“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
–Helen Keller
Today is the last day of my solo adventures in Boston as tomorrow I shall need to turn over the car keys to JB.I had 
two days of adventures in the area and today my adventures have taken me as far as Barnes and Noble.
I am need of a quiet and nourishing day today; the last two days have been lovely in their adventures, but frankly, I am exhausted due to spending big chunks of the time driving around lost.
It’s funny that just Sunday I wrote (for Summer Love Notes) about the shift of modern travel thanks to GPS yet the usually calm and helpful voice of Google Maps on my phone has told me “GPS Signal: Lost” within two miles of leaving the hotel.(JB says that’s the clue it’s time for a new phone, but I hate going through all the set-up that requires, but let us not digress.)
I had looked up destinations online prior to leaving the hotel for my adventure of the day to gauge distance and timing – and jotted down some general notes of street names – my modern dependence upon having help at end has left me feeling betrayed and a little panicked as I drove along unfamiliar roads through towns I read about in history books or know thanks to movies. Towns like Bedford, Cambridge, Medford, Woburn, Lexington, Arlington, Burlington, and Concord – and along both the Charles River and Mystic River.
I would will away the panicky feelings by taking big deep breaths and choosing to embrace the wanderings as adventure rather than being adrift. I would admire the beautiful clapboard homes and appreciate the beautiful yards as I wound through strange streets seeking street names or landmarks I recognized.
Then I would rejoice and finally relax upon finding my destination or something familiar sounding.
Today, though, I am too mentally exhausted to wander around, so I took refuge in a place that feels safe and comforting: Barnes and Noble.
I am surrounded by walls and walls of endless books, a haven since the moment I learned that sentences formed stories. Merely being surrounded by the shelves and stacks of books is beyond soothing. I am ensconced in a cushioned arm chair and have access to strong iced lattes, savory and sweet food choices and super fast WiFi.
Though I embrace the words of Tolkien “Not all who wander are lost” as a mantra, I am in need of the shared companionship of other bibliophiles and tranquil hours of space to gather my thoughts. I simply cannot fathom another sojourn today and am grateful for sanctuary.
