I had been borrowing a drumset for practicing in my house from my drummer friend Steve Ellis. Thanks to his tremendous generosity, I've been able to practice and blow off steam for the better part of the last year. However, Steve needed his set back and I had been considering getting a new one for gigging out for some time. Well, no better place to get a drum set than Dick DiCenso's Drum shop in Quincy, MA. I had the option to order one and have it shipped; but, Mike and Jerome would hear none of that. They were up for a road trip to Boston. We had talked about this off an on for the past year; however, I never really thought it would happen. Well, Mike and Jerome were serious and in about 1 weeks time, we picked the long weekend to do it, made the arrangements, and were set to go.

We left Wednesday June 2 around 6:30 PM. Mike did a great job driving the first 600 miles or so. He even talked his way out of a speeding ticket. We had some great conversation --- work, family, music, politics, etc. We had a "healthy" super-sized supper at Wendy's around 11:00 PM. Somewhere around Eerie, PA I fell asleep. Jerome said he'd stay up and keep Mike company; however, as you'll see from the photos, Mike was pretty much on his own. I know I got at least a few decent hours of sleep. Mike got us into upstate New York, beyond Buffalo, just outside of Rochester. I took over the driving from there, just as the sun was coming up. I had the easy part of the driving. We made it to my Mom and Dad's home in Randolph, MA by noon. Accounting for the hour change, we made the treck in 16.5 hours.

We had a very nice lunch with my Mom. She made us her own special kind of quiche. We talked and laughed a lot. We then showered up and rested a bit and then headed for Dick DiCenso's Drum Shop. After saying hi to everyone, we headed downstairs where Andy had prepared a selection of drumsets and hardware. It didn't take long to pick out the drums I wanted. We did spend considerable time, thanks to Mike and Jerome's care and patience, picking out the right hardware to support the way I like to setup my drums and cymbals. We finished at the drum shop with a plan to come back tomorrow and get other stuff --- sticks, brushes, etc. After some suggestions on what to do and see in Boston, we headed into the big city.

What a great time we had in town. We drove in and parked over in Government Center and then walked down to the North End. Jerome, being a bit of a history buff, motivated us to do some sight seeing. We went by Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church ("One if by land, two if by sea!") and very much enjoyed our walk around the North End. We then had a great meal at Bucca's where we sat inside with an open wall right along the street. It was cool. After eating a bit too much (Mike took a "doggie bag" of veal and pasta for my Dad), we went back down Hanover street and stopped at the famous Mike's Pastry Shop and picked up some desert to bring back to the house.

My Dad was home from a late night of teaching and he enjoyed the veal and pasta and we all had some desert. There was plenty of pastry left over for the morning. After talking for a bit, Mike, Jerome, and Dad all hit the sack. Despite being very tired my Mom and I stayed up talking till 3:00 AM! It was good to catch up. A great first day of our road trip with much to look forward to in the morning.

My Dad had arranged for us (Jerome, Mike, Andy Keesan, and me) to visit the Zildjian Cymbal company in Norwell, MA. After a nice, albeit quick, breakfast, we were off to see the world famous company. We arrived precisely at 10:00 AM. We were greeted by a welcoming sign that really made us feel special (see photos below). It didn't take too long for the receptionist to figure out we weren't anyone famous as we were like 3 little school boys trying to get a photo in front of the sign! After signing in at the reception desk, we looked around the main office area while we waited for our hosts. We were treated to the sight of some very famous drummer's drumsets (see photos below). There were also many plaques and letters on the wall including letters from President Bush and President Clinton. Did you know that the Avedis Zildjian Cymbal Company is the oldest same family owned business in the country?!?.

Aaron Jackson, Zildjian's Customer Service Administrator, and Jim McGathy, Zildjians Artists Relations Manager for the East Coast, gave us a warm welcome. Andy went off with Jim to pick out cymbals while Aaron proceeded to give Jerome, Mike, and me a tour of the Zildjian facility including the manufacturing plant. Aaron was terrific. He gave us a great tour and was very knowledgable about the process, historical facts, etc.

After the tour we met Jim and Andy in the Drummer's Lounge where I was able to try out cymbals at the drum set. Now, for those of you who don't know, and I was one of you before this trip, the Drummers Lounge is where some of the most famous drummers come to try out and select their cymbals. It's a pretty cool place to say the least. I was treated like a king...at least that's how I felt. It was a bit uncomfortable but at the same time was really cool. Everyone (Mike, Andy, Jim, and Jerome) worked hard to find cymbals that worked for me. The whole cymbal selection experience was great, overwhelming, hard work, tiring. Mike was a big help as was Andy, who played the cymbals for me and took much time picking out cymbals, setting them up, etc. Jim went to the famous cymbal vault (referred to simply as the vault) at least twice to try and find me a ride cymbal I liked. And Jerome listened and gave his highly regarded opinion as well. I left feeling like we found some great stuff that the MRB would really enjoy, not just me.

