Monday, 19 October 2009
Road Trip Day 61
Well, I opened the blinds of my "villa" in Kittery this morning with a little trepidation, but was greeted by a blue sky, snow free ground and chilly, clean breeze. Here's a picture of my "villa" which was warm, cozy, had perfect WiFi signal and good TV reception. No complaints from me.
Incidentally, isn't Kittery a place where you take your young cat to stay when you go on holiday?
Outdoor Museum
Yesterday the weather cut short my journey before I reached my chosen entertainment at Strawbery Banke Museum (no, these are not typos, it's the Olde English original name for the settlement now know as Portsmouth). Even if I had got there I wouldn't have enjoyed myself as it is an outdoor, living museum.
Essentially, it is a collection of restored, original buildings dating back to the 17th and 18th Centuries. Several were open to view with original features, fittings and furniture plus a couple of people "in character" as the Lady of the House and a Russian Jewish immigrant.
It's terribly well done and pretty educational, though I would have been more interested if the exhibits had included some more modern homes.
Coast
I do like to be beside the seaside. I do like to be beside the sea, which is why I just adored the stretch of coastline that I drove today in my usual efforts to avoid the Interstate Highways. I drove along a good deal of the short New Hampshire coastline and it is absolutely beautiful. The sea was whipping in today on a feisty wind giving me the impression I was in a Guinness commercial.
The houses along the coast here are as big and beautiful as the sea. I'm no realtor, but I know expensive, desirable homes when I see them.
Big City
I mentioned the other day that it's surprising to me how quiet so many American cities have appeared to me. My drive into Boston today proved the point, by being the exception to that rule. The traffic was pretty horrible, but the city is good looking and I look forward to investigating further tomorrow. In the meantime though, I did have one appointment in the city...
Take Me Out To Another Ballpark
You'll know by now how much I enjoy a good tour so I couldn't resist a guided trip around Fenway Park, the oldest Major League Baseball Stadium and home of the Boston Red Sox.
As a good Twins fan, I didn't miss the opportunity to wear my Minnesota hat and tee-shirt. The guide picked up on this and when he asked for people to speak up with which team they back, I was not the only Twins fan there.
Baseball, being the all inclusive sport that it is, there was no issue with my allegiance, in fact the Twins and the Sox share two things at the moment. We've both just lost Divisional Series 0 and 3 and, as it was New York that beat Minnesota, we both hate the New York Yankees.
Fenway is a great looking park, dripping with history, but growing as best it can within the bounds of a small ground. Various arrays of seating have been added above the existing stands and, most interestingly, on top of the famous "Green Monster"; a 37 foot tall wall in left field.
Go The Distance
Now here's the clever part. In a call-back to my visit to Iowa, in the movie "Field of Dreams" our hero Ray (Kevin Costner) takes disillusioned writer Terrence Mann (James Earl Jones) to a game at Fenway Park. In the movie, they both see a mysterious message about an obscure player named Archie Graham (Burt Lancaster / Frank Whaley) who lived in Chisholm Minnesota... and I've been there too!
I am the QUEEN of movie locations!
Thank you and Goodnight.
Stats - Day Eighty-Seven
Distance travelled - 80 miles - Kittery, ME to Boston, MA via Strawbery Banke Museum, the New Hampshire / Massachusetts coast and Fenway Park.
State entered - Massachusetts
State count - 38 + DC + B.C.
Room numbers stayed in - 203, 1, 148, 212, 205, 210, 246, 118, 3, 145, 229, 111, 207, 206, 40, 605, "Cowboy", 35, 11, 18, 262, 216, 208, 430, 216, 59, 226, 115 / 110*, 309, 30, 8, 255, 428, 209, "Spare", 105, 207, 227, 126, 112, 4, 16, 229, 115, 108, 106
*room switch
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