Toronto/Boston Road Trip Part Four: Boston and New York

The drive to Boston was as nightmarish as the drive from Florida to Kentucky had been. We were all exhausted, but Carolanne and Michael handled the brunt of the driving. The border crossing was also terrible, mostly because it was so late that we had to get out of the car and wait elsewhere, still not allowed to use our cell phones or anything. Also, I had left my glasses in the car by mistake and wasn't wearing my contacts either, so I could hardly see anything. They took our oranges, which we had forgotten to eat before we entered the US again, but other than that we didn't have any difficulties. I was mostly just sleep deprived and delirious. We arrived in Cambridge at 4:30 AM and found parking near MIT around 5. We had to take all of our belongings out of the car, so I loaded up everything and used my carabiners to attach various items to myself. I didn't feel like repacking everything, so I just wore all my jackets and even my climbing harness, trudging across MIT campus as such. Sarah's dorm, East Campus, was on the far side of campus from where we had been able to get parking. Exhausted, we pushed ourselves across Massachusetts Avenue and as soon as we reached Sarah, I collapsed in a hot, sweaty pile at her feet. Wearing my down jacket had not been a wise decision. 

When we got to Sarah's room, Rhea and I immediately showered. Michael and Carolanne chose to sleep but for some reason, Rhea and I decided to just stay up and go explore the city. We walked across the Mass Ave bridge toward Boston proper and took a left down Newbury. Since it was not yet 7, virtually nothing was open. We found a local coffee shop and utilized the extra shots of espresso to boost our energy. This was probably a mistake. Caffeine + sleep deprivation = terrible idea. We were soon bouncing down the street, running through the Boston Public Gardens and the Commons. We picked up the Freedom Trail and raced toward Faneuil Hall, which was of course a dead zone. It is also worth mentioning that Rhea and I had both started speaking in an exaggerated Canadian accents that eventually transformed into an Irish accent for some reason. The worst part was that we couldn't stop ourselves, giggling and shouting in thick (yet fake) accented English. We turned back toward MIT and found breakfast at an Arabic Cafe in Central Square. It was delicious, eggs, meat, and veggies all thrown onto a breakfast sandwich. 

Our energy was fading, probably from walking so many miles with espresso as our only fuel, but for some reason we decided to walk back down Newbury. We ended up at Lush, a cosmetics store, for over an hour. They pampered us  with sample scrubs and make up, which I typically don't wear but liked. Lush is a very interesting company. All of their products are 100% vegan, meaning that no animal byproducts were used nor animal testing, and they also have some products that donate proceeds to a charity of your choice. Rhea spent a small fortune at Lush but I resisted and only allowed myself an edible lip scrub (which lasted a week, maybe two). We then wandered over the bridge once more, collapsing in a pile on some grass between Bexley and the MIT Student Center. Christopher soon joined us, since we were next to his dorm, and mocked our idiocy, as we spewed out random chatter in Irish accents and giggled to ourselves, occasionally speaking in unison. We had reached our breaking point. Around 5 or so, we met up with Michael and Carolanne for dinner and Rhea collected her belongings. One of her best friends had recently moved to Allston and Rhea was staying with her for the next week. We said our goodbyes and parted ways. 

Since Michael and Carolanne had slept all day, they were fully energized by the time I had hit my wall. Still, I wanted to show them around somewhat, so I took them back across the bridge and down Newbury. At this point, my friend Kathryn had texted me and invited me to trivia at Triton, a bookstore and restaurant on Newbury, where she and her friends frequented. So I walked Michael and Carolanne to the gardens and then pointed them toward the North End, suggesting that they try Mike's Pastry. I then met Kathryn for trivia, leaping into her arms since I hadn't seen her in so long. Luckily, her friends had all met me numerous times and were not surprised when I did this, saying hi to me and asking me how my semester had been. Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend much time with Kathryn, since she wasn't feeling well on Friday night and only got worse as the weekend progressed. By the time trivia was over, I was ready for bed. I headed back to East Campus and curled up in my sleeping bag. Carolanne eventually joined me, and we talked while Michael and his sister went hacking. 

