Pro of living in a big city: not having to have a car. Con: the congestion can make you loose your mind. Long ago I wanted to live in a big city such as NYC or Chicago, but as I got older this desire faded into oblivion. I was raised in the “boonies” and have become accustomed to not having to know the intimate details of my neighbors life. It’s a beautiful thing. Eventually I would like to end up on a piece of land where I can enjoy that kind of lifestyle again.
Even staying outside of Boston doesn’t get me far enough away, but it’s always fun to visit for a few days and get that desire to live in such a place out of my system. It has been a busy and fun filled 5 days while staying in Brookline with my friends Don, Robin, and their cute little peanut, Hadley. We went to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, drank lots of coffee, prepared Robin’s classroom for the school year, went out to a few different restaurants (one of which had South American fare and was where I got to try my first Caipirinha aka yummy adult beverage). I also met up with a storm chasing friend of mine, Rich, for lunch where I got to hear more stories of chasing shenanigans, one of my favorite things to do. That was followed by an afternoon of wandering downtown Boston and enjoying the sunshine and breeze off of the water.
I decided that this trip would simply be to enjoy the company of my friends since I had been to the area a handful of times already. I did go to NYC for the day on Saturday. I had an awesome front row seat on the 2nd level of the MegaBus. It was a long 4-5 hour drive, but being in NYC after nearly a ten year absence was really nice. I decided to walk from Madison Square Garden down to the 9/11 Memorial, and that was quite the walk, but I couldn’t resist doing it on such a beautiful day. I passed through multiple neighborhoods enjoying how the view changed, how people changed. That may be one of my favorite things about NYC, large cities in general. The diversity is amazing. All of these wonderfully different people crammed into a city and making it work. If only there was more of that in this world.
I reached the memorial and it was crazy busy. I fully expected it to be crazy because of the holiday weekend, but watching people while in line I felt that the memorial was sometimes overshadowed by the desire of people to say that they were there. It felt like another one of the attractions that you see, like it was the Empire State Building or Statue of Liberty. I wondered what family members of those who had perished on that day feel like when they go down there. I hope that they could ignore those that would stand in front of the sites, smiling and posing for a picture, and focus on how so many want to hear, see, experience that day and pay their respects to all those who didn’t survive. It was a different mood once inside, pretty quiet for how busy it was. People were respectful, patient, and took their time moving through what was such a beautifully curated memorial. I was very impressed with the detail, and the amount of care that was given to it. If you are able to go to the memorial, it is worth the admission price. The memorial, the museum, the transformation of the two sites at ground level were very well done.
That took my afternoon up and I then met up with my friend Jesse. Jesse and I have know each other since kindergarten and we haven’t seen each other in a few years, so it was really great to be able to meet and catch up. A friend of his was having some people over to hang out on the rooftop and drink some wine. To say the view was amazing is an understatement. The sun was setting and the buildings started glowing. Lots of hilarious conversation ensued and before I knew it, Jesse and I had to make it to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre to see the musical Waitress.
I’ve been obsessed with this musical since I heard that Sara Bareilles was doing the music, which was maybe a year ago. It was fantastic! This was the first time I got to see the original cast in a broadway musical and the talent was overwhelming. There were so many moments where I got goosebumps because of the singing. Being a singer myself, I have much respect for those who can get up on stage and not only sing, but convey the emotion in the lyrics. It was a great day with great company. And then there was the 4-5 hour bus ride back to Boston…at 12:30am. That was not fun.
Now only a few hours before my departure for international travel and fun I’m feeling…well, I’ll be honest scared. It still isn’t hitting me that I’m doing this, and for the most part, doing it alone. I’m excited to see what I’m made of and if I can make it through (I know I can), there isn’t anything that I can’t do. I’m a stubborn lady and once my mind is set on something, well, I generally get what I want.
I’ve been trying out different types of social media, one being Snapchat. I really like it for something like this, but until a few days ago, I had never used my account. I have loved following Cory Richards, Adrian Ballinger, and Emily Harrington and all of their climbing/outdoor adventures. I highly recommend you do the same if you like that kind of thing…Kristen Bor is also on there, another fun and interesting account to follow. That what Snapchatting was for me…watching others. So if you want to stay updated more often, follow me on there (girlencompassed).
I’ll leave you with some photos from the last few days. Again, I’ll try and blog as much as possible. I’ve never done this before so formats, styles, and things like that might change and I learn how best to do this. It’s very possible that I’ll continue to post after my travels and going back to my adventure to discuss things about international travel, what it’s like to use AirBnb, packing suggestions, etc. Much love to you all, thank you for reading, and please say a little prayer that the next few months go as smoothly as possible and I stay safe!!
Marcella
Marcella Jo Photography 