So because it's rainy and cold outside, we broke and found a Best Western in Asheville, North Carolina, and now we're watching Ray. It seems we go through alternating periods of activity versus vegging out. We continued biking around D.C. and visiting the museums, meeting and making friends, and eating fantastic food. The trend continued when we got back to Baltimore, minus the biking, so I'm relatively certain that we've gained some pounds in the past couple weeks. That's okay. For thanksgiving Katie and Jacob bumped their celebrations up a day so that we could stay with them and feast. They smoked a turkey. We all prepared sides, desserts, breads... And drank wine out of a re-purposed paint can. We ended the night yelling at each other over games of Taboo and Cranium, and watching A Fish Called Wanda.
Next up on our itinerary was the Blue Ridge Parkway. We managed to find a campsite, run by a lady who was getting ready to shut down for the weekend. I think she was a little confused about our presence on Thanksgiving Day. She asked for a last name in case anyone called asking for us... Maybe she thought we were runaways? After a night there, during which I did not sleep well because the ground was really hard and rocky, we went to Shenandoah National Park and drove the whole Skyline Ride, the first 105 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The views were beautiful, and I'm counting down until June as I've pretty much made up my mind to come back and see it with the flowers in bloom and the leaves on the trees.
That intention has remained steady as we've continued along the Parkway, passing rhododendron and laurels. We stopped in Boone to visit a friend of mine and see the town, which is beautiful and full of hippie shops and eateries. We made a rather poor decision this evening to take the Parkway from there to Asheville. The fog got so thick we could hardly see the lines, there were no views of the valleys, but after three hours of perseverance and David's careful driving, we finally got to Asheville. What we do next depends on the weather. Originally we wanted to see the Smoky Mountains, but there's snow in the forecast. The weather stations are making a big deal of it here, but after the past winter that New York had I don't think any of us are that scared of it. We shall see. :) It's a shorter post because I'm overwhelmed at the thought of everything we saw in the past week and a half, hope y'all don't mind.
~Alicia
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Down in D.C.
The days of this trip really do meld together. Yesterday morning we got up pretty early and drove down to the Capitol from Baltimore, arriving at about 10:40am at Josephine's house. It was exciting just driving through D.C. and passing by all of the embassies and schools. We got our things situated and then cycled to the Lincoln Memorial. We locked up our bicycles and walked around the area, making sure to visit the Vietnam memorial, the Washington Monument (which was closed for structural testing because of the earthquake on August 23), the Jefferson and George Mason memorials, the FDR memorial, and the new Martin Luther King Jr memorial. It was a long day, but it was definitely really interesting. The Vietnam memorial is haunting, both because of its set up and also because the three of us couldn't help thinking about the large numbers of Vietnamese people who died for every United Statesien soldier. In my mind was also the environmental impacts and the use of Agent Orange. Another thing I couldn't keep separate was my memory of meeting a student at Soochow University who was there studying Chinese, and she was from Vietnam. She was really nice, and such a tiny person. I sometimes felt a little sad and undeserving of her friendship, knowing what had happened in the past, about the horrors that took place in her country, even if it was before she was born. I'd like to be able to travel anywhere in the world without having to feel this distance that is somehow always there in some form, that sets us apart because of the roles we have played in the world. Does anyone else ever think this way?
Anyway, sorry for the diversion.
Last night we met up with Josephine and got Ethiopian food, which was incredible. Today I got to sit in on a class with Josephine, let by her professor Judith Shapiro. I was really excited for this because I had read and used Shapiro's book for a project at Binghamton. The class was a discussion of environmental justice and human rights, and I learned a good amount from it about electronic waste disposal and about battles that native Americans are still facing fighting.
After the class I cycled to the Smithsonian museums, pausing at a few statues and monuments along the way. I met up with Ashley and David at the Race exhibit at the Natural History museum. After we finished that we saw the Hope diamond and the Butterfly tent, then left the museums and biked over to the Kennedy Center to see a Jazz concert at the Millennium Hall. And we kept going. Right after it was over we biked all the way to the northeast quadrant to see an indie rock concert with Josephine.
Tomorrow... the Holocaust museum? And a potluck. Probably the Renwick Gallery as well.
