“Let the pineapple guide your heart.”
(I didn’t make this up: it’s a real saying that’s apparently all the buzz in the world of lotuses and yoga mats.)
In a world obsessed with ChatGPT and MAGA caps and 6-7, let’s celebrate pineapples. Why pineapples?
Stick with me, I’ll eventually get to the prickly point.
Mostly, they’re on my mind because we only just returned from a quick New Year’s road trip to Boston. (So recent, I don’t even have my socks washed or my suitcase tucked back into the closet yet.)
No, Boston is not tropical. No, it doesn’t have a secret underground Dole plantation – at least not one I could uncover on infrared images. It hasn’t upstaged Taiwan or South Africa and constructed a massive House Anana. Nope. The reason I seem somewhat obsessed with this fruit is because…here it is…our home away from home for two nights in Beantown was at the cutest of cute boutique hotels called Staypineapple.
Have you heard of it? Despite being a chain of ten started in 2010, we never had.
“Don’t pineapples represent swingers?” Mark wondered when he stumbled across it while planning my surprise Christmas getaway gift. Then he scratched his head even more when he saw its motto, “The Naked Experience”.
If you’re expecting to drop your key into a bowl and freshen up your non-possessive partnership, you may just have to consider somewhere else. This artsy locale is NOT Swingers Central.
And just so you know, it’s called The Naked Experience because they insist, you’ll have “a cozy, fresh, cuddly, luxurious, sleep-so-well, you-don’t-remember-it night”. And let me tell you most assuredly that it was. My menopausal bod didn’t need one spray of magnesium or one bite of sleep gummies to hike Mount REM for many, many hours. (The 20,000 steps each day may have had something to do with it, too, but for now I’ll give huge snooze credit to Staypineapple.)
I probably sound like I’m about to get a nice, fat cheque for all my hype. Nope. Although, full disclosure, they did give us an adorable gold pineapple Christmas ornament for leaving a review. Here’s why I can’t stop recommending this place:
•The mattress, the pillows, the sheets, oh my…
•You can borrow a banana-coloured bike whenever you feel like wheelin’ about the city
•Hello, merlot…Free welcome drinks
•In exactly the right spot for everything
•And because it’s so darn funky. Did I mention that it’s cute as cute?
What else we did in Boston
When we weren’t in dreamland – and because this whole blog doesn’t need to feel like Staypineapple’s owner passed me a soapbox and shouted, “You’re on!” – here’s what else we did in the land of the Red Sox (and the Bruins, Celtics, and Patriots, of course).
First Fridays at the Museum of Fine Arts
Someday I’ll deep dive into how this came to be, but for now, here are the need-to-know deets: the first Friday of every month at the MFABoston is “an exciting evening of music, dancing, art making, and more”.
Imagine a civilized version of Happy Hour where you get to chat up intriguing folks, inhale music and poetry, and wander the galleries after hours. Yep, groovy. Or, as the middle schoolers would say: It slays, we had aura, and dope, fire, Gucci. (And, if you have no idea what those mean, feel extremely fortunate, and just know that First Fridays was incredible.)
Boston Tea Party Museum
Have you heard of Moses Grant or James Foster Condy? They were both members of the Sons of Liberty who offloaded 46 tonnes of tea in the Boston Tea Party – and they were the character cards we were given during our tour.
Don’t worry if you’re not the interactive thespian sort. We had no lines. (It was the keeners in the front row who had to speak – so just avoid the first few pews.) A lot of time, money, and passion have gone into the ship and museum: living history interpreters, hologram-like storytellers, paintings that morph into narrators, mini films, a ship with containers you can toss overboard. It’s a must-see even for non-U.S. citizens.
Cheers Pub
Can anyone of a certain vintage enter Boston proper and not meander to the spot where Norm, Sam, Diane, Carla, Cliff and Frasier regularly roasted one another?
In the interest of full transparency, I’ve only watched a handful of episodes, and I had thought 84 Beacon Street was where the 11 seasons had been filmed. It’s not. This location, formerly the Bull and Finch, inspired the show. Upstairs, there is a replica set which is still riveting.
Bonus: it’s right near Boston Common – a 50-acre public park where, as we were walking, a squirrel jumped onto Mark’s ankle and clambered right up to his thigh before rocketing itself toward the grass.
Fenway Park
Maybe you think “Going, going…gone!” is what you hear during Black Friday sales. Or, on the other hand, perhaps you’ve lined your she cave with World Series caps…Either way, there’s no denying you’re bound to get shivers when you enter the 114-year-old home of the Red Sox.
Even a jump-on-the-wagon-when-the-Jays-are-winning fan like me with absolutely no bladder issues nearly needed Depends when peering over the edge of the Green Monster… Btw, if you, like me, knew nothing about “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark,” then we’re not talking about an actual demon. It’s the name of the largest outfield wall in all Major League Baseball and stands 37 feet, 2 inches (11.33 meters).
Between history, arts, sports, and TV memorabilia, this trip to The Hub had “all the bases covered”. Yes, pun intended. Oh, and pineapples. Don’t forget about the pineapples.
