Medford, MA

After spending one night in New York City we checked out of the Chelsea Star Hotel and went in search of a sit-down place for breakfast suggested by the desk clerk. Well, to us a sit-down place is a diner or restaurant where someone takes your order and brings you your food. All we found after following his directions was a bagel counter with chairs. Granted, it was a big bagel place with lots of seating so we ordered bagels with stuff, sat down, and ate while figuring out which train to take to Chinatown and the bus.

This was to be our second time using a Chinatown bus. Apparently, there are bus companies that drive between the Chinatowns of Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. The ones that we took were great and everything Froody wanted: cheap and fast and comfortable. Fast because they only go from chinatown to chinatown unlike Greyhound which stops at all the towns in between.

Anyway, we've been in Medford, outside of Boston, staying with family and getting some last minute stuff done before we leave America for a year (OMG-it's starting to sink in that I won't be home or in familiar surroundings for a whole year)!! We got our last shots, picked up some board shorts and a belt for Froody, and got substitute rings.

Tomorrow I hope to see an old friend who is nice enough to want to see me after not hearing from me for years. Then we'll spend Sunday with Froody's parents, Monday we take the china bus back to NYC and ferry into New Jersey where we'll spend the rest of the day with a friend of Froody's and fly. out. to. Paris. Tuesday.

I think both of us feel that our trip will REALLY begin that day.

For more pictures, click on the links below. Froody has them arranged by dates (month, then day). Click on each thumbnail to see all the pix of the day!

*Last days of June, still in California and with my family

*Beginning of July, in DC and with Froody's family