rain, so we fled back to our hotel between scattered showers before going dinner. The Sox game had incredible drama - Sox up 4-3, 2 outs, top of the 8th, Yanks on first and second base, and Alex Rodriguez coming to the plate - so Francona doesn't mess around and brings in Papelbon. Unfortunately just as they announce the pitching change, the umps decide to stop the game for a rain delay. And about 45 minutes, Papelbon gets ready to go back out and they announce a second rain delay.

We head out for sushi dinner, and they continue the game. Papelbon comes through and then strikes out the side in the 9th to finish it off. It is such a wonderful feeling knowing your guy coming into the game just has that ability to finish off the big games. He threw a split-finger fastball that was just so nasty to get a strikeout.

The only problem was that Fox decided to switch NASCAR with the 2-2, so every guy in the bar had a completely bewildered look on our faces - and frantically checking our cell phones to find out the result.

Although the food was good (but not great), there were some extremely rowdy fans watching the Bruins-Canadiens playoff game from the Bell Centre. Unfortunately the Canadiens went up 2-0.

We get back to the hotel and I realize the Bruins had come back to tie it at 2-2. With 2 minutes left, Shawn Thornton high sticks a guy in the face and gets a 5 minute penalty. It wasn't over vicious, but it deserved a penalty. The Bruins fought a 5 on 3 and then 5 on 4 powerplays to force overtime. But once overtime began, they got another tripping call to put them further shorthanded and Alex Kovalev blasted a slapshot by Tim Thomas to win it. Damn I can't stand Montreal...

We woke up fairly early and drove home today. We made really good time, getting home by 1:30. As I got home, I was let down that I didn't any autographs back from Friday or Saturday (although I did receive a 1953 Parkhurst Alex Delvecchio card I won eBay that I will soon be sending to him).. 

It was a fun and pretty memorable birthday. I certainly had fun on this road trip. Now if Dice-K can win the rubber game of the Yanks series tonight, it will be even better.

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