Day 6: Wealthy Weston

Today's two miles takes me along US-20 (merging for a short way with the Boston Post Road) from I-95 junction in Waltham through the town of Weston, the 9th wealthiest town in the United States (ahead of San Francisco, if you can believe it), stopping at a small eatery called Dumpling Daughter, specializing in Chinese food.

364 Weston, Waltham to Dumpling Daughter, Weston

I've gone slightly off the beaten path to get to the restaurant because, not surprisingly, there is no place to stop along the highway at the two-mile mark. This is a residential area for the most part, but the residences are much more upscale than those we saw on the other side of the highway. The average house price on the Weston side is upwards of $1 million (as opposed to Waltham, where it's $480,000), and the median annual income is $192,000 vs Waltham's $88,000. Weston is also a much less diverse community: 86% white as opposed to Waltham, which is 65% white.

But while statistics can suggest how the two towns differ, the satellite view allows you to actually see the difference.

Weston (on the left of I-95) and Watham (on the right)

Focusing on the right side of the map, east of I-95, you can see the neighborhood of Cedarwood is packed with streets and houses. On the left side of I-95, there are many fewer streets with only a half-dozen or so houses each. And those houses, for the most part, are not located on the highway, but off on side streets. Those that are right on US-20 are either old houses or houses surrounded by trees, such as the one pictured below. What a difference a few hundred feet make!

158 Hwy 20

Of course, this stretch of road would not be easy to walk if I were doing it for real--no shoulders!

But here I am at Dumpling Daughter cafe so I'll quit for today.  I might stop for a bite to eat, though. Yelp customers have given the restaurant 4-5 stars, so it should be good (if a little pricey).

Looking forward to another two hours of practice and another two miles closer to my goal!

Day 5: Main Street, Waltham

Wilson's Diner to I-95

Beginning at Wilson's Diner and ending at I-95, today's two-mile stroll along US-20 takes me through the heart of Waltham, a town that was first settled in 1634 as a part of Watertown but became its own town in 1734. Not until the 1830s did the town have a center, however, when a very successful textile mill was established. The Boston Manufacturing Company, owned by Francis Cabot Lowell (for whom Lowell, Massachusetts was named) was the first in the U.S. that integrated spinning and weaving. It served as the model for other large scale textile mills that came soon after, such as those in Lowell. You can read about it here: BMC.

Boston Manufacturing Company circa 1816

The building still stands, though it has been renovated for other businesses. Waltham also was home to the Waltham Watch Company (first assembly line watch manufacturer), established in 1854, which gave the town the nickname "Watch City."

Waltham's downtown has many remaining 19th century buildings, including the Trinity Church (Trinitarian denomination) at 730 Main Street. This church is one of several along US-20, reflecting the many religious faiths that are found in this ethnically diverse city. Not only do I see along my route evidence of traditional faiths (Catholic, Episcopal), but also a Ugandan Anglican Church, a Hispanic Evangelical Congregation (Ministerio Evangelico Rios de Agua Viva), and a Baha'i Community gathering place.  Other evidence of strong ethnic communities can be seen in these local news stories: Little Kampala and Hispanic Heritage.

Once I leave the downtown, though, I begin to see fewer businesses and more houses. Until I reach the junction with I-95, I'm in a residential area. The house that marks the end of my two miles today is at 364 Weston Street. Though it's a modest dwelling (3 BR, 1.5 baths) built in 1930, it was sold for $358,000 15 years ago and is now estimated to be worth over $500,000. That should give you an idea of what housing prices are like in this area.

364 Weston Street

But now that I'm at the junction of I-95, I end my walk for today. And since I've done my two hours of guitar practice, I can trek on to Weston!

Day 4: Strolling to Waltham

Today I begin my two-mile stroll at the Main Street Mobil station in Watertown and end a little past the two-mile mark at Wilson's Diner at 507 Main St in Waltham.

Main Street Mobil to Wilson's Diner

Along the way, I pass some National Historic sites.  The first is the Browne House, at 562 Main Street in Watertown.  Browne House was built around 1698 and restored in the 1920s.

Browne House
From the History List website

Here is what the Browne House website has to say about this historic building and museum:

"Built between 1694 and 1701 for a farming family, Browne House contains rare surviving architectural features from the late 1600s. In a near ruinous state when it was acquired by Historic New England founder William Sumner Appleton in 1919, the house was painstakingly restored in what is acknowledged to be the first fully documented "restoration in America." 