The next day, I woke up extremely early, especially compared to my friends, who had become nocturnal. I showered and ventured out, getting coffee and breakfast and hoping to meet up with my friend Chloe from Greece. We had been texting but unfortunately she dropped her cell phone in water in the middle of our conversation and could only communicate via email. So I headed back from Harvard to MIT because I missed her right before she headed into a multiple hour training course for her medical trip to Africa in July. Around 1 PM or so, Michael texted me that he and his sister were going to go hiking outside the city and wondered if I would like to join. I declined since I preferred to stay in the city while I could. I then ran into Carolanne and decided to head back to the dorm to organize my stuff. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that Carolanne was going too and that they were headed to the airport from there. So I unintentionally ended up carrying around all of my belongings again, unable to reach any of my nearby friends until Chris finally woke up at 3 PM and let me leave my things at his dorm.

Despite looking like a homeless person for a few hours, I didn't mind. I decided to go ahead and book my flight home for the following Monday, since all my friends were about to head into finals and I didn't want to be a burden. I also was trying to figure out my plans for New York. Originally, I invited Chris to Greek Easter (since he is also Greek) and he was going to either ride the bus with me or drive us down in his car. He had too much school work though, and had to bail. Despite not being able to attend, he still welcomed me into his dorm while I figured out my plans for the next day. We went to get food (late lunch/early dinner for me, breakfast for him) at an Indian restaurant in Central Square. I was trying to get in contact with my aunts in New York but I was having trouble. After dinner, we tried to get coffee at a local espresso bar but, unfortunately, they had just closed. So we headed back to Bexley to hang out. While we were in his room, another Bexley-ite, Soraya, came to ask us if we wanted to join her for a run. My proclamations of slowness were ineffective and I ended up running from MIT across the Longfellow Bridge, winding through Beacon Hill, down the Esplanade, and back onto Mass Ave. It was several miles longer than I had anticipated I would be running on this trip, which was 0, and Chris ran circles around me while my lungs were having difficulty adjusting to the dry Boston air. By the time I got back and got in touch with my aunts, it was too late to take a bus into NYC, so I ended up staying in Cambridge for the night.

The next morning, I woke up naturally around 5:30 AM. I took a shower and left a note for Chris as I headed out the door. I made it to South Station with 15 minutes to spare. As I headed into the bus terminal, however, I noticed that all the lights were out. So when I got to the ticket counter and they refused my credit card, I panicked. I sprint through the terminal looking for an ATM, thankful that I had left all but a small backpack at Chris's dorm and didn't have a lot to carry. The ATM charged me a ridiculous fee (four dollars) and the bus tickets were ten bucks more than I was used to paying but I got the last seat on the 7 AM bus, so I didn't care.

When I arrived in New York, I took the 6 train to the Upper East Side and was greeted by several aunts and uncles and a slew of cousins. We hopped in the car and headed out to Long Island, where my Aunt Aspasia and Uncle Victor were hosting Greek Easter. The smell of lamb and other meats was overwhelming and heavenly. I spotted my cousin Dean tending the grill and the lamb on the spit. I reintroduced myself to various cousins that I hadn't seen in years and happily awaited the egg ceremony and egg fights, the singing and dancing, and, of course, the food. Egg "fights" are one of my favorite Greek traditions. Essentially, everyone has one egg and you tap the narrow end against someone else's wide end. The last person standing with an uncracked egg or uncracked end is declared the winner. The food was undeniably incredible. Luckily for everyone there, Dean is a professional chef and he did not disappoint. My cousin Mala's beautiful voice led the singing, overpowering everyone else's attempts. My Aunt Cindy and Uncle Brian, who live near Boston but had been in Connecticut for the weekend, were able to give me a ride back to Cambridge so I didn't have to deal with the bus, nor did I have to get back at 3 AM like I had anticipated. So, full of delicious Greek food and armed with leftovers for Christopher, I headed back to MIT.

The next morning, I woke up and said goodbye to Chris, not sure if I would see him before my flight. I then headed to Harvard, where I met Chloe for lunch. We walked around and stopped by her final club, where she gave me a key chain from an event they'd had. I left her and headed back toward MIT, where Rhea was meeting me via bike. She came in with me to Bexley to get my stuff and I gave her a small tour. Chris returned shortly thereafter and gave an even better tour. We said our goodbyes again and Rhea walked with me to Kendall Square, where I picked up the T for the airport. 

Events occurred: May 3-6, 2013