Today it was oil change day for the car.  Randal didn’t change the oil, but he did replace the windshield wipers which is a good thing because they were really squeaky unless it was pouring.  And though Randal could tune it out; it drove me crazy.  Luckily it only rained the last few days of our trip.  The "trip laundry" is half done so tonight we’re having dinner and laundry at my sister’s house.  This morning as I was sorting through the books we’d bought during our road trip, and looking at the dinghy gas tank, etc, I mentioned to Randal that our one big suitcase wasn’t going to do the job of getting us back to the boat.  We always seem to be one suitcase short either coming or going.  On the motorbike two small panniers and a back box are enough, but then we don’t go along collecting books and boat parts.  But I really do want to read the books I bought and most probably wouldn’t be available on Kindle or electronic books from the library.  I’ll include the list in a separate email. This email takes us back to Dartmouth, New Bedford and Westport.   But as you can see from the subject line, this email isn’t so much about the place but about the people we went to see.  You’ll meet Eileen, Jean, and Pam in the next email about our lobster dinner.

New Bedford/Dartmouth/Westport. 

  A quick recap.  My family lived in New Bedford at 177 Plymouth Street from the time I was born until my parents retired to Florida in the 70s. Our friend Har’s family moved to the intersection of Plymouth and Burns. Bruce grew up across the street.   We all met before kindergarten.  Neighborhood kids played together, walked en masse to the library and performed home made plays in our basements.    It was a great neighborhood for growing up.  We had the huge Buttonwood Park one street over with its woods, zoo, ice skating pond, tennis courts and green spaces.  We could walk to elementary school, junior high and high school and the local library.   As a matter of fact, we lived so close that school buses weren’t an option; we lived too close to qualify for buses.  We had the local Acushnet Beach when we were small and Horseneck Beach when we could drive ourselves there.  We even had Lincoln Park, a giant amusement park with a scary roller coaster and Ferris wheel.  I rode both of those rides exactly once fearing death.  My father won a life size stuffed collie from one of the toss games. Under protest I grew up, went off to UMass in Amherst and never went back other than to visit my parents until they too moved away. Today Buttonwood Park has expanded but Lincoln Park has been long closed down. The old Plymouth Street neighborhood looks mostly the same, but we’ve all moved as well as all of our siblings.  My sister and I moved to Roanoke, VA at different times for different reasons.  Har and Bruce moved to Dartmouth, just down the road from New Bedford.   In 1990 I turned 40 and so did Har.  When Har’s husband asked what she wanted for her 40th birthday present she said “Ru!”  So Dick called me and we arranged it and though snow storms everywhere made it almost impossible, I arrived in time for Har’s 40th December 23rd  birthday and we’ve visited almost every year since. (Har married Dick from around the corner.  Bruce married Jean from Dartmouth and Eileen and Pam are her sisters.  Eileen married Bill who went to school with my sister Harriet.  During our visit we stayed in Janet’s and Andy’s loft apartment. Janet and Andy are friends of Har’s.)  Our family of friends has grown just as it did on Cape Cod with Julia and Kathy.  Visiting and spending time is the original Facebook!  We’ve seen most of the historic sites, museums, etc…now we make the trip “up north” just to see friends. 
 
Har after her swim at Anthony Beach
It was late afternoon, the water was cold and I took a pass.  But the next day I did swim at Horseneck Beach. 

 
While Har swam, Randal read.
I’d noticed a copy of Mary Lovell’s biography of Beryl Markham Straight On Till Morning in a used book shop on Hilton Head.  (Should have waited to Hyannis where it was $10 cheaper!)  One of Randal’s all time favorite books is Markham’s own book West With the Night.  Once Randal starts reading a book he loves, there’s no getting him to put it down for anything. 

 
The Beach Plum is just a short walk across the driveway from Har’s and the first stop of our walk around the neighborhood.  Padanaram Harbor is just across the road and after the “strenuous walk” across the street Har and Randal posed in these Adirondack chairs. 

 
Apponagansett Bay
Har and Eileen share a small sailboat that is kept moored in the bay.  They pulled it out early this year to avoid possible damage from Irene. 

 
The Padanaram Bridge links North and South Dartmouth and crosses over Apponagansett Bay. These cars and fire truck are waiting for the bridge to close after one of its scheduled openings. We’ve had to deal with bridges on our travels but never had to wait for one to open.  Leaving the boatyard in Biajiao we had to lower our mast (a real breath holder) to get under the bridge just down river from the yard.  Since then we’ve fit under every bridge along the way.  In Kuching we would have preferred anchoring along the river in town but couldn’t get under the bridge and that bridge didn’t open.  It’s a bit scary going under and looking up as the mast fits through.  It looks like it won’t but Randal has checked ahead so knows that it will.

If you’re a boat, here’s what you have to know……
Opening Schedule
From May through October, the bridge opening schedule is as follows:
6AM – 8 AM : On the hour and half-hour
8 AM – 8 PM : On the hour
8 PM – 9 PM : On the hour and half-hour
Requesting Openings
To request a bridge opening, hail the bridge tender on VHF Channel 13.
You can also request an opening by calling (508) 910-7107.
If you have no communication equipment at your disposal, you should approach the bridge a few minutes prior to a scheduled opening and sound 3 Short Blasts with your horn in the vicinity of the bridge.
http://www.dartmouthharbormaster.com/

  
Randal and Har are discussing educational philosophy; Har teaches Kindergarten. Randal is telling her about the Khan Academy website where you can learn about a great many things but Art doesn’t seem to be listed….yet. www.khanacademy.org

 This is Janet’s favorite tree so I’ve included it as a “hello” to Janet and Andy whose loft we lived in during our visit.

Dick and Randal relaxing at Horseneck Beach. 

