Boston, NYC and a missed bus to Toronto
I was off to Boston, the start of my 2,700 miles worth of megabus tickets that I got for a total of 50 cents. It's a bus that's usually pretty cheap to begin with, but is having some ridiculous special I took advantage of. The four hour bus ride was nice, dozing in and out of thoughts and sleep while listening to music until we reached Back Bay Station.
I hopped on a subway that took me to harvard sqaure, waiting for me there was a guy with a tech background who was interested in talking to me about Trip Hopping. We grabbed some pretty good burgers and then went to the Dudley House on Harvard campus where he went to school, it was like a fancy study hall building with couches and little rooms as far as I could tell.
We sat in front of our computers for a little bit talking until Natasha called, a girl I'd stayed with last time I was in town and would be staying with now. We met her and came back to the Dudley House where the three of us talked for a while, eventually Natasha and I went on our way back to her apartment just across the water. We relaxed the night away until finally sleeping, I had a night of dreams that I was waking up where I actually was and carrying on for a portion of the day, restarting again and again more realistic than the last.
I really woke up early the next day and left as Natasha did on her way to work, taking the subway back over the water where I got out near Quincy Market. I made the cold walk to the Boston Public Library and relaxed their for a good chunk of the day, leaving and coming back once for a food run.
I met Natasha back at her apartment that night, she cooked an amazing dinner while I handled beers left in her fridge she said she would never drink. We toyed with the idea of finding and crashing an MIT party, but remained home for another relaxing night.
We both slept in the next day, she awoke with cleaning on her mind, she'd recently moved to the place she was living and wanted to get things organized. We headed into the city midday, I was on a mission to get a corndog from Quincy Market, an homage to Mark who said he'd had his first there a long time ago. After visiting flavor country on a stick, I parted ways with Natasha as I headed for Back Bay Station to catch the megabus back to New York.
The next day Mark, Sean and I wandered down Steinway street for sandwiches, Sean picked up a couple big cans of beer and I grabbed a bottle of Jameson. I did a shot or three Sean, then Shana and Luke arrived, some people I stayed with a couple times in Vegas who were temporarily living in Long Island, planning a move to New Orleans by the month's end.
We shared a few more shots and drinks before the three of use went to the subway headed for Manhattan. It was 'no pants subway riding' day, we laughed at and with the few dozen people who were showing up on the subway in their panties or boxer shorts, not everyone on the train knew what was going on.
We eventually got to the Patriot, a bar far downtown I'd been to once when I was working in the city with my coworkers. It was a night I remember well, beer was cheap and Mark had crashed the party and we'd stayed long after my coworkers left, challenging british guys to darts and chasing topless bartenders around the bar. I'd stayed so late I had to go directly back to work, wandering through an eerily empty times square to get to the building above Grand Central where I was working. I'd gotten there an hour early so slept under my desk in full suit and tie, woken up by a girl kicking me and laughing, she found me before my alarm had gone off... it was a long day after that.
Anyhow, this night the beer was as cheap as I'd remembered and the pitchers started coming, shots were poured... and then I have a bit of a gap in memory. My next recollection was standing on the opposite side of the subway car from my friends rolling into Astoria, and after that coming into the apartment where Mark and Sean had some people over. I have flashes of passionate conversations, lot's of laughing and shouting, being pinched very hard by the girl from the second floor, and taking off into the night with my backpack much later.
I woke up on the futon, however, pretty early, feeling extremely refreshed in the context of months of time gone by. My right bicep was entirely covered in a purplish black bruise, Mark emerged from his room with a smile, filling me in on some of the good times and ridiculousness from the night before.
At that time I realized I'd forgotten and missed the bus to Toronto, it was 9am or so and the bus had left at 8. I smiled at that, I was smiling at everything, it was the free bus ticket anyhow and I was only going to be there a day or two had I gone. I took it easy all day, sleeping a bit here and there feeling generally lifted.
The next couple days were easy going too, hanging around Astoria. The night before going to Philadelphia Carl came back with some tasty beers and a couple of his friends came through, along with Mark we played a game sort of like beer pong, but with bottle caps instead of ping pong balls.
