Boston, again

Today was another Boston day, more successful than the first. I took the mid-morning train in to downtown Boston. About 20 minutes out, all of us passengers suddenly heard and felt a CLUNK, CLUNK, CLUNK...all the way down the train. It sounded like we had run over a boulder, or a piece of the train had fallen off and had gotten stuck underneath. We were pretty sure it wasn't a person or other living creature though. They stopped the train, completely turned it off for some time, then after we had waited, the engineer came on the intercom and said they would test the brakes and be on our way. Everything went smoothly after that, although we never did find out what had happened.

Once in Boston, I stopped for lunch at a dumpling cafe in Chinatown, since it is very nearby the train station. I spent most of my day walking downtown after that.

 There was a short ferry to the other side of the harbor to see the USS Constitution (from the War of 1812) and a WWII destroyer, the USS Cassin Young, in a dry dock. It was really windy everywhere near the water, and especially on the boat, but I had on my down jacket and hood, so I stayed on the outside deck.

 Painting the hull

 So narrow-- I bet it's fast!

USS Constitution

 

 Massachusetts state capitol building

Boston Common

Everyone was out enjoying the sun, even if it was still cold.

things I like: my neighborhood

the smell of chimney smoke

 

beautiful old churches

a lawn that's mostly moss

creative, colorful doors

all the ponds

so many trees

preserved historical buildings still in use

 

another president's museum

What a timely post from another blog I frequent, as I just visited Boston for the first time today. I can't say I'm used to the accents yet: "Banging a Left in Boston".

I really only got around to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and then Ikea on my way out of town. The traffic was too much. I figure I will come back another day when I can get around on public transportation or walk. I ended up taking my auto tour through the city, so I didn't get any photos past the museum. I parked the car for $8 worth to take a walk in Cambridge, and had a great meal at a Tibetan restaurant-- momos and all. It seems to be a beautiful city, so I'm eager to return and spend more time there. Being only an hour away, I'm sure I will have plenty of opportunities to do so.

It took about 30 minutes to locate JFK's museum, which turned out to be hidden away in the UMass campus on the water. I loved this portrait done by Elaine de Kooning.

           There were more galleries than expected focusing on Jackie Kennedy, which was enjoyable. There was a video that included her talking about how she had worried beforehand that moving into the White House would destroy her marriage, but then she later noted that those were her happiest years.

 The museum building itself has an amazing view out to the harbor. It was a very clear day, and it eventually warmed up to nearly 60 degrees!

                                                  Here's the largest American flag I've ever seen.

                                                                The city looks so small from far away...

                                                                                    Rippling water

It's been a while since I took a history class, and the last time I learned about the presidents was about 5th grade, so I really enjoy going to these presidential libraries & museums. I think it will be my new goal to visit each one!

hyannis

I spent my Easter day exploring Hyannis, often viewed as the capital of Cape Cod because of its importance in transportation and fishing. It was a pretty quiet day, with it being a holiday and also because most places are still not open for the spring season. I started out at the Cape Cod Maritime Museum, a small place telling the basic history of the sea.

This boat was wrecked in the 1620s and recovered in the 1800s. It looks like a whale carcass.

A shelf made of shells

I walked a mile from the museum down to the beach. This one was sandy and filled with shells, but the wind still gave me an earache.

                                                                               Hyannis harbor

                                                    JFK Memorial, next to the Korean War Memorial

sandy beach with not many people out!

After that walk, I managed to find an open creperie downtown and enjoyed a lox crepe for lunch-- delicious!

"a delightful change of pace"

...as my mother would say.

It's been a bit of an adjustment even over the past 24 hours going from living in a substantially sized city to a place where road signs caution "Thickly Settled" (a "30 mph speed trap") and "Blind Drive" signs that require everyone to slow in order to let someone turn into their driveway each minute or so. And that's on the "highway". No road follows a straight path, as I'm sure city planning was not on the priority list of the first people to settle in one of the oldest parts of the United States. The dense tree coverage also prevents one from orienting themselves. I now realize when a distance is calculated to .8 miles, it will really take driving about 3 to 4 miles total, and twice as long as expected (for the reasons stated as above).

