A New Discovery

The storm that quickly moved into Boston yesterday afternoon moved out of Boston almost as quickly and by morning it was once again a bright sunny day. A bit cooler but still very nice. Perfect weather for another day of being a tourist. On the agenda today was TD Gardens and Sports Museum, a return to the Bunker Hill Monument, and probably a pub stop (or two) along the way.

TD Gardens and Sports Museum was only a 20 minute walk from the hotel – or 20 minutes by public transit. I opted for the walking option. I mean, after cycling almost 5,000 km I figure a 2 km walk was well within reason.

Even though I’m a Montreal Canadiens fan, the tour of TD Gardens and Sports Museum was really good. Our tour was a pretty small group so it was like we had the whole place to ourselves. Kind of a nice feeling. We even took the opportunity to put on some old sports gear and toss a football around for a bit. I put on one of the old football helmets and tried not to think of how many people had worn that helmet before me – even though I know it was a lot.

With the tour over we had planned to head back to the Bunker Hill Monument to climb the tower that we didn’t get to climb yesterday. That plan got delayed a bit when we happened to find a camping goods store (Tent City). With the leak in my air mattress still undiscovered, I thought it would be a good idea to see if I could buy a new one before hitting the road again. Much like Mountain Equipment Co-op, I could’ve spent hours in this store. As it happens, we were probably there for close to an hour. I ended up buying a new air mattress and hat – mission accomplished.

Once again it was time to resume our trek to the Bunker Hill Monumnent. And once again that plan got delayed a bit when it was decided that lunch might be a good idea. I have to say that it would seem my metabolism is running at a very high level these days as I feel I’ve been eating constantly since arriving in Boston. Lunch at La Famiglia Spagnuolo was the next stop on my binge eating extravaganza. Much to my surprise, a large order of cheese ravioli, bread, a salad, and a slice and a half of pizza was just enough to remind me how much I can eat and yet still be hungry. Clearly, I needed something for dessert.

We left La Famiglia Spagnuolo and headed over to Modern Pastry where I was confident I would find a large selection of high-calorie desserts. I was right – although, I really wasn’t prepared for how many desserts would be waiting for me. Seriously, there were a lot. Side note, apparently when one comes to Boston one is supposed to have a cannoli. I didn’t really know exactly what a cannoli was but I knew it was a pastry, and could include chocolate. I didn’t need to know much more. Clearly I would be ordering a cannoli; however, while in line I was overwhelmed by the pastries on display and as such added an eclair to my order. I mean, how could I not?

It took great restraint on my part – at least, I feel it took great restraint – to not devour both pastries immediately. Instead we once again resumed our trek towards the Bunker Hill Monument. Along the way we encountered a woman playing a glass harmonica (as invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1761). She had a really good schtick going on as she would ask passersby where they were from and then ask them, “Would you turn my wheel?”. With the aid of someone turning her wheel, she then proceeded to play the national anthems of the various people that had stopped to watch her play – including the Canadian anthem, the Colombian anthem, and the German anthem – and she could sing along with them too. Add in Scarborough Fair and a bit from the Jurassic Park soundtrack and it was all very impressive.

It was so impressive that we decided to take a break from our walk and sample our recently purchased cannoli. My cannoli was a chocolate dipped shell with chocolate custard and chocolate chips. Once again, I showed great restraint and managed to take a photo or two before sampling this newly found pastry – well, newly found by me anyway. I’m not really sure how to describe my first bite. I’m not sure words exist that describe the experience but I’m pretty sure every cell in my body suddenly became overcome with peace and happiness. I had officially discovered the greatness that is the cannoli.

With my newly found inner peace, we resumed our trek to the Bunker Hill Monument where I would be able to work off some of the recently consumed cannoli calories. Although, I’m guessing the 294 steps to the top of the monument would burn off about one bite of the cannoli. Of course, that was fine with me as I wasn’t ready to give up those calories quite so soon.

The climb to top of the monument only took about 4 minutes but the views of the surrounding area were beautiful – no doubt aided by the beautiful sunny day we were fortunate enough to have. After a bit of a rest and a few photos of the view, we descended back down the stairs where we were just in time for the final musket firing demonstration of the day. Timing is everything!

The rest of the day included a walk over to the harbour and sitting on a patio enjoying another beer before returning to the hotel for my daily blog update. This entry was a little slow to develop as I encountered a couple of people to talk to about my cycling adventure. The first was Emily who asked me if was part of the Sierra Club. Clearly I was not, considering I’d never heard of such a club. She would later explain that the Sierra Club members do long treks along the west coat – and have been known to protest the destruction of the large redwood trees. I suspected that her question was based on my somewhat hippie-like appearance so I segued into my cycling trip. She was very supportive of my trip and confirmed my suspicions that she figured me for some sort of hippie-type. I was okay with that.

The second person I encountered in the lobby was Ken from Guelph. He had overheard me talking with Emily about my trip and came over to chat. We had a very nice chat about where I’d been and where I was going. Ken told me he was 81 and that he had also done some cycling. He has also been to many of the places I’ve been to on this trip as well as many places that I hope to be going. It was a brief but a very enjoyable conversation.

The night ended with one final stop at a pub just around the corner from the hotel entrance. With my metabolism having burned through everything I’d eaten so far I was once again very hungry. I hoped a BBQ chicken sandwich with fries would take care of that. Oh, and a Yuengling lager. It didn’t, but it was all very tasty. The leftover fries, chicken and nachos that my family had ordered before I arrived didn’t do much to end my hunger either – although not for a lack of trying. And a very special thanks goes to Ellen (my brother’s wife) for picking up the tab. Once again, very much appreciated. It’s been a great (and interesting) weekend hanging out in Boston and seeing the sights with the family.

So now I’m typing up what should be my final update from Boston. I hope to be on the road by 10:00 tomorrow morning. Not sure where I’ll have breakfast. Not sure where I’ll get food for the road. And still not sure the route I’ll be taking. For now, I’ll just make it up as I go along. It’s gotten me this far.