Massachusetts - Day 3

Picking up from where I left off, I spent a peaceful Saturday morning at Barnstormers, a cafe in Bedford that had an aviation theme. Old photographs and posters from air shows hung on the walls. The interior decorating gave one the sense of being in a tiny air hangar.

I ordered a large mint chocolate coffee. I had never had one, but I thought I'd be daring and chose the biggest size. The blend tasted wonderful for the first twelve ounces or so, just about the amount of a typical small drink. It tasted okay by the time I consumed the equivalent of a medium. By the time I finished all twenty ounces, it tasted plain nasty. I had obviously chosen poorly.

Anyway, when I left, I pulled out my camera and took a photo of the cafe's exterior. As soon as I did, one of the employees stormed out. She asked accusingly, "Did you just take a picture?"

Although I had done nothing wrong, guilt swept over me. It must have been the tone in the woman's voice. Since I was still holding the camera and couldn't very well deny it, I said, "Uh, yes?"

"Are you a reporter?" she questioned, hands on her hips.

"No, I'm a tourist," I replied.

"A tourist?" she repeated with a frown, as though I had just admitted to being a terrorist. I almost wondered if she misheard me.

She clearly thought I was up to no good, so I quickly clarified, "A tourist. A tourist from California. I'm just visiting and wanted to take a photo."

As comprehension sunk in, her demeanor suddenly changed. The frown became a smile and she let her arms relax in relief. "Oh, you like our place?"

I could have been stupid and said, "Well, I was leaning towards liking it until your coffee nearly made me sick and you came out and scared the bejeezus out of me, but now I 'm not so sure." But I decided to take the prudent route and said, "Oh, yes, I like it a lot. I just wanted a souvenir to remember it by. So, thanks and have a nice day!"

Later in the day, M & I walked along one of the neighborhood trails to The Great Road and had lunch at Whole Foods Market because it was there and we wanted something healthy to eat. As evening came around, we visited Cambridge, strolled through the Harvard campus and stopped for ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Before leaving, we browsed through the Harvard Book Store and I bought a copy of the 150th anniversary edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.