So I finally got around to writing about the last (and probably the longest) leg of our journey, and here it is.
We started out the day fairly early so we could see some sights before heading home on what was going to be a long drive back to Atlanta. After packing the car and saying goodbye to Robyn, we set out on the subway to see the New York Public Library, get some good shots of the Chrysler building, and finally back to Times Square to grab a birthday gift for my mom. The library was particularly impressive with its elaborately painted ceilings and sweeping architecture. Although to be honest I really just wanted to see some of the spots where they filmed Ghostbusters. Overall our excursion into the city didn't take too long, but it was still around lunchtime, so we a got quick bite to eat before finally heading back to the car to get on the road.
On our way back to Georgia we learned a few lessons. The first and most important of them was to never drive in Manhattan. Ever. Not knowing this beforehand we set out from Brooklyn and made good time for about five minutes before we hit some traffic on the way to the Williamsburg Bridge. Eventually we made it onto the bridge, and there we sat for a while with a nice view of Manhattan to keep us occupied until we finally made onto that hellish gridlocked island. Up until this point we had continued on our trip with a nonfunctioning air conditioner without issue, but most of the time we were actually moving, and a breeze through open windows was usually enough to cool us down. However, sitting in a stationary car trapped in a sea of other stationary cars there was no relief from the oppressive heat.
Four hours and several pounds of sweat later we emerged in New Jersey where we could begin our drive in earnest. From then on it was a pretty straightforward, albeit long, drive back to Georgia with only a couple stops for food (surprisingly I don't remember where we ate) and for Geries to get some fireworks before it was too late for stores to be open.
Roughly 18 hours after leaving Brooklyn we finally made the familiar turn onto Whitney Place at 6am and arrived where we started, but 6 weeks older, 9000 miles more well traveled, and with much less money.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Cycling Around the US (video)
I estimated that Geries and I put a little over 200 miles on our bikes over the course of the trip. This video shows some of the most interesting places that we went cycling.
List of locations (in order):
Mississippi River- New Orleans
Hermann Park Fountain- Houston
Grand Canyon
Sequoia National Park
Mojave Desert
Hollywood
Santa Monica Beach- Los Angeles
Yosemite National Park
Lombard Street- San Francisco
Ocean Beach- San Francisco
Golden Gate Bridge
Director Park chess set- Portland
Mount Rushmore
Willamette River- Portland
Millennium Park Bean- Chicago
Statue of John Harvard- Cambridge
Lake Michigan- Chicago
List of locations (in order):
Mississippi River- New Orleans
Hermann Park Fountain- Houston
Grand Canyon
Sequoia National Park
Mojave Desert
Hollywood
Santa Monica Beach- Los Angeles
Yosemite National Park
Lombard Street- San Francisco
Ocean Beach- San Francisco
Golden Gate Bridge
Director Park chess set- Portland
Mount Rushmore
Willamette River- Portland
Millennium Park Bean- Chicago
Statue of John Harvard- Cambridge
Lake Michigan- Chicago
Day 41: Unique New York
Since by this point we had decided to only spend two nights in New York before heading home, there was quite a lot to try to cram into a single full day, and we got up fairly early to try to accomplish it all. Our first stop was the American Museum of Natural History on the west side of Central Park. Since we were in Brooklyn, this gave us our first opportunity to try out the fabled New York subway system. Thankfully Robyn was taking a similar route, so she showed us the ropes a bit on our way to the museum. We got off the crowded subway car a couple stops after Robyn, and waded into the sea of people rushing up the stairs into the blinding sunlight. As Robyn had warned, it was a little disorienting popping up out of the sidewalk in the midst of New York's frantic streets and towering skyscrapers, but after a short pause we got our bearings and headed over to Central Park from the East.
As huge and overwhelming as New York can be, by some unknown trickery Central Park seems to wash that away when you wander around its forested paths. Immediately when we passed the first line of trees the noise of the city became muffled and distant, and soon it became easy to forget that we were in New York at all. We wound our way through the paths of the park passing peaceful courtyards overlooking small lakes, and stopped a few times to watch performers play music or form giant bubbles-- all the while making our way in a generally western direction. It's hard to overstate the sheer size of the park. Even when walking at a decent pace, it took us a little less than an hour to walk along its smaller dimension until we finally reached West Central Park and the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History.
