The Big Adventure - Day 5-7, Boston-Albuquerque

Or rather: Boston-Washington-Chicago-Albuquerque. The last time you saw the intrepid elyndys, she was waiting for a train. While in Boston I somehow ended up going to church, then eating a delicious meal at the Happy Buddha vegetarian resaurant (highly recommended - I had the Happy Buddha's Feast. :9 It was Buddelicious!). Then I had to get up at 5 in order to catch my 6am train, had a bit of a run-in with an arsey taxi driver (yes, I know I should've tipped him right off the bat, but I didn't have any dollar bills!), but then enjoyed the best hot chocolate I've had in a very long time, if not ever, from Au Bon Pain (who also do a refreshingly good range of teas. Don't know if they're just an Eastern thing, cos I haven't seen one since Washington. ;_;)

I then had to get the train to Washington. It wasn't a great train, and it was quite full, but there was an electric socket so I was able to listen to some music and watch some Juu-Ou-Sei on the journey! (Juu-Ou-Sei, btw, is brilliant. Seen 5 eps now!) And it only took, like, 6 hours. Which is peanuts compared to the rest of my journey.

I just had time for a slice of pizza and a cuppa in Washington Station (the only station I've been in that was rammed with people) before it was back on the train for Chicago. This one took 18 hours and got me in at around 10am. As I had about 5 hours to spare, I decided to visit the Field Museum (someone I'd met in the church told me it was good). So I walked part of the way, subway'd the rest, and spent a fascinating few hours looking at the artefacts. They had a large collection of Native American exhibits, but the thing I spent most time on was an absolutely vast display of Pacific island artefacts. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before - it was fantastic. (Note to self: Google the Noisy Boys. Though I reckon Sancho won't get many results for a 1940s Tok Pisin group...) There was also a smaller, though no less absorbing, exhibition of Tibetan things, and also a "Hall of Jades" (nichaedemus, don't go there!!).

It was a glorious day in Chicago - bright sunshine, random accordian players, and an absolutely classic American skyline viewed from the harbour. Though Chicago itself seemed like any other city, I'm sure it's worth revisiting, if only to look at the rest of the museums.

So, from Chicago was the *long* leg - 26 hours, with no battery on my laptop and nowhere (except the toilet) to plug it in. @_@ Luckily, especially as we started to get further west, the scenery was fairly interesting, though a lot of Colorado-New Mexico reminded me of going up to Holme Moss (zalia is the only person who might understand what I mean by that!). When I said I was going to Albuquerque, people kept wondering why, but when we were getting close, passing the pueblos and the mountains, I was thinking "Yeah, this is what I came for".

Albuquerque itself seems like a pretty decent place! I managed to get a motel room, which wasn't cheap, but I hadn't realised it was the balloon festival until I was on the train! Still, it's a nice motel, even if the promised wireless doesn't seem to work - though they do have ethernet too, so it's all OK. :3 I had a meal at a nice place on Old Town Plaza called La Plancita (I think!) - had a Negra Modelo (it was very good :9) and carne asada, which was also very good. I also was introduced to sopaipillas, which are, like, the nicest things ever (though I used the first one to mop my plate, before the guy pointed out to me you were meant to put honey on).

All this Mexican-type stuff is making me miss davechan more. ;_; Sorry I didn't call, but by the time I got in here it was after midnight!

Tomorrow I'm going to check out the museums and the aquarium. :D Will probably stay here tomorrow night too, before heading to Santa Fe... Then I might take a look at Taos, but I want to call into Durango, Colorado, as it seems to make a good base for Mesa Verde. (Though I'm rapidly losing faith in my guidebook - one of the hotels it recommends here has shut down, and it still goes on about "modems" and "internet cafes" *guffaw*.) caerfree - how far into Colorado do you live, exactly...?

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