All in all, despite feeling exhausted, I really love this city and so far there's an infinite amount of things to do and really interesting people all around. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to living in NYC, even Queens, after having experienced DC. But that might have to do with the help we've gotten from Josephine, who is really outgoing and always on the look-out for free or cheap food and stuff to do, and interesting things to see, so she has set us up. But in NYC you can't live close enough to the most interesting places for it to be worthwhile, not unless you're rich, whereas in DC everything is within easy biking distance, and it's lively and worldly and pretty much everything I love. However accurate our perception, (for Ashley, David and I have all got the same feeling), it doesn't matter now since we're only here for the honeymoon phase, haha, and then we'll be pushing southward along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Good night,
Alicia
Anyway, sorry for the diversion.
Last night we met up with Josephine and got Ethiopian food, which was incredible. Today I got to sit in on a class with Josephine, let by her professor Judith Shapiro. I was really excited for this because I had read and used Shapiro's book for a project at Binghamton. The class was a discussion of environmental justice and human rights, and I learned a good amount from it about electronic waste disposal and about battles that native Americans are still facing fighting.
After the class I cycled to the Smithsonian museums, pausing at a few statues and monuments along the way. I met up with Ashley and David at the Race exhibit at the Natural History museum. After we finished that we saw the Hope diamond and the Butterfly tent, then left the museums and biked over to the Kennedy Center to see a Jazz concert at the Millennium Hall. And we kept going. Right after it was over we biked all the way to the northeast quadrant to see an indie rock concert with Josephine.
Tomorrow... the Holocaust museum? And a potluck. Probably the Renwick Gallery as well.
All in all, despite feeling exhausted, I really love this city and so far there's an infinite amount of things to do and really interesting people all around. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to living in NYC, even Queens, after having experienced DC. But that might have to do with the help we've gotten from Josephine, who is really outgoing and always on the look-out for free or cheap food and stuff to do, and interesting things to see, so she has set us up. But in NYC you can't live close enough to the most interesting places for it to be worthwhile, not unless you're rich, whereas in DC everything is within easy biking distance, and it's lively and worldly and pretty much everything I love. However accurate our perception, (for Ashley, David and I have all got the same feeling), it doesn't matter now since we're only here for the honeymoon phase, haha, and then we'll be pushing southward along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Good night,
Alicia
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friends in Philly
When I left off it was Monday of last week and we were deciding what to do. That actually feels like a long time ago now. I'm pretty sure that on that day we walked around some more and probably got a late start. We went to meet up with Jason as he got out of work and once again headed to Chinatown to go to a really good Malaysian restaurant. I followed Jason's recommendation and got the Penang Pad Thai, which was delicious. David got a vegetable dish served in a taro shell, which was also really good, and Ashley got a dish with okra and chicken. After eating we went to the New England Conservatory for a free concert of Mahler and Bach music, then went home.
On Tuesday, Ashley, David, and I went to check out the Freedom Trail, but we got side-tracked and ended up going on the African American Heritage Trail instead. If you ever get the chance, I definitely recommend this one. We got learn a lot of interesting stories about the Underground Railroad in Boston and about African American presence in Boston from the Revolutionary War period on. Boston was apparently a good stop because of all of the little alleyways that were originally built as a way to deal will the steep hills. One alley led to a yellow house where the woman who lived there during the time of the Underground Railroad would leave a door unlocked for fugitives to hide. She reportedly saved 22 fugitives.
On Wednesday we did a little more touring of Boston, finishing the Freedom Trail and stopping by the Equal Exchange Cafe. Everywhere we go we stop in at thrift stores and bookstores, which all have the power to attract our attention for at least an hour.
In the afternoon and into the evening we headed to New York and my house to spend the night. The next day we visited some of my family in Westchester, then powered on to New Jersey to do the same for David, and quite a bit later found ourselves a campsite somewhere outside of Philadelphia. The next day was a bit rough. Our only real reason for going to Philadelphia was for a Moroccan restaurant, Marrakesh. So when we go to Philly we wandered around a little bit but we were pretty tired. Fortunately, the dinner was worth the trip and then some. The restaurant emphasized that they serve its customers as if we were guests in a Moroccan home. We got a 7-course meal for $25, and they even catered to David's vegetarian palate for no extra charge, meaning that we got a lot of really good, really fresh food for a very good price. The atmosphere was homey, and near the end of our meal we got into conversation with two locals seated next to us. Although it may seem a little odd, they ended up offering up their apartment for us to stay in that night, even though their roommates were already having a party and the place was going to be a bit crowded. So we exchanged information, and while David, Ashley, and I really did try hard to look for a hostel, motel, Best Western, etc, it turned out that there was a convention going on in the city and everywhere was booked. We were too tired to go back to the campsite, so we let them know of our troubles and they repeated their offer. It was a bit crazy, even once we got to their apartment, because parking turned out to be a hassle, but in the end we got to walk in on a hilarious '90s dance hour, make some new friends, and sleep on mattresses as opposed to the cold ground. The next morning our new friends invited us with them to the Down Home Diner at Reading Terminal Market. Breakfast was good and fun, and it was unfortunate that we had to leave without exploring the rest of the Market.