The atrium of the museum housed a massive display of dinosaur bones that soared above us to the top of the several-story ceiling, and the entrance of the museum proper was no less grand. After walking through the ticket check we came to the hall of African animals where a herd of elephants was frozen in a stampede at the center of a ring beautifully arranged displays of lions, gazelles, and other denizens of the African plains. As we wandered through the halls, moving from Africa to North America, and travelling back in time to the Big Bang, then jumping to the time of the dinosaurs, it became apparent to me that although the subjects of the displays were neat, I found the construction of the displays themselves far more interesting. The incredible attention to detail in the backdrops for the animals, and the life-like way they were arranged-- a pack of wolves stopped midair as they bounded across a snowy wood, or a pair of moose locked in a raging battle, eyes wide with fear and intensity-- made displays exciting when they could have easily been very dull. Even the other displays that didn't show as much life, like the ones housing dinosaur fossils or human-made items, still revealed a mastery of arranging information and artifacts that made the displays accessible and captivating.
Geries and I spent a few hours browsing the museum, passing through just about every exhibit (except the ones we had to pay extra for) before we were joined by our friend Kyle from Georgia Tech who just happened to be in the city at the same time. Once we met up we spent a little more time walking around and catching up with Kyle before we headed back underground to catch the subway on our way to meet up with Robyn for lunch. Since it was on the way, we made a quick stop at Grand Central Station to check out the bustling main terminal, and then headed outside where we met Robyn outside her building.
After a little debate we finally settled on trying some sushi, which proved difficult, since the first couple of places we walked to were inexplicably closed. Eventually we came to a small place where no one seemed to be speaking English, which we took as an indication that we had found a good spot. The food was good, but the service not so much. In any case after a while of eating and talking we said bye to Robyn and headed off with Kyle to explore Manhattan.
We took the subway almost all the way to the lower east side where Kyle hoped to see Obscura, an antique shop specializing in weird stuff that's featured on a TV show. Having seen the show before, I had an idea of what to expect, but they definitely had some items that caught me off guard, like a drawer full of human teeth. Although we didn't say hi, we had our brush with minor celebrity as we saw the owners of the shop ducking in and out of the back room while we browsed.
Once we were done checking out the shop we just went outside and walked around the streets without anywhere in particular to go, although Kyle and I started to get a craving for some pastries so we kept and eye out for a bakery in our wanderings. The neighborhood seemed to be another of the hipster hangouts that are apparently mandated for every major population center, and it was fun to people watch and window shop at all of the strange little shops and dives. Eventually we did come across a bakery where a laconic Russian man served us some passable, but not great, chocolate filled pastries (I should have gone with the apple strudel). By then it was already getting late into the afternoon, and Kyle headed off, leaving Geries and I to head over to our next stop.
Even though we were already down to about 10th Street, it was a deceptively long walk down to the southern tip of Manhattan to catch the Staten Island ferry. With my feet already starting to get sore we made our way through Little Italy and Chinatown and past the new World Trade Center on our way to the ferry. After what seemed like miles in the heat we finally made it to Battery Park and the ferry center where we took a load off waiting for the boat to come in. Once the ferry arrived we filed on with a few hundred other people and seated ourselves along the side so we could get a good view of the Statue of Liberty on the way past. The ride ended up being very refreshing with the cool breeze battling the heat of quickly retreating day. From the ferry we got an incredible view of the Manhattan skyline with the Empire State Building and (my favorite) the Chrysler building all in full view with the new World Trade Center towering over everything despite its lack of completion. We also got a good view of the distant Statue of Liberty just in front of the sinking sun. Before long we arrived at our destination, where we promptly left the boat and immediately reboarded to head back to Manhattan.
After being treated to a second helping of the excellent view from the ferry, we hopped back off the boat onto Manhattan which was quickly being blanketed in the gathering night. We took another subway ride, and when we emerged in Times Square the sky was already almost completely dark, although the square didn't seem to notice. Every wall around us was absolutely covered in huge flashing signs that lit Times Square as if it was day. Everything was a blur of motion and exploding colors that lingered even after closing my eyes. The crowds were tremendous, with thousands of people slowly floating through the dozens of hot dog stands and costumed street performers.
We walked to the far end of the square and then back before coming to The Counter where we sat down to get some dinner. The premise of the restaurant was pretty cool. It's a burger joint where you get a checklist instead of a menu, and you choose everything you want to go on your burger from the bread to the toppings, and even the type of meat. The burgers turned out to be excellent, and after stuffing ourselves we managed to make our way to the subway and back to Robyn's place in Brooklyn.
Robyn hadn't gotten back to her apartment yet by the time we got there, so we ended up spending a good amount of time just relaxing on the stoop watching cars pass and kids playing at the fire hydrant spraying water across the street. I was tempted to go over a couple of times myself since it was a hot night, but before long some of Robyn's neighbors came out to join us, and we chatted with them for a bit before Robyn made it back and we went up to the apartment and almost straight to bed.