As I continue my walk along US-20, I enter the town of Waltham and soon encounter another National Historic site, Grove Hill Cemetery. Below is how Wikipedia describes this historic graveyard.

"The Grove Hill Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 290 Main Street in Waltham, Massachusetts. Established in 1703, the cemetery was Waltham's only cemetery until 1857, when Mount Feake Cemetery opened. It was authorized in 1703, but its initial 2.3-acre (0.93 ha) parcel of land was not purchased until 1704. The first documented burial, however, took place in November 1703. The northwest section of the cemetery is its oldest portion, and includes a number of unmarked gravesites. The cemetery continues in active use today, and contains a representative sample of funerary art spanning 300 years. It now covers more than 9 acres (3.6 ha), extending between Main and Grove Streets. Its main entrance features posts with an Egyptian Revival theme, a style continued with the presence of obelisks dispersed on the grounds.[2]"

Grove Hill Cemetery
from Find-A-Grave

Moving along past the cemetery (making sure to whistle), I come to my two-mile point at the corner of Main and Harris Streets, but since that's a bank (with no bathrooms, presumably), I decide to travel just a bit further down the street to the Senior Center on the left and on the right, another National Historic site, Wilson's Diner.

by Improbcat posted at Wikipedia

Wikipedia gives a brief description of the place:

"Wilson's Diner is a historic diner at 507 Main Street (US Route 20) in Waltham, Massachusetts.
The diner was built by the Worcester Lunch Car Company as #819, and was delivered to this site by the company in March 1949. It is a well-preserved example of the company's post-World War II craftsmanship. The diner is ten bays wide and three deep, and sits on a brick foundation. A kitchen wing, built of concrete blocks, connects the diner to the house at 507 Main Street. The entrances to the diner are at either end, with original stainless steel doors bearing sunburst motifs. Inside the diner is a full-length marble counter with center staff access, with 18 counter stools, and wooden booths lining the front wall.[2] The diner was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999."

Inside Wilson's Diner
from Yelp

Not only is it historic, but it is apparently a popular restaurant with good food and service.

Wilson's Diner seems like the ideal place to stop for a meal, so here's where I'll end my journey for today.

Tomorrow's agenda: Another two miles and another two hours of practice. Wonder where that will take me?

Day 3: Heading for Watertown

Today's two-mile trek takes me from the IHOP in Brighton to the Main Street Mobil station in Watertown, Massachusetts.

IHOP to Main Street Mobil

Commander's Mansion

This walk takes me along the Charles River for a ways, going past the Watertown Arsenal, built in 1816 for the storage of military ordnance.

Arsenal Main Office Building
taken from fortwiki.com

Over the years the Arsenal's purpose changed from storage to manufacturing of munitions. It stopped most operations in 1968 and was closed in 1985, the buildings eventually converted to civilian use. You can read about those uses at this website: Arsenal on the Charles. For a while it was on the Superfund list as needing environmental cleanup. During the Civil War, the Arsenal's Commander had a magnificent mansion built. That building is still relatively intact, and you can now rent the Commander's Mansion for weddings and meetings.

Another historic site along US-20 is the Perkins School for the Blind, the first school for the blind in the U.S. It was started in Boston in 1832 and slowly grew over the decades, adding students, buildings and curricula. It moved within Boston several times before settling in Watertown at its current location. These days it's an international school that has many resources for helping blind and deaf-blind students. Probably its most famous student was Helen Keller. Below is an image of the Howe building, or as the school's website puts it, "the historical heart of campus, . . . named for the school's first director, Samuel Gridley Howe."

Howe Building
taken from Perkins' website

Continuing on, I pass by Saltonstall Park, a neighborhood park used for recreation and occasional local events.

Saltonstall Park

Well, I'm finally at the Main Street Mobil Station, where I'll end my trek for today.

Looking forward to tomorrow's exploration and another two hours of guitar practice!

Day 2: Venturing into Allston-Brighton Neighborhoods

Today's walk takes me to a couple of Boston's neighborhoods: Allston and Brighton. The first mile ends at a Burger King, where I can take a short break if I need it.

WBUR to Burger King along US-20

Allston and Brighton are two officially recognized neighborhoods of Boston that are often referred to as Allston-Brighton. There are a number of civic associations that promote the area and its residents. There is also a Historical site, the Brighton-Allston Historical Society, which tells the history, with photos and maps, of Brighton--originally a separate town--and Allston, a part of Brighton.

Brighton and Allston are surrounded by three big, famous universities: Harvard, Boston College, and Boston University. This is of concern to some residents because the colleges are expanding and--as the residents see it--squeezing out the neighborhoods and taking away their unique culture. There's also a concern about the rising cost of housing in the area, driven by the needs of a growing student population.

