I keep thinking ahead to future excursions. I have spent some time exploring the possibility of Florida as a destination, for one of my one to five (seven) day excursions. My first excursion plan included north Florida from Tampa back to Jacksonville. Some years ago, I drove the northern Florida train watching route and watched the streetcars and airport people mover, in Tampa. When I arrived in Orlando, it was Sunday and the commuter rail did not run on Sundays. So, on to Jacksonville and learned that their monorail did not run on Sunday, as well. So a return to north Florida would be nice. Another trip would be Miami, but that is a full day, and not over night, travel, from Orlando, Tampa or Jacksonville. It has some good things to see. There is the airport transit, the light rail (third rail metro style), downtown people mover, and commuter rail. Instead of taking the train, I could fly on the long hauls and watch from their. However, if I wait a few years, Brightline will be finished between Orlando and Miami. It is now in Miami and runs to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. I would be a wonderful train to watch and ride.
Recently, I have been thinking about Boston, again. My first experience in Boston was unintentional. In 1978, I took visit of New England, with the plan to bypass Boston, and visiting Plymouth. I had a problem with directions, so I pulled off the turnpike and found a place to park. It so happens that that place was overlooking the train shed of South Station. I did not know it at the time but learned it, later. I did got some nice railroad pictures. At that time, you could see anything run on Amtrak and Boston commuter rail. Thus an Amtrak pulled by a D&H diesel or on old BM pulling commuter rail could be seen.
My first intentional experience was when I first went to Boston to attend a work seminar in 1982. As I was waiting for the train to take home, I went to Downtown Crossing with another participant. We went to the department store so he could buy a souvenir to take home for his kid. The department store is still there, according to google but it has change names after a merger.
That summer I answered a notice about a job in Boston and moved that October. I first lived at the YMCA near where I worked, for about a month and than moved to a sublet in Cambridge, rented initially by a co-worker. I finally moved to the North Shore, three blocks from Central Square and train station, in Lynn (Lynn, Lynn, city of sin....lol). I did some train watching as well as touring, during that year. Of course there are traiins, both near South Station and in Lynn. Still, anything would be running. Note that old BM RDC's were used as cars. The motors had been disabled and using only for heat.
Besides trains, I did enjoy the sights of Lynn. It is remarkable that the only pictures. taken in Lynn, was those of the Goldfish pond a few blocks from where I lived. It was a nice place to go to just relax. It was not until I visited back that way that I took other pictures. That is remarkable because a lot of summer evening would have me walk the four blocks to Lynn Shore and spend an hour or so, after an early supper. That was before cell phones so it took work to lug my 35 mm camera.
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