I wanted to take a jaunt over to Newport Rhode Island yesterday to check out this marketplace that has umbrellas all set up hanging above one of the walkways throughout the complex. Got some amazing deals of some hoodies and shirts while we were there, so bonus. I also learned that two of the elephants from last years migration along the Breakers are now permanently installed over at the library a few blocks down so I had to check them out as well.
On the way back we hit our favorite vegan ice cream place in Providence. They have a vegan deli next door and I tried the “fake” ham and cheese. LD found she couldn’t eat it – it was just too “wrong” but surprising I was able to chow it down just fine, which is rather unlike me. I guess there really is no replacing the real thing!
We decided to go see Pretty in Pink playing as an outdoor movie at this neat little rooftop park in Cambridge down by Kendall Square. It was hot all day and there was a chance of rain but all our apps said it should be okay. We got in the parking garage and not a drop around. Coming out of the elevator of the garage to access the roof we were bombarded with a pretty heavy rainfall. Oh no! I said we should wait it out a bit. It started thundering. Still waited a bit. Finally we decided to cross the rainy park to this area on the other side that looked to be covered and had one of those pop up food thingies. After getting a burger and some mac and cheese with pulled pork (both were really good by the way!) the rain stopped and we were able to watch the rest of the movie!
Just as we were going to head back home, LD noticed that the skies looked pretty wild and there might be an opportunity for some interesting sunsety shots, and once again she was right! The sky had this amazing pinkish color to it and just the way that it reflected off the water of the river made it look like you were in some magical place, which I suppose we were.
This park is really cute plus it’s neat that it’s up on a roof. We might go back to see the Goonies playing there in September. Anyone is free to join us!
As usual, you can click any picture for the captions.
Gametime: Cloud Walk. I like to keep my brain sharp! I need to, I forget stuff all the time and can’t remember half the shit I need to!
Went biking along the path again this afternoon. It was hot, but it felt good to get the endorphins pumping. The pics in the middle are about 1/20th of all the cat candidates running for mayor of the bike path in Somerville. (Don’t ask me!)
A moment is not complete until you realise it is fleeting…
Last weekend down the Cape is in the books! The high point of Saturday though would have to be getting invited up to the deck above the restaurant there at Rock Harbor to enjoy the sunset. Mind you, the deck is someone’s apartment and a restricted area, so it was cool to be invited up there, just us and our two friends. Felt like a real excusive VIP experience! I also finally also get to check out “Staples Rock”, a silly little Orleans ‘attraction’ that’s gained a lot of traction lately. On the way down we usually stop at a place by the canal for lunch, I was jonesing for a clam plate. It did not disappoint. The Airbnb we were staying at had a piano which I played a bit.
The next day was even more fun. Also the weather has been gorgeous, but I digress. We started by hiking the Eddy Trail in Brewster, a favorite of ours. We love to get to the end where the cliff overlooks the miles of Brewster Flats below. It’s a great trail and pretty easy going. Then it was off to the pool and sun and some outdoor fun and games. Wrapped it up with a dinner with out friends and another beautiful sunset evening. (You can click through each pic for the captions).
I brought my professional camera down and took some shots but I haven’t processed them yet. I’ll post some of those up and soon as I find enough time to do so but the top photo of this post is a quick example!
I wanted to check out this rooftop garden in Kendall Square because we might see some free outdoor movie there sometime next month with another couple possibly. (Pretty in Pink, if you must know!)
I had some business at Earth-1, so after that was done I decided to bike on down there and scope it out. Found it pretty easily. Basically next to the train stop a door down from Legal Seafoods. It’s cute but small. I’d be down for hanging out there tho. Google has a huge office space there and there’s a bunch of MIT stuff.
On the ride home I trolled thru Central, passed by some places I hung out at back in the day. Although it looks pretty different now. The Middle East is where I’d see local rock acts in the early aughts like Angry Salad, Tootsie/Jaded, Waltham, and Damone. And at TT the Bears next door (long gone now).
There’s a Target in Central now??? Guess I’ve been out of the loop for a while!
This picture was taken from a wooden walkway like the one you see in the photo while looking back toward the sun after walking around the are for a bit. I always likes this picture for some reason. It’s one of my personal favorites. There really are a lot of scenic areas to shot down the Cape, this shot is from Brewster, one of the towns that we particularly like down there,
Did a bunch of things around the house yesterday. I finally got around to installing the new doorbell. It’s pretty sweet how it senses when someone’s outside. Mostly good to know when an package has been delivered. Went to the hardware store and got some screws to help address some issues with the side door and got a new hibiscus plant to be planted in the corner now that the new fencing is just about done. Ended up watching some tv, the first part of that Billy Joel documentary for one. It’s really good but be prepared to watch it for a while – the first part is almost 2 and a half hours long. For lunch LD drove me over to the Bubbling Brook in Westwood where they have different food trucks on different days and yesterday was Capt. Mardens. I was jonesing for a clam plate. Must have been all that beach time we had the other day.
I was planning on going to Maine this morning but I was too tired so instead I went to LD’s gym and used the hot tub, which I needed since my arm and shoulder were a little sore from all the throwing and splashing in the water yesterday. Ended up chatting with the trainer there today. Pretty cool.
Then, this afternoon we decided to hit the beach and meet up with another pal! Why not?
Also starting to set up a new doorbell this weekend with video capabilities as a side project.
