It's that time of year again - Patriot's Day and the Boston Marathon are here. It's the beginning of the tourist season too, in my opinion, and are they ever out in full force. As someone who lives in the city, it's not only an exciting time, it's a time when you have to really love living here, because it can be challenging.
Driving around the city is nearly impossible. There are tour buses, buses full of runners, people just here to observe the race and then the rest of the tourists who have no idea there's a marathon going on, who are just here to enjoy Boston in the springtime. As a resident of the city and a student of a Boston university, I'm fascinated by everything happening around me, despite the transportation challenges.
As luck would not have it, I had to move this weekend. Amid the tourists, the runners and general weekend visitors, I was shuttling couches and dressers in a UHaul between Beacon Hill and Charlestown. Normally, getting from point BH to point C is a pretty easy shot. Maybe a little over a mile or so, it's about five minutes; during rush hour it's about 15. But this weekend, each shuttle run took about 45 minutes, each way. Lights that you'd have to sit through two cycles to get through were going on six. My mental state was going from determined and focused to psychotic road rage. My advice to anyone thinking of moving in April, don't do it over Patriot's Day, no matter how appealing it is to think you don't have to go to work on Monday.
But other than those minor irritations, Boston is alive with activity and anticipiation before the marathon and while the weather gets warmer and closer to summer. The sea gulls are flying around and the water is clear and beautiful. And even though I'd like to kindly ask half of the tourists to go back to where they came from, I'm nonetheless aware that they fuel the economy in Boston and add to the vibrance and energy that makes Boston a great place to be, especially on Patriot's Day.
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