Day 5&6: Walden Pond,Concord, and the wonderful vegan bbq

I cried yesterday. Call me cheesy if you will but I was overwhelmed by the magnitude and beauty of nature. We were in, of all places, a cemetery at the time. First , though, I did promise to tell you about our encounter with the lovely couch surfing family.

We arrived at Jenna and Rob's beautiful picturesque house tucked serenely into the woods late Saturday night. Briefly, we met their four sweet children before they were scuttled off to bed. Then Jenna and Rob sat down with us and we talked for hours. We showed them some pictures from the wedding. They talked about their trips. We talked about ours. ( I have been talking to so many new people lately that I haven't been able to be shy!) It was a nice chat.

Yesterday morning was great too. We awoke to a strange sound(...in our world): literally the pitter-patter of tiny feet and tiny whispers. Rob made a breakfast that we all sat at the table and ate together. ( It may sound common place but in the couch surfing world it isn't.) After breakfast Tony and I were dragged off to watch the children ride bikes, see birds nests, play dolls, and play T-ball. We were a little bit sad when it was time for us to make our way to Walden pond. They are a special family and I think Tony and I were kind of star struck in the way that a younger sibling can be towards an older sibling. Their family gave us an example of the kind of family that we would like to build and the type of life style that we would like to embrace. The fact that Rob and Jenna have made it work for them gave us hope that we could have the type life together that we want.

Walden pond was just as lovely as one would expect times three. Despite the horrendous number of both tourists and locals we still managed to enjoy the small hike to where Thoreau built his tiny cabin overlooking the water. There is no cabin left now but a monument of sorts where the cabin once was.

We toured the replica at the entrance of the park. I suppose I was a bit disappointed. I wanted Thoreau's Walden: quiet and soberingly beautiful. It was beautiful. Very Very Beautiful. It wasn't quiet though. That is until I walked a little bit, sat down on a log and watched the pond. I imagined him sitting there: listening, smelling, hearing.We hiked around the pond and stuck our feet in the warm water. After enjoying nature for a little while we hopped back in the car to visit Thoreau's grave.

We have been to no less than four cemeteries in the last week. I used to get a funny feeling in the pit of my belly whenever I would see a grave. The last place in the world that I ever wanted to be was a cemetery. I think at some point, though, we all realize that death is a part of life.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is the final resting place of several famous authors. There is actually a section entitled Authors ridge. Emerson, Thoreau and Louisa May Alcott are buried there. One has to park at the foot of the ridge and walk up a steep incline in order to get to the grave sites. Thoreau was first, then Alcott, then Emerson. It wasn't until we were walking back from Emerson's grave that the back drop of foliage caught my eye. It was as if I were in a trance.(I wasn't!) I walked past a children's author, the last grave in the back, and to the edge of a cliff. What I saw there I have no words to describe. It was heartbreakingly beautiful. It was lush, tall, skinny trees with slow moving water below and blue sky above. What a wonderful place to be lain.

We also went to minute man national park. Emerson's family home was right there. We learned a little bit about "The shot heard 'round the world" and Emerson but the temperature was so perfect outside that we didn't absorb much. Massachusetts in the late spring is so green!

Last night we met up with our new host ,Erin, and her couch surfing friend and we ate at a vegan pizzeria. It was so yummy and we all sat chit- chatting for a long time.

Today was a nice relaxing day. The vegan barbeque was so much fun. There were just five of us sitting around with kabobs full of veggies and fruit and Mike's lemon-aid to keep us cool. Because the grill was small, we ended up each getting one thing at a time. Tony said it was like a tasters menu. I was happy because we all got to enjoy each others company for a while longer then we would have. When I stopped to think about it I realized that none of us would have ever met if not for the internet!

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. We are going to go running around Boston. Then Wednesday is Gloucester and Salem. Hooray for whales and puritans!

Please note that we have been singing this song for DAYS!

Day 4 Lowell, MA

I can truly and honestly say I know more about Lowell now than I do about our home town of Harrisburg. We came here to visit Jack Kerouac's grave but we ended up learning quite a bit about the industrial revolution in the process. How could you not? Lowell was the heart of textiles during the industrial revolution, as we have come to know through the many videos and placards Lowell has offered to us in the form of exhibits. I knew nothing about Lowell until today.

