I have to admit here and now that the beginning of the last day of our road trip is a bit of a blur. We spent the day driving back to Boston, and I spent much of the day sleeping.
By the time we arrived in Boston however, both Dina and I were wide awake – we were approaching the town of Quincy, the birthplace of John Adams. Visiting Quincy was something that my dad had insisted upon just before we left California, and I was glad that we could fit it into our roadtrip itinerary.
Although we were only there for a short while, we got to see and step inside all of the Adams’ homes, from the one John was born in to the one that John Quincy lived in. The town of Quincy itself seemed a bit peculiar, as these national historical sights were tightly surrounded by standard run-of-the-mill residential areas. This type of setup, along with the realization that someone actually lived in the house John Adams was born in until the 1970s, all made for an interesting perspective on history: I cannot fathom what it would be like to walk past the home of such an important American figure on my way to the store or school. American history lives here on the East Coast, and there is little that our California missions can offer in terms of competition. That said, in response to Dina’s question about whether or not I would want to live here, my answer is a definite no – there’s truly nothing like California. And the east and west coasts only really compete in old Tupac songs. As we ventured through these historic places, I couldn’t help falling back into 3rd grade social studies, singing “this land is your land / this land is my land / from California to the New York Island / from the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters / this land was made for you and me.” Come to think of it, much of our trip took me back to my grade school days, but I’ll save the reflection for another post.
After Quincy we drove to a town called Newton, where Garik lives most of the time. Newton is a suburb of Boston, filled with beautiful, well maintained houses from the early 20th century. Garik’s house was built in 1923, but has since been renovated.
The highlight of Garik’s house was Matilda, his 2 year old Great Dane. Matilda is about 5 feet long and 4 feet tall, weighing in at 120 pounds and black with gray spots. About the size of a pony, Matilda is a sight to see. Not for everyone though as it turned out, as she (justifiably) freaked Dina out. Matilda had been kept inside for almost a week, living with Garik’s mom at the Newton house. Therefore, when she saw that Garik & Oksana were now home (and brought new friends), she too (justifiably) started jumping around.
By the time we calmed both of them down, everything was fine, and as it turned out that Matilda is actually one of the sweetest and most calm dogs I’ve met. She does however think she’s tiny, which results in quite a bit of laughter (for most).
After dinner we got a tour of Garik’s extensive art collection, ranging from American to European, 16th century books to 20th century handdrawn cartoons. Garik and my dad then went to the sauna, and my mom, Dina, Oksana, Garik’s mom, and I all played cards. After a few games of Durak, we switched to playing BS, which turned out to be hilarious, since neither Dina nor my mom can lie with any noticeable skill. While a good quality in general, it’s not one in BS. Dina and I were the only ones left playing, and we both quit in the end.
Tomorrow my parents are flying out in the morning, and Dina and I are visiting Igor Feinberg (great relatives on my mom’s side) and Dina’s friend Tina (who goes to Tufts). Then we’ll hop on a plane and be back in California. In the mean time, I’ll keep pretending that it’s not over yet.
Other highlights:
- Making a smiley face on my plate out of syrup, forks, pepper, and half & half. The look of pride on both my mom and Dina’s faces was overwhelming.
- Getting to eat homemade “blinchiki c masom” at Garik’s house. So good.
