Weekend Trip

I spent last weekend in Massachusetts visiting two of my college friends. Catie lives there and Beth was visiting her parents. Lucky for us, Beth’s parents have a permit for Duxbury Beach, which is just north of Plymouth (last time we were there Beth took us to see Plymouth Rock—how disappointing!). Duxbury Beach works in a unique way—you need to have a permit to use the beach, and when there, you drive your vehicle (trucks and SUVs only) onto the sand and back into a “space.”  It looks like a mile long row in a parking lot, adjacent to the beach and the ocean.  What a great concept!  You just take your things out of the back of the vehicle and set up on the beach—no lugging, carrying, and dragging your gear.

We spent the day at Duxbury Beach and then we went out to dinner in Kingston, where Beth’s parents live.  Catie and I headed back to Acton in the evening, and saw this on our way.

On Sunday morning, I left Catie’s house in Acton around 9am. I wasn’t sure what I was going to eat on my 6+ hour drive home, and I was determined not to eat fast food or anything along the very convenient Mass Pike/Thruway route.

I searched how to get from Acton to my old ‘hood, and hit up Whole Foods in Bedford. The funny thing about my trip to MA was that I had allergies the entire time I was there—my left eye watered non-stop for 36 hours (I was beginning to be worried that I would become dehydrated!). When I lived in MA, I never had allergies—so it’s a mystery—but the point is that by Sunday morning my eyes were red and puffy, and as I walked around Whole Foods, I noticed people were staring at me. I suppose it probably looked like I had been crying. I wasn’t, but at the same time, I was really sad to be back inside this little piece of my history.

The store is beautiful. For you Rochestarians, think Nature’s Marketplace in the Pittsford Wegmans times 10, then add organic produce, meat, seafood, prepared foods, coffee bar, bakery….sigh.  When I moved to Lexington in 2001, I would swing by Whole Foods after work several days a week…until I realized I spent a whole paycheck there one month. I toned it down, but the store was always a staple in my life there.

After that stop I was completely set for my ride home, and I even restrained myself from buying things I didn’t need. I bought Joe some of his favorite cereal because it was $2 cheaper than it is at Lori’s in Rochester! I also bought him an Icelandic water.  What? You don’t buy your significant other food as souvenirs when you go on trips?

The end result—an awesome weekend. Loved the driving time too. I listened to a book on CD by Deepak Chopra and caught up with a friend (handsfree of course) along the way. I’ll have to tell you about the food aspect of the trip later…