Randal is shading himself while he continues to read the Beryl Markham biography.  At some point I put down my camera and Har and I went swimming! Har stayed in longer.   Last year Har and I came and wore wool sweaters and hats and had the place pretty much to ourselves.  This year we had to hunt for a parking space.  It was a few weeks earlier this year, but still what a difference. 
Horseneck is a great beach!
“Spread across nearly 600 acres of barrier beach and salt marsh, Horseneck Beach is one of the most popular facilities in the Massachusetts State Forests and Parks system. Located at the western end of Buzzards Bay, the sandy, southwest-facing, 2-mile long beach is breezy all year round, providing excellent wind surfing and a dependable respite from sweltering inland temperatures every summer. The combination of ocean beach and estuary habitat makes Horseneck one of the premier birding locations in New England. Behind the dunes near Gooseberry Neck (a rocky headland at the eastern end of the Reservation), is a 100-site campground.” http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/southeast/hbch.htm

 
Har, Janet and Andy

  Sadly for us we met Janet and Andy on our last morning in Dartmouth.  They had actually both been away when we arrived but Har had the key to the loft and got us settled in.  We did get to spend a quick bit of time at their kitchen table having tea, cookies, fruit and conversation before Randal and I had to leave.  We’d told our friend Martha to expect us in Boston by early afternoon.  Janet, though enjoying her retirement years, is a LIBRARIAN, educator and activist through and through. (Andy is no slouch either and makes the most beautiful furniture in his retirement years.)  We spent most of our tea time trading book titles around the table so I had to really learn about Janet online.  Here is a bit about her. (You can read the whole article following the link.)

  “Janet Freedman served as Dean of Library Services and Professor of Education at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She chaired the Department of Education, directed the Women’s Studies Program and co-directed the university’s Center for Jewish Culture.
   Janet initiated and participated in many projects to advance the role of libraries as vehicles for social engagement and change, and to create services for women on campus and in the community. She sought to apply a feminist model of leadership to her work as a Dean and faculty member at UMass Dartmouth, promoting a respectful, diverse campus community, advocating for the personal and professional growth of staff and encouraging the active participation of students in shaping their own learning.
Representative Publications”
Freedman, Janet. “Always a Librarian,” in The Changing Culture of Libraries, edited by Renee Feinberg, 94-102. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Press, 2001.
http://www.brandeis.edu/wsrc/scholars/profiles/freedman.html

Around New Bedford..
Har and I went downtown to the New Bedford Art Museum which had not existed when I was growing up.  I probably wouldn’t have been interested at that time though I took art as a high school elective.  So maybe I would have been?  Har’s favorite piece is this “found furniture” piece made by Adrian Johnson from a car seat and an old refrigerator.  http://www.newbedfordguide.com/fridgecouch/2011/03/29

  
Refrigerator couch at the art museum, costumed ladies outside the Visitor Center, cobblestone streets (maybe ballast from ships like in Savannah?) and a “harpoon” fence outside of the Whaling Museum.

Time for Food…..  www.thebaysiderestaurant.com
“More than your typical clam shack.”  I loved that line from an Urbanspoon review of The Bayside on Horseneck Road not far from the beach.  We went for dinner on a Saturday night and the place was packed.  Guess folks were breaking their Yom Kippur fasts.  The review raved about the eggplant string fries and they were great!  So was my fried calamari.  Har had the crab (or fish) cakes with beans and corn bread. I can’t remember what Randal ate, unusual for me but I was just too focused on my own food.  It was all wonderful.  Incredibly full from the fries, calamari and giant bowl of salad I did manage to put down my fork to take a photo of the chocolate cake

 
Over the top good, but Randal just can’t pass up dessert.  It put a smile on Har’s face too as we all shared.

 

 
The other best part beside the food is that it’s a really informal place where folks bike to on the weekends. Though there were empty tables when we left about 9pm, we had gotten just about the last table inside when we arrived.  We passed The Bayside on our way to the beach the next day and the lot was as packed as the night before.  I was quite jealous of the folks who had biked there.    www.thebaysiderestaurant.com

 
Outdoor seating at and the view across the road. 

Next email will be our “Lobstah Dinnah.”

  Our chores still include another load of laundry and getting the oil changed in the Buick.  It actually did quite well during the entire trip and didn’t guzzle too much gasoline.  Gas prices in Roanoke are cheaper than anywhere!  We spent a great deal of time listening to Public Radio and I miss it now so will have to find a radio for our room.  One can learn a great deal listening to NPR or CNPR (Canadian National Public Radio.)  I thought they should have called it Canadian Public Radio so the initials would be CPR and would make for a great fund raising theme.  Or it would have confused everyone? 

  This email is about our annual visit to Fairhaven on our way to Dartmouth for our annual visit and traditional lobster dinner.  I should say "New England" lobster dinner since this year we added Point Pleasant Beach, NJ as a lobster dinner destination. 

Ru

Fairhaven and New Bedford Harbor

I grew up in New Bedford just across the Acushnet River from Fairhaven.  Maybe I was there twice during the first 50 years of my life.  Since then Randal and I seem to go every year as we travel between our friends in Dartmouth and our friends on Cape Cod during our annual “up north” road trips.  I’m not sure how we stumbled across the intersection of the Pumpernickel Restaurant and the Phoenix “stuff” shop, but like lemmings we return every year.  Sometimes we find “can’t live without” stuff at the Phoenix but this year we just toured around, though they did have a neat bag with the Red Sox logo; but it was just too small so I took a pass.  Next we made our usual stop at the West Marine on Pope’s Island just between Fairhaven and New Bedford where we bought a new fuel tank for the dinghy and a new, larger, not stinky canvas bag. (Our old one had seen way better days.)   Our final stop before heading on to Har’s and Dick’s place was the New Bedford Harbor to visit our friend in the Visitor Center whom we’d met several trips ago.  Alas, some things change and he wasn’t there.  But we were able to leave the Turkish souvenir we’d brought on the porch of his home before we left town.  (We’d missed him there too!)

Phoenix with Pumpernickel across the street and the blue library sign pointing down the street to the Millicent Library.  We used to scout out all of the libraries to use their Internet terminals.  Now we have our ACER travel computer, but still visit libraries for the wifi connection and just because it’s fun. 

Lunch at the Pumpernickel where my veggie omelet would have fed a family.   The woman in black and the red and black checked floor reminds me of an Edward Hopper painting.

After our huge lunch we needed to walk for a bit.  We’ve done longer tours in past years including searching for and finally finding the small monument to Joshua Slocum, the first man to do a solo navigation around the world.  He built his sloop in Fairhaven. When we were little, my sister and I took riding lessons at a stable on Slocum Rd. in Dartmouth but I don’t have any idea if it was named for Joshua Slocum.

