The weekend before last was incredible for a couple of reasons. I was able to go whale watching, I was able to go golfing with one of my best friends, and most importantly, I was able to head to Boston for a trip unlike any I’d ever taken.
Maine is a great place. It lacks a few things; one of the most notable is a large number of people. In fact, the greater Boston area has approximately half the number of people in the entire state of Maine. For a few reasons, I’d never had the chance to really explore a city larger than Bangor (read: 30,000 people). I found an opportunity to walk around Portland before and after the PSC/AFA concert, and after my friend Laura invited me down to have a tour of fair Haa’vad (yes, I actually just linked to Harvard), I knew I’d have some time to explore New England’s biggest city.
The first notable point of the day: it was long. I caught the 8:50 Downeaster train from Portland to Boston (meaning I had to leave home around 5:00). I rode around Portland for a bit to find a place to eat and finally found a Mister Bagel to have a good, quick meal. I was at the station in plenty of time and started to ride on the rails.
A quick aside for those of you who don’t know my family history: I come from a railroading family. For generations, the guys on my father’s side of the family worked all around northern Maine laying rail and getting trains ready to run. I’ve been watching and playing with trains my whole life, but I’ve only had the opportunity to ride on a (real) passenger one four or five times in my life. Needless to say, the trips down and back on the train were two of my favorite parts of the day, and ones that I’d definitely recommend for anyone travelling from Portland to Boston or vice versa. It’s not that expensive, either.
I met Laura in Harvard Square and received a grand tour of the Yard, complete with history and trivia. After that, we explored Cambridge a bit. We ate at a great organic-type restaurant (memorable for more than just its comfy seating and exquisite mint brownies), saw electric-powered buses, and headed to MIT to check out a lab and a couple of the more interesting buildings. She also successfully convinced me to try some kiwi juice (though disappointed I didn’t have the tea) at the Boston Tea Stop (such a clever name), complete with tapioca balls known as bubbles. Interesting, to say the least.
We caught Garden State at the Kendall Square Cinema in Boston, a great movie with Zach Braff (from Scrubs) and Natalie Portman. It was definitely my kind of movie. It was completely worth walking a few long blocks in pouring rain, thunder, and lightning to go see.
Zooming off to Boston proper on the Red Line, we stopped in the North End to have a fabulous dinner at La Famiglia Giorgio. Man, that was good… I’ll never forget the cheese-drenched garlic bread.
Finishing dinner at 8:00 with the train leaving Boston at 10:20, we decided to check out the Copley / Park Street area. We got on a nice new Green Line car and headed from Haymarket. After the Park Street stop, the car stopped and waited for a little light to turn yellow from red. It never did. We ended up walking across the line to the Park Street station and then outside, attempting to journey down to Copley ourselves. It didn’t quite work out, but I now have a story to tell about a subway.
We arrived back at North Station at 10:00 (after a somewhat misleading but reliable ride back on the Green Line) and said our goodbyes, and I headed back home. I finally got into bed around 3:00 or 4:00 after a few stops in Augusta for gas, apple danish, and a much-needed hot chocolate.
Quite simply stated, that had to be my favorite trip ever.