Great Falls from a different perspective

Last year around October, I visited Great Falls and from the trail, I saw people kayaking rapids. I secretly wished I could be on the rapids though I thought it was dangerous.
By a twist of fate, one year later on Oct 19, Sun 2008, I was on an intermediate white water kayaking trip on the Potomac River.

It was a cold Sunday and we each put on a wet suit, a splash jacket, a personal flotation device, a skirt and a helmet.

We had to carry our kayaks over some distance since the launch site was far away from the parking lots.

Before heading out to the river, we practiced rolling and none was successful on our first attempt. We were not used to the bulk and the water was freezing cold.

As I head out onto the river from an eddy, my kayak was caught by the current and I flipped. I tried to roll but was unsuccessful. I had to wet exit. It was embarrassing to be the first to wet exit on the trip.

After getting back into the kayak, I started to enjoy the scenery and saw hikers looking down at us from the trail. It was a different view, looking up at them from the river.

Great Falls pictures.

Boston, The Walking City. July 18-21

I am catching up with my postings since I had not been updating regularly for the past few months.

As my Ph.D. supervisor was working at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, I thought of visiting him and passing him my hard-bound thesis to him for mentoring me. It was also a chance for me to visit Boston.

He offered me his place to stay during my visit. It was located 5 minutes from where he worked. I arrived in Boston on July 21, Friday and took The Boston Subway, known as T to Longwood Station. I alighted at The Government Center to transfer from blue line to green line. Instead, I crossed to the opposite platform and took the blue line heading back towards the airport. I snapped out of my daze and jostled with the evening commute back to Longwood. That was when I learned about the inbound and outbound directions with reference to Downtown.

I also met my ex-colleagues who were currently working with my Ph.D. supervisor. I was given a tour of his laboratory by Guanglan. Thereafter, all of us went to Legal Seafood for dinner. I did my homework to check out which restaurants in Boston offered the best seafood and their chef's specialties. I ordered grilled swordfish and clam chowder. This was my first time eating swordfish and I found the meat tasteless. The clam chowder had a smooth texture and creamy taste which I wolfed down happily. For dessert, I had Boston cream pie which was rich but palatable. By the time we finished dinner, it was passed midnight as we were seated only around 10pm.

The next day, Guanglan and I went along The Freedom Trail which took us to Bunker Hill, USS Constitution, and graveyards etc. I noticed there were stones and pebbles placed on the tombstones of famous persons such as Samuel Adams. I wondered if this was an American culture.

At Little Italy, we had beer to cool down as the temperature was over 100 degree Fahrenheit that day. I even deliberately got drenched from a fountain. Thereafter, we proceeded towards Union Square Plaza where there was a farmer market selling fresh and cheap produce. I was tempted to buy a punnet of strawberries but the thought of carrying it around squashed the idea.

The trail also led us to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, bustling with street vendors, shoppers and tourists. We passed by Old State House, the State House with the expensive golden dome and finally to Boston Common.

Thereafter, Guanglan treated me to ginger stirred-fried lobsters, goat stew and a plate of greens which cost only $60. It was cheap for the quantity and quality of the food.

On July 20, I toured alone and went to Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. Fans were buying merchandise from the sports store and touring the stadium. Then, I passed by the Emerald Necklace, which is one of the oldest series of public parks and parkways, where city dwellers can get a respite from hectic lifestyle to garden or enjoy greenery. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who also designed New York's Central Park.

To have a better look of Greater Boston, I went up the Skywalk Observatory located at Prudential Tower with an amazing 360 degree views. I could see Massachusetts Institute of Technology across the Charles River, Fenway Park, the Emerald Necklace, and Downtown.

Coming down from the observatory, I went to the shopping belt of Boston located along Newbury Street. High end stores include Gucci, Chanel and Burberry. I went into Northface to look at the prices for a kick. Visitors interested in sculptures can proceed to Commonwealth Avenue which is a mall of 14 sculptures.

For dinner, I went to B&G Oysters Restaurant where I had half a dozen of raw oysters ($2.50 each) and bacon-wrapped cod. The oysters were smooth and did not smell which was worth the price. The bacon-wrapped cod was perfectly baked and delicious!

On my last day, I went on a 3-hour whale-watch cruise where I saw whales for the first time. There were three minke whales, a mother and its calves. It was awesome to watch them swimming along our ship and diving underneath it. The wind was chilling and even though it was cloudy, I got tanned after the trip.

I also took a quick tour of Harvard main campus where I took a picture with the statue of John Harvard. His left shoe was shining from visitors rubbing it. It was rumored that students peed on it which I thought not possible unless someone was standing on a ladder. Next was Massachusetts Institute of Technology when it started to rain when I reached there.

To wrap up this great trip, I went to Penang Restaurant in Chinatown for comfort food where the waiter had to remind me that I had ordered more than enough for a person. I remembered ordering chicken satay, yong tau foo curry, beef rendang and chendol.

Boston pictures available here.