| Page 29 Day 136 - Wed 5-29-02 - mileage today 54.8 - climbed today 1680' – MILEAGE TO DATE = 5,271.48 From wildwood state park to Mystic, Ct CONNECTICUT - State # 17 I have wanted to come to Connecticut for a long time. I have a good friend Amy G. Amy is originally from Conn. I have known several other people from Conn. and they all have been very kind, well-educated and thoughtful people. It just made me want to visit one day. Well, here I am. So far people are living up to their reputation. We took the ferry from Orient; LI to New London, Ct. New London is a beautiful New England seaside town founded in 1646. It is what I like to call a Norman Rockwell town. It is nestled along the Thames River and the Atlantic Ocean. New London sits on a small hillside with old brick building and churches with tall steeples. When we arrived in New London we called the visitors center to get information about camping and roads. Nobody was there - unlike N.Y. When we arrived in NY we called the NY visitor center to get info about lodging, hostels, campgrounds, cheap motels etc. We told the girl that we were cycling the perimeter of the United States. She couldn't believe it. She gave us a few phone numbers. I called the first number she gave us and asked for a room for several nights. The man on the other end said he had room but it was for mentally disturbed people needing a place to stay. He then asked, if we had need of their services? I laughed and said that the girl at the visitor’s center must think we do. Anyway the visitor center in New London was closed. So, we went to the police station and they told us that we could ride the bridge crossing the Thames River. They also recommended a place to camp. When we arrived at Sea Port Campground we found Christine to be very helpful. Fulfilling my idea of people from Connecticut. Day 137 - Thursday 5-30-02 - mileage today 61.5 - climbed today 2,370' – MILEAGE TO DATE=5426.05 from Mystic, CT to Portsmouth, RI That Pie Takes The Cake!!! We woke up to a blanket of fog. It was the first time on the trip we've had fog. It reminds me of home. We went down by the harbor for breakfast. As we cycled at the mouth of the harbor, I looked in towards the cove where all the boats are tied up. I couldn't help but to take a mental snapshot of the pretty little hamlet called Mystic. It was nestled on a hillside in the morning mist. With the soft smell of a wood fire from a fireplace. You can almost taste the salty air I've never been in New England before but it is as I pictured it. Only now I can feel it, as it lives and breathes. At breakfast we still could not decide where to go, so we decided to meet at the junction of hwy 1 and 138. Then we would decide which direction we would go from there. As the day wore on, we crossed into Rhode Island. After that Myron pulled ahead of us. We weren’t concerned; we just thought he was on his way to find lunch. When John and I got to the junction, we didn't see Myron. We saw a restaurant across the street. We figured he must be there. No, no sign of Myron. We know better than to let Myron cycle ahead of us, he usually gets lost. We tease Myron and tell him that he is close to Alzheimer’s, but not quite all the way yet, just part way. He only has halfheimers. John called and left a message for him. Then, we went in to have a late lunch. During lunch Myron called and said he turned right at the meeting spot and was at a bridge that won’t let bicycles on. At this point John decided to continue on hwy 1 and go into Providence, RI. I said I would go find Myron and cycle where ever he wanted to go. I went to the bridge Myron spoke of, and it was terrible. Like Myron, I hitchhiked and got a ride across in a truck. On the other side, I called Myron’s office. He had just called in to say where he was. It was only a mile away. I found Myron sitting at a gas station happily talking with Denise. Myron and I sat there and decided to go to Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod and cycle there for a few days; before meeting up with John in Boston next week. It was getting late so we decided to camp. We cycled about ten miles and found a wonderful little campground called Twin Lanterns in Portsmouth, RI. It is only $15 dollars a night and the campground is very clean. It is a real bargain. You can call toll free at 1-866-682-1304 ask for Bob or Patti. We were hungry and Bob recommended a place to eat 3 miles away. We went, and it was great home cooked food. After dinner Myron ordered apple pie for dessert. I always tease Myron; I say that his God is Ala. Ala Mode that is. Anyway this 8" tall monster of a pie with three scoops of ice cream and whipped cream came out. Myron looked at it longingly, and said,"that pie takes the cake". Day 138 - Friday 5-31-02 - mileage today 31.1 - climbed today 1,420' – MILEAGE TO DATE=5457.15 From Portsmouth, RI to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts We slept great last night; we even slept in to 7:00am. We went to Evelyn’s Cafe for breakfast. We had everybody in the whole restaurant interested in the trip. People had all kinds of questions and wanted stories. We had a huge breakfast and a great time meeting everybody. We are back into hill country. We were in the flats in Florida, Georgia, south and North Carolina. When we hit Virginia we started to get a few hills. Now we really have them. The hills fun, they give you another type of scenery. We are in rocky country. All the towns around