Alive!

It's been a whirlwind few days. After taking the red eye to Washington, DC I spent a day wandering the town then a night at the bar and jumping into bushes (a favorite DC past time). Tuesday started at 5:15am, contained lots of emotions and tons of expended energy trying to stay warm, and ended with another night at the bar (unfortunately no bushes this time). Wednesday started early, included a metro ride in the wrong direction (my apologies to all involved) and ended with a nine hour car ride up to Boston. Phew!

So I'm alive and kicking and got my first real night of sleep since embarking on this adventure, but what can you expect with amazing things happening. A full report about inauguration will come, but here is how I explained it to a friend while chatting online:

Three things: 1) People were joyous. Truly joyous and relieved. 2) Everyone was so kind. It was freezing cold and most people weren't dressed appropriately. That's a recipe for angry folks, but folks were AMAZING. 3) You could hear a pin drop at times during the event... and 4, for good measure: The echo of his words going down The Mall.... that was my favorite part.

Hopefully I'll find some time to blog and a way to upload photos. Stick with me!

Quoted in Boston

I didn't do much of a recap of my trip up the east coast and, to be honest, I probably won't. But, I stumbled across this gem of a quote that I heard while in Boston. Here's the scene: I was wandering around the north side of the Boston Commons when an open air tour bus passed by. The tour guide was rambling and the tourists sat inside enjoying the history lesson. Then this from the guide:

Mary was a Quaker, not a cracker like us.

Thanks for the clarification. Yikes.

Trip Finale

Today is the final day of my east coast trip. Rather than recount what I've been doing I'll just say that Boston has really impressed me and is faaaaarrrrrr better than New Yorkers give it credit for. I already look forward to coming back again.

Oh, and one more thing: Yes it went billions over budget and yes there are a variety of flaws, but Boston's Big Dig is a fantastic example of the benefit of getting cars away from city centers. Without exception every person I talked to testified that Boston's downtown is exponentially better and more connected now that the vehicles are underground. Take note city planners and get cars out of downtown!!!!

Now off to shower and to catch the T to Logan!