There
is not easy way to get to the Cape without a car.
Until
a few years ago, I would take the train from Penn Station to Providence, and
there my mother would pick me up. We
would drive the 80 minutes or so from Providence to the Cape. But now, understandably, my mom doesn’t want
to drive to and from Providence.
I
think I have tried every combination of options. None are good. So this trip I pick a route I’ve not done
before.
I
leave my house at 8:50, to get the 10 am train from Penn Station. I arrive at 9:30. Enough time to pick up coffee. When the 10am train does not appear on the
board listing arrivals and departures, I double-check my e-ticket. My train leaves at 11. How’d I get that wrong? My long trip has just been extended an hour.
I
like the train. It is only 3.5 hours to
Providence. The train travels along the
coast. I sit in the quiet car. And though I have to share a seat, the 80-ish
man next to me is interesting and polite.
It is an effortless ride.
I
arrive around 2:30, and walk to Kennedy Plaza to catch a bus to the Providence
Bus Station. All goes well. I arrive at the second bus terminal and have
to wait an hour for the bus to Bourne.
It’s scheduled to depart at 3:45, but by 4:00 it hasn’t arrived. After asking the listless young counter
attendant, she checks and learns the bus is not arriving. I ask why.
“I have no idea,” she responds.
But not to worry. She arranges
for a new bus and driver and at 4:15 we are on our way. I’m glad I mentioned that the scheduled bus
never arrived.
My
mom picks me up in Bourne around 5:30.
It’s about 15 minutes to her house.
That’s about nine hours since I left my apartment. Nine hours to go 236
miles.
My
mom and I drive straight to the rehab center to see my dad. I walk in the room and he starts
sobbing. He tells me he is crying
because he is so happy to see me. It
breaks my heart. But he looks good,
despite the big contraption around his neck. Before we leave, he’s smiling, and
the long ride to get here is forgotten.
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