On the way out we met Craigie Zildjian, Zildjian's CEO. After a short conversation, which included a humorous conversation about the lack of Dave DiCenso's picture on "the wall", we said bye and thank you.... many times. We went back to the store to finish picking out drum stuff....sticks, brushes, heads, etc. I showed Dad my cymbals and in the process, Andy noticed I didn't get one of the crash cymbals he thought I had chosen. He was right, and thanks to a lot of support, if not insistence, from Mike, we went back to Zildjian and got the right one. Aaron helped us and after finding all of the 15" K Fast Crash cymbals, it took all of one stoke on each cymbal to select the right one. It was worth the return trip.

What a day so far. The Zildjian visit was an event we won't soon forget, if ever. Despite being completely drained, at least I was, we headed into Boston. We first went to Berklee College of Music...the "gear" store. We then walked all they way down to Faneuil Hall. We took our time, taking pictures, enjoying the weather and the city. It was great to see Boston again. We had a nice late lunch/ early dinner at Durgin Park. We had crab cakes appetizer, their world famous clam chowder, and fried clams....well Mike and I did. Jerome had a burger!

We then walked around some more, doing a little shopping. We caught a couple of street performers, the first of whom called on me to participate. That was a bit of a hoot. After being forced to do a few strong-man poses, I along with another man from the audience, held the performer upside down via a board he had his legs over while he juggled 3 big-ass knives!!! We then walked around the waterfront before heading back towards the car, which was parked over near Berklee. We took the scenic route going through the Public Gardens, stopping at Cheers, then walking down Commonwealth Ave. It was a great walk, more talking, enjoying the city, stopping at historical sites or statues/ monuments. We stopped over at a music store where I got a few jazz CDs. We also stopped into Daddy's Junky Music store for a few minutes.

We decided to see if there was anything going on at Wally's, a place both Andy and Aaron had recommended. We caught a great jazz quartet that grew to 6 before the end of a long first set. The band was great and I really got motivated by what the drummer was doing. He really had his jazz chops down with a fantastic left foot, great ears, etc, etc. I couldn't help thinking I had just spent a lot of money on cymbals when all this guy was using was a ride cymbal and a hi-hat. All of them were young college kids, probably Berklee students, best we could tell. Wow!

We headed home after first stopping at New York Pizza on the corner for a quick snack. We talked with Mom for a bit before hitting the sack. Day 2 of our road trip was another fun-filled great day and night.

We slept late and got a good night of sleep. We got up and out quickly, once we woke up. We caught the 12:40 boat out of Quincy to Long Wharf. It was a nice ride in. Got some good pictures (see Photos below). We didn't have much time so we just decided to go on a short trolley ride. It was actually a great way to end our time in Boston as it provided almost a recap of a lot of the things we had seen the first two days while giving us many facts that we didn't know.

We took the boat back to Quincy. We went back to the store to pick up all my drum stuff. I got a couple of other things, drum books, t-shirts, etc. After loading the van we ran some errands, gifts and cards for Mom and Dad. We met Joseph, David, and Laurie back at Mom and Dad's. We had a really nice hang including a wonderful meal that Mom had prepared. I had a nice conversation with Joseph and David in the kitchen while Mike, Jerome, Laurie, Mom, and Dad continued their own talk in the living room. We had a great celebration of Mom's birthday and it was nice to be able to give her a gift (and my Dad too, for Father's Day), in person. First time in 8 years.

We hit the sack at a reasonable time so that we could get up and on the road early. What a great weekend!!!!!!

We were up and on the road by 5:00 AM (Terre Haute time). We had a great drive home. A lot of good conversation and we made great time. We unfortunately saw an inordinate amount of dead deer and even saw one get hit....not a pretty site. We made it home in just over 15 hours thanks to a philosphy of only stopping when the car needed gas, which we adhered to almost all the way...that story can not be told here.

After saying bye to Jerome and then to Mike, I set up my new drums and cymbals. I tuned them up and practiced till 1:30 AM!

Well, what a great road trip. I would like to thank:

• Mike and Jerome, for making it happen and especially for your time and energy in helping me select my drums, cymbals, and hardware.
• Andy, for all your work prior to our arrival and for your help in selecting cymbals. It was great to share our day at Zildjian with you.
• Jim, Aaron, and Craigie for making our visit to Zildjian a very special treat.
• Mom, for your wonderful hospitality and company.
• Dad, for your generosity and kindness and for setting us up at Zildjian. We had a great visit and thanks to mostly to your efforts, we picked up some added motivation for the MRB.