Well, the first part of the day for me at least was the most important part. Quoting my father, who lived in Boston for 13 years, "it doesn't count [as] a real trip to Boston without at least one trip to Dunkies." Following that logic, I started out with a brisk morning walk to the Dunkin' Donuts a few blocks north on Massachusetts Avenue. After picking up a donut and a large coffee, I walked back to the hotel, ready for the day ahead.
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| Absolutely necessary. |
After a quick tour of NEC, Jonathan and I walked over to the the Mass Ave Orange Line stop, and we hopped on a train about seven minutes later. We took the train a few stops over to Downtown Crossing, where we transferred to the Red Line.
We got off at Kendall Square/MIT station, where we would stop for lunch. We went over to the conveniently located Cosi, a matter of steps away from the station. We had a delicious lunch there. They make their own bread for sandwiches, which is delicious, but the price still stays incredibly reasonable. We could not have made a better decision for lunch, at least in my opinion.
After our brief stop, we boarded the Red Line again. This time, we stayed on the train all the way to the terminus at Ashmont. After a confusing transfer to the Ashmont stop on the Mattapan trolley line, we got on the historic, one-car train all the way to Mattapan, the other terminus for this trolley. (I would use "streetcar," but it actually goes through its own, separated right-of-way that does not directly parallel any streets.)
Once we got off the train, we transferred to the 28, a high-frequency bus that would take us to Dudley Square. This was a trip through a rougher section of Boston, and the ride on the bus was therefore quite interesting. Even though it was a Sunday, the bus was fairly packed, which to me shows how much transit is used in Boston.
When we got off at Dudley Station, we boarded the "Silver Line," which is Boston's version of a bus rapid transit system. It reminded me a lot of the RapidRide here in Seattle, although the buses and system overall are older than Seattle's "BRT" system.
After we got off the Silver Line at Boylston, we boarded the loud Green Line for a stop to Park Street station. We got right back on the Red Line so I we could make a Starbucks run. We got off at Central, where a Starbucks is conveniently located almost on top of the station.
The green teas we picked up were refreshing, and we would need them to keep us going through the rest of the day, including the long plane flight ahead. After picking up our drinks and casually consuming them, we got right back on the Red Line, starting our trip right back to our hotel, where we would board the school bus to the airport.
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| Straphangin', Seattle style. |
We got off the Red Line at Park Street, and got back on the Green Line for our final transit trip that day in Boston. We were so sad to have to leave such an awesome city so soon! But it was time to go, so we went.
The final part in this series will include conclusions on Boston's transit system, and some more media. Boston was awesome!