Welcome to Things We Learned This Week, a special Tuesday morning edition of Morning Feature featuring the things we have collectively recently learned.
I've decided to present for your perusal a summary of the things I have seen and learned on my recent motorcoach tour of New England.
I recently enjoyed the celebration of my 10th wedding anniversary with a weeklong trip up the coast from NYC to Portland, Maine. It was breathtaking. Before the 2nd day we had begun planning our next trip back. After one afternoon in Portland we had already moved it near the top of our "maybe we'll move here some day" list.
If you know New England, please point out my mistakes, or suggest your own favorites in the comments.
If you're unfamiliar with the coast of NE, well, enjoy. You may end up a little more familiar than you were, I certainly, and smilingly, did.
(All photos are mine; city name links go to Google Map pages for that location.)
A Little Background
My wife and I made a pact to visit a different US city each year on our wedding anniversary, May 27th. The only stipulation was that neither of us could have visited that city in the past. It had to be a place we could discover and explore together for the first time.
It was a great, and romantic, anniversary gift to ourselves. We made it to San Francisco, Seattle, and a few others before professional conflicts and the birth of our daughter intervened for a few years. We were determined to revisit that pact this year, for our 10th anniversary. Living in NYC for nearly 4 years now, and never having driven further north than New Paltz for apple picking in the fall, we chose a leisurely drive up the New England coast with as many cities as we could fit in to make up for lost time.
It turned out to be one of the best "tourist" trips of my life. Mrs. C. and I rested, recouped, and reconnected. We also discovered an entirely new (to us) region of our own nation that we instantly and deeply fell in love with. I can't imagine what it must be like to live in the gulf right now. My heart goes out to all those affected by the irresponsibility and immaturity of those who have made reckless decisions.
Day One
Mrs. C. was determined to get a hot slice of Mystic pizza. I saw the movie years ago, and it didn't make the same impression on me as it did her, but if you've seen the film and liked it, this is the real place. I found a trend of artsy-people (filmmakers, authors, and artists) discovering something in New England and being inspired by it. In this case, a screenwriter was vacationing in Mystic and ended up writing a screenplay about her favorite pizza place in town. This is the real place:
This was the view from our parking spot:
We missed the lobster festival by a few days, which inspired me to start looking for lobsters everywhere we went.
Which next was Newport, RI, where I didn't find any lobster, but saw what it might have been like to thrive at the peak of the industrial revolution, Gatsby style.
The coast is dotted with massive mansions funded by capitalist top-dogs. Commodore Vanderbilt apparently began his fortune with a single ferry boat between Manhattan and Staten Island. That led to a fleet (and the nickname), which led to railroads.
The Vanderbilt clan built 3 mega-mansions in Newport, one of which,The Breakers, is pretty well known in its own right. Enormous (the entry hall is 60+ feet high, the dining room more than 50), we were told that it was a summer retreat and only occupied 2 to 3 months each year. Opulent, decadent, and built to impress, this place was completely overwhelming. We were prevented from interior photography, but link above to Wikipedia includes some interior shots worth seeing if you have an interest in this sort of thing. Just overwhelming.
The walk along the coast in front of the Breakers', on the way to the property:
The rear view:
Mrs. Vanderbilt kept a book at her bedside in which each family member and guest's schedule for the next day were kept so that she could direct the 40+ full time servants to have each person's coach-and-team brought to the front door at the correct time for their departure(s).
The center of the building, the second floor in the picture above, is a patio open to the air with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean. Like this one, featuring Mrs. C. in silhouette:
The administrative offices of Salve Regina University in Newport used to be one of the private residences of gilded age Manhattan landowner and banker Ogden Goelet.
We made it to Sandwich, MA, on Cape Cod for the night. Along the way, we saw a few of these:
And I thought, "Wow. I'd kinda like to see a few more of those, actually. I don't think it ruins the view at all." Mrs. C. reminded me that the noise generated is problematic, but in terms of aesthetics, I decided on this trip I'd rather look out and see 20 (or however many) of these than 20 miles of spilled oil slick. Any day.
Sandwich, MA
Sandwich was a great stop in the middle of Cape Cod. I learned that Sandwich was an American center for glass blowing in the late 19th century, and was near the longtime home (Yarmouth Port) of Edward Gorey, creator of some of the creepiest yet most intriguing illustrations I've ever seen. His "Gashlycrumb Tinies" is an abecedarian text where each letter is illustrated with the demise of a child ("A is for Amy who fell down the stairs"). That last link shows all the images in the book. Maud is especially appropriate for this travelogue, though.