Lots of red bricks and stone used in these lovely old buildings: at least old by American standards of old.

The Millicent Library with a sailing ship mosaic at the entrance.

New Bedford harbor filled with fishing boats.

I think the dome of the Whaling Museum is visible through the ship rigging on the right side of the photo.

New Bedford fishing industry

A painting of the Butler Flats Lighthouse located at the mouth of the Acushnet River.

   “Its days as a whaling center were long past, but New Bedford was still an important port in the late 1800s. It was the third largest manufacturing city in Massachusetts, and about 500,000 tons of shipping entered the port in 1890 alone. Butler Flats Light, built in 1898 for $34,000, replaced the old Clark’s Point Light, which had been active since 1804. The appropriation for the lighthouse at Butler Flats was secured largely through the efforts of Congressman Sturtevant Randall.

   Butler Flats Light was designed by F. Hopkinson Smith, also an artist and writer. Smith’s place in lighthouse history is secure largely due to his planning of Race Rock Light in Fisher’s Island Sound. Smith also built the foundation of the Statue of Liberty. ……….In September 1997 inmates from the Bristol County House of Correction went to work at Butler Flats Light. The inmates rewired the electrical system and did work on the tower’s walls, ceilings, floors and stairway.”

http://www.lighthouse.cc/butler/history.html

  Family folk lore, if I remember correctly, is that my father and his friends used to swim from shore to the lighthouse.

The SAULNIER BIKE TRAIL walking/biking path along Rodney French Boulevard and Clark’s Cove.  We’d walked toward Fort Tabor but this view is looking back towards New Bedford.  http://www.forttaber.org/history.shtml

Then it was off to visit our friends Harriet and Dick.  We’d all grown up in the same neighborhood so have known each other for close to 60 years!  But that’s the story for the next email.

  We arrived home in Roanoke late afternoon and I’m still sorting through the debris from our trip.  What had seemed like a logical packing plan eventually deteriorated into a daily hunt for clean underwear, vitamin pills, and breakfast supplies.  We had taken loads of cold weather clothes so I had to borrow a bathing suit from our friend Har for my swim at Horseneck Beach.  The down jackets and wool sweaters were never needed.  It was blustery and chilly on Lake Sharbot, Ontario but not colder than our day trip in Tibet to see Mt. Everest.  And everyone had heat, hot water and lots of blankets when the weather changed from Boston to points north. 

  I hope to get caught up with our trip in the next week or so.  I took loads of photos so that takes some sorting through  but it’s fun to make the trip a second time as I do it.  We loved seeing the friends we could and sorry we missed the friends we couldn’t visit; but there is always next year. 

Provincetown, MA

Images and Street Scenes

Scrimshaw and Lobster Pots…but we had our lobster with friends so didn’t need to eat one here.

Psychedelic and Cape Cod Traditional

The Provincetown Public Library

While Randal sat using his computer in the Marc Jacobs (that Marc Jacobs!) Reading room, I took myself on a self-guided tour of the newly renovated library.  The following is from the Library’s website.

     “The Provincetown Public Library is located in the building that was once the Center Methodist Episcopal Church. This structure, like many in Provincetown, has had a long and varied history of use. When it was built in 1860 as the Center Methodist Episcopal Church it was reputed to be the largest church of Methodist denomination anywhere in the United States. It cost $22,000 to complete and could seat 900 people in the 128 pews.

     The original steeple, weakened during the Portland Gale, was 162 feet tall and contained a huge bronze bell cast by George Holbrook in Medway, Massachusetts. The present spire rises 100 feet from the ground. Looking from the end of MacMillan Wharf towards town, the building is one of the most prominent on the skyline.

     In 1958 the Methodist congregation sold this building at 356 Commercial Street to Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., son of the founder of the Chrysler Corporation, for conversion to an art museum. Walter Chrysler ran the Chrysler Art Museum with limited success until 1970. Discouraged when the Town of Provincetown would not help him find parking for visitors to the museum, Chrysler packed up his collection and moved to Virginia where he opened a modern facility still operating today.

     For a number of years the building stood abandoned until, in 1974 two local men, Jules Brenner and Frederic Jungmann, bought the building from Chrysler for $90,000 with the idea of starting a “Center for the Arts.” Unfortunately the idea was a cultural success but a financial failure, and the building was bought back by the bank after only one year of operation.

     Through the efforts of the Provincetown Historical Association and the Historic District Study Committee, the building was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. It received certification in October 1975. Subsequently in 1976, at a special town meeting, a group of citizens secured a vote to acquire the building for $135,000 and turn it into a local historical museum. The Provincetown Heritage Museum officially opened to the public on July 4, 1976. A dedicated group of volunteers set up exhibits on various aspects of the town’s heritage. It was at this time that the half scale model of the schooner Rose Dorothea was built and installed in the building. The Heritage Museum operated on a seasonal basis with a minimal staff and a dedicated group of volunteers through the summer of 2000.

      Through the years the number of people visiting the Heritage Museum had gradually begun to decline. At the same time use of Provincetown’s public library, located in a small building on the corner of Freeman and Commercial Street, was steadily growing. A new library building was needed to accommodate this increased use. After much study and discussion with citizens of the town, the Trustees of the Library concluded that the building housing the Heritage Museum at 356 Commercial Street could be successfully renovated and transformed into a new library for the Town.”    http://www.provincetown-ma.gov/index.aspx?nid=687

The “Self-Guided Tour” brochure that is kept at the circulation desk.

Actual library today….                      Homage to Heritage Museum and Chaim Gross by Mary Spencer Nay

“Mary Spencer Nay, 80, Painter and Professor

Mary Spencer Nay, a painter and retired art professor, died on Saturday at her home in Provincetown, Mass. She was 80.

The cause was gastrointestinal illness, said her daughter Malu Nay Block of Provincetown.

Ms. Nay was born in Crestwood, Ky., and graduated from the University of Louisville with a master’s degree. She began teaching art at the university in 1942 and was a professor of art education when she retired in 1979.

She settled in Provincetown, where she had spent summers since 1937. She was active in the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, the Heritage Museum, the Historical Association and the Visual Artists Cooperative.

