i woke up at 8:30am after about 4 hours of sleep. maybe there's something in the air, maybe it's the serenity, or maybe it's just the level of hospitality, but the past three nights i've spent up here in vermont, i've had the best kind of sleep, even though they've only been a few hours at a time. i woke up feeling refreshed, ready to get my day started, ready to go back to boston, to go back home. i went downstairs, read the new york times, then had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. after saying my good byes to sam, jinny drove me to the randolph bus stop, which looked remarkably like a mobile gas station. i said my good byes to jinny and got out of the car, all misplaced as i hung around the gas station with my two bags of luggage, waiting, hoping for the bus to show up. a monarch butterfly fluttered by while i waited, whether it was going or coming i couldn't say, but it's the first time this season i've seen a monarch butterfly.

i was so happy when the finally bus came, i almost ran to greet it, afraid it might try to leave without me. the driver got out of the bus, i told him how i didn't have a ticket to white river junction, he said once we got there i could just buy one. i got on the bus, happy to be finally on my way home, happy that i didn't have to share my seats with anyone.

i got my supplemental ticket at white river junction, which i found out was actually unnecessary, since they didn't even take that ticket, they just took my white river junction to boston ticket, which i had already when i bought my round trip ticket a few days ago. but it's better to be honest, makes it easier to sleep at nights. i immediately fell asleep as soon as we started rolling. i instinctively woke up minutes away from boston, putting my shoes back on getting ready to get off once we arrived at south station. the familiarity of returning to boston felt nice, and the ability to decide where i wanted to go was also a relief. while waiting for the subway to arrive at south station, i talked with a woman who just came to boston via bus from seattle, because it's cheaper than flying. she was visiting her boyfriend, who's up in lawrence, and had to catch the commuter train from north station. "how will you get back to seattle, then?" i asked her. "my boyfriend actually has my car. it's a long story," she lamented. "i might stay, i might go back, long story."

30 minutes later i was back home in cambridge.

after a shower, i made some soup for lunch, and then in the evening i went over to my parents' place for dinner.