4 cities in 4 days … and I’m not even on a Contiki!

My last full day in Boston was unofficially designated ‘wander around aimlessly and see what you can find’ day.  So that’s just what I did.  First step (well, first few thousand steps) was to walk back to the area around Harvard University for a bit more of a look around, as I’d cut it short the day before due to shops closing etc.  It was a pretty decent hike in the sun, but the great views from the Harvard Bridge as I crossed the Charles river made it all worth while, as did the fantastic strawberry and rhubarb icrecream from a little shop across from the uni.  Mmmmm …… gooooood ….

Walked back into Boston proper and along Newbury St, one of the main boutique shopping / eating / drinking areas.  Astonishingly I didn’t stop for a beer, although I did manage a pretty good organic burrito for lunch.  Down to the Public gardens again later in the afternoon, where I managed a two hour sleep on the grass (well, except when woken up by a low flying frisbee…) – apparently that walk to Harvard and back took a bit more out of me than I realised!  Ahh the benefits of not having to be anywhere at any particular time.  And having weather good enough to snooze in the park with!

Down to the Cheers bar (well, one of them – the one that actually looks like the set of the TV show) in Quincy market for clam chowder in a bread bowl (I’m sure it’s illegal to leave Boston without trying this…) and a couple of brews.  A couple more beers at one of the bars close to the hostel afterwards as well, but I’d made the call not to have a big one three nights in a row, so called it a night after that.  See, I can be restrained when I have to be.  Or when my body is about to shut down.  One or the other.

Checked out of the hostel the next morning (overall it was pretty decent – even got a complimentary pair of flip flops to help avoid Hostel Shower Foot Rot) and back on the bus down to NYC.  Staying at the Chelsea Star again, I’d been upgraded to a double room with my own bathroom – absolute luxury after staying in the hostel, and a hell of a bargain for NYC.  Didn’t do too much that evening (except enjoy my palatial accommodation), and the next day I headed to the Museum of Modern Art for a look around.  It was pretty cool actually, I particularly enjoyed the Warhol stuff and the design pieces, though it was a bit of a shame to miss the Dali works – they were in the process of opening a dedicated Dali exhibition in the next few days, which meant that all of his paintings had been taken down from the main display areas.  Bugger.  Still, well worth the effort regardless.  More wandering and a bit of shopping for the rest of the day, and then made up for my absence from the Molly Wee by popping in for dinner and drinks again.  You know it’s bad when you start being greeted by name…

Back on the bus to DC the next day – I should be getting Bolt Bus Frequent Rider miles or something by now.  Dearne came and collected me off the sidewalk and it was time for a quick look at the Shakespeare Library and Museum and then up the bell tower of the Old Post Office to check out some pretty stunning views of DC.  No time for messing around though, as after a quick change of plans (thanks guys!) we all headed off to the ball game.  I’d always wanted to check out a baseball game in the US one day, so this was the perfect  opportunity.  All the usual cliched suspects made an appearance – chilli cheese fries, hotdogs, warm beer – so my stomach was over the moon.  The quality of the home team left a bit to be desired, and they deservedly lost 8-3, but really the result was pretty immaterial as far as I was concerned.  Only downside of them playing so badly was a noticeable lack of enthusiasm from the crowd, I guess.  I had fun though!

Last stop of the night was the Krispy Kreme factory, where you could  watch hundreds upon hundreds of these little delights moving along on conveyer belts in their journey from blobs of donut mix to coronary-causing goodness.  One was more than enough for me … I’ll say no more about where the rest of the dozen might have disappeared to.

After a suitably long walk through some stunning scenery the next  morning (which I’m sure had nothing to do with the calorie-tastic experience of the night before), we scrambled to get me to the bus to the airport, pulling up at the depot just in time.  Too rushed for proper goodbyes, but if you’re reading this Dearne, thanks so much again for everything while I was in DC, it was VERY much appreciated!  I thought there was a pretty good chance of me missing my flight with the incredibly slow check-in process and the half-mile lines to get through security (seriously, why is domestic air travel in the US always such a nightmare?  I’ve had much more pleasant travel experiences in third world countries…), but in the end I made it to the gate with 17 minutes to spare.  That wasn’t the end of the enjoyment though – far from it.  Part way into the flight the pilot announced that somehow the ground crew had forgotten to fill up the plane with water (for things like hot drinks and washing hands in the bathroom) and that unless sufficient bottled water and/or sanitary towels etc could be found by the crew and passengers, we’d have to divert to Chicago!  Personally I was prepared to hold on if it meant getting to Seattle on time…

Fortunately the crisis was averted and we didn’t have to make an unscheduled landing, but bloody hell … doesn’t fill you with confidence when the ground staff miss something so fundamental and the double-checking system obviously doesn’t work.  Makes you wonder if they forgot to fill up any other tanks…

Anyway, arrived in Seattle without further incident, met up with Nick and Eliza and we headed out for dinner and a couple of beers.  After sufficient amounts of talking shite and with my body telling me it was somewhere after 2am, it was definitely time for bed.

4 cities in 4 days, eh?  I should be running a tour company…

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