'Old' Cape Cod........

7:11 am - Thursday - October 4th - Smithfield, RI - 60º F, 97% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the south by southeast.....heavy overcast with a forecast high today of 71º F.  We roll our wheels in about 4 hours!

Wednesday was my 69th birthday......where have the last 50 years gone?  It feels like just a few years ago that I was 19.  Some famous people who share my birthday are: Chubby Checker, Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), Gore Vidal, Clive Owen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, & Tommy Lee to name just a few.

So, what does one do on their 69th birthday?  How about driving over 280 miles to visit Plymouth Rock, Cape Cod, Provincetown and all points in between?  Seems like a likely choice, right? 280 miles is typically the distance we might cover traveling in the Newell over two days!  Actually, that we took on this long day of driving on my birthday was more a coincidence, than a plan.  Our local weather kind of dictated when we would make the drive, and as it turned out the weather barely cooperated.  We were expecting partly cloudy skies as we left in the VW around 9:30 am to make the drive over to Plymouth, MA to see 'Plymouth Rock', but we got a drizzle instead.  It is just under 60 miles to Plymouth, and we arrived there without incident around 10:45 am......just as the drizzle stopped....how convenient!

We easily found a parking spot within a 100 feet of the Plymouth Rock monument, and walked over to see this very famous landmark that TLE and I have been reading about since we were in grade school.  It was not what I was expecting.......

 

.....that's it....that's Plymouth Rock.......a rock that measures approximately 3' x 3' sitting in the sand on the shore.....I always imagine some inscription on a 'Gibralter' kind of rock....how about you?

 

......after viewing the 'Rock' we walked around town looking at the various monuments, and then got a nice cup of coffee to warm us up a little.....it was quite cold!

This sign caught my attention in the bakery where we bought our coffee

......within an hour we were back on our way out to Cape Cod, and ultimately Provincetown......

This cartoon map was at TJ's and shows how far out Provincetown is (see red arrow)

.....from Plymouth it was another 85 miles to Provincetown.  The drive was lovely, and we arrived just after 1 pm......just in time for lunch.  The parking situation in Provincetown is difficult, and expensive in October.....I can only imagine how bad it is during the summer months.  At any rate, we did find a spot for $10, and set off walking about 2 blocks to the eatery TLE had chosen for our lunch fare.....'The Squealing Pig', which gets 4 stars on 393 reviews......it is what I would call a 'dive bar' known for their very good clam chowder.....

 Very funny

.....we found two seats at the bar and ordered some adult breverages....a Left Hand Milk Stout for moi, and a glass of wine for TLE......they did have draft beer, but I really like the Left Hand Milk Stout, and it only came in a bottle.  We both ordered a bowl of their famous clam chowder, and I added a small Caesar Salad.  The chowder was the perfect choice for such a cold, cloudy day......

.....after lunch we walked around town a little.....it appears Halloween decorations are appearing all over town....this one was quite imaginative!

The streets are quite narrow!

At the time we came across this large tower, but did not know what it represented.....it is called the Pilgrim Monument, and stands 253' tall, and can be seen from miles away.....

 Pilgrim Monument....built between 1907 and 1910....almost 253' tall

 View from the top (internet photo....we did not go to the top)

Internet photo......our day was totally overcast

....from there we drove to the famous Cape Code beaches and sand dunes.......

Ever since I first heard this Patti Page song about Old Cape Cod back in the late 50's I have wanted to visit

 Hangin' with my Baby on my birthday.....life is good!

There's that tower again.....

......soon it was after 3 pm and we still had 129 miles to drive home, plus a stop at a Trader Joe's in Hyannis, MA.....who would have thought?  We arrived at TJ's around 4 pm, purchased a few things, and were back in the Beetle on our way home.......

Trader Joe's near Hyannis, MA (think Hyannis Port, and the Kennedy's)

.....we arrived home just after 6 pm.....right at sundown.....it was a perfect day, and a few more items were checked off the old bucket list!

