GLORIOUS NEW ENGLAND: STRIDER'S TRIP

[Strider]

I know I'm jumping ahead in chronicling my trip and skipping my time in Pennsylvania and New York but I'll catch up with those states again upon my return to LA next week, so it can wait. For now I want to share the fun and beauty of my days in New England, for all intents and purposes, the oldest part of America.

Of course, the day I arrived in Providence from New York, July 19, was the hottest day of the year but as it was wicked hot all across the country on my trip(that infernal humidity was seemingly everywhere!), why should New England be any different? Once I was settled into my room and unpacked my clothes and freshened up, it was time to head up the 95 to Boston. The Boston Red Sox were playing the New York Yankees at Fenway Park at 7pm. Not only would this be my first visit to ancient and historic Fenway Park, but it would also be my first Red Sox-Yankee game. Needless to say, my godson was jealous.

We arrived in Boston around 2pm, starting our walk at Boston Common, the huge park in the center of the city, with Beacon St. running along its Western edge. The first thing I saw when we came out from the subway station was this food cart.

We headed North past the park and found this little cemetery where Paul Revere was born...the Patriot not the singer.

A salute for Paul Revere.

Another great man is buried here...Sam Adams.

John Hancock's tomb.

Most of the graves were so old that time had weathered away the lettering on the headstones.

After the graveyard we moseyed back to Boston Common, the oldest park in the country and the start of the Freedom Trail. My friend and I followed it til we reached a building that might be familiar to anyone who has seen "The Departed".

It was after this, continuing west down Beacon St. side of Boston Common, that we came upon the Cheers bar. Having been a fan of the show "Cheers", I just had to stop in for a drink...a Sam Adams Boston Brick Red. My friend has all the Cheers bar photos on her phone...except one.

By now, the time was getting close to when we had to meet ebk and her husband at the Cask'n Flagon before going to the Red Sox game. That'll be my next post.

[Strider]

Fenway Park was everything I had imagined and hoped it would be. There was even more leg room than I anticipated.

First up, meeting ebk was a blast and she was great fun to talk to...and her husband saw the very Who show in 1969 that Led Zeppelin opened for at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The only downer was that our seats were in different sections, which meant we had to part.

Clask'n Flagon is just outside Fenway on the Green Monster side of the Park. There's a terrific scene of people, program and souvenir hawkers, sausage and hot dog grills, team merchandise shops, a buzz of activity outside the ballpark.

After getting my sausage, we entered Fenway on Yawkey Way.

Our seats were in the right outfield, row 32 below the Dunkin Donuts sign. But before we headed to our seats we entered the inside of the park from behind home plate, so that my first experience of Fenway was of walking up those steps and immediately seeing the Green Monster looming over left field before me.

We got to our seats in time for the start of the game. There were a few Yankee fans around us but they weren't too loud or obnoxious. The loudest group was this gaggle of drunk girls wearing either Team Bride or Team MOH shirts. They had obviously had way too much to drink and it got kind of annoying after awhile. But not enough to ruin the game. Best of all for my friend, the Red Sox won...I was cheering the Red Sox on, too. We sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch, we heard the crowd goofily sing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline"..."SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!" We heard the Standell's "Dirty Water" and the Dropkick Murphy's.

There was also a touching moment in the first inning when the Boston Red Sox public address announcer thanked the New York Yankees and the city of New York for their support after the Marathon bombing and they played Frank Sinatra's "New York New York" over the PA. There is a big Boston Strong on the Green Monster now.

Here's a few of the photos I took of the game.

RED SOX WIN!

And that was my Friday in Boston. I was tempted to get one of the souvenir shirts being sold outside...most being some variation of David Ortiz's "This is our fucking city!"

I just want to add that everywhere I went in Boston, I was met by the nicest and helpful people. No rudeness or short-tempers...even in the huge crush of people getting on the subway after the game, people remained calm and patient. Which reminds me of the sticker I got with the game program I bought: Keep calm and put the Sox on.

Thank you Boston for a memorable day. I'll definitely be visiting again before the week is over.

[Anjin-san]

[Gigi]

I'm glad you're having so much fun, Sean! I LOVE Boston!! And, your photos are awesome!