As huge and overwhelming as New York can be, by some unknown trickery Central Park seems to wash that away when you wander around its forested paths. Immediately when we passed the first line of trees the noise of the city became muffled and distant, and soon it became easy to forget that we were in New York at all. We wound our way through the paths of the park passing peaceful courtyards overlooking small lakes, and stopped a few times to watch performers play music or form giant bubbles-- all the while making our way in a generally western direction. It's hard to overstate the sheer size of the park. Even when walking at a decent pace, it took us a little less than an hour to walk along its smaller dimension until we finally reached West Central Park and the entrance to the American Museum of Natural History.
The atrium of the museum housed a massive display of dinosaur bones that soared above us to the top of the several-story ceiling, and the entrance of the museum proper was no less grand. After walking through the ticket check we came to the hall of African animals where a herd of elephants was frozen in a stampede at the center of a ring beautifully arranged displays of lions, gazelles, and other denizens of the African plains. As we wandered through the halls, moving from Africa to North America, and travelling back in time to the Big Bang, then jumping to the time of the dinosaurs, it became apparent to me that although the subjects of the displays were neat, I found the construction of the displays themselves far more interesting. The incredible attention to detail in the backdrops for the animals, and the life-like way they were arranged-- a pack of wolves stopped midair as they bounded across a snowy wood, or a pair of moose locked in a raging battle, eyes wide with fear and intensity-- made displays exciting when they could have easily been very dull. Even the other displays that didn't show as much life, like the ones housing dinosaur fossils or human-made items, still revealed a mastery of arranging information and artifacts that made the displays accessible and captivating.
Geries and I spent a few hours browsing the museum, passing through just about every exhibit (except the ones we had to pay extra for) before we were joined by our friend Kyle from Georgia Tech who just happened to be in the city at the same time. Once we met up we spent a little more time walking around and catching up with Kyle before we headed back underground to catch the subway on our way to meet up with Robyn for lunch. Since it was on the way, we made a quick stop at Grand Central Station to check out the bustling main terminal, and then headed outside where we met Robyn outside her building.
After a little debate we finally settled on trying some sushi, which proved difficult, since the first couple of places we walked to were inexplicably closed. Eventually we came to a small place where no one seemed to be speaking English, which we took as an indication that we had found a good spot. The food was good, but the service not so much. In any case after a while of eating and talking we said bye to Robyn and headed off with Kyle to explore Manhattan.
We took the subway almost all the way to the lower east side where Kyle hoped to see Obscura, an antique shop specializing in weird stuff that's featured on a TV show. Having seen the show before, I had an idea of what to expect, but they definitely had some items that caught me off guard, like a drawer full of human teeth. Although we didn't say hi, we had our brush with minor celebrity as we saw the owners of the shop ducking in and out of the back room while we browsed.
Once we were done checking out the shop we just went outside and walked around the streets without anywhere in particular to go, although Kyle and I started to get a craving for some pastries so we kept and eye out for a bakery in our wanderings. The neighborhood seemed to be another of the hipster hangouts that are apparently mandated for every major population center, and it was fun to people watch and window shop at all of the strange little shops and dives. Eventually we did come across a bakery where a laconic Russian man served us some passable, but not great, chocolate filled pastries (I should have gone with the apple strudel). By then it was already getting late into the afternoon, and Kyle headed off, leaving Geries and I to head over to our next stop.
Even though we were already down to about 10th Street, it was a deceptively long walk down to the southern tip of Manhattan to catch the Staten Island ferry. With my feet already starting to get sore we made our way through Little Italy and Chinatown and past the new World Trade Center on our way to the ferry. After what seemed like miles in the heat we finally made it to Battery Park and the ferry center where we took a load off waiting for the boat to come in. Once the ferry arrived we filed on with a few hundred other people and seated ourselves along the side so we could get a good view of the Statue of Liberty on the way past. The ride ended up being very refreshing with the cool breeze battling the heat of quickly retreating day. From the ferry we got an incredible view of the Manhattan skyline with the Empire State Building and (my favorite) the Chrysler building all in full view with the new World Trade Center towering over everything despite its lack of completion. We also got a good view of the distant Statue of Liberty just in front of the sinking sun. Before long we arrived at our destination, where we promptly left the boat and immediately reboarded to head back to Manhattan.
After being treated to a second helping of the excellent view from the ferry, we hopped back off the boat onto Manhattan which was quickly being blanketed in the gathering night. We took another subway ride, and when we emerged in Times Square the sky was already almost completely dark, although the square didn't seem to notice. Every wall around us was absolutely covered in huge flashing signs that lit Times Square as if it was day. Everything was a blur of motion and exploding colors that lingered even after closing my eyes. The crowds were tremendous, with thousands of people slowly floating through the dozens of hot dog stands and costumed street performers.
We walked to the far end of the square and then back before coming to The Counter where we sat down to get some dinner. The premise of the restaurant was pretty cool. It's a burger joint where you get a checklist instead of a menu, and you choose everything you want to go on your burger from the bread to the toppings, and even the type of meat. The burgers turned out to be excellent, and after stuffing ourselves we managed to make our way to the subway and back to Robyn's place in Brooklyn.