Many businesses are not yet open for the season, including the museum at which I will be working. I drove by it today though, trying to figure out where it is in relation to my future house. Apparently it's less than a mile away if you're walking on the trail, and about a mile an a half if you're on the road. Not bad!

Despite some difficulties in navigating, I've made it around to a few places in Cape Cod. I had my first Sandwich in Sandwich:

There are two main bridges onto Cape Cod, the Bourne, and the Sagamore, here. They were opened in 1935. They're quite fun to drive over, although the lanes are a tight squeeze for the car I'm driving.

Old, little cemeteries are all over the place. The gravestones are so thin. This one is on a small hill between a pond and a residential street, very near the museum.

I drove north of my future house to find a beach area. It's a very narrow and rocky beach with coarse sand.

               
                                                                     And that's all for today's ventures.

where am I?

I made it to Cape Cod yesterday after four days of driving and moved my suitcase into the first house I'll be staying at, just for this week. I'll unload my car at a new house hopefully on Tuesday, after starting work on Monday.

Two nights ago I was in Albany-- the capital of New York state, which I confirmed upon arrival. (I was fairly certain it was, and consulted a few people during my drive, but no one was sure.) Speaking of state capitals, after driving 8 hours the first day, I stopped in Indianapolis that night. When I got there, I decided to take a quick cruise through downtown to see the sights. I spotted a Panera and parked a few blocks away and took a walk to dinner. It was cold, but as always it felt good to be out of the car.

on my way to Panera

The second day's drive was shorter, and I stopped in Cleveland to visit my aunt and two cousins. I got there earlier than I planned, so I went to the Cleveland Museum of Art.

 They have over the past few years built an addition, a very modern one, connected to the 1916 building.

By the third day, I was getting pretty bored in the car. The landscape hadn't changed much apart from a gradual increase in tree coverage. I did enjoy looking at the barns. Starting in Ohio, they got bigger, and were mostly red painted wood-- very different from all the limestone barns of Kansas.

The fourth day was a "quick" 4 hours (it really didn't seem long at all!) to Cape Cod from Albany in order to get there before lunchtime. So here I am!

time

I've been preoccupied lately with an upcoming transition to a new job, and one that I was offered to start sooner than expected, but is one that I feel will be more fulfilling than my current situation. I'm excited to start somewhere new, but I have recently realized how I have come to know the people I am surrounded by every day. I have had more people than I ever expected ask to go to lunch, or to a wine tasting, or some other event before I leave, and in a way I feel some regret in staying here for only a few months before packing up all over again. But, that is how it goes at this point in my life. I have friends and acquaintances all over, and for that I am grateful.

Even though we are not supposed to chat while on post at work, it is inevitable. Last week, I was in a gallery where there is a ticking grandfather clock. The clock is long past working on its own, so there is an iPod stationed out of sight with an app that ticks and chimes on the hour. Few people realize it's not actually the clock! However, the question I get asked the most often while in that room is if the ticking ever bothers me. It doesn't. Another officer and I were discussing the tick-tock, and decided it truly does make you acknowledge each second that goes by. For some, it might even seem frightening to have a constant reminder of all the time passing you. For me, stuck in that small stuff room for hours on end, I suppose it's always a reminder that it's one second closer to going home, but on a larger scale, you do tend to keep the concept of passing time at the front of your mind.

With my 26th birthday coming up in just a few weeks and the older I get, the more I realize how important it is to be in the moment and appreciate whatever is good. Over the past few months, that appreciation has mainly been in having a quiet and comfortable apartment to my own after years of sharing with others, and still being close enough to be able to drive home on my free days and spend time with my parents and animals. And, even though it drove me crazy at times, I tried to appreciate the fact that my jobs were not stressful and allowed me time to just think-- whatever thoughts came to mind. You never know when the times will change and it really is so important to find the good in whatever circumstances you have at the moment.