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A little 'junking' on a rainy day......

7:39 am - Wednesday - October 3rd (Happy birthday to me!) - Smithfield, RI - 58º F, 98% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the north......heavy cloud cover with a forecast high of 68º F.  No rain today!

With one more day of rain in the offing we had to get out of the coach for a few hours.  What haven't we done in quite a while?  Junking, of course....a perfect rainy day activity!  While TLE researched the local thrift store opportunities I wrote the blog.

Ultimately, she found three thrift stores within easy driving distance, and we set out to visit them around 11:30 am.  First up was a Salvation Army store......it wasn't the nicest one we have visited, but it was adequate.  Nevertheless, neither of us found anything without which we could not live.  Then it was off to what we thought was the local Goodwill, however, when we arrived it turned out to be one of their training facilities, so scratch that one off the list.

When we were working at the Grand Canyon this past winter we made numerous visits into Flagstaff on our off days, and became big fans of a thrift store called 'Savers'.  Since then we have visited several Savers Thrift Stores all across the USA.  They are all large, well lit, and look like a regular department store, plus their pricing is very generous......

.....we spent about an hour there browsing their inventory.  I came out with a woven leather belt for $2.99, but TLE kept her wallet in her pocket.  By the time we finished at Savers it was about 1:40 pm and time for a latish lunch.  We have passed this restaurant (Blackie's Bull Dog Tavern) on Washington Highway several times since we arrived in Smithfield, and decided to give them a try.  They have a 4 star rating, after all, right?

A good way to live

We arrived about 2:15 pm.....right in between the lunch and dinner crowds....and were seated immediately.  We both ordered a pint of beer.....for TLE a Kentucky Ale Vanilla Cream, and for me Allagash White.  For our entrees TLE ordered their 'Dirty Dog' (hotdog), and for moi their Brisket and Burnt Ends sandwich......OMG!

 TLE's Kentucky Ale Vanilla Cream......I was not expecting how good it tasted!

I tasted TLE's Kentucky Ale Vanilla Cream (aged in bourbon barrels), and was blown away.  If you like Cream Soda, this brew is the best of all worlds......its aroma is that of a Cream Soda, and the first taste reminds you exactly of Cream Soda, but it finishes with a hint of bourbon.

We both loved our entrees, and ended up taking home some of our food in a 'doggy box'.....there were enough french fries to feed three people.  TLE's 'Dirty Dog' hot dog was stuffed with mac 'n cheese.  Their menu offers a wide spectrum of wonderful pub food.

We were home by 3:45 pm trying to avoid slipping into a food coma.  It continued to rain well into the evening, and was still raining when we went to bed at 11:30 pm.  Kind of late, I know, but we were watching the Chicago Cubs vs. Colorado Rockies.  When we went to bed at the end of the 9th inning the game was tied 1-1 and it did not look like it would be over anytime soon.  As it turns out it went 13 innings with the Rockies winning 2-1.....poor Cubs.....out again the Wild Card round.  The Wild Card round used to be a best 3 out of 5 games series, but now it is a one game elimination......much better than the old system!

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One more rain day........

8:02 am - Tuesday - October 2nd - Smithfield, RI - 56º F, 98% humidity, wind 4 mph out of the northeast......heavy cloud cover.....rained all night....forecast high for today is 73º F.

Monday began with clear blue skies, but by 9:30 am it was raining.  It continued to rain throughout the day and was still raining when we turned out the lights.  So, what to do on a rainy day?  As chance would have it four Major League Baseball teams ended up tied for first place in their respective divisions......my L.A. Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies were tied for first in the NL Western Division, and the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers were tied for first in the NL Central Division.  When this happens a one game playoff is required to determine the division winner, and that one game playoff is always played on the Monday following the final game of the season.  The Cubs vs. Brewers game was scheduled for 1 pm eastern time, and the Dodger vs. Rockies game for 4 pm eastern time, so that is what we did Monday.....watch MLB playoff games all afternoon.....

