Boston

The drive from Virginia to Boston was long but uneventful. Our mapping software claimed it was a seven-hour drive but it took us nearly nine hours. Unfortunately, we were back in the land of toll highways. Most of the trip was along I-95 and we managed to shell out $25 in tolls over the course of the day. By the time we got to Randolph, Massachusetts, where we were staying with friends for the night, we were both exhausted and very glad to be getting out of the car.

We got to meet Kristen and Matt’s little girl Rose. She’s about six months old and adorable. She was also very good-natured, though Kristen insisted that she had just started teething and was much grumpier than usual.


Since it was nearly Rose’s bedtime, Matt stayed home with her while Brian and Kristen went out for dinner. Meanwhile, Sarah drove into Boston to meet a couple of college friends for dinner.

Despite growing up in New England, Sarah had never driven in Boston. She had detailed directions but nobody with her to navigate and read a map. Thankfully, the traffic was very light because navigating through Boston’s maze of poorly marked streets was a mess. It seemed that half the streets weren’t signed and the other half had signs so small that they were impossible to see until it was too late to turn. Eventually, Sarah started using the odometer and turning when the appropriate distance had passed even if she couldn’t see the street sign. Amazingly enough, this tactic worked, and Sarah found her way to her destination.

Sarah met up with Erin and Suzanne, whom she hadn’t seen since graduation, for dinner on Beacon Street and they had a great time catching up.


Finding the way back to the highway turned out to be easier than getting to Suzanne’s place had been. However, when she was almost back to Kristen and Matt’s, a road was closed due to an apartment fire. Luckily, after a couple of tries she found a road that went around the closed area.

The next morning was cold and raining. Unpleasant! Sarah and Brian hung out with Kristen and Rose for a while and then drove to Wellesley where they had lunch at a Thai restaurant in the ville. Then they went to Wellesley College and spent a half hour or so rearranging the car so that Sarah’s sister Amy would have a place to sit. When Amy got out of work for the day, we picked her up at her dorm and shoehorned her into the tiny space that we’d cleared out in the back.

Next stop, Maine for Thanksgiving…