Thursday October 15th 2009 - The Long Haul

After a full breakfast in the hotel, we proceeded directly to the bus stop. We had a long wait, but as it was first come first serve, we had no choice. We were at the head of the line and gradually other people showed up. After some time, a non-English speaking family created a second line, much to the consternation of those already in line. But finally the bus came and we all boarded in correct order.
The ride was not too interesting. I wanted to video trucks with an unusual axle configuration that I’d seen for the first time. The land was flat and many farms had un-harvested corn that was probably going to be used as some sort of stock feed. We crossed the border without incident. The US Customs officer looked like he was in his seventies and worked at a leisurely pace. This obviously was a backwater in the Customs service. A lone SUV blocked the road to stop vehicles proceeding. The inspection amounted to one or two short questions in the Customs building and a search of the bus. Within 10 minutes we were back on the bus. The Customs official moved the SUV and we were on our way. As we were leaving, a semi-trailer loaded with damaged cars was being inspected before entering Canada. We drove into Vermont. The scenery became hilly with vibrant autumn colors. Several times, we glimpsed Lake Champlain between the hills. Finally we drove slowly through Burlington, Vermont, stopping at several traffic lights. We drove down a side street to the bus station which was little more than an elevated wooden shed in an unpaved paddock. We had about 40 minutes, so we bought lunch at the local produce store which also sold pastries and sandwiches. It was like an indoor market. We bought lunch and a couple of cakes for the trip. After eating lunch in the market, we walked back to the bus station along an abandoned railway track that paralleled the street. Our next stop was close to the Vermont/New Hampshire border. It was a more substantial, permanent facility than in Burlington. We sat and watched TV for a few minutes – some breaking news about police chasing a home made helium balloon believed to contain a child. It landed in a field without the child, and before finding out more information we had to leave. The ride back to Boston was a long one. Our last stop before Boston was the airport in Manchester, NH.
We arrived at South Station in Boston at about 6 PM, and had planned to continue on a bus to Newton, but the next bus wasn’t until 8 PM! Bryce had the excellent idea of catching a local train, so travelled on the so-called Commuter Rail to Newtonville station. I phoned Gail who picked us up on her way to collect Madeline at Gymnastics. We made a short stop at Starbucks and sat down with warm drinks. It was cold rainy night. We collected Maddie and drove home. Gail feels the cold, so the car was like a furnace inside. Bryce professed to be sweating profusely.