day-log / biking in new old places, lunch
Just got back from biking around my new neighborhood, and into Beverly, the next town over. Its very nice out, and the air is cool enough that you need a light jacket, even while biking, which I love. I meandered through the curving streets, up and down slight hills, with no plan in mind. My phone was tucked away in my backpack, I didn't need it. I didn't look at it the whole time I was out. That felt really good. In fact, I still haven't looked at it since getting back. Most of the places I looked at were closed for Indigenous Peoples' day, which probably saved me a significant amount of money and the burden of biking back with a much heavier backpack. I did pass by a record store I haven't been to in a while, as well as a thrift store I want to check out. I stopped at bonny breads, a bakery my friend had talked about years ago that I never got around to trying, really just because I never lived this close to it until now. I stopped in and had a chicken salad sandwich on a brioche roll, the only thing left after their morning rush. Listening to who I can only assume is the owner talk to one of the bakers, I gathered it was a very busy morning, and I was glad to be there in the slow part of the afternoon. The sun was beaming through the huge plate glass windows into the shop. It felt like a solarium. Honestly, was pretty nice. I sat there long enough to finish a cappuccino and my sandwich, before heading back to my bike.
I biked back over the bridge, and found a bench near a causeway that jutted out into the river to sit a little bit longer and read. I'm reading a book my mom gave me to read, Small Mercies, by Dennis Lehane. Its riveting while also shining light on a really gross time for the Boston area. I'm glad to be reading it because it is helping me to understand the history of the area I've always lived around a little more, but also glad that we've come a long way from where we were in the 60s.
I took out my Diana camera to take a few frames while I was on this causeway. I'm excited to see the film, and also really want to get a C-41 developing kit so I can develop color film at home. I just prefer doing things myself, and especially shooting with more experimental cameras like this, its tough to bring it to a lab where they will treat it like film shot with more traditional cameras.
I then packed up my bag and got back on my bike, and rode back in the direction of home. I followed the bike path along the cove beaches, smelling of salt marshes, until I reached the point where it diverged in two directions. I opted for the longer way out to the Willows, and then looped back to the street that eventually turns into mine.
Now I'm back home, and I'm going to spend a little bit of time updating my iPod. I've been trying to make sure that my digital music library is updated with my current CD collection, quite a task. Its a nice task to do though, and I'll probably make a loaf of banana bread before beginning, so I can be smelling the aroma of something baking at the same time.