Random thoughts

Firsts

Here are the "firsts" I had in Massachusetts (yes, I'm still living in the past, and I will continue to live in the past until I'm able to post my pictures):

1. Tubing down a river. We donned our swimsuits and boardshorts, put our butts in some inner tubes and floated down the river in Charlemont. There were a lot of rocks in the river so we had little sections of mini-rapids that were a scream to experience. The second time we went though, I went on this particularly big rock and my tube toppled over, leaving me gasping and in shock with no tube to hang on to. I screamed bloody hell for Marc and got hysterical because I couldn't keep a good foothold on anything. Little did I know that I was just supposed to float down on my butt until I got to calmer waters. Well, duh.

2. Riding a speedboat. What a rush! We were only going about 20-25mph most of the time, but the wind in our hair and faces made it seem a lot faster, and infinitely more fun. Then when we reached some shallow waters, Tim decided to amp it up a bit, and we got to about 40mph. Woohoo! I think I would like a speedboat sometime in the future.

3. Staying with 'the parents'. It really isn't so bad. I was a little apprehensive at first but they were such sweet people that I was able to relax soon afterwards.

4. Flying Southwest. It's like being on a bus, doing stops to let people off and take other people in. And the seating was on a first-come, first-served basis, which was okay when I was going to Hartford because I was by myself but coming back with Marc was a hassle because we couldn't find seats together. I thought we left our "save seats" habits in high school, but apparently people still do that. I suppose I would too so I shouldn't complain so much, but if it's a bigger group and they have seven seats saved, that seems a bit too much.

5. Taking a trip with a significant other. It could go both ways, I'm told. Either you drive each other crazy or you have a blast, and I'm glad the latter happened.

6. Visiting Martha's Vineyard. Beautiful island. I don't know about living in a island, but I know that it would be great to visit it more often.

7. Pumping gas before paying for it. There's no way that happens in California. The wonders of a small town!

8. Visiting an Ivy League university area. I felt like my brain cells multiplying just being in Harvard Square in Boston. I think I really would like to get back to school.

9. Waving at people I don't know. Marc's parents kept waving to people they didn't know - a charming habit people there have gotten used to. After a few days, I started doing the same thing too! Fortunately the habit hasn't kicked in here in California because people might think I'm going crazy.

10. Going to Vermont. It wasn't much different from Massachusetts but at least I've ticked that state off my list of places to visit. We went to Whitingham Lake(?River?), took some pictures and waded in for a little bit. I regretted not going there to actually swim, but I guess with the time I had allotted for the trip, there wasn't too much I could do. I'll keep it in mind for the next visit though.

posted by Cathy at 11:42 AM