Her paintings, mainly abstractions inspired by Provincetown and her travels in Mexico, hang in numerous museums and private collections. The J. B. Speed Art Museum in Louisville presented a retrospective of her work in 1976.”  http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/26/obituaries/mary-spencer-nay-80-painter-and-professor.html

http://sites.google.com/site/kentuckywomenartists/Home/mary-spencer-nay-1

I’m off on a tangent again.  I took the photo of the Nay painting but thought nothing about it until now as I’m writing this blog mail.  I like the painting so looked for information about Mary Spencer Nay.  But the title of the painting intrigued me too so I looked up Chaim Gross and found that the Smithsonian has a sculpture by Gross. 

“The subjects of Chaim Gross’s sculptures and graphic works were predominantly women and circus performers. For almost seventy years, the variety of movements and poses and the sense of balance displayed by these subjects provided Gross with an endless source of ideas for his art.”

http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/gross/

Main staircase at the front door and the Marc Jacobs Reading Room

Rose Dorothea

A half-scale replica of the Rose Dorothea takes center stage in the middle of the children’s room.  The Lipton Cup was sponsored by the founder of Lipton Tea, (one of the few teas I actually don’t like.) There is a link from the website below if you want to see what the Lipton Cup looks like.  My photos didn’t really capture it.

“It is 66 ½ ft. in length with a beam of 12 ½ ft.  The mainmast is 48 ft high.  The sails were hand-sewn by Ernest W. Smith of New Bedford, one of the few men left who could create authentic sails for a Grand Banks Schooner.”

THE SCHOONER “ROSE DOROTHEA” AND THE “LIPTON CUP”

“During Boston’s Old Home Week Celebration in August 1907, a cup was offered by Sir Thomas Lipton for a fishermen’s Race in Massachusetts Bay. This race of 42 miles was one of the best ever sailed by fishermen in these waters. Sir Thomas Lipton, the great Irish sports enthusiast, and designer Tom McManus promoted the Fishermen’s Race, and Sir Thomas promised McManus the most expensive and best trophy England could make.

The Lipton Cup is a silver gilt and enamel trophy and, true to his word, was the largest cup ever minted by Sir Thomas Lipton. The "Rose Dorothea" swept to victory in the Fishermen’s Race on August 1, 1907 and brought the Lipton Cup back to Provincetown with great fanfare, a broom symbolically tied to her mast to indicate a "clean sweep." No other race was ever sailed to place this cup in contention.” http://www.ptownlib.com/schoonerandliptoncup.htm

Now more photos of Provincetown……

Provincetown was home to Pilgrims and play-writes, gays, straights, and people in-between.  That’s what makes it so fun. 

                                                                                          Tim’s Used Books in Provincetown…

The Marc Jacobs shop that paid for the Marc Jacobs Reading Room….

Architecture that says New England to me.

The National Seashore is also found in Provincetown thanks to President Kennedy who in 1961 signed the legislation creating the Cape Cod National Seashore.

"A man may stand there and put all America behind him." Henry David Thoreau

http://ptownchamber.com/   for more info.

Linda’s and Charmaine’s island home

Hi Everyone,

  We crossed the border to Canada Saturday morning.  It was quick and simple.  But our tracfone which had worked in Boston to call Canada wouldn’t work in Canada to call Canada.  Not surprisingly, a kind man in a small convenience store in Varona let Randal use his phone to call Linda and Charmaine to come to shore from their Charlott Island home to get Randal and me. We drove from Varona to Lake Sharbot and there were Linda and Charmaine waiting with big smiles and warm hugs.  Linda and Charmaine took part in the Odyssey 2000 around the world bike ride which Randal had done and we are here visiting with them.  Just now Randal and Linda have taken out their guitars and are singing duets.  After their versions of Leonard Cohen’s Halleujah we’re listening to several other versions. It’s just such an amazing song.

    But jumping back in time, this is an email about our visit to friends on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 

Cotuit and Hyannis

From New Jersey we headed “up north” to Massachusetts.

The George Washington Bridge over the Hudson from New Jersey to New York along I-95.

I was patting myself on the back over this picture until I realized that our car windshield is tinted causing the drama rather than my photography skills.

Our first two stops were on Cape Cod to visit former Roanoke bicycle friends.  Julia has lived on the Cape for years and Kathy had just moved there this year.  I’d introduced them by email and we all had dinner together one night.

Kathy’s house in Cotuit was our first stop.  Kathy had been among my first bike friends in Roanoke. We did AGVITTH riding our bikes from Harrisonburg, VA to Harrisonburg, PA.  We rode the 6 day Florida Safari.  Kathy has lived in Alaska, in New York and was now in Massachusetts where her daughter attends Tabor Academy in Marion, MA.  (Sadly, Kathy’s husband who had worked for over 30 years for the National Park Service died in April 2004.  Kathy and her daughter Lexi have experienced life in Kotzebu, Alaska and Fire Island, New York where David was Superintendent of the Western Arctic National Parklands in Kotzebue, Alaska and Fire Island National Seashore in New York.)  Kathy has jumped right in to life in Cotuit and is on the board of Friends of the Library and she and I counted the take from a recent fashion show held to raise money for the Friends.

Randal in his relaxing clothes in Kathy’s house. 

My stuff is all over the table in the foreground so you can see we’ve moved right in and made ourselves at home.  Kathy has lived in Cotuit for only about 6 months so her possessions are slowly find their permanent spaces in her home.

Kathy and her pooch and I made a trip to the “pet friendly” library to turn in the money raised by the Friends. 

Randal helped install locks on the windows in Kathy’s basement as well as help Kathy take out all of the window air conditioners.

Cotuit is one of those lovely Cape Cod towns I could easily live in forever.

Julia and Kathy.

The Cape is a small place and Julia doesn’t live far from Kathy so one night we all had dinner at the Kettle-Ho where the fried calamari is wonderful and every other person has some piece of clothing that says Red Sox.

With Kathy, dinner was always at Kettle-Ho which we all really liked. At Julia’s we decided to "do the cooking" and one night grilled the most expensive salmon in the world. and some New York Strip steak the next.  Julia’s friend Linda came for the salmon dinner.  We’d met Linda last year so it was fun to see her again.  Each year we visit New England we become part of the "family of friends" of the friend we come to visit.  We have gotten to know Kathy’s daughter Lexi and Julia’s friend Linda, Julia’s dad and her aunt during previous visits.  That’s the best part. 