Robyn hadn't gotten back to her apartment yet by the time we got there, so we ended up spending a good amount of time just relaxing on the stoop watching cars pass and kids playing at the fire hydrant spraying water across the street. I was tempted to go over a couple of times myself since it was a hot night, but before long some of Robyn's neighbors came out to join us, and we chatted with them for a bit before Robyn made it back and we went up to the apartment and almost straight to bed.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Scott & Geries Get Lost: The Video
After a full day spent wrestling with Windows Moviemaker (a huge mistake), I managed to cram over 5.65 hours of footage into one handy three minute video. There will be more to come! (Click on the vimeo button in the bottom right to watch in HD)
Day 40: The Sorry Pursuit of Scrabble
We started our day by packing our things in the car so we could move on to New York once we finished our sight seeing in Boston. Once everything was tucked away, we headed to the outskirts of the city to locate Greenhills Bakery, another find from No Reservations. We found the bakery snugly nestled between a couple of Irish pubs, which seemed more like the Boston I had expected, but hadn't seen so far. Inside I ordered their famous breakfast sandwich, and although they didn't have any of the white and black pudding (whatever that is... sounds good, though) I was not disappointed. Once we had some food in our stomachs it seemed like the perfect time to go grab some beer, so we headed over to take a tour of the Samuel Adams brewery.
Fearing the parking situation at the brewery, we chose a place a safe distance away, and after a short walk we found ourselves among some nondescript brick buildings. Although at first I was unsure we had come to the right place, we soon came upon a friendly sign to point us toward the beer. Considering how large a company Sam Adams is, it wasn't quite what I had expected, walking up to a small door in the side of one of the brick warehouses only set apart by the chalkboard outside promising brewery tours. To further add to my surprise (and delight) we learned that the tour was actually free, so we strode on in and waited in the very low key anteroom for our tour guide to arrive. Eric, our tour guide, proved to be extremely enthusiastic, and was especially keen on making sure that everyone else was too, at least when it came to the free beer promised for the end of the tour. We started off with a quick look at the ingredients that go into beer, and a brief lesson on the whole process, even tasting some of the barley used in some Sam Adams brews. Next we visited a small experimental brewing area where we learned about the different tanks used, and even caught a glimpse of the bald bearded guy from the commercials in his natural habitat. The small section of the brewery we saw wasn't quite on the grand scale I had anticipated, but it was fun little tour, and our brush with celebrity seemed to validate the experience. After a little over an hour our bellies were slightly fuller, and we had a neat little Sam Adams tasting glass to show for our time, so feeling satisfied we headed back over to the USS Constitution to snap some pictures (Geries didn't see it the day before and he had the camera) before setting off for New York.
This time at Old Ironsides we opted for the self-guided tour, which really means you can only access the top deck, but that was fine for grabbing a couple of pictures. Today since there wasn't any significant chance of rain there was actually a little more to see since a lot of the equipment on the deck wasn't covered up. After pretending to be steersman at the wheel for a few seconds we hopped back onto the dock for a slightly disappointing gun drill (they didn't actually fire it) and back to the car to make our way to The Big Apple.
Freeing ourselves of Boston took a little longer than expected, but eventually we made it out, and made good time on our way to New York. It was late afternoon when we left, so dusk was creeping up when we finally made it to the city, although it's hard to say where the city proper really began. Driving into New York was like nothing I had ever seen before. Even miles from the distinctive Manhattan skyline buildings were piled on top of each other in a density that rivaled some of the other large cities we had visited. The final leg of our journey passed us through a sprawling metropolis that looked as if it had no end in sight. It was fully dark by the time we made it to our host's neighborhood of Bushwick in Brooklyn, although she wasn't there at the time. After a quick call to find out where to meet her, we jumped on our bikes and were speeding off toward Williamsburg.
Unbeknownst to us, Williamsburg is apparently one of the hippest neighborhoods in the city, and almost to an extent that it seems artificial. Once we broke away from the slightly sketchy looking warehouses we had been riding through we were instantly greeted with dozens of bars, restaurants, and grungy looking indie folk bands raucously playing on the streets. The place was absolutely alive with hipsters running around in their uniforms of bulky glasses and deep cut v-necks, but we managed to push our way through the crowd and somehow found an open spot on the overflowing bike racks to lock our bicycles before heading up to meet Robyn and her friends.
Robyn was actually a fellow couchsurfer we originally met in San Francisco, since she and her traveling partner Jeff were staying at Lance's place at the same time as us. They were actually taking a very similar road trip to mine and Geries's, although they were due to finish before us since they were heading back to New York. In case she made it back to New York before she got there, Robyn offered to let us stay with her, and after the delay in Portland, she got back long before us. When all was said and done we ended up with an incredible place to stay with a really cool friend we already knew without any additional effort on our part. It was really a nice testament to how great the couchsurfing community is.
