First, though, I trickled south by bus and train from Maine to Maryland. Along the way I got to see some big East Coast cities. Even before that, I tried the "Summit Sundae Challenge" at Millinocket's Appalachian Trail Cafe.
Fourteen scoops of ice cream, a giant-sized Snickers bar, an enormous homemade doughnut and a pack of M&Ms. The challenge? Eat it all in under 90 minutes. The prize? an awesome T-shirt. With the ice cream, Snickers and doughnut gone, I was staring down the barrel at goop and M&Ms, with like 45 minutes to go on my 90-minute time limit. I couldn't do it. Every time I ate another cold M&M I felt one more M&M away from losing all my shit on the table.
So that was the first thing I ate after getting down from the summit of Mount Katahdin. The rest of my time in Millinocket I spent with Early Bear and another hiker hanging out at the Appalachian Trail Lodge [my final hostel on the north half of the trail] and bowling and picking out songs on jukeboxes.
Then it was time to leave Maine. Stop 1: Boston. When? During rush hour. It worked out. We got a hotel next to Fenway Park.
After lunch in the Green Monster [yes, there's a restaurant in the wall at Fenway Park], we three hikers hiked around the stadium and wandered onto the set of the movie "The Town," which is directed by Ben Affleck and scheduled for release in September 2010. It took me a second to realize what was going on - police cars and an ambulance with bullet holes, young dudes walking around with tool belts. Obviously the movie's going to be some kind of crime drama. Like "The Departed," it promises to be heavy on the Boston.
[On the set, road outside outside Fenway Park, Boston]
[Crew members ready for the next shot on the set of "The Town," Sept. 24, 2009]
Stop 2: New York, where I saw batman manhandling tourists:
Back in a bit.