We wandered into the welcome center at a late 11:30am. ( All day today we've had exactly one hour upon arrival until each place closed, except of course for the welcome center itself.) There we watched a video about Lowell and it's role in the industrial revolution, gathered information and also bought a shiny new bandanna for Tony's long locks.

( He's apparently decided to grow it out and I'll be honest, I support it! He has really pretty hair and what can I say, I think ponytails are hot! I'll admit it.)

The Revolving Museum, an art museum that displays local art of all ages, was our first stop today but they were sadly closed. So we went to an exhibit called "mill girls" about ( bet you can't guess)mill girls. It was actually really informative and interesting. Lowell attracted young farm girls to work in the factories.

They worked 14 hour days and stayed in strict boarding houses. They were also women earning their own wages and gaining some independence . This was in the 1830s and 40s where as the 19th amendment wasn't passes until 1920! Also if you find that this tidbit interests you too, read "Life in the Iron Mills" by Rebecca Harding Davis. I read it in a women's literature class and it really makes one think about how nasty the conditions were for factory workers before regulatory laws such as minimum wage were enacted.

We also saw Kerouac's backpack and typewriter. We almost missed it because the display was so tiny in comparison to the mill girls bit.

After seeing it I immediately turned to Tony and said " I think we can carry less stuff!" It was amazingly minimalistic especially when compared to our vehicle crammed with things.

From there we went to his memorial laid out in a Buddhist pattern.

Then to the textile museum for more Lowell info. ( Plus I played with a loom!) And then finally we drove out to the cemetery, the whole purpose of our adventure to Lowell today and we paid homage to another man we never met. Although others before us have left him booze , poetry and cigarettes we left nothing but the words we spoke to him. "Well Mr. Kerouac, I doubt very much that we would be on this grand adventure today if Tony hadn't read your book as a teenager. For that we thank you. From one generation of travelers to another."

To top the day off we stopped at a grocery store and grabbed a few things. Then we did something that I feel people may frown upon but as we are basically living out of our car for three months can't be avoided. We ate dinner in the parking lot and watched " O'brother where art thou." In the car as people walked passed. I thought... " Gee, this is weird." And then I shrugged it off and enjoyed my husband's company.

Last we met up with a family of super cool couch surfers but I'll tell you about them tomorrow. ( We decided to check out some Thoreau and Emerson stuff and make it a true writers weekend!)

Day 3 ( a day late)

Yesterday we headed out fairly early, had a slight disagreement about whether to ride the bus or walk into the city and so We drove! Playing the part of true tourists we followed Bostons freedom trail throughout the city. Though, upon our host's, John, suggestion we first toured the USS Constitution, a lovely ship that launched in 1797. You may have heard reference to her as "Old Ironsides"called such because ,we learned this on a free tour, The wooden construction was unique and during a battle cannon balls lodged in the sides without causing damage.

The freedom trail has many very interesting stops along the way including two very old burial grounds. The only name that really popped out at us though, was Cotton Mather and the Mather family tomb. They were a line of puritan minnisters, Cotton was particularly famous for influence during the Salem witch trials.

We toured Paul Revere's house.( I found it slightly more exciting that a little girl who came in after us was getting so excited about ordinary things. The first room one walks into is Revere's kitchen and there were prop eggs in a bowl. The little girl shouted with enthusiasm, "Look daddy eggs! Oh, kyle( her older brother) they have eggs!" And then a moment later "Stairs! Kyle look at the stairs!" It was quite adorable. Anyone can go into Paul Revere's house and see an old house. It takes a child's eye to see something completely different! I wish i could still be enthusiastic about plastic eggs.)

There was the north church and the oldest pub in America. And then we wondered right into the middle of a big farmers market. Everything was so juicy and ripe that we were practicably forced to buy a clam shell of blueberries! And then so distracted were we by the berries that we stumbled upon what looked like a series of large glass elevators. The reality of them was far less happy though than a Willy Wonka day dream. We has inadvertently come across the Holocaust memorial. The glass structures were not elevators at all but sculpture-esque gas chambers complete with grates on the floor of each one bellowing gray steam into the muggy air. And etched into each of these structures are tiny six digit numbers that stretch from floor to the enormously tall ceiling covering every inch of glass. There are also short tales of horror written in the glass from survivors. The one that really struck me( I suspect because I was caring a half eaten, easily obtained clam shell of blueberries the entire time.) was about how a girl found a single raspberry and kept it in her pocket the entire day only to give it to her best friend as a gift.

