August 22, 2012
Boston Massachusetts
Surviving Boston

One of the great things about my position in life is that I get to go to faraway places and perform beautiful ceremonies for families. I do weddings. In this latest wedding my job took me to Boston Massachusetts, and since I’ve never been to Boston, it was a wonderful opportunity to tour the area and see the sights. I love to visit museums and gardens and churches, and other local sites. In this case my hosts had graciously agreed to provide me a hotel room for the extra days I wanted to spend in Boston. It sounded like a great opportunity so I agreed. Unfortunately the hotel was over 50 miles from the downtown. This saved a hotel expense but it also created a problem, how to get to downtown Boston and the other places I wanted to visit, and even how to eat. It has become apparent that when one travels in America without a car you make yourself dysfunctional, to the point that even food is a problem. Not all hotels have restaurants and outside restaurants are not always close to hotels. America is a car culture, so everything is built on the premise of being able to drive. On this trip I found myself without access to the downtown where I wanted to be or even to food. I was stuck in the boonies! I learned a hotel offer is not always a good thing.

My eventual solution was to rent a car that would allow me to drive to the nearest subway station, park, and take the train into downtown. But even with this solution I had a 30 minute drive to the subway station and then a one hour subway ride into the downtown. This meant I had to spend three hours a day commuting. It also meant I had to spend at least 4 hours figuring out where to get a rental car, having them pick me up, fill out the paperwork, and then drive back to my hotel before I could actually do any sightseeing. I also had to spend time figuring out how the transportation system worked in Boston, where the nearest subway was, how to buy tickets and how to travel in the system. It was a huge waste of time and I lost over half a day in precious touring time just figuring things out, not to mention the 10 hours I spent over three days riding the Boston subway system. In the future it would be better to just pay for my own hotel in the downtown area and then have the host pick me up when they wanted me for the wedding.

I did, however, learn a few tips along the way. A hotel room with a small refrigerator is a great boon. I also discovered the grocery store deli! In a deli one can buy a little of this, a little of that, prepared salads, fruits, pastas, a veritable cornucopia of food, and with a refrigerator one can keep these foods in the hotel room refrigerator! Then at the beginning of each day one can put together a little picnic to carry in a day bag and in this way not be dependent on restaurants, plus you get fresh food! It turned out to be a wonderful idea. In fact, on my first sojourn into Boston, on my return, I found myself becoming intimately acquainted with every Bostonian on the planet as I was jammed into a rush-hour subway car for over an hour. Finally, out of desperation, I squeezed out of my subway car at an open air station that looked inviting, found a quiet New England park bench, and proceeded to have a private picnic. My deli items turned out to be a great joy as I sat and watched a dozen subway trains chug by for the next hour. When the crowds had subsided I continued my journey refreshed. It was one of the grandest part of my trip, a fitting way to end the first day.