Work Trip to Boston and Last Week in Spencer

My work trip to Boston finally was coming up. Unable to find a pet sitter, I arranged to bring Kitty to my friend and stay at his house the night before my flight out of Knoxville. It was amazing to finally be back in civilization. The access to the gym, grocery stores, coffee shops etc. - all less than 5 minutes away - was amazing. I really did take it for granted!

What I did not take for granted is the quiet of the rural life. It's undeniable that you get used to the noise of barking dogs, flying helicopters, ambulance sirens, people talking while you live in the urban/suburban environment, but coming from the rural setting, I definitely noticed every single noise. Needless to say, I didn't sleep too well before my trip. Equipped with a bar of 100% cacao chocolate, I was on my way to the airport.

The trip itself was productive, but sadly I only had a few hours to explore Boston. 

An appetizer at one of the dinners - Crab cake

Really nicely illuminated waterfall

Beautiful sunset

Spectacular architecture inside and outside reminded me of Italy's Duomo

I was supposed to get back to Knoxville in the late afternoon on Friday, but it was not meant to be. My layover flight was canceled, and the next one was only 10 hours later. American Airlines offered the worst customer service I've experienced in a long time, and I was stuck in DC attempting to do something productive in the timeframe I had. I did eventually get back, almost at midnight. Needless to say, a trip back to Spencer was not going to happen, and my friend graciously offered to host me for another night. Kitty seemed pleased to see me, and I was relieved that his first experience being without me in a while was non-eventful.

When I got back the next day, I could almost breathe better. It's not just the fresh air, it's the silence that I was enjoying. After spending the week in the hustle and bustle surrounded by people, I needed that more than I could imagine. Kitty felt at ease as well.

I had one more week left in Spencer before moving closer to Pulaski. While I didn't end up hiking as much as I thought I would, I really enjoyed the proximity of Fall Creek Falls park. But the highlight of my stay was creating connections that I didn't even think I could living in the middle of nowhere. 

We had another dinner that I made at my friend's house. This time she invited her neighbor, and we had a lovely time together.

The view from my friend's porch

Almost a formal dinning setup!

Eggplant "pizza" baking in the oven

On the last day before departing, I stopped by another Amish store and got a variety of vegetables. It was the last week that the store was open as they close for the season every year. I also stopped by the park one more time and took an "after" picture of what my cabin looked like once all leaves have fallen.

I was a bit sad leaving this place, although a family of mice moved in shortly before I was leaving creating midnight runs to wherever they get groceries from right on top of my bedroom ceiling. I somehow got attached to this place, perhaps because of the longer stay (I stayed here a month and a half) or maybe because I found most what I needed - peace, quiet, some social life and more peace and quiet. I was looking forward to faster internet, that's for sure!