here use granite slabs for their curbs. A lot of the farms have rock fences, reminiscent of the old country. We stopped at a Mobil service station and the owner John gave Myron a coffee and me bottled water. John was also helpful in giving us directions to the ferry. We found the ferry and bought our tickets. The ferry doesn’t take of for several hours. As we were buying tickets a man came up to us and asked if we would carry gearbox for a boat to Martha’s Vineyard. The ferry doesn’t officially take cargo. We said if it is ok with the people that run the ferry we would take it and give it to the person on the other side. The gearbox is for a boat doing some work in the harbor on Martha’s Vineyard. They need the gearbox desperately. The boat has been down for a week for repairs. While we wait for the ferry in New Bedford I learn that New Bedford was a very important part of the Underground Railroad. It was here that Frederick Douglass found his freedom. New Bedford was also the homeport of many whaling ships. In 1841 Herman Melville shipped out of New Bedford. The experience inspired him to write Moby Dick. We crossed over to Martha’s Vineyard to meet Rick. Rick was anxiously waiting for us, well not but the gearbox. Rick showed his appreciation by giving Myron and I official tee shirts and caps of the Martha’s Vineyard shipyard logo. We arrived just in time to cycle to a campground and set up before dark. Day 139 - Sat 6-1-02 - mileage today 29.5 - climbed today 1,480' – MILEAGE TO DATE=5486.65 From Martha’s Vineyard to Cape Cod SPLISH-SPHASH We had a New England thunderstorm. I was in my tent splishing and splashing most of the night. Fortunately it wasn't too cold. My down sleeping bag is worthless when it gets wet. My tent leaks enough to create puddles of water inside. On the flip side we awoke to a beautiful clear warm morning on the Vineyard, listen to me "on the vineyard. You’d think by the way I talked that I owned the place. Anyway, we had having breakfast at The Black Dog tavern. Myron had banana strawberry pancakes and I had banana, coconut and mango pancakes, served with real Vermont maple syrup. All while overlooking the harbor. We spent most of the day looking around "THE VINEYARD" or more accurately eating our way around it. We took the 3:45 ferry over to Cape Cod, or as I call it "THE CAPE". As we approached Hyannis Port, from the water you can see all the exclusive homes of the rich and famous, like the Kennedy compound and others. We cycled thru Hyannis, Yormouth, and Dennis. All of which are small clean quiet seaside communities. We stopped for dinner at JT's restaurant in Brewster. We were treated special. Susan the owner treated us to homemade apple pie and ice cream. She told a friend of hers, Bob and his family who was eating there too. We talked with Bob and his family for at least half an hour. We really enjoyed our evening. We stayed at the state park. Four men awakened me at night in our camp. One was kneeling down by my bicycle and the others were by Myron's bike. Without thinking I immediately unzipped my tent yelling at the top of my lungs," HEY WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING"??? They all ran at that point. Needless to say I didn't go back to sleep right away. I was more mad than scared. Later in the evening I was awakened again by rustling leaves by my tent. Fortunately I didn't jump up yelling this time. It wasn't the visitors from before, it was a skunk about a foot away. You can imagine what would have happened. Day 140 - Sunday 6-2-02 - mileage today 43.6 - climbed today 1,540' – MILEAGE TO DATE=5530.25 From Brewster to Provincetown It is my 42nd birthday today I was born at 3:04 in the afternoon on June 2nd, 1960. I'm not shy about birthdays I love birthdays. I think everybody should. They are the only personal special day. And being that I'm special so is my birthday. I don’t say that in a conceded way. I think everybody should feel that way about themselves and their birthdays. Anyway I love my birthday. I wish I could be with my family and friends back home. My family has a tradition of a birthday dinner. If I were at home I would have Taco Salad with lots of Catalina dressing. I can’t be with family and friends back home. But, Myron knowing my homesickness for family and friends is doing his best to make my day special. He has said happy birthday numerous times and plans to treat me to a special dinner tonight in Provincetown on Cape Cod. By the way Provincetown is the first stop in new land by the pilgrims on the Mayflower. Even before Plymouth, MA. We cycled over to where the pilgrims first landed in America. Just on the tip of province town. We were getting hungry and Myron said for me to pick where I wanted to eat and he would treat. I didn’t know where so I stopped a local to ask and he turned out to be the Chief of Police. We talked for a few minutes and he (Ted was very interested in the trip and wanted us to give an interview to the local paper. Ted recommended a nice restaurant and also another place to have desert. I had a delicious Steak and Myron had Salmon. We finished dinner and met Ted at Java Dreams as planned for desert. We both had coffee and triple chocolate cake flown in from Italy. We wanted to pay for desert but Claudia the owner insisted on treating us. We really enjoyed meeting and talking with Ted Meyer, Chief of Police and Claudia Thomason owner of Java Dreams in Provincetown, Cape Cod. Day 141 - Monday 