Anyway, we made it to Robyn's friend's apartment without much trouble, and walked in on the strangest game I have ever seen. Lovingly dubbed The Sorry Pursuit of Scrabble, it is a mixture of Sorry, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Kings, a dash of Risk, and more than a dash of drinking. I won't go into the details of the rules because I'm still slightly unsure of them, and it would take up another post's worth of space. In any case, it was a lot of fun once we managed to piece together enough of the rules to have a cursory understanding of what was going on, and we had a blast getting to meet everyone there. Eventually Robyn won, and some of the guests filed out, but we sat around swapping road stories for a while before finally heading back to Robyn's place and hitting the couch after a long and exciting day.
Fearing the parking situation at the brewery, we chose a place a safe distance away, and after a short walk we found ourselves among some nondescript brick buildings. Although at first I was unsure we had come to the right place, we soon came upon a friendly sign to point us toward the beer. Considering how large a company Sam Adams is, it wasn't quite what I had expected, walking up to a small door in the side of one of the brick warehouses only set apart by the chalkboard outside promising brewery tours. To further add to my surprise (and delight) we learned that the tour was actually free, so we strode on in and waited in the very low key anteroom for our tour guide to arrive. Eric, our tour guide, proved to be extremely enthusiastic, and was especially keen on making sure that everyone else was too, at least when it came to the free beer promised for the end of the tour. We started off with a quick look at the ingredients that go into beer, and a brief lesson on the whole process, even tasting some of the barley used in some Sam Adams brews. Next we visited a small experimental brewing area where we learned about the different tanks used, and even caught a glimpse of the bald bearded guy from the commercials in his natural habitat. The small section of the brewery we saw wasn't quite on the grand scale I had anticipated, but it was fun little tour, and our brush with celebrity seemed to validate the experience. After a little over an hour our bellies were slightly fuller, and we had a neat little Sam Adams tasting glass to show for our time, so feeling satisfied we headed back over to the USS Constitution to snap some pictures (Geries didn't see it the day before and he had the camera) before setting off for New York.
This time at Old Ironsides we opted for the self-guided tour, which really means you can only access the top deck, but that was fine for grabbing a couple of pictures. Today since there wasn't any significant chance of rain there was actually a little more to see since a lot of the equipment on the deck wasn't covered up. After pretending to be steersman at the wheel for a few seconds we hopped back onto the dock for a slightly disappointing gun drill (they didn't actually fire it) and back to the car to make our way to The Big Apple.
Freeing ourselves of Boston took a little longer than expected, but eventually we made it out, and made good time on our way to New York. It was late afternoon when we left, so dusk was creeping up when we finally made it to the city, although it's hard to say where the city proper really began. Driving into New York was like nothing I had ever seen before. Even miles from the distinctive Manhattan skyline buildings were piled on top of each other in a density that rivaled some of the other large cities we had visited. The final leg of our journey passed us through a sprawling metropolis that looked as if it had no end in sight. It was fully dark by the time we made it to our host's neighborhood of Bushwick in Brooklyn, although she wasn't there at the time. After a quick call to find out where to meet her, we jumped on our bikes and were speeding off toward Williamsburg.
Unbeknownst to us, Williamsburg is apparently one of the hippest neighborhoods in the city, and almost to an extent that it seems artificial. Once we broke away from the slightly sketchy looking warehouses we had been riding through we were instantly greeted with dozens of bars, restaurants, and grungy looking indie folk bands raucously playing on the streets. The place was absolutely alive with hipsters running around in their uniforms of bulky glasses and deep cut v-necks, but we managed to push our way through the crowd and somehow found an open spot on the overflowing bike racks to lock our bicycles before heading up to meet Robyn and her friends.
Robyn was actually a fellow couchsurfer we originally met in San Francisco, since she and her traveling partner Jeff were staying at Lance's place at the same time as us. They were actually taking a very similar road trip to mine and Geries's, although they were due to finish before us since they were heading back to New York. In case she made it back to New York before she got there, Robyn offered to let us stay with her, and after the delay in Portland, she got back long before us. When all was said and done we ended up with an incredible place to stay with a really cool friend we already knew without any additional effort on our part. It was really a nice testament to how great the couchsurfing community is.