[redrum]

So much history back that way. Thanks for the pics. :^)

http://www.paulreverehouse.org/bio/silver.html

[SuperDave]

Great photos and writing Strider. Really enjoying this and glad you're having such a great time on your trip.

So, what gives you the nerve to have two threads on your trip? Perhaps, I should do that with my France trip! Nah...I doubt it very much!

Keep the updates coming!!!

[luvlz2]

Great pics Strider thanks!

[Strider]

So, what gives you the nerve to have two threads on your trip?

Keep the updates coming!!!

Chutzpah?

My thinking in forming this one was that this would be the repository for all the places and adventures during my stay in New England, the destination of my trip. The other thread deals with the trip across the country to reach New England and the trip back to California. Hope that makes sense.

More updates to come after the Robert Plant concert tonight.

[SuperDave]

Chutzpah?

My thinking in forming this one was that this would be the repository for all the places and adventures during my stay in New England, the destination of my trip. The other thread deals with the trip across the country to reach New England and the trip back to California. Hope that makes sense.

More updates to come after the Robert Plant concert tonight.

Looking forward it and keep it coming! May go to see Robert after all Saturday in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Easier travel than Mohegan and plus I don't have to work the next day.

[Bayougal65]

Sounds like a lot of fun, Strider!

I always love reading about your adventures!

Happy & safe continued travels!

[LedZeppfan77]

Strider, did you get to go over the Saginaw bridge and take a ride up the Cape? Did you stop in Barnstable? Try the lobster bisque? Great food up there. Hope you had fun.

[Strider]

Strider, did you get to go over the Saginaw bridge and take a ride up the Cape? Did you stop in Barnstable? Try the lobster bisque? Great food up there. Hope you had fun.

Never made it to the Cape. Got to Newport and Jamestown islands in Rhode Island. Mystic Seaport in CT. Boston three times and Providence once. Explored much of the Southern part of Rhode Island from Narragansett to Galilee to the Point Judith Lighthouse.

I've got hundreds of photos of my trip to sort thru...and I just got off work and it's my niece's birthday. It'll take some time before I put everything in order.

But yes, I did have fun. A helluva lot of fun.

[planted]

**Sagamore** bridge..

Saginaw is in Michigan...

[Charles J. White]

New England is awesome!

[Sagittarius Rising]

Strider, your stories and recollections are as always, vivid as a Robert Frost poem. Your words create the world around you which draw us all in, like ghosts in a dreamscape.

I tell you man, you have a calling and that calling is writing. I don't know how many times I have to say it but...YOU NEED TO DO THIS FOR A LIVING!!!

Thank you once again Strider for bringing your experiences to life, for us dregs to live vicariously if even for a brief moment in time. Now MORE Zeppelin stories!!!

[LedZeppfan77]

**Sagamore** bridge..

Saginaw is in Michigan...

My mistake. But the bridge entering Cape Cod nonetheless

[planted]

My mistake. But the bridge entering Cape Cod nonetheless

Hi!

I knew what you meant, but I also figured you would want to know the correct name of the bridge. :-)

[planted]

Strider, your stories and recollections are as always, vivid as a Robert Frost poem. Your words create the world around you which draw us all in, like ghosts in a dreamscape.

I tell you man, you have a calling and that calling is writing. I don't know how many times I have to say it but...YOU NEED TO DO THIS FOR A LIVING!!!

Thank you once again Strider for bringing your experiences to life, for us dregs to live vicariously if even for a brief moment in time. Now MORE Zeppelin stories!!!

Um, that's what I've been trying to tell him, SR! He totally needs to do this for a living!!!

[Strider]

^^^

Thanks...I don't know what to say other than I do write for a living...I just don't get paid.

Before continuing on with my time in New England, here is me at the "Cheers" bar the afternoon of Friday, July 19. Located at 84 Beacon St., across from the Public Garden, which is next to the Boston Commons. In other words, it's pretty easy to find and accessible to the public. It is crowded, though, even though there are several bars and rooms to choose from. After entering from the downstairs door(just like on the tv show), we ended upstairs at the Cheers replica bar. This was the bar made to look exactly like the bar on "Cheers". Though the tv show filmed the exterior here, the original bar downstairs doesn't match the set used on the tv show. I had a pint of the Samuel Adams Boston Brick Red, which is only brewed and sold in Boston.

