New Beginnings

I have officially been in Boston one week now and I am happy to report that all is off to a great start. Although I was welcomed with a 'nor'easter' (or an East Coast storm, according to Wikipedia), the weather over this past week has been fabulous. Cloudless skies, sunshine, and a nice fall breeze. Perfect weather for my new running route along the Charles River, or the Chahles as the Bostonians would pronounce it. Apparently, the pronunciation of the letter 'R' is unnecessary here. My running route starts at my condo in East Cambridge then takes me along Memorial Drive which parallels the Charles River. The riverside pathway caters to joggers, walkers, bikers, out-for-a-stroll-ers, even rollerbladers. At a couple different points (Massachusetts Avenue & Boston University) you can cross over to the Boston side of the Charles. From here I run back the way I came, cross over again, then head towards home. Round trip it's about a 6 mile loop, but with sea level oxygen to breathe I feel resilient. After running at a mile high for 22 years, the air is so thick it almost feels tangible. Aside from enjoying the lovely end-of-Summer-weather, unpacking into my new condo has been quite the task. Translation- boxes everywhere and no where to put anything! The dimensions of my bedroom are seemingly impossible to work with, or so I thought until I found a little place called Overstock.com. I was able to buy a few skinny bookshelves for a very reasonable price, so in 5-7 business days I should finally have a place to put my belongings. I shouldn't complain too much, though. The anxiety I've experienced by not being able to unpack hasn't exactly kept me up at night. I'm not sure if I blame the comfy, queen size, tempurpedic, 600 thread count bed upgrade or the time zone change, but I haven't woken up before 11am this entire week. And did I mention the kitchen yet? Stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, beautiful cabinetry...I'm in culinary heaven. And the movie-theatre-size high definition television screen I have projected on my living room wall makes me feel like I'm actually at Folsom Field right now watching the Buffaloes play CSU (although I am unhappy with the 2nd quarter score). And as if these luxuries weren't sufficient, my French roommate practically force-fed me homemade crepes last night. With Nutella. Y-U-M.

Anyways, enough about the rough life I have been subject to- I have answers to the Bean Town inquiry I posed a couple weeks back. Apparently, back in the day, Bostonians loved beans baked in molasses. They were appropriately called "Boston Baked Beans." Back then, Boston was a huge supplier for molasses. I'm not sure if the surplus of molasses gave way to the beans or vice-versa but as the first month of 1919 came to an end, so did the molasses monopoly. On January 21, 1919 a huge vat of molasses exploded in the "North End" of Boston- actually killing 21 people. Which is kind of ironic because of the expression "slower than molasses is January." Nowadays, these beans are hard to come by but are apparently still remembered by the Bean Town natives. Interesting huh? I received my information from a couple different locals of Boston, but for support visited the FAQ page at boston-online.com.

Hopefully this week's furniture delivery (and the boxes from home) should allow me to complete the unpacking process. Once all is looking cute, I'll post some pictures of my new abode. My goal for this week- Tosconini's. Home of the New York Time's quoted Best Ice Cream in the World (and apparently nirvana). Until then, enjoy the last days of summer and embrace the beautiful fall that's upon us.