Above, another shot from Cape Porpoise, Maine. I might attempt a quick jaunt up there tomorrow morning if I can get up early enough for an event, but that’s iffy. Going to spend the afternoon today at our friend’s pool. Ahhhh!
Had a fun fourth over at a friend’s house down in Fairhaven along the water yesterday. I ate a bunch of burgers, dogs, chicken, chips, desserts, etc. Hung with with 4 dogs. So cute. This was right after we celebrated LD’s achievement again at the pool at the gym – there were treats and balloons and a lot of fun. Also picked up a bunch more Dedham pottery bunny stuff in Swansea which was sort of on the way and today in Dedham of all places, obtained a bunch more, some of them cats with their kittens. So it was a good haul this weekend to be sure!
Enjoy this pic of the lilies on our friends property from yesterday.
Mr. History Post #14: The Most Photographed House in America at one time and I believe still the most photographed house in the state of Maine. It’s the Wedding Cake House! It’s up for sale if you want the slice! If you want a look inside you can check that here.
We headed off to Cape Porpoise for a little mini weekend getaway. I really enjoyed this trip. The Airbnb we stayed in was really great – I would surely return to it. It was so spacious and the hosts were super great. The first night we headed to the town over called Biddeford Pool because there was a food/store place called Goldthwaites that we wanted to try. It was good and the views from their back outside area were wonderful. I noticed you could even see the Stage Island Monument in the distance. I do so love this area of Maine. We also saw deer and what appeared to be a company of black swans, but could that be true?
Next day we did a bunch of things. We hiked a part of the Carson trail, which is part of the Rachel Carson Reserve Wildlife area. It was kind of too hot to really do too much of that though plus it was a little buggy so we didn’t stay there too long. There were a ton of chipmunks around I noticed. For lunch we drove into Kennebunk and I ended up getting a burger at a place called Duffy’s. We then headed back for a little rest before hitting Goose Rock Beach for the afternoon. While there we saw piping plovers, a cool sandcastle that someone built, and a very cute Bassett Hound named Baxter that we had to greet.For dinner we got some good eats at Mabel’s Lobster Claw.
Next day we went to Sunday services at St. Ann’s Church, What’s cool is that they do the service right by the water weather permitting. It was a bit rainy when we went so the service was actually indoors but even that was pretty cool. I actually really liked everything about this location and plan to return for some other services soon. We got breakfast at a place next to Mabel’s from last night called the Pantry. I decided to try the eggs benedict with lobster and it was damn good. Another afternoon at the beach afterwards I wanted to catch a sunset at the famous fish shacks. Thanks to LD for finding the perfect location for me to shoot from!
The fish shacks. I was always curious about these buildings. After taking these shots we eventually found a place where we could get some eats (a pizza actually) which was a bit of a struggle to find food since it seems all the places around here close at 8 or 9 o’clock. I caught the tail end of the Valkyries WNBA game as they beat the Suns. It’s nice that this Airbnb had all the stations you could want, they aren’t usually like that in my experience.
Finally on Monday it started to get really hot. We checked out, hit Stonewall Kitchen for a quick bite and Yummies to get some candy fix. Our freinds up in Georgetown were kind enough to let us stop by and use their pool for a bit so we could cool off before going all the way home. So we took a dip for an hour or two and were then on our way back home.
All in all, this was a fantastic trip! I probably left out a ton of stuff but these were some of the high points!
Currently Reading: Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers
Saturday: Spent the early afternoon with a brunch invite over a good friend’s house. So nice to be invited and so delicious! Good chatting too.
Sunday: Pool invite up north, hung out, didn’t get to use the pool because it was too cold, but fun to see Molly again. The fire pit was relaxing though.
Monday: Today was the “get stuff done day.” Gardening and getting lobster rolls from Cousins Lobster food truck down at the Bubbling Brook ice cream place in Westwood. It was pretty good! I got the Connecticut style roll while LD got the lobster quesadilla. The gardening did take a while though, getting the plants, readying them, and placing either in the pots, raised beds, or hung depending on what kind of plant they were.
This morning was the annual spring bike ride that the city of Cambridge puts on that I try to do every year. This year’s theme was a tour of Cambridge’s off-leash dog areas. We also stopped at Fresh Pond for a water and restroom break and to hear from a guest speaker about the City’s biggest dog and wildlife hotspot. The ride was really good, mostly level terrain, with a police escort. If you weren’t near the front though I don’t think you’d actually know where the parks were because there wouldn’t be anyone to point it out to you as you rode by. This was a good 11 mile ride with about 115 participants. The best parts were the dogs that came along for the ride. After it was all over I headed to place a saw on Chronicle last week in my neighborhood that I wanted to try out, a Rwandan couple that has a coffee shop and serves coffee from their homeland, I must say it was pretty good! Would definitely go back and try some other things.
Mr. History post number 10: Powder House – the oldest stone building in Massachusetts, built around 1703! Oh yeah, there was some other pre-revolution history to it, too. Over the years it’s been used to store munitions and even pickles!
Started out the day walking a trail in Wellesley that I’d been meaning to do for quite some time but never got around to it until today. We had to be in the area so I decided to take the oppurtunuithy to get some steps in. The Fuller Brook Trail is really beautiful. Such a lovely trial to walk and enjoy.
After that I decided to treat us brunch over at The Cottage.
It was also Somerville Open Studios weekend so I decided to relive visiting the Museum of Modern Renaissance.
First really warm beach day outing of the year, sort of a test run if you will. Saw an interesting rock and then had a late lunch at a place called 135 Ocean which was pretty good.
