Aug 26-31 - Newport, RI

After an easy and enjoyable run from Onset, MA, we entered Newport Harbor with a very brisk wind and a strong current. From our last entry on Newport, you may remember that Newport is big boat land, plus it is a very popular destination for every size boat. What you may ask, do I mean by "big boats"? Grand Fromage is 65 feet and in most marinas we are one of the bigger boats. In Newport, the big boats are a 100 feet, 120 feet, 180 feet and more. Grand Fromage looks like a dingy parked next to these boats. Also these big boats all have uniformed staff swirling about doing every yachtly task.

When we are close to our marina, Robert always gets on the radio to notify the office of our imminent arrival. At my request as the deck hand, he asks whether we will have a port or starboard tie up and whether the dock is fixed or floating. Robert also requests a dock hand to take our lines and tie us up at the dock. We then put on our earphones and I go down to the deck to prepare the ropes and fenders. After months on board Grand Fromage with many trials and errors, not all of them pretty, we have evolved a workable and practical routine to bring our boat safely into port.

Following our routine, I had set up our lines and fenders for a starboard tie up. As we approached the dock, we saw not one, but several dock hands waiting our arrival. The dock hands were not only several places on the dock, but a couple were even on other boats. The common denominator was all dock hands were holding up fenders to protect the dock or another boat. Obviously more than one boat had previously done a bit of dock or boat bashing in the attempt to turn the corner. Uh oh. Another egad moment. Add a good size gulp to that.

We quickly became aware that we were to bring Grand Fromage halfway down a fairway and then turn left into a very narrow slot between two docks filled with huge boats. At this point, halfway down the right dock, Robert was to bring Grand Fromage sideways into our starboard tie up with about two feet to spare on all sides. Okie dokie. After coming to terms with the reality that I couldn't hide under the bed until it was all over, I tied more fenders to the port side of Grand Fromage, plus added a couple more to the bow. I held a big fender and stationed myself where I could protect another boat if need be. However, Robert is quite the captain. For all the wind, current, big boats, narrow fairways, he safely put Grand Fromage into our slip without coming close to any of the obstacles. Yeah, Captain Robert!!!!

Newport, RI is an interesting and fun stop with many things to see. We had spent one night there earlier in the summer on our way to Boston. In case you missed it, here is a link to the blog entry for our first visit to Newport. For this visit, we planned more days for sightseeing. To facilitate this, we bought multi day passes for the mansions so we could pace ourselves, mansion-wise. We also bought multi day bus tickets to get around town.

Below are some of the mansions we toured, very impressive. However we found ourselves saying over and over "this is over-the-top, "you've got to be kidding", "holy moly", "alright to visit but I wouldn't want to live here", "I couldn't live here, I'd have to behave"....that sort of thing. Click here for the Mansion Society webpage with more pictures.

The last mansion we visited was my favorite. I could definitely imagine living there. For starters, the family that owned it was not part of the ritzy-bitzy set who owned the huge mansions. This last mansion was, in my mind, a home and not a gigantic stage set for ritualistic society drama reenactments.

There is a lot more to Newport, RI than mansions. It contains more colonial homes than any other place in the USA. It is a wonderful place to stroll and admire the homes and the scenery. There are also many musical, artistic and other cultural events to enjoy.

One last story about Newport and culture....one evening after dinner we decided to go for a stroll. We had just left the marina when we passed a large tent that appeared to be getting ready for an event. We stopped to inquire what was going on. We were told it was the last event of the season for the Newport comedy series. The performer was Frank Caliendo and there were a few tickets remaining. We strolled into the tent and enjoyed an hilarious, delightful evening. 

August 25, 2009 - Leaving Boston

Before leaving Boston, there are a few photos we wanted to share.
How times have changed! The Charlestown Five Cents Savings Bank was started in 1854.

We ran into this on one of our walking jaunts.

Study this sign carefully and see if you can see why we thought it was so darn funny

Clue: have you ever rented an aparatment?????

We had a wonderful time in Boston and surrounding areas. Now it was time to leave. We pulled out of the marina early because we had a long ride down the Atlantic and then through the Cape Cod Canal to Onset.

A few pictures leaving Boston. Note the blue sky.

We had a pleasant ride out of Boston Harbor, successfully avoiding barges, sail boats and fishing boats. We had decided to go a few more miles out in the Atlantic, to cut down on the lobster pots around the buoys. We had no more arrived at our waypoint to go down the Atlantic than the fog came in thick and fast. Uh oh. We had arrived at an "egad" moment.....go back to Boston or follow our route in the fog. We reviewed our navigational preparations and decided we could safely proceed with our route.

We had a long, tiring day with constant viligence for lobster pots and other boats, but we were proud to make our goal. It was a relief when the fog lifted before we arrived at the Cape Cod Canal. The town of Onset looked mighty good when we pulled into our slip.

Aug 23-24, 2009 - Boston

Daughter Daria, granddaughter Summer and grandson Baxter visited us in Boston. Always a treat to see them, it was especially exciting because they arrived on Daria's birthday!!! First was a birthday lunch at a nice resturant near the marina.

The birthday girl with grandchildren Summer and Baxter

Next on the agenda was a trip on the "T", Boston's subway to a mystery location. For the ride on the T, we needed to purchase Charlie cards. Click here to learn why it is called a Charlie card.

Daria, Summer and Baxter waitng for the T train to arrive.