After breakfast we headed back to gather up our things and headed to the car. We stopped along the way at a hat shop. We must have passed three hat shops during the 20-minute walk to the garage where we'd left the van. David found a hat for himself first, and then Ashley got one. The shopkeeper was smooth. As we were walking out he goes, "Oh, none for you?" Meaning me. This normally would not have had an effect, but I really like hats, and it's been a few years since I bought one for myself. So I turned around and everyone helped me to decide on a hat as well. I'm making it a part of my basic wardrobe, so doubtless any of you who know me will see it in the future.
We really wanted to see Lancaster. We left in what should have been plenty of time to see Lancaster during the day, but at some point traffic hit a standstill on the highway, and we had to find a detour. We found out that a truck had caught fire and a section of I-76 was completely shut down. But we still made it to Lancaster and walked around it for an hour. The town is really cute and had a lot of nice shops that emphasized local artisans' work and repurposed materials.
After Lancaster we continued on to Baltimore to visit my friend. That was last night, wasn't it? My, my, but time passes quickly, and yet, it was only two weeks ago that we were in Burlington, Vermont.
Anyway, Katie and Jacob are really good hosts, and they have fluffy, lovable kitties. Today our hosts recommended that we bike to historic Ellicott City, so we did that. It turned out to be this adorable town at the bottom of a huge hill, but kind of built into the rocks so that it felt like a mountain village. It was so cool. We met some characters. One was in the antique shop that greeted us upon our arrival. Another was the owner of a wine shop. I was drawn into the shop by the cat in the window, but as soon as we stepped in the man began to warn us of his cat Mrs. Claws. She appeared unassuming but would apparently viciously attack any hand that went near her. Pretty funny.
It was getting dark by the time we were about to leave town, and fortunately Katie called and said that she and Jacob could drive and come get us. We were really relieved. The hills we would've had to go up were incredibly long, steep and winding - not something I like to do normally, let alone in the dark. When they got to where we were, Katie made sure to point out the bridge where record flood levels were marked. The worst was when the stream flooded by 27.5 feet (!) in 1868. At those levels the town must have literally been swept away. It was hard to believe, though from the rest of the numbers it looked as if flooding of some sort was relatively common in the town. I would be wary of trying to live and or run a business so close to the stream, knowing its history.
So now, I'll head to bed, a little later than is healthy considering we want to be up and running early tomorrow.
I'll have some more stories in a few days. D.C. should be pretty cool. Neither Ashley nor myself have ever been, and there's a lot to do there.
Have a good one, everybody.
G'night
~Alicia
On Tuesday, Ashley, David, and I went to check out the Freedom Trail, but we got side-tracked and ended up going on the African American Heritage Trail instead. If you ever get the chance, I definitely recommend this one. We got learn a lot of interesting stories about the Underground Railroad in Boston and about African American presence in Boston from the Revolutionary War period on. Boston was apparently a good stop because of all of the little alleyways that were originally built as a way to deal will the steep hills. One alley led to a yellow house where the woman who lived there during the time of the Underground Railroad would leave a door unlocked for fugitives to hide. She reportedly saved 22 fugitives.
On Wednesday we did a little more touring of Boston, finishing the Freedom Trail and stopping by the Equal Exchange Cafe. Everywhere we go we stop in at thrift stores and bookstores, which all have the power to attract our attention for at least an hour.