Anyway, we made it to Robyn's friend's apartment without much trouble, and walked in on the strangest game I have ever seen. Lovingly dubbed The Sorry Pursuit of Scrabble, it is a mixture of Sorry, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Kings, a dash of Risk, and more than a dash of drinking. I won't go into the details of the rules because I'm still slightly unsure of them, and it would take up another post's worth of space. In any case, it was a lot of fun once we managed to piece together enough of the rules to have a cursory understanding of what was going on, and we had a blast getting to meet everyone there. Eventually Robyn won, and some of the guests filed out, but we sat around swapping road stories for a while before finally heading back to Robyn's place and hitting the couch after a long and exciting day.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Day 39: Don't fire until you see the whites of their cannoli boxes
Our second day in Boston got to a late start, so after Geries and I split up I set off to break my fast with some lunch. After having browsed some options from an episode of No Reservations, I came across Michael's Deli, which seemed like just the place to get a good sandwich to start the day, and luckily it happened to be located very close to where we were staying. I walked into the small, unassuming delicatessen, ordered a Rachel (a reuben with coleslaw instead of sauerkraut), and was served a heaping pile of steaming corned beef-- Oh, and some bread and coleslaw. The sandwich was delicious, and just what I needed to start the busy day ahead of me.
I started by riding straight to downtown, passing through the parks we visited the previous day, ending at the golden domed State House where I hoped to pick up the "Freedom Trail," a path running through Boston that touches on some of the most interesting historical sights in the city. I had a little difficulty keeping track of where I was on the trail just by using the occasional city maps on street corners, so to find my way to my first stop, the USS Constitution, I instead just headed straight for the harbor and followed the road until I reached it. However, when I had nearly arrived at the ship I noticed a bold red line painted on the ground in the center of the sidewalk. As I continued, it turned to a brick inlay in some areas, then back to paint, and finally I realized that it marked the the path of the Freedom Trail. Feeling stupid, but now confident in my direction, I made good time getting to the Constitution.
The ship was hard to miss even from a distance, with its spiderwebs of rope draped over its tall masts soaring above the other boats in the harbor. When I arrived at its mooring, I took a quick stop in the museum to read about the storied history of the only surviving warship of the original six commissioned for the US Navy in 1794. I fell into line with a group to take a guided tour of the ship led by a seaman dressed in period uniform, and after a short history lesson we stepped onto the boat. Not particularly massive compared to some more modern ships I've seem, Old Ironsides made up for what it lacked in size with the weight of the history behind it, and the beauty of its design. We traveled from the impressive main deck, to the aptly named gun deck which housed dozens of several ton cannons, and finally to the cramped crew deck where hundreds of men tried to sleep in swinging hammocks surrounded by the constant pounding of the ocean and the acrid stench of their brothers in arms. Thankfully my group was only about 80 strong, and not too pungent, so I had a slightly less harrowing time touring the ship. Once I finished checking out the Constitution, I took a quick look at the more modern battleship docked next door before heading out to follow the rest of the trail.
Next up on the trail was the Bunker Hill Monument which was placed on the best location I could imagine: at the crest of Breed's Hill. All joking aside, it's as good a place as any since most of the battle took place there, and the monument would have been equally impressive at any location. Towering 221 feet above the hill is a massive granite obelisk not unlike the Washington Monument in DC. While preparing to ascend the 294 steps to the observation point at the top, I happened to run into Josh, who had just finished the climb up the tower and was a fellow couchsurfer I met while eating lunch at Mr. Bartley's Burgers the previous day (which I forgot to mention in my last post). It was funny chancing to see him again in my wanderings around the city. Even after seeing the sweat dripping from Josh's face and noting his labored breathing from the climb, I still made my way up the steps, and before long found myself at the top taking in an incredible view of Boston and the harbor from small window slits carved through the two foot thick granite. I took a moment to catch my breath and take one last look at the view before making the much easier descent and heading off for the rest of the trail.
Streets began to narrow as I wound my way along the trail passing the Old North Church where the signal was given to warn of the advancing British troops, and then past the home of Paul Revere as well as a graveyard housing people from the time of the revolution. While I followed the trail around cobblestone streets and into the lively Italian neighborhood of the North End I noticed an increasing number of people walking around carrying simple white boxes sealed in twine. Curious about the boxes, I eventually followed them to their source at Mike's Pastry in the heart of the North End. Inside I ordered an incredible cannoli that I wouldn't even have known of if it hadn't been for the distinctive white boxes, despite the fact that Mike's Pastry is apparently a Boston staple (I guess no one told me that).
After the cannoli I wandered a little further on the trail, passing the old state house, the sight of the Boston Massacre, and finally Faneuil Hall before joining up with Geries to grab some dinner before heading back to our hosts' place. We opted to get some of Mr. Bartley's Burgers, since Geries didn't get a chance to try them the previous day. This time I got a simple burger with a sweet and spicy pineapple and jalapeno relish, and before I knew it the burger was gone and we were on our way back to the house.
For me the charm of Boston lays in its rich history, and the seemingly small town feel of what is actually a large and vibrant city. I had a great time losing myself in the streets of such an old and interesting city, and I was excited to explore just a little more the following day. Since our drive to New York was so short we would have time to see just a little more in the morning before saying goodbye to Boston.
