Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts Deutsch: Faneuil Hall, Boston (Massachusetts) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)It's not that I remember much of anything specific about Framingham, Massachusetts as much as I remember the generalities of circumstance. Framingham just happened to fit the bill at the time. It was a convenient location that suited our needs.
In March of 1981, I was in New England on tour with the World of Fantasy Players' stage production of "The Magical Land of Oz". I'd just begun managing the show and one of my goals was to make the tour as comfortable as it could be for the players, yet cost effective for the show owner who was paying the expenses.
Since most of the cast members were couples I tried to arrange things so we could set up housekeeping of sorts whenever I had the opportunity to do so. We would be working a number of towns around the Boston area and also have several days off. Staying near the city made sense.
Checking before we arrived, I found an extended stay hotel in Framingham that had efficiency apartments and adequate parking for our show truck. It was conveniently located about 20 miles from city center so that we could easily commute to our shows on work days while being close enough to visit the city on our off days.
The hotel was clean and comfortable. For the next week or so we were able to move in and not have to lug suitcases in and out of rooms like we normally would on our schedule of one-nighters. We could actually cook meals and save money not eating in restaurants. For a short period I felt like I was living in Framingham, Massachusetts.
On the days off we visited Bunker Hill, Faneuil Hall, Downtown Boston, and Salem among other places. The work days were almost always pretty easy and the days off were like being on a vacation where most of our expenses were paid.
What do I remember most about Framingham? The bagels, lox, and cream cheese. The market where we shopped sold freshly made bagels and lox by the pound at the deli counter. We ate a lot of bagels with cream cheese and lox. It was all I really needed.
Have you ever stayed in an efficiency when traveling? Do you like bagels with lox and cream cheese?