Julia lives in Hyannis which we know pretty well from past visits.   While Julia was at work Randal and I walked to the center of town to visit the great used book shop, the library book sale, and have lunch at another favorite place, Sunnyside.  It is an old fashioned family diner with stools at the counter and a mile long menu where you can eat breakfast all day.  We’ve always liked it and the staff is always friendly.  It’s neither upscale nor yuppie, but then neither are we.

Sunnyside Restaurant.

I had a grilled cheese and tuna sandwich; Randal had a burger.   Old fashioned food and prices but they did have WIFI!

Tim’s Used Books

I found several titles that I wanted.  This is a great book shop. Amazingly, when looking at the photos I took of the bookshop, I noticed its name was Tim’s Used Books.  We’d been in Provincetown the day before and had visited a used book store called Tim’s Used Books.   It was only when I was looking at my photos did I notice the book shops had the same name.  I searched the web to see what I could find and found this blurb about Tim’s……..

“I’ve owned six used-bookstores since 1989. Two have been successful. The others failed. Before that I managed a few minor-league rock bands around Boston, later worked for a concert-promoter who brought Gregory Isaacs, The Slits, The Mighty Diamonds to Boston. Still later I organized an art gallery. Sold some people’s paintings and photos–enjoyed that, didn’t enjoy the egos. In 2008 I revived Against The Grain Gallery, selling paintings by a young Provincetown artist named Cameron Castro. I have bookshops currently open in Hyannis and Provincetown, USA. It’s fun there in the summer, when you never know who’ll walk through the door. Poets, writers, movie-types, many vagrants and tanned people. It’s fun. Come visit!

http://www.myspace.com/timsusedbooks

Tim was in the Provincetown shop and I spent a good deal of time speaking with him.  He asked about our stay in Cyprus and my feelings about Israel and why people in the world can’t get along.  Randal was walking the several blocks back to the car to feed the meter so he had no comment. 

Our second favorite tourist destination…a thrift shop.

Randal bought his $5 J Crew flannel lined canvas jacket which he wore today during our walk in chilly Lake Sharbot, Ontario, Canada.   The discussion in the shop was not something Democrats like Randal and I wanted to hear.  Everyone was commenting how much they appreciated Republican Senator Scott Brown because he made trips to the Cape and Democrat Kerry and even the late Ted Kennedy rarely made the effort.  Hmmm.

Between our visit with Kathy and Julia, Randal and I made a day trip to Provincetown.  I’m giving it an email of its own because I had such a great time touring the Provincetown Public Library and took bunches of photos of the library and Provincetown street scenes.

Ru

October 14, 2011

Watertown, NY

Hi Y’all,

  Between my years on the boat and my weeks in Massachusetts, I seem to have forgotten my 27 years of "southern."  First Randal and then my sister pointed out to me that I’d written you’ll when I had meant y’all in the previous email.  It’s funny what I remember and what I forget.  I can count to ten in Chinese but can’t remember Turkish numbers.  I want to say the Turkish "gunaydin" to people rather than "good morning."  It gets confusing. 

  We’ve just come from Boston where we had been visiting with our friend Martha and her daughter Jessica.  Martha has a drawer full of spices and made a wonderful soup of potatoes, garbanzo beans and artichoke hearts with lovely spices and a squeeze of lemon.  We visited lots of wonderful used book shops and the Pompeii exhibit at the Science Museum…but that’s all for another email.  This email is about our visit with friend Carol in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ.  Tomorrow we will cross into Ontario, Canada to visit with friends of Randal’s from his "around the world" bike trip.  They live on an island in a lake and we’ll get there by dinghy! 

  The Red Sox have turned into a soap opera which will make for interesting reading and a whole slew of new Red Sox books I’ll one day read.  In the meantime I’m reading Dogtown by Elyssa East.  Dogtown is an area of woodlands near Gloucester, MA named for the dogs that once belonged to Revolutionary War widows.  East was lead there because of her fascination with paintings by Marsden Hartley.  It is the winner of the 2010 LL Winship/PEN New England Award in Nonfiction.  I had stumbled across it on the shelves of the Hilton Head Public Library so set out to find it in a book store as we traveled.  I found it in The Strand!

Ru

DoraMac

Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey with Carol

Our friend Carol lives in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ.  It is a lovely small town surrounded by beaches and marinas and just a 45 minute, or so, drive to Manhattan.  We visited Manhattan, walked the beaches,  and boiled some lobsters for dinner.  We had been promised a lobster dinner in New Bedford, but Randal really likes lobster so when Carol suggested it, he jumped at the chance.  In Manhattan we visited the Strand book store with 18 miles of shelves and also The New York Costume Shop which is irresistible even for sightseers like us who hand out candy rather than dress up to collect it. 

Relaxing at Carol’s house.

The Roanoke Valley Library Association made up t-shirts for several years.  This “vintage” one is from 1995.  In SAMS one day a woman ran up to Randal to say how important librarians had been to her and a woman in Hilton Head also made a comment.  Hurrah for Librarians! 

Manhattan street scenes.

Go to the theater or go to the New York Public Library guarded by the “Literary Lions.”

Look above the word “first” and you will see a blue shirt and white hat.  It’s Randal.  Carol can be seen over the word “her.”  Cameras had been set up to broadcast passers-by.   

The Strand Book Store

“In 1927, Ben Bass opened Strand Book Store on Fourth Avenue, home of New York’s legendary Book Row. Named after the famous publishing street in London, the Strand was one of 48 bookstores on Book Row, which started in the 1890’s and ran from Union Square to Astor Place. Today, the Strand is the sole survivor.”

http://www.strandbooks.com/

One could spend hours and hours browsing the shelves. I found my copy of Dogtown.  I was hoping that The Strand would have some unique books about Cyprus but they didn’t partly because there don’t seem to be any of those “Tuscan Sun” or Year in Provence” kind of books written.  Randal and I might have to write one!

We visited the NY Costume Shop last year because Carol needed a costume.  This year we just went for the fun of it.  Carol grew up on Staten Island and went to NYU so knows Manhattan. The company where Carol works had offered her a position in the Philippines for two years and that’s when we had all met. 