I started by riding straight to downtown, passing through the parks we visited the previous day, ending at the golden domed State House where I hoped to pick up the "Freedom Trail," a path running through Boston that touches on some of the most interesting historical sights in the city. I had a little difficulty keeping track of where I was on the trail just by using the occasional city maps on street corners, so to find my way to my first stop, the USS Constitution, I instead just headed straight for the harbor and followed the road until I reached it. However, when I had nearly arrived at the ship I noticed a bold red line painted on the ground in the center of the sidewalk. As I continued, it turned to a brick inlay in some areas, then back to paint, and finally I realized that it marked the the path of the Freedom Trail. Feeling stupid, but now confident in my direction, I made good time getting to the Constitution.
The ship was hard to miss even from a distance, with its spiderwebs of rope draped over its tall masts soaring above the other boats in the harbor. When I arrived at its mooring, I took a quick stop in the museum to read about the storied history of the only surviving warship of the original six commissioned for the US Navy in 1794. I fell into line with a group to take a guided tour of the ship led by a seaman dressed in period uniform, and after a short history lesson we stepped onto the boat. Not particularly massive compared to some more modern ships I've seem, Old Ironsides made up for what it lacked in size with the weight of the history behind it, and the beauty of its design. We traveled from the impressive main deck, to the aptly named gun deck which housed dozens of several ton cannons, and finally to the cramped crew deck where hundreds of men tried to sleep in swinging hammocks surrounded by the constant pounding of the ocean and the acrid stench of their brothers in arms. Thankfully my group was only about 80 strong, and not too pungent, so I had a slightly less harrowing time touring the ship. Once I finished checking out the Constitution, I took a quick look at the more modern battleship docked next door before heading out to follow the rest of the trail.
Next up on the trail was the Bunker Hill Monument which was placed on the best location I could imagine: at the crest of Breed's Hill. All joking aside, it's as good a place as any since most of the battle took place there, and the monument would have been equally impressive at any location. Towering 221 feet above the hill is a massive granite obelisk not unlike the Washington Monument in DC. While preparing to ascend the 294 steps to the observation point at the top, I happened to run into Josh, who had just finished the climb up the tower and was a fellow couchsurfer I met while eating lunch at Mr. Bartley's Burgers the previous day (which I forgot to mention in my last post). It was funny chancing to see him again in my wanderings around the city. Even after seeing the sweat dripping from Josh's face and noting his labored breathing from the climb, I still made my way up the steps, and before long found myself at the top taking in an incredible view of Boston and the harbor from small window slits carved through the two foot thick granite. I took a moment to catch my breath and take one last look at the view before making the much easier descent and heading off for the rest of the trail.
Streets began to narrow as I wound my way along the trail passing the Old North Church where the signal was given to warn of the advancing British troops, and then past the home of Paul Revere as well as a graveyard housing people from the time of the revolution. While I followed the trail around cobblestone streets and into the lively Italian neighborhood of the North End I noticed an increasing number of people walking around carrying simple white boxes sealed in twine. Curious about the boxes, I eventually followed them to their source at Mike's Pastry in the heart of the North End. Inside I ordered an incredible cannoli that I wouldn't even have known of if it hadn't been for the distinctive white boxes, despite the fact that Mike's Pastry is apparently a Boston staple (I guess no one told me that).
After the cannoli I wandered a little further on the trail, passing the old state house, the sight of the Boston Massacre, and finally Faneuil Hall before joining up with Geries to grab some dinner before heading back to our hosts' place. We opted to get some of Mr. Bartley's Burgers, since Geries didn't get a chance to try them the previous day. This time I got a simple burger with a sweet and spicy pineapple and jalapeno relish, and before I knew it the burger was gone and we were on our way back to the house.
For me the charm of Boston lays in its rich history, and the seemingly small town feel of what is actually a large and vibrant city. I had a great time losing myself in the streets of such an old and interesting city, and I was excited to explore just a little more the following day. Since our drive to New York was so short we would have time to see just a little more in the morning before saying goodbye to Boston.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Day 38: Hahvahd
For our first full day in Boston, Geries and I split up in the morning, and I took a bike ride into town. The ride into the city was surprisingly easy with just one turn onto the bike friendly Commonwealth Avenue that I took all the way into town. After making a quick stop at Best Buy to pick up a CD, I made my way across the Charles river toward Cambridge and the renowned Harvard Square. From the bridge I got a nice view of downtown Boston in the distance. Though its close buildings seemed small compared to the colossal skyscrapers of Chicago, it was a pleasant mixture of old and new that summarized the rich history of the city.
