I've already written about time in Boston a bit. I felt very cozy with Matt, and it was lovely. We didn't go out and do much, and we didn't really see anyone; we stayed in and cuddled and watched movies and made delicious food. I think we were just sort of reveling in being in the same place and being comfy.
Saturday rolled around. My schedule was supposed to look like this:
11:30 - get on bus in Boston
3:45 - arrive in New York City and meet up with Keegan
5:00 - leave NYC on bus to Mt Tremper
Spend the night at a cute little inn.
Go to the Sunday service at ZMM the next morning, then hang out with Brendan and others.
Instead, my 11:30 bus pulled out of the station and into a dump truck. Whoops.
I got onto the 12:30 bus after quite a bit of sitting and wondering. This new bus was making good time, and it looked like I'd still be able to catch the last bus to Mt Tremper. There was very little traffic; I mean, really, who wants to travel right after the holidays?
We were in New York City! I was going to make it!
We were in New Jersey! Our driver was horrendously lost and needed to pull into a gas station to ask for directions. I had officially missed the bus.
But it worked out just fine. (And I plan to complain to the bus company so I can get free tickets later.) I called up Benny to ask if Keegan and I could stay with them for the night. Of course, Benny is one of the first people anyone should ever call if they need anything. I even got to sleep on a bed, not just a couch. Keegan liked Stolen Sleeves a lot.
We woke up at 5 AM (gross) and caught the 7:00 bus to Mt Tremper. We arrived in very, very cold upstate New York too late to join the Sunday service, so we had some time to kill. We were there, then, just in time to eat some croissants and play a game of Settlers at the inn. After standing outside the gorgeous front door to the monastery (I wish I'd taken a picture!) and listening to the last of the chanting, we headed in to meet and greet, and to chow down on some pasta.
Keegan was excited to be back, if slightly overwhelmed.
I was even more overwhelmed, I think. Lots of people, big new place. Chanting before lunch. It seemed like Brendan and Keegan had a million and one things that they wanted to do. I went along with them, and Mt Tremper, Woodstock, and the surrounding areas blurred together in my head. We went to a thrift shop and I bought six old photos for a dollar. We went to tasty restaurants. We went to a tea shop, where Brendan smelled everything and I got a (probably) vegan truffle.
We went to the house of Shea and Jeff. Jeff whipped up a lavish vegan feast for us (vegan for me, feast for everyone), we watched a silly Zen video until we couldn't stand it anymore, and then we watched a video of Bukowski reading his poems to a rowdy audience. Shea gave me a massage lesson. We stayed up late, by monastery time.
And we played lots of Settlers.
I liked it. The whole thing. I plan to go back, probably over spring break. After all, I told Brendan that I would get my hammock to him. I don't use it here, and he seemed very excited about having it there. Keegan would like to go back for the tail end of a sesshin, and I could join him in time for the Sunday service. I'm sort of bummed that I missed the Sunday service this time, but I'm sure I'll have another chance. I think it's funny that my first glimpse of monastic life didn't involve monasticism almost at all.
Tuesday morning, Brendan made delicious chocolate chip pancakes and waited with us for our bus. The bus arrived, we exchanged some quick hugs, and Keegan and I started on the very long trip back to DC.
It's good to be home. I missed my kittens.
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