On The Road Again, Part 2
Rhode Island was tame, you can travel the whole width of the state in 45 minutes—that’s a trip to Atlanta from here. The landscape was lovely and varied. We did a “drive thru” of Martha’s Vineyard—exquisite and also of Newport, it was definitely not the best season for the cool waters there. Just means we have to go back during the summer.
Massachusetts was calm until we hit the Boston metro—crazy. It was like I-75 in Atlanta during rush hour and it wasn’t rush hour. Robyn was delighted with seeing the vast Boston Harbor as she relates it to the Boston Tea Party when America was seeking its independence from Britain. She likened its downtown to Atlanta on water and a much bigger, busier Savannah.
There were several moments during our journey that Jacob thanked me for being a good driver and that he saw the importance of becoming one too when he starts—heaven help me.
We rode through a lo of states and even more cities, some I had never seen by road. I found the loveliest drive, even in my frantic state, on Merritt Parkway. Merritt is one of a handful of U.S. highways listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It’s known for the beauty of the forest through which it passes—and I can attest to that. It runs 37 miles from the N.Y. state line in Greenwich through a portion of Connecticut.
Merritt wasn’t on my original trajectory but I’m glad we were rerouted that way. The fall foliage along the parkway wasn’t at its peak, but was real close, which was great enough for me. The drive along that stretch was very zen despite the heavy traffic. Along that way, I noticed signs for Newtown which I instantly recognized as the city known for the Sandy Hook school shooting. With neighboring Appalachee not far in the rear view, it hit close to home.
While the trip gave us some beautiful sites, there were some sad sites as we drove through many of the towns that experienced Hurricane Helene. The destruction was massive as debris lined I-20 all the way into North Augusta and several miles beyond. We stopped in Lexington, S.C. where we met a group of evacuees who had been out of their homes and powerless for more than a week.
They really didn’t know what their damage was because they weren’t allowed to visit their property yet. Upon hearing about our long journey ahead, two kind ladies asked to pray with us for safety on our journey there and back and their own recovery. It gave me chills to have them think of us during their much bigger trial, at that time. If that doesn’t give you faith in humanity, nothing can.
As for the kids, everything was a highlight for Robyn. If you ask her she would say there was no bad part of the trip, except for when her mom switched seats for her behind the wheel. She found all the universities absolutely amazing! Brown’s campus was very inviting and the setting very tranquil. I loved the bookstore there, found some great deals on merch and Jacob was a fan of the cubanos in the dining hall.
Yale had some amazing architecture and a great layout of the campus. There was a lot of area to cover with hills but the landscape made you forget the hike. Robyn was a fan of the Science quad there where a former high school mate, now Yale student majoring in neuroscience, penciled in some time to share with us.
I think Jacob was even a little enamored by the Yale campus…and the homemade gelato he had at the Schwarzman Center while amongst the college ladies. The bookstore didn’t have any outstanding merch deals like Brown but I still ponied up my money there. Funny Yale merch story. I bought Robyn a super cute, but expensive, vest from there and Jacob a t-shirt and some stickers. I ended not getting any apparel for myself.
However, back in Georgia this week while making a run to Ross I spotted an authentic Yale crop shirt for $5.49 on clearance. It wasn’t the fake replicas companies make either, it had the actual bulldog mascot, the university logo on the label, and the silver authentication tag. All I could do was laugh after spending $60 bucks on a vest and $20 on a t-shirt for the kids. Of course I bought it and I was was wearing it when Robyn arrived home. She said mom “I don’t remember you buying that.” I told her I got it at Ross for $5 bucks showed her the tag and label and she giggled hysterically.
At MIT, we both were pleasantly surprised. The campus was in the city but it gave both urban and scenic vibe, as part of the campus runs along the St. Charles River. While there we ventured into the MIT Innovation Museum and popped into trade show that was happening in the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. We got lots of great samples, talked to a lot of inventors, and had free lunch.
The city landscape was busy and that block was very modern and technical—Google was directly across the street. Robyn liked the vibe and discovered it offers a biotechnology major, who knows. Their bookstore was not as plentiful with merch as the others but we ended up with a sweatshirt, t-shirt, and stickers along with the hoards of free stuff we got from the trade show.
Harvard was Harvard, of course, very historic on the quieter side of Boston. The campus was rich in history with as the Revolutionary Soldiers cemetery flanked the west end of the campus. Like Yale, the architecture was giving history. We made sure to visit the Harvard Law School, like we did at Yale, to see where so many of our country’s leaders matriculated from.
Their bookstore was a little different as it offered Harvard and MIT merch. We made it out with a few t-shirts.
Princeton University was not what any of us expected after traveling through Jersey. It was tucked away quaintly off some obscure drive with the vast lakes where we saw several groups of rowers practicing. The vibe was one of peace and tranquility, it gave rural vibes and I was loving it. The architecture was historic and beautiful and the shopping venue nearby spoke my language, if I had a bank account to match, with Hermes and Patek. We visited two bookstores there because the clerk at the first was so nice and inviting that she referred us to the bigger location that offered more. I do have to mention Germain, a chocolate connoisseur at the Lindt shop located there. He was the best & very knowledgable of the area and the chocolate!
We made an unplanned visit to UPenn since it was on our route out of Jersey into Philadelphia. Under an hour away from Princeton, Robyn really wanted to stop there even without a planned tour.
Jacob was over us and this trip by then, seven continuous days in close quarters with his mom and sister were pushing him to his limits. It was his laptop, headphones, and spacious Airbnb that kept him sane amongst our constant movements. I did throw in a stop in Baltimore on the way home for him. He’s a Ravens Lamar Jackson fan, so we drove by the M &T Stadium and took some photos, but only after having a seafood feast on the river with a great view, super entertainment, and festive atmosphere.
All is well that ends well—that can be said of our trip. I saw some fabulous fall foliage and the kids saw some great universities. The college tours will resume in the spring as we travel west.