The above-mentioned photo.
Anyone who knows me knows that I don't really get to ride transit a lot, but that's changing soon. But when I do get to ride transit, sometimes there's a memorable story that comes from it. Anyways, enjoy my collection of short stories that are just too short for a main post on this blog.
East Boston - February 5, 2022
A couple of weeks ago, when me and my brother visited Boston, it was a very cold day after an icy and slightly snowy day. We were "speedrunning Boston" (in my brother's words) that night, and things almost got out of hand near Maverick. We had ran out that smaller entrance and went to that park where we saw that cool view. Under the small dusting of snow was a lot of ice. The two of us (but mostly my brother) were slipping, but not sliding, around the area. Don't speedrun in winter.
Boston - February 5, 2022
Earlier that day, when we had arrived in Boston, we grabbed dinner. I had ordered Shake Shack online while we were on the train (I think we were in Wellesley when I ordered). That was good as there's always a crowd at the Newbury Street Shake Shack. We got there as soon as our order was ready and stood in the crowded building to eat. For a drink, I got a lemonade and didn't finish it, so I took it to finish while travelling around. That drink had ice in it. It felt like 10 degrees outside and I didn't bring gloves (but I had a hat. My brother, on the other hand, had gloves without a hat.) So there I am, holding an iced drink when it was cold out. That was colder than cold. I chugged the rest of the drink while waiting at Copley for a Green Line train that was stopped due to a fire. The drink was gone when we left.
Grafton - February 5, 2022
I have a few stories from that trip, this was the first to happen. Me and my brother arrived at Grafton with a few minutes to spare before our 3:23 train to Boston. We had walked down the ramp onto the platform, where others were waiting for the same train. I had glanced over at the westbound platform, where the electronic sign read "Please board all Worcester Line trains on the outbound platform at Ashland through Grafton". I noticed this, but waited until the train arrived to see if that was true or not. It was, and the train came pulling in on the other track. I told everyone on the platform "the train will be on the other side" and me and my brother started running up that very long ramp. The other passengers followed us over the footbridge and down to the outbound track. I think the conductors noticed as the train did briefly hold to let everyone finish crossing (there was someone with luggage as well).
Grafton - September 21, 2019
Over two years before I ran up the ramp at Grafton, I found myself running down that same ramp. Me, my mother, and my brother were all heading into Boston for a day trip using the train. We had arrived at the station when the train was pulling in, so we had to run to make the train as the next one was in 2 hours. My mom took her time and didn't run with us though. They waited the extra 30 seconds for her to get to the train.
Westborough - June 22, 2019
Earlier in 2019, the whole family of the 4 of us took a day trip to Boston by train. That is the one time it's happened and I don't think it'll happen again. We opted to use Westborough station, as it wasn't much further from our home and a slightly shorter train ride. When we had got to Westborough, we saw the massive footbridge to the eastbound platform. There's a staircase and a ramp (as the station opened in 2002 it needs to ADA accessible) to get to the top. Me and my mom climbed the staircase, and I lost count of how many turns I took. We crossed the footbridge, and had to do it again going down.
Los Angeles - April 15, 2019
The family trip to Los Angeles in the spring of 2019 had us ride a bit of transit. The rest of the family made it about 3 days before giving up on transit. Our first bus ride was the morning after we arrived, on the 704 (which, unfortunately, doesn't run anymore). It's a limited-stop route along the northern side of LA to Santa Monica. Of course I was excited to be on this bus, and we were heading to Santa Monica to check it out. There was one older guy who noticed 15 year old me wearing cargo shorts. He didn't like them at all. He shouted "hey cargo shorts!" a few times before my mother noticed. This guy asked us where we were from, to which we responded, "Massachusetts". This guy apparrently used to live in Massachusetts before retiring (I'm not sure actually) to LA. The guy got off the bus before we did, and both my parents had different reactions. My mother, who grew up in Quincy, Mass. riding the now-suspended 214, did not like that guy. My dad, who grew up in a farm town with a high school class of 58, wasn't shocked and let me knew that "that's what you see in the city, all different types of people".
Grafton - August 25, 2018
In the summer of 2018, the MBTA first introduced the $10 weekend pass for unlimited Commuter Rail rides in one weekend. Me and my mom participated in the original pilot by taking a day trip to Boston. This was my first Commuter Rail trip since a school project in April 2015. At Grafton station, there is a pretty cool view (and it's one of my favorite photo spots near my home) on the eastbound platform. When there are leaves, one can look down the tree-lined tracks seeing the train go around the slight curve approaching the station. Also, the westbound high-level platform can be seen due to the station's layout. I took a picture when our train was approaching, and it turned out great. It even ended up on the Miles in Transit blog when I wrote my guest post (proof!). This was also my phone wallpaper for about a year after I took the photo. I love it to this day.
The above-mentioned photo.
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