New York cabs have TV screen so you can follow along on a map or watch a program about places to visit in the city.

Point Pleasant Beach, NJ

Lots of places for boaters and fishermen here.

Point Pleasant Beach really is a lovely town and from her house Carol can walk to the beach or walk to the small center for shops and restaurants.

The statue behind us and the plaques on the railing are dedicated to mariners lost at sea.  We paid our respects.

The ocean was somewhat riled up that day and though no one was swimming there were surfers in wet suits taking advantage of the surf.

http://www.point-lobster.com/

You can see fishing boats reflected in the window so you know fish here is fresh!

Carol and friends from the waters of Maine or maybe Nova Scotia.

Randal having lobster feast # 1. 

We said good-bye to Carol and journeyed on to Cotuit, MA to visit with a Roanoke bicycle buddy who now lives there with her daughter.  That story will have to wait for another day.

  Thanks for the birthday wishes.  The senior discounts are still iffy, but I’m getting more and more of them.  We’ve been visiting friends, eating wonderful food, scouring used book stores ( though I do now have a Kindle, but still can’t resist,) and making library visits.  I’ve gone from being the only B hat around to being lost in the crowd of Red Sox hat, shirts, sweatshirts, etc here in Massachusetts.  And here everyone sounds like me!  Or like I used to sound before I added You’ll to my vocabulary. And  I went swimming in the Atlantic Ocean in October!  We’ve been as far east as you can go in Massachusetts and will go as far west as you can go on our way to Lake Shabot, Ontario to visit friends.  We’ve had New Jersey lobster and Massachusetts lobster.  Maybe they all came from Maine…who knows; they were all great and really fun to eat.  I’ve been slow to post emails because we’ve been too busy doing stuff.  Eventually I’ll catch up.  This email finds us in Annapolis though in reality, at this time,  we are in "Boston" visiting our friend Martha and her daughter Jessica.  Martha and I worked together at the Roanoke County Public Library and channeled Lucy and Ethel as we went off on our bicycles on trips to Ireland, England, and Japan and hiked the coastal path of Wales.  We had some USA adventures too.  Lots of good memories.  Now we’re making more.

Ru

DoraMac

Annapolis visit to a Diesel Duck 2011

Annapolis is another of our favorite places. We stopped this time to visit folks who own a diesel trawler named Diesel Duck.  We also spent some time walking around Annapolis harbor and visiting a favorite used book shop.  The Naval Academy is located in Annapolis and every shop in town sells something to remind visitors Annapolis is the home of the Academy.

Caps, hats, shirts, cups, you name it…..

A statue of Alex Haley reading from his book Roots to children of Annapolis.

“According to research done by Alex Haley, Kunta Kinte was an African from The Gambian town of Jufferee. According to Haley family history he was sold into slavery in a town called "Naplis."   Haley’s research identified a slave ship, the Lord Ligonier, which sailed from Gambia River, July 5, 1767, with 140 captured Gambians. It arrived in Annapolis, Maryland on September 29, 1767, with only 98 survivors. Haley believed one of those survivors was a seventeen-year-old Kunta Kinte.   The Africans were sold into slavery on October 7, according to an advertisement in the Maryland Gazette newspaper.”  http://www.kintehaley.org/memorialelements.html

I visited this book shop last year and the lovely owner was nice enough to remember me.  It was Randal’s first visit and we had a nice chat with a local sail boater who wasn’t supposed to know about his surprise birthday party that night. I told him to blame it on me.  Randal didn’t find the book he was looking for, but I didn’t walk away empty handed.  The following is from their website.  Wish I could click my heels and visit more that once a year!

A Different Kind of Bookstore

“As a small-town independent bookstore, we know and value our community.   At The Annapolis Bookstore we’ll know your name and where your children go to school.  Yes,  we’ll buy your girl scout cookies or help you find that book of poetry to woo a special someone.  We’ll probably know that special someone.  We’ve seen marriage proposals, birthday surprises, and first steps.  Our passion for stories extends beyond the brilliant work of the authors that grace our shelves to the many tales that walk in our door, tales of where you’ve been and who you are.  The heart of  The Annapolis Bookstore is people and the books that open the world to all of us.  We are your community bookstore but we can’t do it without you.  Keep the heart beating.  Become a member.”

http://annapolisbookstore.com/

The next day we visited a diesel duck trawler actually called Diesel Duck.    Marlene and Benno Klopfer invited us to spend the day with them on their trawler which was moored in Weems Creek.  http://www.sailblogs.com/member/dieselduck/?xjMsgID=192210

Weems Creek, Annapolis

It was a beautiful, warm calm day.  We called ahead and Benno came to shore with the dinghy to collect us.

Marlene made a wonderful lunch of chicken, baked apples, rice pilaf and zucchini; and an amazing dessert.  Marlene and Benno had been sailors for years and their boat interior was similar to our friends Jamie and Dave Fritsch who had also been sailors before deciding to own a Diesel Duck trawler.  Our interior is a different design as is the outside.  But ours was built many years after and the design had been modified.  And never having been sailors we opted more for a trawler design rather than a sailboat layout. 

We have some mutual cruising friends and we spent the day swapping stories.  And all Diesel Duck trawlers trace their origins back to George Buehler, the designer of the design.

A crow’s nest offers them a great view when necessary.  Our boat has a pilot house so we can see from up high but a crow’s nest is a great idea…just like the days of yore.  I don’t mind climbing ladders, I just mind climbing down. 

Marlene

Benno transported us from shore to ship to shore on their dinghy.

We had a lovely day and a heartbreaking evening as I followed the Red Sox lose and the Rays win and the season end for the Sox.  It certainly is making for an interesting off-season. 

From Annapolis it we were off to Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey to visit our friend Carol, a Yankees fan.

  We’ve just spent two lovely days with our friend Carol taking a trip yesterday to Manhattan and today walking along the beach here in Point Pleasant. 

Tomorrow we’ll head off to visit our friend Kathy in Cotuit, MA. 

Ru

Chincoteague   

“Located on the southern end of Assateague Island in Virginia, the refuge was established in 1943 for the protection of migratory waterfowl habitat with emphasis on conserving the greater snow goose.

