I had come to Cambridge for two things, the natural environment and Harriet Tubman. I got up in the hope of a better day than the one before.
As I was leaving the hotel, I saw brown signs for Black Water National Wildlife Refuge and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park. So already things seemed to be getting off to a better start. However, I got to the National Park first, and it was closed due to Covid–a huge disappointment. I could not even get into the parking lot like at other sites so far. I promised myself I would come back, and I headed to Black Water. Like many other sites, there were few people around and no open center, but I took a picture of the map and drove around looking for wildlife. I had plans to take a kayaking trip there later in the year and was glad to have a preview. It was stunning and I had it almost entirely to myself.
At this point, it had become quite hot and I was having trouble with my car’s air conditioning. I drove into town to visit the Harriet Tubman Museum there, but it was closed. It was disappointing but, by this point, my car became the center of my concern and disrupted my visit as much as Covid. A long ordeal ensued that involved days and a court filing, but since this is now part of an out of court settlement, I’ll spare you the details, dear reader. Long story short, by early afternoon, it was clear that I was going to be without a car for most of the day, so I got my bike out of the car and cycled in and around Cambridge, which offers excellent bike paths.
The bike path took me along the harbor, so my bike and I had a little time to relax at the beach. I then cycled around the town, which had been the site of two important trials related to the Underground Railroad, one involving a white man participating in it and another involving a “freedman,” or un-enslaved black man and his rights. I got to see the beautiful mural of Harriet Tubman [see above] whose birthplace has recently been located at the site of the National Park [so maybe the delay will prove fortuitous]. Cambridge has a combination of affluence and decay to it, with clear efforts to preserve the history. I had a joyous afternoon. Late in it, I cycled back up to the garage and made a stop for ice cream.
I had hours ahead of me waiting at the garage. I had made plan with a friend who lives in nearby Salisbury to meet for drinks and dinner, so had reserved a B&B there for the night. I had to keep delaying our plans until it became clear my car was going to stay in Cambridge another night and my friend gallantly came to collect me, carrying the lovely dinner she had ordered in Styrofoam along with her. We arrived at the Gillis Grier B&B very late, and my friend and I sat on the front porch until 3 am eating take out food and drinking cider, laughing about life and graduate school. It had been another day of merciless travels, but it had not been without beauty and great company.