An afternoon in Boston

Although I’ve been traveling quite a bit this summer, my birthday trip was in September. I attended Kim Bernard’s Maine Coast Encaustic Workshop Retreat. It was a lovely week of learning, fellowship and lots of eating. On my way there, I had a layover in Boston. I flew in to Logan Airport, and the gorgeous view made me forget all about my flying fears.

At the airport I easily made my way to the shuttle that took me to the blue line “T” train station. The blue line took me to State street, from where I switched to the orange line and exited at North Station. During the brief wait, I enjoyed the wonderland sign. There is a charming movie, Next Stop Wonderland, but I had fun taking this sign literally, and Wonderland became my theme for the week.

The North Station happens to be right in Paul Revere’s neighborhood, and since I had a 3-hour layover until my next mode of transportation, I took advantage of revisiting this tourist attraction.

I meandered the neighborhood milling with Tourists on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, and said hello to the Revere Statue.

As I paused by a church with an amazing war hero memorial, I came upon this sign.

Loving all things legible, I had to investigate, and sure enough, demonstrations of an old printing press were held that day.

The Declaration of Independence was on the press, with custom re-created type based on the original print.

The demonstration pieces are available in the gift shop for $15, but instead I invested in “The Way to Wealth” for $2 by Ben Franklin.

The printer was quite forthcoming in the process of typesetting, and I highly recommend this little shop for an educational time-warp.

Being in Boston made me think of Plan B’s. My first visit to Boston was to scope out Boston University, where I had been accepted to grad school. Even then I loved exploring the city. There is something about it that ‘vibes’ with me. That plan fell through, however, and I ended up taking an alternate route to pursue my MBA, which turned out to be a fabulous experience.

Meanwhile, this workshop was a Plan B as well. Originally I had intended to go to California for another retreat, but the workshops kept shifting and ultimately the primary reason for that long journey got cancelled as well, so I switched gears to something closer to home. Once again, this change of plans turned out to be for the better (not to mention less expensive), and I am glad the universe sometimes redirects us, even if at the time we are disappointed.

Upon being redirected to Revere’s House by the print shop assistant, I took the obligatory photo of that landmark.

I meandered past some eateries and settled on a snack (which wasn’t much to rave about) and headed for the North Station to purchase my ticket.

It was time to take the Train to Maine and immerse myself in an encaustic adventure.