Boston: A Non-OAR Excursion

Though a majority of my travels are precipitated by OAR, I occasionally head out on my own. Most of my adventures are within the Northeast, where a large number of my friends and family reside. So, for Veteran's Day weekend in 2011, I booked a flight to Boston. My best friend from high school, Kathryn, attends Wellesley College, an all girls school in Wellesley, MA, so I stayed with her for the three day weekend. Unfortunately, neither of us realized that her school didn't give off the Friday before Veteran's Day and so she was still in class when my plane landed. Luckily, another friend of mine is a student at MIT, and so he (Chris) met me instead.

Adventuring in Boston is both similar and different than general OAR adventuring. Christopher's brother is a long standing OAR member and there must be a genetic link because our time spent in Boston that Friday transformed into an OAR-style outing. Initially, I just received the overall tour of MIT campus and then we walked over the Mass Ave bridge into Boston proper. Kathryn, my Wellesley friend, met up with us eventually and the three of us embraced our inner tourist and went to Faneuil Hall for some clam "chow-dah." Following the food traditions in Boston, we went to the Mike's Pastry in the North End (which I HIGHLY recommend but keep in mind that they are cash only) for a Boston cream pie. Walking around for several hours, we then went to a Harvard-MIT basketball game. 

The real adventure didn't start until after the basketball game, when we decided to go "hacking" with one of Christopher's dorm friends. Hacking is the MIT equivalent of urban exploration and buildering, but it can also include elaborate pranks, such as turning their famous dome into a replica of R2D2. We didn't pull any pranks. However, we did climb to the top of the little dome on Mass Ave, which gave us phenomenal views of Boston, Cambridge, and the Charles River. We also climbed to the roof of the Green Building, one of the tallest one MIT campus, and the roof of one other building. This particular roof was shaped like a 30-60-90 triangle and I crawled out to the edge on my stomach to peer over the side. With my head dangling over the point of the 30 degree angle, I could look around at the view without seeing the building below me. It was exhilarating and somewhat scary until I had my feet firmly on the ground again. We ran around campus until 3 AM, when Kathryn and I headed out to her school. 

Saturday was much more relaxing. I spent all my time walking around the town of Wellesley and the campus. The leaves around the lake were changing and the weather was a perfect 50 degrees. The town itself was charming and small. That night, we watched Kathryn's roommates perform in two separate events, one an Indian cultural dance and the other a play entitled "Nine Armenians." 




The next day we didn't have as much time, due to my flight home. We left my luggage at MIT and ventured across the Mass Ave bridge. The bridge is covered in markings, measuring the distance in "smoots." (For more info, consult google). I was pleased to discover that I am almost a smoot, just short by a few inches. We walked down the infamous Newbury Street and headed to the parks and gardens at the end. Again, the leaves were changing and it was beautiful, especially as the sun started to go down. Though not quite as adventurous as my times with OAR, it was a good trip all in all. 

Events occurred: November 11-13, 2011