It is one thing to experience old, inevitable death in the quiet, musky, silence of a grave yard. It is shocking and bitter and heartbreaking to think about the Holocaust and it was a somber part of our day. None the less, if you get a chance to experience it please do.

We headed to the Boston commons after that for a late lunch. The Boston commons is lacking everything that makes central park crazy and delightfully beautiful but is nice none the less. Then we sat down at the bull and finch pub or as you may know it" The Cheers bar" and each had a Sam Adams. I'd like to say we did more but by this time I was so unbelievably sunburnt, like a dope, that we decided to head back.

Today we are driving out to Lowell MA to see where Kerouac is buried! We've been married a week today now!!!

(Somebody try out our comment system. We're curious if it works)

Day 2

In two days we've been in 6 different states!

We we're in Brooklyn this morning and now we're in Boston. We left pretty early this morning and stopped in New Haven CT to stretch our legs. Yale has a beautiful campus. The library is astonishingly gorgeous as is the rare book library. Yale has the kind of architectural that can make someone like me gasp in awe.

For lunch we came across a tiny restaurant called Elaine's Healthy Choice which was a Jamaican vegan place. I have one word: YUM. We loved the curried chick so much that we were talking about driving back sometime just to eat there!

Then we stopped at the art museum which had a Picasso and a Vango on display.

We drove quite a bit today and we are both a bit beat. We'll explore Boston tomorrow!

Day 1

Well for those of you who thought that we were taking off yesterday, we were supposed to but here's the thing...getting married is EXHAUSTING! lol We we're so tired and we had so much to get together

hat we left a day later. Sorry.
Our wedding was more than beautiful! It was everything we could have ever dreamed it would be. Here are a few photos. It was an incredible day and now I'm married to my best friend!

Our first day on the road has been a bit crazy to say the least. We finally made if out of our driveway around 8am. We stopped for gas and ice and headed out.

( A word of caution: Do not drink 3 large cups of coffee right before you are going to be spending a considerable amount of time in the car! I nearly peed myself until we found a place to stop ( 3x today!) on the same note, if you are ever on I-78N near Bethlehem the turkey hill facilities are nicely kept.)

New York is a strange, expensive, confusing place that is also terrifying and oddly beautiful at the same time! It took us an extra 2 hours to get to Brooklyn ( where we are staying with our nice host Marry and her foster kitty Joe-Joe) Tony printed out directions so that we could avoid driving through Manhattan but we misread them and got turned around twice before giving up and following our gps through the city anyway. Then after we got here and parked we took off on foot in search of the Metro station. (This is not a good town to set off without a plan.)We did eventually find a station but we walked a long distance out of our way.

The first stop for these Beatles fans was of course the Dakota and Strawberry fields. Both places struck me as sad and solemn shrines to which people who think they knew something about a man they have never met go to mourn his tragic death. We did. We are no better. What ever the kind of man he was, his lyrics and music have opened my mind and deepened my heart.

As we wandered through central park we let it wash over us. There were couples in wedding dresses and tuxes ,hippies doing dental floss magic for a crowed (no lie!), musicians and artists, freaks, and wanderer all sharing the same gloriously beautiful late spring day. New Yorkers. I can't imagine they are often surprised with all these cultures and counter cultures and counter-counter- cultures all overlapping and interweaving as the seem to do. Central park is lovely this time of year!

Oh yeah and we definitely saw Ted Danson and his wife today off of 5th ave. Tony yelled " Hey isn't that Ted Danson?" and they turned and walked back to the corner they were filming on.( We are dying to know what they were filming.) Then he was too shy to take a picture or say hi even though he really likes Curb Your Enthusiasm and Bored to Death! We aren't the types to get excited about movie stars but Ted Danson is cool.

Other than this exciting bit we wondered around Soho a bit. Tried to find so tasty vegan niblits... nothing. We settled on a sandwich shop that charged an arm and a leg for a sandwich i could have easily made for $0.50 at home! Over all NYC ate us up and spit us out! Next time we come here we'll have a plan!

Next Stop: Boston tomorrow!

Testing the Spot GPS

Megan and Tony's Road Trip

Share your Adventures with SpotAdventures

17 days to go

14 days to the wedding. 17 days till the road.

First stop NYC.

Gas prices going back down?