6-3-02 - mileage today 16.3 - climbed today 524' – MILEAGE TO DATE=5546.55 From Provincetown {P-TOWN} to West Newton (Boston) ELTON POPE LANCE We got up early to have breakfast and to catch the ferry to Boston. As we got on the ferry the Chief of Police, (Ted Meyer) boarded the ferry with a photographer from the newspaper to take our pictures. Ted then had some people he wanted us to meet. He told the crew chief of the ferry to old the boat until we board back on. We met the city manager and clerk. They were all there greeting THE JAMACIAN BOB-SLED TEAM. We saw the team but didn’t get a chance to meet them because the ferry was waiting on us. After we boarded again the crew chief, Mike greeted us and said that he was just informed, that he had celebrities on board. Mike then asked if there was anything that he can do for us, arrange transportation, lodging, meals or tours etc.. for us. We were a little self-conscious because everybody was staring at us. We said thank you but we have everything already arranged. It wasn’t true but we didn’t want to draw any more attention to ourselves. We did ask Mike for directions to West Newton. He called ahead to have a map printed out for us. As we got off the ferry the map was waiting for us. Downtown Boston is completely torn up due to, "The Big Dig". The big dig is the countries largest civil engineering project ever. In a nutshell, it is an underground highway. We had a hard time finding our way around closed and restricted roads. We slowly meandered around the area. We cycled past Harvard University and also MIT in Cambridge. I told Myron that I was having a hard time choosing which one I should attend. He said I should attend MIT, cause I could at least spell MIT correctly. However I always thought that MIT stood for, Made In Taiwan. Anyway, after 12 miles and two hours, we found Harris Cyclery. (WE HAVE A LINK TO HARRIS CYCLERY). If you have any cycling or parts questions you have to check out their website. Brian our contact person at the shop; was not there. So we introduced ourselves and met Sheldon Brown. Sheldon is why we chose to go! to Harris Cyclery to begin with. I had heard of him and talked to him before we left on the trip. Sheldon is the GURU of all bike mechanics. He is a wealth of information. We didn’t have a place to stay and we asked Elton about camping in the area. Elton kindly offered us the guest room in his home. Elton works at the bike shop in the mail order side of the business. I found out later that Elton is a very gifted commercial photographer. Look at his website www.pope-lance.com After we arrived to the house, we went with Elton to his daughter, Norah’s, softball game. It was almost over when we got there but we got to see a quick inning and a win. We always enjoy community’s events. It gives us a chance to see and meet local people. Deborah, Elton’s wife was there too. We were taken in to the Lance family and treated like royalty. Elton BBQ a Huge steak, just what the doctor ordered for a couple of hungry cyclists. Deborah had a pasta salad that she rescued from a meeting she had. Deborah is a Minister and is very involved in the church and the local community. It was the BEST PASTA SALAD that Myron and I have ever tasted. As we were eating dinner Trevor their son walked in. Trevor is graduating this year and is getting ready for his senior ball on Thursday. Congrats Trevor!! Day 142 - Tue 6-4-02 - mileage today 0 - climbed today 0 – TOTAL MILEAGE TO DATE = 5546.55 Lay Over in Boston I don’t think I slept so well in two weeks. We got up to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. Ahhhh, the simple comforts of home. The coffee was outstanding. Full flavored and strong. After breakfast Elton drove us to the bike shop. We told Brian what we wanted done to the bikes. Brian also helped us plan a sightseeing tour as well as drive us to the train station. We took the train downtown. We took the DUCK TOUR. We highly recommend taking the tour for first time visitors to Boston. It was very informative and humorous as well. We saw and heard many sights and stories about the area we would not have otherwise had. We saw the USS Constitution We saw where Samuel Adams is buried, We saw Bunker Hill and The Old North Church (One if by sea, Two if by Land). We saw the Boston Common and were told, you must carry a gun while in the Common in case a bear attack, that is the law. The day went by fast. We decide to stay in town another day. Brian was good enough to secure housing fo! r us at his girlfriends (Alexis) house. Alexis is a young Doctor who just purchased a condo and is in the process of moving. She graciously offered her apartment in Harvard Square. Harvard Square is part of the Harvard campus. It is truly a great place to walk around and watch people. Day 143 - Wed. 6-5-02 - mileage today 17.7 - climbed today 340' – TOTAL MILEAGE TO DATE=5,564.25 Lay Over Day in Boston My bike needed more work than first anticipated. We decided to lay over one more day. Brian once again asked Alexis if we could stay at her apartment. She said yes. We rode our bikes from the shop to Alexis's apartment. We took the round about way, but not on purpose. I started going the wrong way right from the get go. I led Myron on a 10-mile sightseeing tour over some of the worst roads to date. We can’t thank Brian and Alexis enough. We had dinner with them and had a great time getting to know them. |
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