In the afternoon and into the evening we headed to New York and my house to spend the night. The next day we visited some of my family in Westchester, then powered on to New Jersey to do the same for David, and quite a bit later found ourselves a campsite somewhere outside of Philadelphia. The next day was a bit rough. Our only real reason for going to Philadelphia was for a Moroccan restaurant, Marrakesh. So when we go to Philly we wandered around a little bit but we were pretty tired. Fortunately, the dinner was worth the trip and then some. The restaurant emphasized that they serve its customers as if we were guests in a Moroccan home. We got a 7-course meal for $25, and they even catered to David's vegetarian palate for no extra charge, meaning that we got a lot of really good, really fresh food for a very good price. The atmosphere was homey, and near the end of our meal we got into conversation with two locals seated next to us. Although it may seem a little odd, they ended up offering up their apartment for us to stay in that night, even though their roommates were already having a party and the place was going to be a bit crowded. So we exchanged information, and while David, Ashley, and I really did try hard to look for a hostel, motel, Best Western, etc, it turned out that there was a convention going on in the city and everywhere was booked. We were too tired to go back to the campsite, so we let them know of our troubles and they repeated their offer. It was a bit crazy, even once we got to their apartment, because parking turned out to be a hassle, but in the end we got to walk in on a hilarious '90s dance hour, make some new friends, and sleep on mattresses as opposed to the cold ground. The next morning our new friends invited us with them to the Down Home Diner at Reading Terminal Market. Breakfast was good and fun, and it was unfortunate that we had to leave without exploring the rest of the Market.
After breakfast we headed back to gather up our things and headed to the car. We stopped along the way at a hat shop. We must have passed three hat shops during the 20-minute walk to the garage where we'd left the van. David found a hat for himself first, and then Ashley got one. The shopkeeper was smooth. As we were walking out he goes, "Oh, none for you?" Meaning me. This normally would not have had an effect, but I really like hats, and it's been a few years since I bought one for myself. So I turned around and everyone helped me to decide on a hat as well. I'm making it a part of my basic wardrobe, so doubtless any of you who know me will see it in the future.
We really wanted to see Lancaster. We left in what should have been plenty of time to see Lancaster during the day, but at some point traffic hit a standstill on the highway, and we had to find a detour. We found out that a truck had caught fire and a section of I-76 was completely shut down. But we still made it to Lancaster and walked around it for an hour. The town is really cute and had a lot of nice shops that emphasized local artisans' work and repurposed materials.
After Lancaster we continued on to Baltimore to visit my friend. That was last night, wasn't it? My, my, but time passes quickly, and yet, it was only two weeks ago that we were in Burlington, Vermont.
Anyway, Katie and Jacob are really good hosts, and they have fluffy, lovable kitties. Today our hosts recommended that we bike to historic Ellicott City, so we did that. It turned out to be this adorable town at the bottom of a huge hill, but kind of built into the rocks so that it felt like a mountain village. It was so cool. We met some characters. One was in the antique shop that greeted us upon our arrival. Another was the owner of a wine shop. I was drawn into the shop by the cat in the window, but as soon as we stepped in the man began to warn us of his cat Mrs. Claws. She appeared unassuming but would apparently viciously attack any hand that went near her. Pretty funny.
It was getting dark by the time we were about to leave town, and fortunately Katie called and said that she and Jacob could drive and come get us. We were really relieved. The hills we would've had to go up were incredibly long, steep and winding - not something I like to do normally, let alone in the dark. When they got to where we were, Katie made sure to point out the bridge where record flood levels were marked. The worst was when the stream flooded by 27.5 feet (!) in 1868. At those levels the town must have literally been swept away. It was hard to believe, though from the rest of the numbers it looked as if flooding of some sort was relatively common in the town. I would be wary of trying to live and or run a business so close to the stream, knowing its history.
So now, I'll head to bed, a little later than is healthy considering we want to be up and running early tomorrow.
I'll have some more stories in a few days. D.C. should be pretty cool. Neither Ashley nor myself have ever been, and there's a lot to do there.
Have a good one, everybody.
G'night
~Alicia
Monday, November 7, 2011
From A to B
After Burlington we made the 8-hour drive across New England to the coast of Maine. Of course, we stopped on the way at the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory for a tour and free sample, and ended up arriving in Bar Harbor, Maine at around 6:30, when it was already pretty dark. We debated on whether to stay at the Black Friar inn, but instead opted for the lower budget option of camping at the Blackwoods site. We found the inn while walking around town a couple days later, and I feel like we would not have found it if we tried in the dark. The Blackwoods campground was aptly named. We had to drive through a forest, with tall imposing trees bearing down on us along the way. I remarked that I had had a dream like it once, and it didn't end well. But there was no incident for us, except that after we chose a site and set up camp we couldn't quite get a fire started. So we asked our neighbors if we could use their fire to cook our dinner, and they turned out to be just ending a long camping trip and had no problem sharing a portable stove and giving us grains to cook. They told us that they had all been in the Adirondacks doing trail building with the SCA, and to celebrate the end they camped around for 6 weeks. The next day when we came back from hiking, we found that they'd left us a can of chickpeas and half a bottle of bourbon.
