Boston Day 1 – March 14, 2002
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(Written March 15, 2002)
| My dearest friend,So today, as you know, was my first full day in Beantown. The day started off pretty lazy. I didn’t drag my butt out of bed until just after 10:30am EST. I woke up at 10:00 and puttered around cyberspace for a little bit. I spoke to my friend Justin and he gave me instructions about how to get from where I was (which I was barely acquainted with) to where he was so we could have lunch.So I hopped on the redline and crossed the Charles River from Boston into Cambridge. I got off at the Kendall/MIT exit right on the edge of the MIT campus and the Charles river. Now I discovered later that I could have easily walked the same path in less time than it too me to wait for the train (there was a problem of some sort and the train was delayed.So Justin and I went to this Thai place for lunch. Let me tell you.. it was some damn good food. I had this hot and spicy soup with shrimp that was incredible (and spicy!.. and if you know me, it takes a lot of spice to register..) For the main dish, I had this plate of basil, thai spices, calamari, shrimp and scallops. It was outstanding!!After lunch I followed Justin back to his building and then took off for a little jaunt of my own. Although finding some place for coffee isn’t a problem here in Boston, apparently if you walk aimlessly around Cambridge, all the coffee places hide. So I walked towards the Charles, popped on the headphones and rocked out as I strolled across the bridge back into Boston. I snapped a couple of pictures of the bridge, MIT and Boston along the way. I decided to park my butt on a park bench that I found along this bike/running path that parallels the river. I read my book under a tree with a light breeze on what was otherwise a perfect day. It was about 60 degrees or so with a perfect sky. The MP3 player finally died and I stayed another hour or so until I got too cold to sit any longer (the breeze was kicking up) and headed south along the river path. I decided to cut east across a foot bridge towards what I guessed would be the location of Boston Common (the big city park in Boston). Fortunately for me, my keen sense of direction combined with my 10 year old memory of the place served me well and I was indeed headed in the right direction. I rounded a corner towards the direction of the park and what did I see!!?? A huge flag hanging off the building of what is Emerson College! I snapped a few pictures for ya and shook my head in astonishment that I just happened to stumble on the place out of pure luck. I thought about going inside and checking things out, but decided that I’d save the surprise and adventure for So I arrived at south west edge of the park and tried to get my bearings using my 10 year old memory. I knew there was a Dunkin Donuts along the edge of the park and it was only a matter of figuring out which edge it was so that I could find it and finally score myself some coffee. As I was crossing the street to enter the park, low and behold what did I see? A shining beacon out of the corner of my eye!! None other than STARBUCKS! Although I thought it rather WEST coast of me to patronize their establishment, nonetheless I decided to indulge in my Venti Half-Caff w/ sugar, nonfat milk and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. I walked into the park and heard in the distance bagpipes! Wow. The park was truly alive. Now mind you, I forgot to mention up to this point that all throughout my travels this day, I saw tons of <28 folks. Later in the day I discovered that my dad’s place is on the same block as Suffolk University. This town is simply ALIVE with intellect, education and adventure! But I digress… So I heard these bagpipes and decided to check it out. So I made my way towards this 20-something playing his instrument (the bagpipes, thank you.) I decided to leave him a dollar for his trouble, parked my butt under a nearby tree and enjoy a few hours of his music and my book. After he was done playing several different tunes including Amazing Grace, he trotted off. o But the park was still alive with music and plenty of folks playing Frisbee and throwing the football around. Everyone was enjoying the unusually terrific weather. Off in the distance I could hear an accordion and a guitar. Each musician lost in his or her own world of music with various folks stopping for a quick listen before continuing on their way. Around 3:30pm, after spending a good 2 hours or so in the park, I headed back towards my dad’s place to hop on the Internet and rest a little. I ended up cooking my dad dinner and hanging out, reflecting on this terrific day. It has been such a pleasure so far to enjoy this city. And what an amazing feeling it is to remember so much of what I felt and remember as a 17 year old when I was last in this place. So many universities, colleges and adventures waiting to be discovered. Surely I must belong here… Anyway… I’ve rambled on too much about what some might think a rather unimportant and ordinary day. But to me, it was an exciting feeling to be in Beantown. I’m glad I came and I look forward to the next 5 or 6 days of my trip. I wish you were here to share it with me and perhaps we can share it together sometime soon. Miss you terribly. You’re not far from my thoughts even amidst all of these new sights and sounds… |
 Here’s a pictures of the Boston skyline I took on Wednesday, March 14th. This is the view from Cambridge as I was walking back from lunch with Justin. |
 Another view of the Boston skyline I took as I walked across the Charles River over the Longfellow Bridge. |
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 Here’s a view of Cambridge and I’ve pointed out where MIT is. The Longfellow Bridge is off to the right. If you want to see a bigger version of this pic without the annotation,click here |
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 Emerson college. You can see another view of Emerson by clicking here. |
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 Bagpipe player in Boston Common. |
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