we arrived at copley square by 11:30am then proceded to wait for the parade to begin. i don't know how i knew this (maybe from our 4th of july outing watching the fireworks), but GC doesn't take photos, which is something i don't understand, being a person who takes a lot of photos. is he so jaded that nothing impresses him enough to make it worth grabbing a snapshot? doesn't he want to share his experience with other people?
we actually went to the puerto rican parade last july as well. that turned out to be the better parade, as the mayor showed up, which he didn't do today. instead of celebrating puerto rican heritage, the parade seemed like a non-stop cavalcade of politicians fishing for votes (it is a midterm election year after all). none of the high profile politicians either, but rather the bottom of the barrel zero-chance-of-success candidates. not sure about puerto rican political demographics, but i was surprised to see a few republican candidates in the mix, given how their party as a whole seems to be turning its back on hispanics. i was also surprised there was no hurricane irma tribute, which seems to be the only puerto rican news i know. which makes me think maybe that hurricane wasn't so bad if its own people don't even really remember it.
the puerto rican parade is one of the smaller parades that happen in boston, and only the third parade that goes through copley square (the other being the greek parade and the pride parade). it was a nice day, and i was really there to get some practice with my camera and to check and see if my 18-200mm canon lens is still working or not. it started acting weird on me when i was in NYC, the lens would continue to hunt for a focus point even after i stopped pressing the button. i thought i'd need to send it to canon factory for repairs, but using it today it never once misfired. i still have my doubts about the continuous tracking function, but that's always been hit or miss.
the parade was finished by 1pm. we biked to chinatown behind the procession to get some lunch. originally i was thinking dim sum, but decided on the chinatown cafe because i had a craving for some salt & pepper pork chops and the 88 supermarket was close by. GC decided on the three treasure rice. i said i wanted to treat, but he fought me against it. i thought he was going to treat instead, but when he found out they don't take credit card, he just paid for himself, and i ordered separately. the place wasn't quiet, and it was a good spot to have a quiet lunch, although by the time we left, a line of customers had suddenly formed.
after lunch we went to the 88 supermarket on washington street. that place has changed hands so many times, i've lost track of what it's called now, and was surprised to find it's currently a c-mart. it was crowded with asian shoppers, and a few western faces as well, apparently cheap produce is a universal language. apparently weekends (saturdays and sundays, and some items on mondays) are when they have their sales. GC was there to find essential ingredients, i was there to look for snacks. we left with our bike baskets full of groceries, including the milk crate i recently put on GC's bike.
we pedaled home via the charles river bike bath then across the mass ave bridge into cambridge. GC had more shopping to do at market basket, but we went home first to drop everything off. 
he was telling me how he was going to stock up on häagen-dazs ice cream, until i told him that MB refresh all their weekly sales every sunday. when we got home, the first thing he did was open up his computer and check the latest MB online circular, now which of course does not include häagen-dazs. i was going to wait until he was done but he was taking his sweet time so i told him i was leaving, grabbed the things i bought in chinatown, and biked to belmont. before i left, i saw one of those shared bird motorized scooter parked on the street corner.
it took me about 20 minutes to ride to belmont, by that time it was 3:45pm. the sky was a mishmash of cumulus, cirrus, and contrail clouds. i tried testing the simplex repeater, but midway through my ride the battery on my baofeng handheld radio died. a text of the simplex repeater would have to be done later in the evening after i've recharged my battery.
after dinner i biked back home. i spoke with my father the whole time via the baofeng handheld using the simplex repeater in belmont. after observatory hill i seemed to have lost the signal, the HT having not enough power to hit the repeater anymore. i found GC in the living room surfing through the netflix selection. he hadn't eaten yet, still digesting our late lunch.