This is Part B of the Boston, Stamford, Cleveland stretch. To which I am adding Ann Arbor and Cincinnati too.
Boston - is the capital of Massachusetts. What I knew of Boston, in India came from vague memory of Henry James' book and the historical Tea Party. Somewhere was also information that it is north of New York and therefore would be turning Fall colors even as we drove. That did not happen. The foliage was very green. But the stretches of sea as we drove up, and names on signs like Cape Cod and Providence Rhode Island gave me a sense of warmth and familiarity.
A pretty entrance into the city and a slow passage to Allston and Quint Avenue to Mattie's place and then the apartment itself. Five college girls sharing the apartment - interesting posters - Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Bob Marley on a silk wall hanging with the possibility of being changed into a rug, acetone fragranced bathroom and an eclectic collection of furniture and drinking glasses - clothes, bags, shoes spilling in feminine abundance and a lovely sense of running this house together. However, I was grateful that Carol and I decided we would drive to Raynham to stay with friends.
Raynham - a satellite town/village, 45 minutes from Boston downtown. Pretty, suburban America. Beautiful houses, pumpkins on porchsteps and harvest wreaths adorning doors. Gardens with statues of boys, girls, bonnets and geese - quintessential, I guess. Definitely ubiquitous!
Lovely feeling of being at home with old friends - Naresh and Shalini and the adorable Krishan. Shopping trips to Walmart, Ikea, the Apple Store. Lunch - shrimp and lobster chowder - my first chowder. Driving a packed and then some, Landrover to Quint Avenue, carefully parking the car - no more towaway risks! - and then the act of patience - Watching While Someone Assembles An Ikea Desk. It's mind boggling to think that the features, fixtures and furniture of an entire house and more can be boxed in cardboard, separated into plastic bags of screws, nuts, bolts and strange shapes and forms, and then be put together without as much as a wave of a wand and the assistance of mechanic or male - all you need is the instruction manual and the willingness to put your physical center into action. Ofcourse it does take 4 hours when you might think it'll be only an hour!
I decided that I could do something different and infinitely better - a walk in Boston. Past pasta shops and Indian, Nepali and Thai kitchens, past houses with bicycle skeletons chained to the fences, past the Boston Marine Health Center and the Children's hospital, past Boston High School and various colleges, I reached the T stop. Hopped on. Got off two rolling stops later. Met Pia. Walked back, found the Father and Son Market, bought bananas and ate one as I walked, past stores, restaurants and apartments, past the Brazilian fashion store. Stopped at the corner store to get my bearing and wondered if I was going the correct way. Remembered that most of urban America is measured in blocks which are pretty much rectangular or square and therefore the chance of having meandered way off course was not very high.
Very pleased myself I found myself at the Ritual Arts store. Met Abra, Rilke, Martin and Alyssa and very pretty Mexican silver jewelery sharing counter space with Indian skirts and gods and goddesses. I was pleased. Each place that I went to and every person that I met, made me very happy and I shared the story of our journey and invited them to catch our blog.
LEft Boston at 8 pm - having fixed the chair and persuaded Mattie to rearrange her room. Driving in the night was less harrowing than daytime driving. The darkness is comforting. I did not think I was the cynosure of every driver's eye and 3 hours later, reached Stamford - a conscious choice to come back and go to Cleveland the next morning from there rather than do the same stretch in more time from Boston.
It was comforting to be in the comfortable and gorgeous guest room in Rahul Manna's house.
It was a little disturbing to think that both of us wanted the comfort of a familiar stop rather than the adventure of looking for a place the next day mid route at Finger Lakes, Rochester.
We justified it by saying that it was only the beginning and we are breaking ourselves in.
The drive to Cleveland was the beginning of the journey out and away. Through New Jersey and Pennsylvania, through scenic overlooks and Native Indian and 'known' names - Tappan Z Bridge, Chesapeake Bay watershed, I-80 West, Akron. Through hilltops covered with the magically colored trees, stopping at gas stations and coffee spots to tank up. Meeting a Newfoundland huge Teddy of a dog and a poster of a man who destroys chips and cola vending machines. Running in pelting rain to exercise our backs and legs, tuning into the radio to hear the weather information - and before we knew it we were on Chagrin Boulevard, Cleveland.
Pouring rain, rush hour and a new driver - huge challenges. But we made it safely to Martha's and Craig's house. Carol's family.
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