Windy city

No, I didn't suddenly land in Chicago.

One thing I'm having trouble getting used to out here is the wind. It's not really all that windy, as such -- gusts have only been in the high 20s, which is a breeze at home. We don't get excited until they're talking gusts in the high 40s any more. And if it's windy enough, it'll get you wherever you're standing, possibly including inside.

But here the wind behaves differently. You'll be walking along and it's dead still, and suddenly you'll get blasted off your feet. Then you walk 30 yards and it happens again -- from the opposite direction. Neither direction is the one they're reporting at NOAA.

Clearly it has something to do with the buildings (and I could probably find someone to tell you exactly how it's doing it and show you a model of wind in action, perhaps without even leaving the building), but it's weird as anything. And rough on umbrellas. I'm starting to get used to where the strange winds happen, and you start to angle your umbrella without really thinking about it to a) keep it from turning inside out and b) maximize the number of drops you're keeping off your shirt. Massachusetts Ave. is about the worst spot; it really wails down through there and spills out into the side streets. This ought to be very interesting come February.

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I guess I've officially been here a month; we rolled in with the uHaul on April 11.

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For anyone that's reading this, you tell me what sites you'd like to see me check out. There's a lot here, almost too much to really pick what I want to see. I can only really do things on weekends that aren't close in, but I'll check out restaurants, go see museums, and report back. I know I want to go to the Aquarium and find a beach (or marine nature preserve), find the location of the Boston massacre, and go to the Boston Commons. I think they'd probably kick me out of Symphony Hall. What else would you like me to report on?