Along the route I pass by the Brighton Music Hall, a place where indie rock groups perform. The venue opened in 2011 after a popular club which featured many well known performers, Harper's Ferry, closed abruptly in 2010. What kind of music might you hear at Brighton Music Hall? Well, one of the groups performing next week is Ensiferum--metal rock, as far as I can tell.

Well, I'm at Burger King now, so time to take a break. The next mile will take me under the overpass for I-90 to the International House of Pancakes, at 1850 Soldiers Field Road in Brighton.

Burger King to IHOP

Along this route, I pass by a place that's just about as different as it can be from the Brighton Music Hall: Twin Donuts, at 501 Cambridge Street in Allston. As you can see from the photo, this is strictly an old school restaurant. Opened in 1955, it's been on that corner ever since, going through several changes of ownership, but few changes to the 50s diner look. An interesting article telling all about this restaurant was published in 2015 in the BU newspaper: "I Dream of Doughnuts." The restaurant gets good reviews for the most part, especially for its doughnuts.

But, I don't have time to stop--got to get to IHOP.

IHOP, Brighton, MA

I made it! Think I'll go inside and have some coffee.

Wonder where the next day's "walk" will take me?

Day 1: The First Two Miles

The walk taking me to the Barnes and Noble store at BU passes by a popular park, the Back Bay Fens.

Back Bay Fens

The park has an illustrious history, having first been designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park in New York City. The city of Boston hired him to help create a park out of a noxious marsh. Below is a brief summary of that time, taken from the Emerald Necklace Conservancy website, where you can also read about the history of the park and what it's like today.

"Starting in 1878, Olmsted’s challenge in the Back Bay was to restore a stagnant saltwater marsh that flooded and threatened public health. Combining landscape architecture with sanitary engineering, Olmsted’s efforts transformed a foul-smelling tidal creek and swamp into a scenic pool within wooded banks; gaining interest from the meandering course of the water. Olmsted renamed the area the Back Bay Fens."

Of course, when I get to the Barnes and Noble store, I'm going to want to rest for a bit and maybe have some coffee. They have all the amenities of a normal B&N, plus they are the official bookstore for Boston University. They even made a little video telling about the store: B&N@BU.

Barnes & Noble @ Boston University

I made it!  But I have another mile to go so I'd better get going.

B&N to 890 Commonwealth

It's an easy walk along Commonwealth Avenue (US-20) to the corner of St. Paul Street, past some of the buildings of the Boston University campus, including the Office of the University Registrar at 881 Commonwealth, where I stop for a short break.

Cheryl Strayed
Photo by Graeme Mitchell
for the New York Times

Across the street at 890 Commonwealth is the location of Boston's NPR station, WBUR. Listening to my iPod, I can hear the program they're broadcasting as I walk along. One of the interesting shows on WBUR is excerpts from the Dear Sugars feature, written by Cheryl Strayed and collaborators, answering letters they received in the style of an advice column. (It ended in 2017.) The show is derived from Tiny Beautiful Things, a play dramatizing the real advice column, "Dear Sugar," that Cheryl Strayed wrote before she became a famous writer. I think it's fitting that I'm listening to her program, since she is also famous for taking a very long walk!

I made the first two miles today, so that means I practiced for two hours. I must say the prospect of seeing what's around the next corner is incentive. That's good!

But now I'd best be continuing on my journey. Where will the next two miles take me?

Starting at Ground Zero

New England Conservatory of Music

Since Elden Kelly is responsible for inspiring my journey to guitar greatness, I thought it would only be fitting that I should begin this metaphorical journey at his alma mater, the New England Conservatory of Music at 290 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts. I start by walking from there to US highway 20, where I will spend the rest of my journey, ending ultimately at Newport, Oregon, before heading back East.

My first major goal is to get to Sturbridge, Massachusetts, a walk of about 63 miles that will take me through such towns as Waltham, Weston, Marlborough, and Auburn. I hope to see a lot of interesting sights on the way.

NEC to Sturbridge

The first mile of my journey takes me to the Barnes & Noble@Boston University bookstore, located at 660 Beacon Street, where it merges with Commonwealth Ave, also known as US-20. This will make a fitting first stop, being a bookstore (has a bathroom & seats) and also part of BU, where my husband's grandfather went to college from 1922-25. Looks like a pleasant walk past a park! So, one mile equals one hour of practice. Better get with it!

From NEC to B&N