In Sandwich:
The church used for the cover of Elvis' famous album of gospel standards. I've seen the album cover (at the Elvis museum in Las Vegas, actually), but we had to snap a picture of this one once it was pointed out to us.
Inside the Sandwich Glass Museum, this oil lamp was made in the 1880s. The Glassworks here was a major innovator, first to use uranium to create yellow tinted glass for example. They also pioneered a technique for twisting together multiple colors to create swirls and other geometric designs (example from 1850 below). I learned more about glass blowing and production in one hour than I ever expected to know in my entire life. And, though I was skeptical at first, it was fascinating.
Day Two
For some odd reason, maybe because I'm odd, I just love unusual street signs. We kept seeing this one around Cape Cod, one which I have never seen before, and may never see again:
We also managed to drive past an old grist mill, which was absolutely beautiful. We passed so many towns whose lines were marked with signs announcing, "Founded, 1643," or "Founded, 1728," and buildings that predated the Civil War, that it began to really feel like we were passing through some kind of sacred founding-of-the-country ground. It gave me a lot to think about regarding the history of shipping and the early development of the US from this region into the west and south. West and south, in this case, being Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Highland Light (as the locals call it), or "Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse" as the tour guidebooks call it, quickly became a highlight of the trip. With lighthouses just about everywhere we looked, we limited ourselves to a few select ones. This one was something else. A few years ago it was hoisted on rollers and moved back several hundred feet from the receding shoreline, or in a few years it would have become one with the sea. Now it has another 120 or so years before needing to be moved again.
Provincetown, MA, on the very tip of Cape Cod blew us away. Not only did we not realize it is a haven of sorts (imagine an entire town like Disney World during Gay Days, but all year 'round), but the shops and stores and artists' galleries could have kept us there for at least a week. Then, this:
From the end of a pier we looked out and saw a barn or some kind of building with what looked like women's faces painted on the side of it. It was intriguing, to say the least.
These are living Provincetown residents of Portuguese descent, commemorated here as a tribute to the contributions of generations of Portuguese-heritage women of fishing and sailing families in Provincetown. For some reason, the way the barn is situated, with their faces looking out to sea, just captivated me. If photography, or this barn, does you too, consider reading this sometime.
Day Three
Back in the day when lighthouses were manned, manning a lighthouse was a plum political appointment. Today, we were told, the only manned lighthouse on the East Coast is "Boston Light" on Little Brewster Island. Before lighthouses became automated, though, the colors of light and the rotation patterns (readable from sea) gave captains information about how far north or south they were along the coastline. And, even before that technology was in use, lighthouses were built in clusters, with 1, 2 or 3 next to each other to indicate position along the north-south corridor off Cape Cod. These are two of a triplet set of lighthouses that were moved years ago to make room for a newer, more modern lighthouse. Preserved as they are, though, in the woods, several hundred yards back from the beachhead where they once stood:
Nauset Beach Lighthouse (yes, the intrepid backpacker is me, had to prove I was there!):
We went to Hyannis after this, but didn't really take any pictures. Hyannis seemed to us to be the opposite of all things Provincetown, more conservative, few shops, much more paved concrete and asphalt. We weren't that interested on this trip, but were told the Kennedy properties are so well guarded that curious tourists usually leave disappointed.
Day Four
Drove to Boston and made our way around Harvard Square's bookstores for hours after snapping pics at Plymouth. One of my favorite afternoons of the trip. Not my first time there, but my first time being able to explore many specialty and locally owned bookstores (see comments below) at my leisure. It was a vacation in itself.
Oh, and we got free keychains at the Sam Adams' brewery when we missed the tour by about 5 minutes (no reservations, 1st come, 1st in line for the tour, and we missed the cut for the last tour by about 3 people).
Early picture of Plymouth Rock being moved. It's been moved several times, once splitting in half during the trip.
The rock currently lives under this portico.
That's it. Plymouth Rock.
The view to the north, up the coast from the side of the rock's enclosure.
