Don't Drive Like My Brother

A big thank you to Gary and Annemarie and the whole family for hosting us in Bedford. Rach and I began the morning with a wonderful breakfast spread that had been laid out for us. Oatmeal and strawberries and grapes and tea and brown sugar and cinnamon toast. Gary was kind enough to ride with us again and lead the way toward downtown Boston. It's great to put the map aside for a little while and just follow a local. As it just so happened, we were riding nearly exactly Gary's former bicycle commute to work. He's retired now so there was plenty of time to stop off on the Minuteman bike path to see a little history. We paused in Lexington at the "Battle Green" to see the site of the start of the Revolutionary War and a bronze statue that commemorates the American militiamen. Docents wore period costume at the visitor's center and I could have bought a tri-corner hat for 15 dollars but I passed on that one.

Our next stop was at the Broadway Bicycle School for some maintenance. We had borrowed Gary's chain checker tool earlier in the morning and determined that we were both due for new chains. The shop is a worker-owned cooperative that had lots of eclectic builds and plenty of sturdy, practical rides. Their door handle was a classic old pipe wrench. Should have gotten a picture of that one. If you wait long enough to replace a chain you may also have to replace your rear cassette (set of gears) so we were hoping we had squeaked in. Off with the old chains, size up the new, install, a test ride around the block, and all was fine. Gary took the lead again and we rode a final handful of miles over the Charles River and to the Fenway Park neighborhood. We said thank you and goodbye to Gary and went to find my good friend from high school Pam.

Pam and her husband Javier live just a few blocks away. As a professor at Suffolk University, Pam has a thankfully flexible schedule and was free to entertain a couple of bike tourists. She welcomed us with an enticing platter of snacks: hummus and pita chips and carrots and peach slices. Javier and Pam were also kind enough to serve us a mail station for us and we each got a new pair of bike shorts. Thank you to Alex for sending us a package we first planned to get in Richmond and to Maxwell for mailing our next series of maps. The bicycling was done for the day so it seemed like the right idea to change into regular clothes and go have lunch. We went to a restaurant called Cava which is like a Chipotle for Mediterranean food. Very tasty.

A stop at a bakery next door gave us the energy to find the train and take a trip downtown. Suffolk is an urban school and right in the thick of things. Pam showed us the buildings she works in before we strolled over to Boston Common. The Common is a public park with gardens and statues and a currently dry pond that transforms into an ice rink during winter. The beloved American children's book "Make Way for Ducklings" is set in the park and we saw a sculpture of the baby ducks following their mother.

We continued our walking tour to Acorn Street which has enormous stone cobbles. (Treacherous for bicyclists.) Many of the buildings here date to Colonial times and are built of red brick and stone. We toured past historic churches and small boutiques and more bronze statues towering on tall stone plinths. The time came for ice cream so we found a place called JP Licks and I enjoyed a chocolate-dipped, sprinkle-coated cone. Pam led us back toward her apartment via a delightful rose garden. Some of the names of the varieties: Pope John Paul II, Julia Child, Chrysler Plymouth, Sun Sprite, Sexy Rexy. Who knew?

Once Javier had finished at work we all went to one of their favorite restaurants, Pho Basil. I shamed myself by not quite finishing my dish but Rach got to hold her head high with a clean plate. We shared stories of various green card frustrations and immigration woes. (Javier was born in Mexico.) Rach and Javier were patient as Pam and I discussed people from our past. After a hearty dinner we all returned to the apartment where Rach and I collected our bikes and gear and rode just a mile or so to an Air Bnb apartment. All is well and we have been lazing about all morning drinking tea and reading before we meet up with Pam and Javier for more culinary exploration later today.

Thank you Gary and family!

Boston Common swan boat

PS We'll take some more pictures today.

PPS If you didn't know, if you click on the markers on the map there are small messages.