Crossing Gaps

For some people, getting where they need to go is a trial because of the need to cross over geographical features such as rivers and gorges that add many miles to their travels - usually made on foot.

There's a group that goes around the world building footbridges, replacing dangerous rope bridges and and repairing ancient bridges that have been damaged by time, wars and neglect. The logistics are quite challenging.

I stumbled upon Bridges to Prosperity a few years ago, and every now and then I check in to see what they're up to now.

They have a video showing how they got started.

Pretty cool stuff. Who'd a thunk such a simple thing as a bridge could affect so many so much?

Sign o' the Times

The other day, I saw a builder's truck with the company logo on the sides and a pizza delivery sign on the top. That's just sad.

Check out this cool image of how the internet works.


It's funny if you remember the "series of tubes" incident. (If you want a more serious recap of the series of tubes, I'll let you Google that one yourself :-)


Here's a couple of cool photo related links to waste some time with. The Life photo archive is available on Google.

Then there's Tag Galaxy - this is just cool! Go check it out and see if you don't waste an hour or two.

The Continuation of Travel Troubles

OK, so I didn't get to this "tomorrow." I've been busy perfecting my human sloth imitation by using up a week of vacation time trying to watch as much of the massive TV backlog on the DVR as possible.

When we finally got to our destination T stop, there was construction in the terminal so the normal shuttle stop was disrupted. They had these two signs that seemed to clearly indicate the distinct drop-off and pick-up locations. So we logically loitered near the appropriate sign to catch the shuttle to the hotel.

We watched as the shuttle pulled up to the drop-off point and let some people out, then watched as it cruised right buy us without stopping. So, wile we waited another 15 minutes, I called the hotel and they confirmed that the shuttle we saw was the correct one. It wasn't actually the hotel's but for some reason at that time there was another company that was covering the route.

The next shuttle pulled up closer to the door, but between the signs. There was enough distance between it and us that we didn't start to walk over there. Instead we made sure we were right by the curb next to the sign. And, you may have guessed that the shuttle blew right by us again. We did try to wave them down but didn't get too aggressive about it. We were tired and crabby, so I called the hotel back and they said to call them again if the next one didn't stop. Instead, I looked up the shuttle company and called them directly. Both the hotel and the shuttle company mentioned the construction, but I explained that they had different locations clearly marked and that they weren't stopping at the pick-up point. It was clear that they hadn't seen the setup and didn't understand, but the shuttle dispatcher was going to look into it.

When the third shuttle came by and let people off in yet a different location, we still (stubbornly) waited by the pick-up sign, but when it got close we flagged them down rather aggressively. When the door opened and I asked if they were the one for the Marriott, the driver said in broken English "Marriott. Yes. Thanks." Sadly, there was no place to put luggage on this bus, so we each had to hog two seats. This was aggravated by the fact that while the hotel was in plain sight at the top of a prominent hilltop, we turned just in front of it and stopped at several medical clinics and gathered more passengers that we let off before finally winding our way up to the hotel.

L's dad had quite an adventure in his rental car, finding the hotel in the dark. Boston and suburbs are a great place to navigate at night with no GPS. Our waitress at a seafood restaurant in Plymouth commiserated (and she's from NYC!). Her and a friend accidentally drove to NH trying to get to Boston one night! I am glad A had the car, though. He drove us down to the tip of Cape Cod and back, and it was a very nice little trip.

We had a good time the rest of the weekend using the T to get around and doing the usual Boston sight-seeing on foot.

All was well, until we left and I realized I'd left my iPhone converter/cable at the hotel. A new one would have cost about $25, but I got my old one back for only $20 in FedEx shipping charges!

MAss Transit

So, we took a little trip to Bean Town and environs. I have a few iPhone snapshots on Flickr. Started out fine. Drove the 1 1/2 hours to the airport, put the car up in it's new home for four days. Then I thought I'd be clever and snap a picture of the sign to remind me of where I parked. While I was doing that I marched off for the terminal and didn't realize until we were through security that I wasn't wearing my jacket! That also meant I didn't have my earbuds for my planned podcast entertainment for the flight, or my morning dose of meds which were in a small vial in my jacket pocket. I had packed a backup jacket, tut it wasn't very effective against either wind or rain. So, back to the pic I snapped. I didn't realize until we got back and spent 30 minutes looking for the car that the one I took was of a sign just showing the parking lot and level, not the row we were in. Yes, I can be quite oblivious to my surroundings, as well as absent-minded. It's a sign of genious. Trust me.

The flight was ok. Once at Logan Airport, we tried to catch the express bus, but nearly got on the wrong one. After a long, cold wait, we were so exited we jumped at the first bus. We averted disaster because I didn't have enough cash for both tickets. We decided to take the T (The MBTA - the Boston subway/commuter train system). After lugging our suitcases aboard busy rush-hour trains (one extra stop do to selecting the wrong train!) we got to the station close to the hotel. Here's where the fun started.

Alas, I'm saving that story for tomorrow, because I'm tired (or lazy - opionions and diagnoses vary!).

Tune in for the continuing adventure....

Where am I?

Hint: Pilgrims. Rock. Severe street sign deficiency.