boston

when russ picked me up at the airport, i basically hadn't slept for more than 30 hours. to my pleasant surprise, he had decided to book a room in the boston hilton instead of having through the night to his house in new hampshire.

we got along well right from the start and there were so many new impressions all around me that i couldn't even really grasp everything. arriving at the hotel, i felt a bit out of place with my appearance, but that's nothing new at this point. in the room, i was greeted by russ' canine girlfriend wrigley and fell asleep as soon as i hit my bed.

the next morning, russ had a little meeting, so i had half an hour to go out and explore the city for a bit. the weather was beautifully chilly and the air felt super clear. everything was strangely unfamiliar and utterly fascinating, although really not far from what i knew. all the buildings, roads and cars around me were massive, but there was hardly anyone in sight. i was laughing to myself the entire time over the situation i had gotten myself in.

we checked out and the valet brought russ' jeep out. 60$ for one night of parking was the first of countless instances where, upon looking at american price tags, i was convinced i must be dreaming. (for the sake of readability, i'll try not to mention every one, just know i spent a significant amount of time trying to wrap my head around the prices.)

the majority of the 2 hour journey to sugar hill was spent speeding on perfect highway roads through fall forests, with the terrain growing more and more rough as we went.Read more