roadtripping

"Look Alfred, you'll have been to eight new states after this trip!"

We drove to Boston one weekend... because Dad's conference and family trip and saving money and I got really tired of explaining it.

"Amelia, you need to practice driving long distances."  AKA Dad wanted to sleep and play on his phone in the passenger seat.

My brother and I got overly excited somewhere in Virginia when we stopped for gas and found a Sonic over yonder.  It also just so happened to be 50 cent corndog day for the end of school or something.  I should have gotten more than two.  Just so you know, it's odd ordering food from a drive-in without a car.  You still have to talk into a standing menu while clearly watching the people scurrying about inside the building.  It's super awkward.  Why can't I talk to a person now that I've walked up to the seating area?

We didn't get to Boston until around 10pm.  Only after an accident involving 3 cars and a motorcycle clogging up a small two lane street... a minor flooded road somewhere around NY and NJ... and my urgent/abrupt changing of lanes going into the city that could have gone very wrong.  I ran on roadtrip snacks of all sorts (because we didn't have the time to stop for a real meal), but I couldn't resist when one of my dad's nameless friends brought us a box of delicacies from the Chinatown while I was showering.  True to first-born-child form, I basically took a bite out of each piece ---this calls for an Asian smiley---> ^.^

On the first full day, we did the historical touristy things.  Wandering around for hours, gawking at the pretty buildings, glancing at some monuments and battle sites, purchasing berries from the random farmer's market, admiring the patriotism everywhere... eating bacon wrapped chicken with fries for breakfast in the case of my brother.  I shouldn't be judging though.

Hefty lunch in Faneuil Hall while Dad was giving his presentation.  I had decided the one thing I must eat while in Beantown was chowder, so naturally I sought out Boston Chowda again after I noted an "award winning" sign hanging over the booth.  It may or may not be sad how easily I buy into gimmicky things like "best in [enter city]" and "first [enter food item]" and "as seen on [enter famous TV show]" but I often do.  Both were on the saltier side, and I was in desperate need of water or unsalted saltines while polishing off the last drop of chowder.  But I regret neither that nor the lobster mac and cheese.  (Hey, we walked for like 2.5 hours!)
Had to drag myself a couple feet to the Body World exhibit where the general theme was healthy living through active lifestyles... oops, guilty.  The creamy, comfy, cozy lunch weighted down my stomach into dinner time, so that by the time I met up with the Boston peeps, I struggled to finish an appetizer and a beer (post to come).

The next day was a fancy family lunch at Atlantic Fish Company before the rents dragged Alfred away on the Freedom Trail while I did what I do best - shop and wander, wander and shop.  I had the Clams Casino and Cobb salad (for literary effect, I planned it that way).  And I ate about six of those beautifully browned rolls.  Don't roll your eyes or scoff or make a self-deprecating joke about your own eating habits... but sometimes, salads fulfill cravings.  Because fresh and crunchy and savory and balance.  My problem is usually that I hate paying for salads when I could easily make the stuff at home, but sometimes... salads fulfill those cravings.

Last lunch at Russell House Tavern alone at the bar.  Let me explain: as a recent college grad, I wasn't interested in a tour of Harvard.  Instead, I did more shopping (there's a Curious George store, what, so cute) and wandering around Cambridge, breaking it up by reading some exerts from Opposite of Loneliness at a random bookstore.  Yelp yielded Russell House as a delicious brunch-y spot, as it was Sunday, so I went boldly to the downstairs bar, and happily ordered myself a Char Sui pork loin sandwich.  There's something a little bit unsettling about eating alone when you don't have a book or laptop to hide behind, but I made do with my phone, the cocktail menu, and some discreet people watching.

10/10 I would go back.