Tuesday, 16 May 2006

Boston (Massachusetts)

I went to bed ‘early’ – well it was 2 am UK time but still only around 9 pm Boston time and awoke at 3:30 am local time. I forced myself back to sleep intending to get up at about 6 am to go for breakfast, but in the end I didn’t get up until nearly 9 am feeling congested and headachy. Breakfast at the “Egg & I” was a big plate full, with 2 mugs of tea for only $5 including tip. (About £2.50) It’s going to be difficult to refuse the option of eating out when it seems so cheap relative to UK prices.

The ticket machines at Wollaston Station wouldn’t accept my credit or debit cards (I hope this isn’t a sign of problems to come!) so I paid cash for my 1-day visitor pass ($7.50) and then rode the Red Line in to Park Street in the centre of Boston. They were very helpful at the Tourist Information but a little amused that I was planning to go off cycling in the midst of a state of emergency. They advised waiting for a day or two, but the forecast for tomorrow is dry so I may make an early start and see far I get.

I then took the Green Line out to the Institute of Contemporary Art (Modern Art Museum) only to find it was closed due to relocation in progress. Damn. I headed back into the centre and spent a short while checking email and the weather (In the space of about 5 days they’d gone from 5 inches below average rainfall to 10 inches about average!) before heading out to Harvard to the Museum of Natural History. It was a little disappointing – lots of stuffed animals – but it had a few interesting things. The collection of glass plants was interesting; they must have been so fragile, and were mostly life-size and very realistic, but quite faded. I wonder how bright they were when they were new. Some of the enlarged flower parts looked like something from science fiction.

It’s odd that in a country so technologically advanced there is such a fundamental opposition to evolution. Obviously in the Natural History Museum evolution is openly presented; maybe if they had the funding to match the creationist lobby then the exhibits would be much more impressive. I guess you don’t have to understand technology to use it. Even if you could prove the Bible to be a work of fiction (as if you can’t already) there would still be people who would believe it. People are always looking for something to believe in and give a purpose if not a ‘meaning’ to their life.

When I left the Natural History Museum it was dry and bright so I actually got out my camera for a few snaps as I walked back through Harvard Yard to Harvard Square. I popped into the Harvard Coop Bookstore to browse their maps of Boston cycle routes and went to their café for a yogurt and tea. By the time I came out it was raining again, so I took the Red Line ‘home’ to Wollaston; it was the start of the rush hour so it was quite busy. At the station I checked out whether I could take the bicycle on the train as I figure that will be the best way to get to the start of my cycle route in the centre of Boston. Bikes are allowed between 10 am and 4 pm, and after 7 pm. There is no lift (elevator) access at Wollaston. Quincy Central does have a lift, but it was out of order. Somehow I expected the States to have better disabled facilities.

Back at the hotel I spent a good part of the evening packing the panniers for the morning. (It takes a lot longer than you might imagine!) As I was putting things onto the bike I discovered that one of the struts of my aluminium (aloominum) Blackburn Expedition rear pannier rack was broken, so I had to do a repair before I’d even started. I guess it must have had a bit of a whack en route. Hopefully my repair will hold out.

Later on I took a walk in the other direction on Hancock Street (south) to find somewhere to have a bite to eat; spicy chicken pizza and Guinness, a combination that left me feeling really stuffed!