July 31-August 4, 1984

July 31-August 4, 1984

My long vacation is over, and I have racked up a big bill, so I flew back to Boston from London Gatwick. I stopped at the college admin office to check on my diploma since I skipped graduation. Fortunately they tell me I did manage to pass my classes, but I owe some money. After signing some loan papers, they handed me my diploma.

I had left all my worldly possessions in my car in the school parking lot. The car is still there but the battery is dead and the clothes smell very musty. A friendly passerby gives me a jump and I head out of the parking lot. My car is making nasty scraping noises. I drive slowly hoping the oil and grease will get moving and relubricate the moving parts. The noises go away but not very quickly. Only a few miles south, I catch the turnpike, which I take west. In New York I stopped to see Andy. He is back from Greece and working at his new job at Visa.

The next morning, I cross the Hudson River and notice the Hudson Palisades on the Jersey shore. I have to stop at Palisade Interstate Park to take a couple photos of these high basalt bluffs lining the riverbank.

After that, my next stop is Niagara Falls for a quick look from the US side. It may take awhile to get this travel habit out of my system. From Niagara I head north into Canada and make the short drive to Toronto and the apartment of Dave, a Canadian classmate.

Dave had to work the next day, so we made plans to meet for lunch in downtown Toronto. In the meantime I spend the morning giving myself a tour of the city. I walked by the distinctive new and old city hall buildings and then investigated the large underground city they have connecting many of the buildings. I guess when you live in the frozen north you have to learn to live well indoors. From there I headed toward the harbor and rode the elevator to the top of the CN Tower. A plaque at the top claims it is the tallest structure in the world. I met Dave for lunch in the area. He is an urban planner working on the Toronto harbor front redevelopment. After lunch he gave me a tour of their progress.

From Toronto I drove west across Ontario and then over the border to Detroit and the home of my initial European travel partner. Seems appropriate I start and end the trip with him.

The next morning Dave and I went out on his boat for a water tour of the area. We took the boat out onto Lake St Clair and then south along the shore past the mansions of the original auto barons. Eventually we entered the Detroit River and took it to downtown Detroit.

Afterwards I got in the car and headed west to Chicago. I called my new employer and asked if I could start a week early. They said yes. It is time I stop my extended vacation and begin what will probably be many years of slaving to make money so I can do this again.