Since I have already posted about the Red Sox-Yankee game at Fenway Park, here and on the Baseball thread, this closes the book on Friday, July 19.

[Strider]

Saturday, July 20: Still somewhat tired from my cross-country trip and a late night Friday, I slept in Saturday until about 10:30 or so. It was sunny and warm...still very humid but not in the 100s like the previous day. A quick dip in the pool swimming some laps was just what I needed to cool off. Then I

waited for my friend to pick me up and start our day.

First, I had my first taste of Dunkin' Donuts coffee at the Dunkin' Donuts across from my hotel. Dunkin' Donuts used to be in Southern California when I was a kid, but for some reason they all closed down and left years ago...in the 80s, I believe. The word is they are coming back to L.A. in 2014.

Good. Because the two main donut chains we have in Southern California suck: Winchell's and YumYum. Oh yeah, I forgot Krispy Kreme...they suck, too. For good donuts in LA, you gotta go to the Mom n Pop stands: Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, Stan's in Westwood, Bob's in the Fairfax Farmers Market, Lee's in Santa Monica, Alex's in Hollywood.

For a chain, Dunkin' was pretty tasty coffee...and a good variety of donuts and muffins.

Heading south on the 95, then the 4, we drove around the southern part of Rhode Island and all the villages...lots of beautiful stone walls and old churches and cemeteries. Most importantly, everywhere the smell of the sea and the salt air. I don't care how beautiful a place is; if it isn't near an ocean, I cannot live there. No matter where I was in Rhode Island, I was never far from the sea.

After a nice supper at Mews Tavern in Wakefield(which I posted about in the Bon Appètit! thread, including a very tasty Revival Zeppelin beer), we drove down Old Point Judith Rd. to the Point Judith Lighthouse, situated on the southeastern-most tip of Rhode Island.

http://www.uscg.mil/d1/stapointjudith/

Originally built in 1810, destroyed in the Hurricane of 1915, rebuilt in 1816, and finally the current tower was built in 1857. The last German U-boat was sunk two miles from Point Judith in WWII.

I baptized myself in the Atlantic ocean.

The scenery was gorgeous and there were all these mysterious cairns along the shore.

[Strider]

Saturday July 20 cont'd: From windy Point Judith Lighthouse, we moseyed north up the coast, past Scarborough Beach, where it was considerably less windy and more humid and the moon was beginning to rise...

...and on to Narragansett Beach, with its Castle Towers and Coast Guard House...and more of those Cairns along the shore and even on the sea wall.

Naturally, I had to go back in the ocean...where I discovered the ocean shelf remains very shallow for a much greater distance than Southern California beaches. By the time you get 10 yards out in the ocean in California, you're already above your head in ocean depth. Whereas I could walk 30 yards or more and still touch the ocean bottom with my feet at Narragansett.

Red sky at night, sailor's delight...

We continued walking along the beach, past the parties and the beach cabanas, until it was dark and the only sound we could hear was the low roar of the waves breaking on the shore.

Then we hit Brickley's Ice Cream in Wakefield for some creamy homemade ice cream. I had the chocolate peanut butter cup. She had the chocolate walnut.

[planted]

Strider and me at the Sam Adams Brewery!

[planted]

Aw nuts! Lets try this again...

[ebk]

^^Totally adorable!!!

[Strider]

^^Totally adorable!!!

Yeah...the one on the left. Beauty and the beast.

Day 3 in New England...Sunday July 21: Today was a day for exploring Warwick, Rhode Island. Knowing there was going to be quite a bit of hiking involved, I fortified myself after a morning swim.

There is a Warwick Veterans Memorial Park, where I paid my respects.

After Sunday brunch (see Bon Appètit! thread), we headed to the old abandoned Rocky Point Amusement Park, where my friend had nostalgic memories. http://www.rockypointmovie.com/index.html

Much of the park is now gone, the rides having been sold off and Mother Nature having taken care of the rest, swallowing up what was left, leaving few remaining traces. But there is still a nice walking path thru the area, with nice views of Patience and Prudence islands to the south and the Brayton, Massachusetts smokestacks off in the distance to the east.

Later we had a terrific dinner at a restaurant called Spain of Narragansett, which I have posted about in the Bon Appètit! thread already. Then, a late night stroll along Narragansett beach in the moonlight capped another great day.

Next up...Newport.