Day 43: The SmartBeetle (and I) return to Boston
April 17, 2000
8:15A – can’t sleep. Must be the closeness to home feeling creeping in my subconscious. Up to the living room to watch Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – leave it to Steve Martin to wipe away the tiredness and replace it with fits of laughter.
Internet Notice: The X-Men movie trailers are out and looking quite thrilling, especially as every geek loves that Patrick Stewart is playing Professor Xavier.
10:42A – The Manhattan Project complete, Dan & I pack up and head out into the rain to join the SmartBeetle and continue the journey north.
1:37P – I am starving and my navigator has found us a Cracker Barrel on I-95 in Connecticut. He’ll have the Chicken Fried Steak and I hit the Meatloaf Plate and my now ‘regular’ Corn and Carrots. This is just good down home solid cookin'
2:19P – Bit of a traffic jam and we are finally in Rhode Island - my final 'new' state of this journey. VickeryHill'd a van with SmartBeetle-similar intentions
3:40P – I can see the Prudential and Hancock buildings...almost home. A quick 3 days in Boston, Harpoon visits and some darts and i will be on my way to Vermont. I would bet money this hill into Boston doesn't seem nearly as steep a downslope to my passenger.
and the Fu-Manchu Oil Tanks (that's him in blue!)
5:09P – It's Marathon Day in Boston. The Big Dig is in full effect. Traffic is maddening. The new suspension bridge is taking form north of the Fleet Center...
We head straight down Storrow to Newbury Street.
Park in the Dartmouth Street lot and head up to Lucky's place.
Crowds are walking past checking out the SmartBeetle ...
every fifth one or so in silver wrapping paper Boston Marathon shawls to retain body heat.
The plan is to meet a friend who has a spare set out in front of my place in 45 minutes. But, i have to lock up Dan's place so i will keep his keys and deliver them later. After i get into my place with the extra set. Then i'll pick up Dan at work and deliver him and his keys to Newbury Street - confusing?
5:35P - Janet meets me at my old front door on Garrison Street and i am finally able to sit down on a futon i own in my old studio.
5:36P - I swear i relaxed for all of 45 seconds when someone downstairs starts blaring their horn. This in response to being blocked in by the double-parked SmartBeetle. Ah, Boston - i miss you, but i don't. This would never happen in Vermont.
The building across the street, next to the Pru has really grown in forty-two days.
Drop off Janet at Northeastern Univ. for a class and launch onto the highway west to Natick for a little dinner at the Vignaux's
7:05P - 
Vignaux's - Roast and Tomato based stew with String beans and Greg Norman red wine for dinner. Boy did i need this. A quiet night with friends. Dessert was a newly invented Pear Cobbler and tall glass of milk. A little playing around with their new TiVo - this thing rocks - We end up watching a frightening X-Files on TiVo - i can tell the episode's tobacco beetles that grow in lungs will spawn nightmares in my noggin later on tonight.
12:50A - SmartBeetle parked on St.Botolph. These 
familiar surroundings, sounds and smells push me down into a deep sleep while mumbling on the cell phone. apologies.
Two Marathons collide?
The SmartBeetle and I arrive back in Boston officially reaching the full circle of my journey by reaching the same city twice (let's not count Atlanta in that) amidst the 104th running of the Boston Marathon.
While my marathon to here was not that physically straining (dont count Atlanta, New Orleans or San Francisco late nights), i feel a bit of kinship to these foil-clad folk:
- See a possibility
- Set the Goal
- Train
- Load up with the right gear
- See it through
- Feel Exhausted
- Put on some 'metal' and relax with a big shit-eating grin on your face?