The refuges’ more than 14,000 acres of beach, maritime forest, saltmarsh, and freshwater marsh habitats are home to a spectacular variety of migratory birds, plants, and other animals.

The refuge is also one of the most visited refuges in the country and provides outstanding opportunities to connect you with nature.”   http://www.fws.gov/northeast/chinco/

Randal and I have made several visits to Chincoteague.  Most of the time we took bikes and it’s a great place for that.  We still enjoy it but missed having our bicycles.  And the weather mostly cooperated.

We stayed at the Best Western Plus just at the end/beginning of the causeway to Chincoteague wildlife area and these photos show the entrance and Randal walking back towards the hotel. 

Because of the hurricane this year there were very few birds and about a trillion mosquitoes.  November is supposed to be a great time to see lots of birds wintering here.

Island ponies being walked on the beach and a woman wrapped up against the late afternoon breezes.

Randal had found a short post and a flat board and made a chair.  My foot print and probably a great heron’s which had come earlier.

The small town of Chincoteague had a wonderful seafood restaurant and three used book shops.  One was closed Tuesdays when we were there but Books was open and we had a lovely chat with the owners.

Bill’s Seafood Restaurant and BOOKS the used book store where Randal bought a biography of Beryl Markham who had written West With the Night his favorite book. 

We also love the Chincoteague Island Public Library which had been quite small the last time we visited.  Now it has a whole new section and it’s just lovely.

The former library building and now the current building with the octagonal addition.

The inside was very lovely and homey except I was put off by the confederate flag that was part of a display about the civil war.

Library kitsch. 

Marguerite Henry with the real Misty…… a statue of Misty just next to the Library.

“Chincoteague Island gained national fame in 1961 when Twentieth Century Fox premiered the movie “Misty of Chincoteague”. The movie was based on author Marguerite Henry’s award-winning children’s book Misty of Chincoteague, published in 1947. The book and movie helped to forever transition Chincoteague Island from a small fishing village into a world-class tourist destination.”   http://www.chincoteague.com/

From Chincoteague we moved along to another favorite place, Annapolis in part to visit cruisers who live on a Diesel Duck named Diesel Duck!  But that’s for the next email.

Ru

DoraMac

We left Savannah and spent two nights in Chincoteague.  Then we moved on to  Annapolis.  Now we’re in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey visiting our friend Carol Carino.

Ru

The best beard in Savannah. 

I’d noticed this man sitting up ahead of us on the tour bus and tried to sneak a photo.  Then I tried when we saw him later on the street.  Finally I just asked him to pose.

The white beard against his dark skin was just too striking not to take a photo.

Candy Land…

  After our tour we went to lunch and then it poured.  So we raced next door to a building of art studios and a wonderful candy shop.

Singkey in the candy store.

I love caramel apples but unfortunately the apples have usually turned to mush by the time I’ve gotten them…so I don’t any more.

These guys were making the taffy and occasionally throwing pieces out to the tourists.  I was just watching when the guy on the left asked if I wanted to catch a piece.  I thought “oh boy, I’ll probably miss and look goofy.”  But I made a great overhand catch with my left hand and he and I were both impressed.  Then we agreed I should be playing for the Sox instead of Carl Crawford and this was before that disastrous last game. Most of the taffy was thrown up to a shoot where it was then dropped out into the taffy display across the store.

Outside one of the galleries someone had brilliantly thought to paint these stools and then turn them upside down to hold artwork.

Other Savannah photos

I wish I gotten a better photo of the young girl in here black and white dress.

As you can see there is a head stuck in this photo I couldn’t possibly crop out without eliminating most of the dress.  I have lots of photos like this which certainly agues against trolley tours. 

We drove along the Savannah River front.  A cargo ship was being guided in by a tug.  Tugs have been required ever since one cargo ship ran into the shore.  According to our guide Savannah is the second largest port on the east coast after New York/New Jersey. 

“Florence Martus embodied the true spirit of Southern Hospitality. For forty-four years she greeted every ship entering the Savannah port by waving a cloth from her home on Elba Island. She was the sister of the Elba Island light-keeper and from 1887 to 1931 she was well-known for her welcoming persona. The Waving Girl Statue by Felix De Weldon, stands in Morrell Park on the Riverfront in tribute to Florence. It’s one of the recognized historic landmarks you can see in the riverfront park. The bronze statue of Ms. Martus is one and one-half times life size, mounted on a slanted platform with a bronze collie dog. It is also the first memorial to a Georgia woman in any city park. Visitors to Savannah must see the endearing Waving Girl, a special tribute to one of Savannah’s great residents and an eternal symbol of Southern Hospitality.”   http://www.trolleytours.com/savannah/river-front-marriott.asp

Ballast stone streets.

“The origin of these stones is also unusual: they were transported from afar as ballast in the holds of sailing ships arriving in Savannah. Ships coming with little or no load would take on stones as ballast, and they would dump those stones as they took on loads in Savannah. These stones, probably from Africa or the Caribbean, were valuable building resources, because the sources of solid rock nearest Savannah are many miles inland across the sandy Coastal Plain. More ballast stone can be seen ……..in the cobblestones below.”

http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/BS/BS-Sav.html

Savannah trees with the hanging moss in all of the different squares that make Savannah unique and lovely.

“Spanish moss grows from hanging branches of trees in Historic Savannah Georgia and throughout the southeastern United States. It requires warm temperatures and high humidity to flourish — and that it does in Savannah!

It’s a good idea not to touch the Spanish Moss — as it contains chiggers and other bugs.”

http://www.officialsavannahguide.com/article_210.shtml

Our guide told us if you want some moss as a souvenir to put it into a plastic bag and then zap it in the microwave when you get it home.  That will kill the bugs.

Singkey and Randal at 4:30 a.m. at the Savannah airport.

Our last stop in Savannah was at the airport.  Singkey’s flight was at 5:50 a.m. so we had to be at the airport by 4:15 a.m.  Randal and I said our good-byes and then took off down the road arriving in Chincoteague, VA about 5 pm.  More about that next email.

Ru

DoraMac

Farewell to Singkey

  Singkey is our Chinese friend who had come to the United States to immerse herself in “American” English.  September 26^th was her flight home to China.  Randal and I had gone to Hilton Head to visit with her and the family from whom she’d rented a room.  Our plan was to visit Singkey in Hilton Head and then drive her to Savannah for her flight home. 