I woke around noon the next day, with a shower and a packed bag I headed into Manhattan and met up with a an old friend from school, I talked with her on a bench outside the hospital by York and 70th while she waited for her mom to get out of surgery. I walked from there to Penn Station where my bus was, stopping for something called raspberry Hamentachen, a sort of cookie my friend had recommended I get, it was good.
Soon I was on the bus headed for Philadelphia, a town I've always enjoyed, this coming trip would be no exception.
We sat in front of our computers for a little bit talking until Natasha called, a girl I'd stayed with last time I was in town and would be staying with now. We met her and came back to the Dudley House where the three of us talked for a while, eventually Natasha and I went on our way back to her apartment just across the water. We relaxed the night away until finally sleeping, I had a night of dreams that I was waking up where I actually was and carrying on for a portion of the day, restarting again and again more realistic than the last.
I really woke up early the next day and left as Natasha did on her way to work, taking the subway back over the water where I got out near Quincy Market. I made the cold walk to the Boston Public Library and relaxed their for a good chunk of the day, leaving and coming back once for a food run.
I met Natasha back at her apartment that night, she cooked an amazing dinner while I handled beers left in her fridge she said she would never drink. We toyed with the idea of finding and crashing an MIT party, but remained home for another relaxing night.
We both slept in the next day, she awoke with cleaning on her mind, she'd recently moved to the place she was living and wanted to get things organized. We headed into the city midday, I was on a mission to get a corndog from Quincy Market, an homage to Mark who said he'd had his first there a long time ago. After visiting flavor country on a stick, I parted ways with Natasha as I headed for Back Bay Station to catch the megabus back to New York.
The next day Mark, Sean and I wandered down Steinway street for sandwiches, Sean picked up a couple big cans of beer and I grabbed a bottle of Jameson. I did a shot or three Sean, then Shana and Luke arrived, some people I stayed with a couple times in Vegas who were temporarily living in Long Island, planning a move to New Orleans by the month's end.
We shared a few more shots and drinks before the three of use went to the subway headed for Manhattan. It was 'no pants subway riding' day, we laughed at and with the few dozen people who were showing up on the subway in their panties or boxer shorts, not everyone on the train knew what was going on.
We eventually got to the Patriot, a bar far downtown I'd been to once when I was working in the city with my coworkers. It was a night I remember well, beer was cheap and Mark had crashed the party and we'd stayed long after my coworkers left, challenging british guys to darts and chasing topless bartenders around the bar. I'd stayed so late I had to go directly back to work, wandering through an eerily empty times square to get to the building above Grand Central where I was working. I'd gotten there an hour early so slept under my desk in full suit and tie, woken up by a girl kicking me and laughing, she found me before my alarm had gone off... it was a long day after that.
Anyhow, this night the beer was as cheap as I'd remembered and the pitchers started coming, shots were poured... and then I have a bit of a gap in memory. My next recollection was standing on the opposite side of the subway car from my friends rolling into Astoria, and after that coming into the apartment where Mark and Sean had some people over. I have flashes of passionate conversations, lot's of laughing and shouting, being pinched very hard by the girl from the second floor, and taking off into the night with my backpack much later.
I woke up on the futon, however, pretty early, feeling extremely refreshed in the context of months of time gone by. My right bicep was entirely covered in a purplish black bruise, Mark emerged from his room with a smile, filling me in on some of the good times and ridiculousness from the night before.
At that time I realized I'd forgotten and missed the bus to Toronto, it was 9am or so and the bus had left at 8. I smiled at that, I was smiling at everything, it was the free bus ticket anyhow and I was only going to be there a day or two had I gone. I took it easy all day, sleeping a bit here and there feeling generally lifted.
The next couple days were easy going too, hanging around Astoria. The night before going to Philadelphia Carl came back with some tasty beers and a couple of his friends came through, along with Mark we played a game sort of like beer pong, but with bottle caps instead of ping pong balls.
I woke around noon the next day, with a shower and a packed bag I headed into Manhattan and met up with a an old friend from school, I talked with her on a bench outside the hospital by York and 70th while she waited for her mom to get out of surgery. I walked from there to Penn Station where my bus was, stopping for something called raspberry Hamentachen, a sort of cookie my friend had recommended I get, it was good.
Soon I was on the bus headed for Philadelphia, a town I've always enjoyed, this coming trip would be no exception.
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