Acadia National Park is beautiful. When we got into the park we parked the car and split up, each of us curious to see something different. Ashley and David climbed the Beehive, which had innovative trails that required you to scale rock faces by climbing up metal bars, and is one of the trail systems that gets closed down for part of the year so that peregrine falcons can breed there. I just strolled along the coast, walking over the rocks and visiting Thunder Hole, where the waves crash into a small inlet and sometimes with such force and in such a way that it sounds like a big clap of thunder. We decided to meet back on Sand Beach (Maine is very creative with their names of places), and so I got there early and climbed another small trail that led up from the beach. Along the way for all of us we faced chattering, self-righteous red squirrels. To me, even the crows in Maine were wilder than those at home. At around three o'clock we were all back on the beach and ready to go back to Bar Harbor for some lobster. We went to a restaurant called Gailan's and the waitress, Ginger, tied on our bibs for us and instructed us newbies on how to open up the crustacean. It was pretty tasty, but the best part of the meal was dessert. We ordered an ice cream cappuccino, which was delicious, and indian pudding, which tasted like pumpkin pie on steroids, it had so much flavor (from the molasses).
The following day we went to the other end of Acadia, West End, so that we could hike a trail that one of Ashley's and my friends from NYRP had worked on as an Americorps. It was called Flying Mountain, and it was beautiful. There were ferns and mosses and lichens surrounding us as we climbed, and we crossed the paths of more squirrels and even a couple of garter snakes. At the top of the mountain we had a view that could have been a Thomas Cole painting, and I learned later that he had visited this area and painted there. The trail took us over a landslide, where trailworkers had simply marked tested paths with blue painted lines, and a rather steep rock face with a path laid out in rocks that were held in place by big iron pins. It was pretty cool.
After hiking this area, we drove around West End admiring the scenery and stopping to visit a lighthouse, then drove back to Bar Harbor. We tried Harbor Bars at West End Drugs. Harbor Bars are chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches dipped in chocolate, and they were really good and really rich. We finished up the night in town by doing a bit of food shopping and then going to a bar for some beers. Back at the campsite we succeeded in cooking dinner over a fire and went to bed.
As you might except, it was pretty cold this whole time, but we managed. However, after three nights we happily drove down the coast and made our way to Boston. David and Ashley have a close friend working here and we have been staying with him for the past few days. During the drive down we stopped in Portland, Maine, which was a really cool town that reminded my friends of San Francisco.
In Boston we've been seeing some of the sites and just taking it easy. Yesterday we started walking the Freedom Trail, but ironically didn't get very far because we got distracted by one of the re-enactment tours in the cemetery. The man doing the re-enactment was simply very good-looking, and he was also really lively with a great booming voice. As a result, we just hung around his tour group for a bit, learning the juicy details of the American Revolution, including John Hancock's missing right hand, and how Dr Prescott happened to be the one to bring the news to Lexington of the redcoats movements.
As we followed the tour group on and off, we saw a little more of Boston, stumbling into a used book store (we seem to find one of those everywhere we go), and eventually getting to Quincy Maw-ket for some New England clam chowder.
We also visited Jason's place of work and then the Occupy Boston site at Dewey Squares. David and I participated in some Theatre of the Oppressed. It wasn't really my thing, but it was kind of fun to play the games. Two of them did get the intended point across very well. One showed how difficult it is to follow one lead while trying to lead or protect others at the same time,. It also looked into the psychology of someone being forced to follow a power, then in turn being given power over that person, and how different people might react in a situation like that. The other allowed for a visual representation of something that bothered us. I thought it was a little silly, but I volunteered the idea of mountaintop removal. A couple of us were the mountain. A couple were in charge of hypothetical dynamite. So one group pushed the dynamite and the others collapsed, and David pointed out afterwards his feelings about seeing something that seemed eternal being suddenly reduced to nothing through such little effort on man's part. As we ended that scene, a man got up in front of the group and grabbed a microphone, but we went to look for Ashley, and Jason was just getting out of work, so we left Dewey Square and went in search of $3 Vietnamese sandwiches. We searched, we found, we ate. And it was good. Boston is pretty small, so this did not take that much time.
We headed back to Jason's place and relaxed for the evening.
What shall we do today? Ashley and I are tempted to look for the tour guide, haha, but we may just find another tour and explore the city some more.
By the way, the cannolis at Mike's Pastry on the north end are fantastically delicious, particularly the florentine.