  We spent our first day in Hilton Head visiting with Singkey and seeing the sights.  The next evening Randal took everyone out to dinner.

Ruth, Randal, Singkey, Linda (mom) Ashley (daughter) and Kathy a Chinese woman teaching Mandarin in the elementary public school on Hilton Head. Singkey and Kathy both rented rooms in Linda’s lovely home.  Not pictured is Wasabe, the large lab/Dane mix who lives with Linda and Ashley.

  The next day we collected Singkey and set off to Savannah, about an hour away.  I have been to Savannah twice before.  Once on my way from Tallahassee after my last days at Florida State where I got my Masters of Library Science, I stayed with a fellow student who worked at the Talking Book division of the Savannah Public Library.  Once when my friends Kathy and Caroline and I were returning to Roanoke from having done the 6 day Florida Safari bike ride.  I really like Savannah.  Both Randal and I said it would be a great place to live.  Half of the buildings in Savannah seem to be either owned by or being renovated by The Savannah College of Art and Design. 

http://www.scad.edu/

These two parts of SCAD are across from the Savannah visitor center.

Savannah is also known for the book and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Mercer Williams House

Antique dealer Jim Williams was accused of killing his young “friend” Dan Hansford.  The death took place in Williams’ home, originally built by an ancestor of songwriter and Savannah native Johnny Mercer.  I won’t tell more of the story in case someone hasn’t read/seen it.

“Described by one reviewer as Savannah’s “favorite greasy spoon,” Clary’s was made even more popular by Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil as the diner where eccentric Luther Driggers ate his breakfast and lunch. Lady Chablis is a regular patron, as is Midnight author John Berendt. Clary’s serves classic breakfast dishes, sandwiches, and burgers, along with some chicken, pork, and fish entrees”.  http://www.visit-historic-savannah.com/savannah-restaurants.html

Jim Williams’s neighbor was just coming from her home when our tour guide pointed her out.  Apparently they weren’t exactly friends.  I might have to reread the book or at least re-watch the movie.

Just across the square from Jim Williams is Mickve Israel, the 3^rd oldest congregation in America.  http://mickveisrael.org/

Looks to me sort of like a church….possibly to fit into the neighborhood.  From the synagogue website….

“Shalom y’all and welcome to the website of the third oldest Jewish Congregation in America!

We are proud of our over 275 years of history in Savannah. Our historic sanctuary was designed by New York architect Henry G. Harrison and built in 1876 in pure neo-Gothic style, reflecting the fashionable architecture of the Victorian era. It is the only Gothic-style architecture synagogue in America. Our three story Sheftall Memorial Hall addition, opened in 2003, houses our world class museum, library, Judaica shop, religious school and temple offices, as well as our impressive banquet room and full professional kitchen.

  Mickve Israel is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism.”

I had some problems taking photos from the tour trolley.

It’s a bird; it’s a plane, No It’s…… I have no Idea! 

We were all sitting on the left side of the tour trolley and the folks on the right side made no effort to move aside or make room for those of us on the left side to take photos.  So I’ve either had to crop or just leave in heads and elbows.  It was really annoying. 

That’s enough for this email.  I’ll write more about Savannah in the next email.  We’ve spent the day in Chincoteague and tomorrow will head on to Annapolis, another favorite place.

ps:  I’m watching the Sox who HAVE TO WIN THIS GAME AND TOMORROW’S GAME so I’m only sort of paying attention to what I’m writing….I can’t stand this.

Ru

  Randal and I are in Hilton Head South Carolina, the first stop on our “road trip up north.”  Yes, South Carolina is still south of Roanoke, VA, but it is the first stop of our trip.  We’ve come here to visit our Chinese friend Singkey who is here immersing herself in English, albeit South Carolina Low Country English.  Monday Singkey will be flying back to China from Savannah so Sunday we’ll drive her there, tour Savannah and then have an early night.  Singkey’s flight is 5 am Monday so we need to get her to the airport by about 3 am!  Randal and I will say good-bye to Singkey and then just keep going up the coast if it hasn’t washed away.  We’re hoping to stop in Hatteras and Chincoteague if the weather cooperates.

Today we helped Singkey do a few last minute chores: close her bank account, get a suitcase for the return trip home.  Then we drove out to the end of the island to visit the landmark light house.  We had sun, rain, a lovely lunch and a photo op.

The light house behind Randal and me.

Singkey posing with light house.

Harbour Town Lighthouse       http://www.harbourtownlighthouse.com/

“The 90-foot, red-and-white striped tower of the Harbour Town Lighthouse on Hilton Head Island is the visual centerpiece of the popular Sea Pines, located in Hilton Head South Carolina.

Completed in 1970, this was the first privately financed lighthouse to be built since the early 1800s. Visitors who climb the lighthouse steps will find an excellent spot from which to view Hilton Head Island.”

We did climb to the top for the view…..

Actually it wasn’t the greatest of views but it was nice and breezy at the top.  The walk up the step was past displays and exhibits since the light house is also a museum.  Lots of those machines where you can press and image into a penny and we made one for Singkey. 

Randal and Singkey

 

I thought this one was fun!

Then it was time for lunch just across the way.

While we were waiting for our meals I noticed this woman with the flowered hat.

Randal and I split a grouper wrap and a half filled the plate!  Pretty good!!!

Singkey taking a photo of the information about the Liberty Oak.  She had chosen that image to emboss on her penny.  The plaque explains that the tree had been saved when designing the basin for the yachts and condos so instead of being perfectly round as the original design called for; there is an edge where the oak stands.

We walked over to the beach.

In China many of the women carry an umbrella to block the sun.  Singkey says she’s gotten some strange looks, but it really does work.  Chinese women don’t want to darken their skin so they protect it from the sun with umbrellas or long sleeves.

The clouds were lovely but the water wasn’t at all as clean as the Mediterranean.

Randal and I took Singkey home.  She rents a room from a lovely mom and daughter.  We will see them for dinner tomorrow.

Hilton Head is criss-crossed with bike/walking trails and one passes our hotel. 

The alligator sign was just at the start of this bridge.

Ru