Leave no trace.
Slept with her, but never touched Miss Ivy.
Peeper's Pond.
The rocks I slept behind.
Apparently, a fire pit?
The Minute Man Path.
Arlington Meadow.
I decided to walk south toward Cambridge to see if I could find a better sleep spot...
These painted utility boxes were all over the West and South.
Nice to see one here.
This was very cool! An old C clamp embedded in the cement.
Violets.
One variety of wild lettuce (Lactuca serriola). A useful plant.
Most people don't know that the young leaves
can be eaten (it is a lettuce) as a salad, or boiled.
The similar looking plant to the right is another variety (Lactuca virosa).
It has been used as an opium substitute for its calming and mildly sedating effects.
The milky exudate can be dried and smoked or dissolved in water
and imbibed as a tea. It is also a helpful sleep aid.
I used to grow and consume it as a food and a medicine.
I stopped in a Dunkin Donuts and published a post, then headed back out...
Loading up the hearse.
I'm not normally a motorcycle guy, but this one looked appealing to me, not too big.
Great bike for a lucky (and rich) kid: CRF 50F (49 cc) $1,449.
The Jason Russell House.
"Site of the bloodiest battle..." on the first day (April 19, 1775).
I liked the blue on this church. It matched the sky.
Ha, ha, ha!!
It was time for me to have my daily meal. So I stopped into The Arlington Diner, and ordered a mushroom and swiss burger ($9.99 which came with fries, lettuce, tomato, and a pickle) and Greek side salad ($3.50). The soda ($2.25) was a bit small (10 oz.) and could only be refilled once--something I consider a bit greedy--their cost was probably less than $0.25. Good eats--not outstanding, but good. The owners are Greek and the salad stood out as excellent, tossed in oil and vinegar, with plenty of feta. The prices were comparable to most diners (the online menu is out of date). Total with tax was about $17...
It didn't take long to get to Cambridge, and I set about exploring the border area...
An old canal running next the Alewife Bike Path.
I found another Dunkin Donuts right away and checked for green spots on Google Earth. After quite a long time, I decided to check out a place right down good old Route 2. I left to vet it.
Thankfully there was plenty of room to walk off to the side. The wind kicked up and made waves across the cattails in the swamp along the way...
Right where I'd planned to go, I found a very good spot, just off the road, under an oak tree. I stood for a while just to make sure everything was cool, and made this video...
I decided I liked this place and set up the tent. There were about five hours to go until sundown. So, I took the risk and left all my stuff, then walked back into town to buy a Vitamin Water. That way, I could have something to drink over night and in the the morning. I'd be able to sleep in too.
This was interesting. I'd always wondered what all of this means.
Here's some of the explanation--Decoding the City: The Road Graffiti Placed by Utility Workers.
I walked back and just hung out...
What could be seen from the road. If the orange had been gray or
green the tent would essentially be invisible during the day.
I was a bit bored and added my symbol to the tent itself.
Above is my grand statement about how comfortable I felt here. I'd been worried all along that I wouldn't be able to find a good place near Boston. In fact, now that this spot was found, I decided that I would use it for the rest of my Journey and simply walk or take the T to other interesting neighborhoods and nearby towns. The area is so incredibly dense that it is an easy walk to just about anywhere. For someone who has been used to 15+ miles between towns, this will be nice. The only thing about walking around the greater Boston area is that it's streets are so incredibly convoluted. There is nothing resembling a grid layout about the place.
However, it will be a very good chance to get to know this city that I've only ever gone in and out of a day at a time. Having this spot to return to will allow me to go into the heart of Boston proper a few times as well. I will practice taking the T to North Station from Alewife Station (right nearby), so that I'm absolutely positive I will make my train. That was the plan anyway, on this day...
I like to be in contact with the trees that shelter me.
At just after sunset I crawled into the tent just to lie there, but ended up falling asleep.
Arlington Sleep Spot 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.