A short ride from the bridge brought me to Harvard Square and its namesake school. I parked my bike and took a walk around the beautiful campus for a little while. Traditional brick faced buildings looked over well manicured lawns criss-crossed by paths bustling with tourists and students alike. I carved out some space in the grass on one of the many multicolored chairs and benches that were strewn about the courtyard until some unexpected showers drenched the area. Once the rain let up for a bit I continued walking around and found the infamous statue of John Harvard as well as a really interesting building with distinctive patterned shingles and a tower rimmed in busts of famous thinkers sternly looking down on passerby.
By this time I was getting fairly hungry, so I ducked out of the Harvard campus onto the streets of Cambridge to find Mr. Bartley's Burgers, which was suggested by our host. Before long I came upon the cramped restaurant sitting next to the Harvard Book Store, and managed to squeeze into the building before the sky opened up again. Inside was a whirlwind of activity, with patrons noisily chatting in every corner while servers literally shouted orders to the cooks. Every inch of wall space up to the high ceiling was plastered with pictures and posters and small strips of paper proclaiming things like "Al Pacino sat here." The menu was equally eclectic, boasting burgers named after celebrities and politicians. I ordered an Oprah Winfrey (probably so named because it could feed an African village), an excellent burger slathered in barbecue sauce and onions with a side of baked beans.
After lunch I browsed around the Harvard Book Store and some of the other shops in the Harvard Square area until I met back up with Geries. Next we headed a little southeast to check out MIT, which was as different from Harvard as you could imagine. All of the clean, modern buildings were simply numbered, as opposed to all of the halls named after rich dead guys just a few miles away at Harvard. It was already fairly late, so we didn't spend too much time before heading over another bridge and back into downtown Boston.
Once back in the city, we came upon the Public Garden and the Boston Common, a pair of scenic parks in the heart of the city. We spent some time wandering around the parks until we were ready to grab some dinner. After consulting the web, we found a nice sushi place in Chinatown where we had some great sushi before heading back to our host's place. A wrong turn delayed us for a few minutes, but we made it back without too much trouble.
When we arrived, our host Megan was around and offered to teach us a new card game called Nerts. It was a fast and furious combination of solitaire and speed that kept us occupied for a while before we watched some True Blood with Megan's roommate Andrea and Andrea's boyfriend Charlie. It was cool that we got to hang out with our host a bit even though it was a weeknight and she had work the next day. From there we got to bed to rest up for another day in the city.
A short ride from the bridge brought me to Harvard Square and its namesake school. I parked my bike and took a walk around the beautiful campus for a little while. Traditional brick faced buildings looked over well manicured lawns criss-crossed by paths bustling with tourists and students alike. I carved out some space in the grass on one of the many multicolored chairs and benches that were strewn about the courtyard until some unexpected showers drenched the area. Once the rain let up for a bit I continued walking around and found the infamous statue of John Harvard as well as a really interesting building with distinctive patterned shingles and a tower rimmed in busts of famous thinkers sternly looking down on passerby.
By this time I was getting fairly hungry, so I ducked out of the Harvard campus onto the streets of Cambridge to find Mr. Bartley's Burgers, which was suggested by our host. Before long I came upon the cramped restaurant sitting next to the Harvard Book Store, and managed to squeeze into the building before the sky opened up again. Inside was a whirlwind of activity, with patrons noisily chatting in every corner while servers literally shouted orders to the cooks. Every inch of wall space up to the high ceiling was plastered with pictures and posters and small strips of paper proclaiming things like "Al Pacino sat here." The menu was equally eclectic, boasting burgers named after celebrities and politicians. I ordered an Oprah Winfrey (probably so named because it could feed an African village), an excellent burger slathered in barbecue sauce and onions with a side of baked beans.
After lunch I browsed around the Harvard Book Store and some of the other shops in the Harvard Square area until I met back up with Geries. Next we headed a little southeast to check out MIT, which was as different from Harvard as you could imagine. All of the clean, modern buildings were simply numbered, as opposed to all of the halls named after rich dead guys just a few miles away at Harvard. It was already fairly late, so we didn't spend too much time before heading over another bridge and back into downtown Boston.
Once back in the city, we came upon the Public Garden and the Boston Common, a pair of scenic parks in the heart of the city. We spent some time wandering around the parks until we were ready to grab some dinner. After consulting the web, we found a nice sushi place in Chinatown where we had some great sushi before heading back to our host's place. A wrong turn delayed us for a few minutes, but we made it back without too much trouble.
When we arrived, our host Megan was around and offered to teach us a new card game called Nerts. It was a fast and furious combination of solitaire and speed that kept us occupied for a while before we watched some True Blood with Megan's roommate Andrea and Andrea's boyfriend Charlie. It was cool that we got to hang out with our host a bit even though it was a weeknight and she had work the next day. From there we got to bed to rest up for another day in the city.
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