The Cub/Brewers game was tied 1-1 until the top of the 8th inning when Milwaukee scored two runs, and ultimately won 3-1.  The Dodger/Brewer game was 0-0 until the bottom of the 4th inning when the Dodgers went up 2-0 courtesy a two run home run.  They added two more in the bottom of the 5th via another two run home run to make the score 4-0, and one more in the 6th inning.  The final score was 5-2.....Dodgers win!  This is the 6th consecutive Division title for the Dodgers.

It never rained hard at any point during the day.  In fact, if our curtains had not been open, I would not have known it was raining.  It was mostly a heavy mist sometimes evolving into a heavy drizzle, but never heavy enough to create sound on our aluminum roof.

We watched recorded episodes of 'Last Ship', 'NCIS: Los Angeles', and 'Better Call Saul' before calling it a day.  Hoping the rain abates for Tuesday.....time for some more sightseeing!

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Newport, Rhode Island

8:01 am - Monday - October 1st - Smithfield, RI - 56º F, 100% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the south by southwest.......sunny now, but rain on the way by 2 pm.

The weather Sunday was perfect!  It was definitely worthy of our t-shirt, shorts and flip flops attire.  We spent the morning watching the final round 12 Ryder Cup singles matches.  By 11 am it was obvious that the European team would win, and it was at that time we got dressed and headed out to visit Newport for the afternoon for some more sightseeing.  

The drive down to Newport takes about an hour, but it was a great day for a drive.  Our first stop was in Jamestown at the 3rd oldest lighthouse in North America....Beavertail Lighthouse and Museum......first activated in 1749!

7th order Fresnel lens....about 3-4 feet tall

Unlike later lighthouses, this one was square

The original lighthouse was octagonal, as the uncovered foundation revealed

You can just see a Princess Lines cruise ship in the deep background

....frankly, if we had thought about bringing our beach chairs I would have been happy to spend an hour just watching the sailboats and the ocean as literally dozens of people were doing.  From there we drove into old town Newport (est. 1639) to drive around, walk around and have lunch.  As we drove down the one way street we passed an Irish pub called O'Brien's, and decided on the spot to find a parking place and have lunch there....it was a good decision!

The $4 (each way) toll bridge into and out of Newport

They have a water feature in the middle of the outdoor dining area which is filled with 'floaty' toys for kids to enjoy

I ordered pint of their Red Ale, and TLE a pint of the seasonal Samuel Adams Octoberfest.....for our entrees we each ordered a salad.....Chicken Caesar, and for TLE their Greek salad.....both Yelp and Tripadvisor only give them 3.5 stars, but we would be more in the neighborhood of a solid 4 stars......great food, great ambiance and wonderful, attentive service.....is there anything I missed?

There's that cruise ship again

.....our next stop was Fort Adams, named for President John Adams.  It was first garrisoned in 1841, and formed an integral part of the U.S. coastal defenses.....

The Princess Cruise ship up close and personal from Fort Adams

 It took 8 men to handle each of these Seacoast 32-pounder cannon.....there were 100 of them in addition to 57  24-pounder Seacost cannon, and 42 24-pounder flank howitzers

 Construction of Fort Adams was completed in 1841.  Its namesake was John Adams, our sixth POTUS

.......our next stop was mansion row......many of these mansions were built in the 1800's.  The well known 'Marble House' was built for the William K. Vanderbilts between 1888 and 1892.....you can go on tours of the grounds and the insides of a number of these old mansions, but it costs $35/adult......no thank you......

Being renovated

The 'Breakers' Mansion today....completed in 1895  for, whom else, the  Vanderbilts

How it looked in 1895

.....by 3:45 pm we were ready to head for home.  Newport and evirons is quite beautiful, and has some quite spectacular coastline.  It is definitely worth a day, or two of sightseeing.  We were home just before 5 pm with smiles on our faces.  A great day spent with my best friend.....how does it get any better than that?

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