That's all for now,
~Alicia
P.S. pictures soon, hopefully
Acadia National Park is beautiful. When we got into the park we parked the car and split up, each of us curious to see something different. Ashley and David climbed the Beehive, which had innovative trails that required you to scale rock faces by climbing up metal bars, and is one of the trail systems that gets closed down for part of the year so that peregrine falcons can breed there. I just strolled along the coast, walking over the rocks and visiting Thunder Hole, where the waves crash into a small inlet and sometimes with such force and in such a way that it sounds like a big clap of thunder. We decided to meet back on Sand Beach (Maine is very creative with their names of places), and so I got there early and climbed another small trail that led up from the beach. Along the way for all of us we faced chattering, self-righteous red squirrels. To me, even the crows in Maine were wilder than those at home. At around three o'clock we were all back on the beach and ready to go back to Bar Harbor for some lobster. We went to a restaurant called Gailan's and the waitress, Ginger, tied on our bibs for us and instructed us newbies on how to open up the crustacean. It was pretty tasty, but the best part of the meal was dessert. We ordered an ice cream cappuccino, which was delicious, and indian pudding, which tasted like pumpkin pie on steroids, it had so much flavor (from the molasses).
The following day we went to the other end of Acadia, West End, so that we could hike a trail that one of Ashley's and my friends from NYRP had worked on as an Americorps. It was called Flying Mountain, and it was beautiful. There were ferns and mosses and lichens surrounding us as we climbed, and we crossed the paths of more squirrels and even a couple of garter snakes. At the top of the mountain we had a view that could have been a Thomas Cole painting, and I learned later that he had visited this area and painted there. The trail took us over a landslide, where trailworkers had simply marked tested paths with blue painted lines, and a rather steep rock face with a path laid out in rocks that were held in place by big iron pins. It was pretty cool.
After hiking this area, we drove around West End admiring the scenery and stopping to visit a lighthouse, then drove back to Bar Harbor. We tried Harbor Bars at West End Drugs. Harbor Bars are chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches dipped in chocolate, and they were really good and really rich. We finished up the night in town by doing a bit of food shopping and then going to a bar for some beers. Back at the campsite we succeeded in cooking dinner over a fire and went to bed.
As you might except, it was pretty cold this whole time, but we managed. However, after three nights we happily drove down the coast and made our way to Boston. David and Ashley have a close friend working here and we have been staying with him for the past few days. During the drive down we stopped in Portland, Maine, which was a really cool town that reminded my friends of San Francisco.
In Boston we've been seeing some of the sites and just taking it easy. Yesterday we started walking the Freedom Trail, but ironically didn't get very far because we got distracted by one of the re-enactment tours in the cemetery. The man doing the re-enactment was simply very good-looking, and he was also really lively with a great booming voice. As a result, we just hung around his tour group for a bit, learning the juicy details of the American Revolution, including John Hancock's missing right hand, and how Dr Prescott happened to be the one to bring the news to Lexington of the redcoats movements.
As we followed the tour group on and off, we saw a little more of Boston, stumbling into a used book store (we seem to find one of those everywhere we go), and eventually getting to Quincy Maw-ket for some New England clam chowder.
We also visited Jason's place of work and then the Occupy Boston site at Dewey Squares. David and I participated in some Theatre of the Oppressed. It wasn't really my thing, but it was kind of fun to play the games. Two of them did get the intended point across very well. One showed how difficult it is to follow one lead while trying to lead or protect others at the same time,. It also looked into the psychology of someone being forced to follow a power, then in turn being given power over that person, and how different people might react in a situation like that. The other allowed for a visual representation of something that bothered us. I thought it was a little silly, but I volunteered the idea of mountaintop removal. A couple of us were the mountain. A couple were in charge of hypothetical dynamite. So one group pushed the dynamite and the others collapsed, and David pointed out afterwards his feelings about seeing something that seemed eternal being suddenly reduced to nothing through such little effort on man's part. As we ended that scene, a man got up in front of the group and grabbed a microphone, but we went to look for Ashley, and Jason was just getting out of work, so we left Dewey Square and went in search of $3 Vietnamese sandwiches. We searched, we found, we ate. And it was good. Boston is pretty small, so this did not take that much time.
We headed back to Jason's place and relaxed for the evening.
What shall we do today? Ashley and I are tempted to look for the tour guide, haha, but we may just find another tour and explore the city some more.
By the way, the cannolis at Mike's Pastry on the north end are fantastically delicious, particularly the florentine.
That's all for now,
~Alicia
P.S. pictures soon, hopefully
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)