The Traveler
At this moment (9:40 a.m. on Thursday the 12th), I'm on a train, Downeaster 681, traveling through the back yards of Boston neighborhoods and headed for Portland, Maine—which isn't my final destination, but more on that later.
Well, how did I get here?
I'm on my way to a literary conference, the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society's annual or biannual event, taking place this year at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Hawthorne—author of The Scarlet Letter (1850)—attended Bowdoin in the 1820s. His classmates from those days included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, still one of America's most well known poets, and Franklin Pierce, who would eventually go on to become 14th president of the United States. Anyway, I had a paper proposal accepted for the conference, so I'm on my way.
The ETSU Motor Pool (actually the Physical Plant, I think) lost my vehicle request, so yesterday morning (Wednesday the 11th) my son dropped me off at Enterprise, where I rented a car for my drive to Washington, DC. I was late leaving Johnson City and didn't get to my friend Chuck's in DC until 7:00 p.m. Rather than go out to eat, Chuck whipped up some chicken on the grill and a salad to go with it. After that, I drove to Union Station and boarded an overnight train to Boston.
Of course, because the train left at 10:00 p.m., not much sightseeing took place. I read a little bit but not much. At midnight I went to the café car and got a cheeseburger and a Corona--$9.45. And after that I mostly dozed in and out till about 5:00 a.m. I noticed early, probably 4ish, that the eastern sky was already lighting up along the horizon. Sunrise was a good while coming, but it was finished by 6:00. I guess that's what happens this far north when no mountains are around to hold back the dawn.
We arrived in Boston around 7:30, and I took a subway ride on the orange line, from Back Bay Station Boston North. Once there, I had a relatively short wait for the Downeaster 681. I'll arrive in Portland a little before noon. The final leg of this journey is a 2:30 bus to Brunswick, which should have me settling in at Bowdoin around 3:30 or so. Serious naptime then? You bet!
But I can't tarry too long. Being the last-minute-man that I am, I haven't written the paper that I'm to present early Saturday afternoon.
Well, how did I get here?
I'm on my way to a literary conference, the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society's annual or biannual event, taking place this year at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Hawthorne—author of The Scarlet Letter (1850)—attended Bowdoin in the 1820s. His classmates from those days included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, still one of America's most well known poets, and Franklin Pierce, who would eventually go on to become 14th president of the United States. Anyway, I had a paper proposal accepted for the conference, so I'm on my way.
The ETSU Motor Pool (actually the Physical Plant, I think) lost my vehicle request, so yesterday morning (Wednesday the 11th) my son dropped me off at Enterprise, where I rented a car for my drive to Washington, DC. I was late leaving Johnson City and didn't get to my friend Chuck's in DC until 7:00 p.m. Rather than go out to eat, Chuck whipped up some chicken on the grill and a salad to go with it. After that, I drove to Union Station and boarded an overnight train to Boston.
Of course, because the train left at 10:00 p.m., not much sightseeing took place. I read a little bit but not much. At midnight I went to the café car and got a cheeseburger and a Corona--$9.45. And after that I mostly dozed in and out till about 5:00 a.m. I noticed early, probably 4ish, that the eastern sky was already lighting up along the horizon. Sunrise was a good while coming, but it was finished by 6:00. I guess that's what happens this far north when no mountains are around to hold back the dawn.
We arrived in Boston around 7:30, and I took a subway ride on the orange line, from Back Bay Station Boston North. Once there, I had a relatively short wait for the Downeaster 681. I'll arrive in Portland a little before noon. The final leg of this journey is a 2:30 bus to Brunswick, which should have me settling in at Bowdoin around 3:30 or so. Serious naptime then? You bet!
But I can't tarry too long. Being the last-minute-man that I am, I haven't written the paper that I'm to present early Saturday afternoon.
posted by mac | 6:46 AM
4 Comments:
Good luck "last-minute-man." Wow, that sounds like the title of a country song!!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sounds like way too much work just to get there! Hope it's worth it. Eat a lobster while in Maine and let me know if it's as good as they say....for some reason in all the years of travel, I hit every state but Maine. I may have to make that trip one day just to say I've been in them all. Be blessed and have a great time.
I have had the pleasure in visiting Maine 3 times and love the State with it's rocky shoreline. And yes Mark, lobster is FAR better there, especially when you order a 2 lb one...yummmm
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