Walking with the grandkids to the mystery location

The mystery location revealed! We enjoy a laugh-filled adventure with The Blue Man Group

After the show, pictures taken with a Blue Man

Here is a picture of my lovely daughter, Daria, or as we affectionately call her, DW Bob. As her mom, called Mom Bob, as it were, I am very proud of my girl. Daria is an award winning photographer with photos in the Burlington Free Press, People Magazine, Vermont Life and other publications. She and our son-in-law, Andy, have a very successful wedding photography business. You'll enjoy browsing both their website and their blog.

We stopped at a park on the way back to Grand Fromage. I think you'll understand why we are very proud grandparents.

Aug 21, 2009 - Concord, MA

One of the highlights of our adventure this summer was our trip to Concord, MA in the rental car. Not only was the countryside beautiful, but the historical information was fascinating and extremely informative. We were following the trail of the first shot fired of the Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775.
We started out at the Minute Man National Park visitor center. Besides some interesting exhibits, there was an extremely terrific film on the events of  April 19, 1775. Click here for the Minute Man National Park website that contains some historic content, plus pictures. I won't retell the fascinating story, but if you follow the links, you will pick up quite a bit of detail.

The Battle Road from Hartwell Tavern toward Lexington

The Battle Road leading into Hartwell Tavern

Hartwell Tavern - click here to read the significance of this restored building

During the summer months, rangers in period dress answer questions about Harwell Tavern and the first battle of the revolutionary war. They also talk about the life of people in 1775.

The picture below is from an alcove off the kitchen and shows some of the equipment used in doing laundry in 1775. How would you like to do laundry for a family of nine children using these implements? You wouldn't need a gym membership.

One of the rangers gave an extremely interesting talk about the history of the tavern and of the family that lived there. Two of the rangers in period dress then demonstrated how a musket is fired.

The rangers were quite willing to answer any question. In this picture the ranger is explaining to Robert that in the 1700's, there were many less trees, as the trees had been cut for homes and for farmland. Because of this the minute men had a much greater view of the British.

All of the fields were separated by stone fences.

We drove into Concord for the next phase of the adventure. This is an adorable town, filled with lovely, well-maintained historic homes. I could have spent a lot more time exploring Concord. We had lunch at the Colonial Inn, which has been a dining establishment since 1716 and an inn since 1889.

After lunch, we headed to the Old North Bridge, site of either the first or second shot of the American Revolution - depending on who is telling the story. Whether the first or second shot, it is diffinitively the site of the "shot heard round the world." The area around the Old North Bridge is extremely scenic and peaceful. It's hard to visualize this pastoral scene as the start of the American Revolution. To learn more about the Old North Bridge, click here.

The restored Old North Bridge....this is where 90-95 British light infantry soldiers gathered at the near end of the bridge.

On this hill on the other side of the Old North Bridge stood 400 minute men and other militia waiting to make sure the British regulars caused no harm to their village.

The statue of the minute man

Here is the plaque commenorating the event on April 19, 1775.

We drove around the adorable town of Concord. There were many interesting homes open for tours, but sadly we had run out of time. However, we did see the front of Ralph Waldo Emerson's home.

I was especially pleased to find the home of Lousisa May Alcott, author of my favorite childhood novels.

As we were driving out of town, we saw a sign to Waldon Pond....I mean this became an instant "must see"! Waldon Pond was indeed beautiful, but it was a shock in several ways. First, it was huge, what I'd consider a lake. Second, it was a wildly popular local swimming hole and beach. People were streaming in to take a dip or lounge on the bank. However I did walk a bit down a trail and found a lovely, tranquil shot of my idea of Waldon Pond.

The park built a replica of the humble cabin of Henry David Thoreau.

Inside the cabin is a replica of the minimalist lifestyle of Henry David Thoreau.

The park also erected a statue of Henry David Thoreau

I'd love to go back to the Concord area and explore some more. You never know.

Aug 19, 2009 - Salem, MA

Our second journey with the rental car was to the town of Salem, MA. Although known for the witch trials, we were interested in discovering more about Salem's life as one of the first major, prosperous, seaport towns. We started our explorations of the town with a stop at the visitor's center. To find the major historic landmarks, the tourist follows the red line, just like Robert is doing.

Below are a couple examples of the buildings.

We followed the red line to the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the first historic national park.

 

Sadly, the Friendship, a replica historic ship visitors can usually explore, was off in Maine for repairs. However, there were still many other things to see. Robert studied all of the exhibits carefully in an attempt to earn his Junior Ranger badge.

From walking around the Maritime museum, we could see evidence that Salem is still very much an active and bustling sea port. Here is a big barge off loading what appears to be coal.

We went off of the red line to find a place for lunch. The menu indicated that the resturant offered a lobster that they cleaned and cracked. Sold. Robert indicates a thumbs up for the lobster.

After lunch we wandered back to the Maritime museums for a couple of ranger tours of historic homes.
First was the Narbonne house, built in 1675 by a butcher. The ranger gave a very interesting description of middle class life during the time the house was originally built. She showed how the house had evolved over the centuries, with various additions and adaptations.

The second home she showed us was the much larger Derby house, build in 1762. The first picture is the outside of the Derby house. The second picture is a look at the kitchen.

Our last adventure in Salem was a tour of the House of the Seven Gables, inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's book. Built in 1668, the house is the oldest surviving 17th century wooden mansion in New England.