This plaque sits at the foot of a sculpture of a Native American at the top of the steps that lead down to the rock's portico. I found it interesting that this was positioned on the hill behind and above the rock, looking down on it, and the figure of the sculpture looking out to sea. Knowing that many here on the Kos commemorate a natl. day of mourning in diaries and comments each year, I found this doubly interesting.
Especially with the replica of the Mayflower not far away. It looked surprisingly thin to me, not really small, I expected small, but not nearly as wide as I would have thought. I guess the point was to maximize cargo hold space, not deck space.
Day Five
Gloucester, MA. The town immortalized by "The Perfect Storm" movie and book. Founded in 1623, then abandoned in 1626 (when it's surviving pioneers moved to modern-day Salem), Gloucester is the earliest European settled fishing village in New England.
Iconic tribute to sailors lost at sea.
Iconic tribute to widows and fatherless children of Gloucester's lost fishermen.
Flags along the seashore for Memorial Day weekend in Gloucester.
And, the whale watching tour was something else. I had issues about being out on a boat (pollution? disruption of feeding schedules?) but the experience was absolutely amazing. And, we learned about the research and protection efforts that are funded by the tourist watching trips and ended up making a donation.
Portland, ME and home
A "foodie" tour took us to fishmarkets, bakeries, restaurants, farmers' markets, and a specialty truffle shop that makes a Portland, Maine specialty - mashed potato, coconut, chocolate truffle things. They had a name, but it escapes me at the moment. Something like "needum" (sp?). I thought it was because once people tasted one they'd "need 'em," but instead it's the name of the minister who first made them. Salmon trimmings (which looked nearly like steaks in themselves to me) were in iced buckets for $.29 a pound in this fishmarket. Raw oysters at $.65 (most restaurants we saw were $2.00 each).
Graffiti in Portland is different from graffiti in the Bronx.
But, some of the architecture reminded me of the Teachers College building (scroll down to the last picture to make our own comparisons.) Portland calls itself "The Phoenix" because there have been so many fires that have leveled the city through the years. Buildings now are required to be built with brick and be especially fire resistant. Portland also had so many rum brewers that establishments kept runoff in open barrels outside in the street. Public drunkenness was such a problem that Portland, and then Maine, adopted prohibition 60 years before the rest of the country.
We also spent some time in the Portland Museum of Art, which completely and pleasantly surprised our bigger-city museum jadedness. We were completely won over by the displays, artwork, and commitment to community development on display.
On the way home, we passed through Montague, MA, home of the Montague BookMill, which, if you look at where it is on that Google Map link, you may better understand two of it's most prominent claims:
Books you don't need, in a place you can't find.
and...
The Bookmill is a unique, lovely place where you can happily be lost for hours. We've been lost for years now.
The noise from the river that gave reason for there to be a grist mill here in the first place (over 150 years ago) was loud, but very peaceful. There's something about fast moving water over rocks that just soothes. Add in all these comfortable chairs and books, and something like magic happens. Another example of an artist (author in this case) finding a New England spot, falling in love with it, and buying it. She now lives there and runs the Bookmill. Movies in the attic in the winter, live music in the courtyard in the summer.
Oh, yes...and we did find that lobster after all (2 for $20, with baked potater and corn on the cob).
TWLTW
- Commodore Vanderbilt grew his fortune to $100 million. According to Wikipedia, that may have made him the 2nd or 3rd richest American ever (in 2007 dollars, that $100m would be worth $143 billion). His son William doubled that nest egg to $200 million within 7 years of his father's death.
- One way to make a wine glass is to just puff into the rod and quickly cover the hole with a finger, forcing the air bubble to expand into the soft glass at the other end and allowing gravity to pull the expanding glass down into a naturally-shaped wine "bell." Example:
- An amazing, amazing, amazing illustrator and book author. This site is just fun and interesting to explore.
- Not only did Microsoft announce the Kinect this weekend, but yesterday, Starbucks announced the switch to free unlimited wifi in all its stores effective July 1st.
- For all who can't get enough pictures of kittens with captions (I Can Has Cheezburger) can find the history of that endless obsession, and how it supports at least 43 commercial websites, by reading this short article.
- Sam Raimi (Spiderman trilogy and Evil Dead trilogy before that) is in negotiations with Disney to produce and direct a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, telling the story of the Wizard. Rumored to be at the head of the pack for the role of the Wizard: Robert Downey, Jr.
- Smilingly is a real word.
What Did You Learn This Week?