As planned, I rented a car for this second day and drove on up to Woonsocket, my home town.
First thing I rediscovered was the fact that Rhode Island drivers are crazy! I will never complain about Floridian drivers again. Oh yes I will, but it just seemed like Rhode Islanders were driving like insane idiots who had no fear of death!
Second thing I had to relearn was the hills. Central Florida's "hills" are just really gentle inclines and declines. Here they're really hilly hills. Sometimes kinda steep, but overwhelmingly omnipresent. They were everywhere!
Third thing about driving in Rhode Island...the potholes! OMG the potholes!! By the end of the day I was glad to be getting the car back to the rental place since I didn't want to drive in this crazy, rickety roller-coaster ride from hell called the Rhode Island motorways.
I made my way to Chan's and had my dreamed-about (I'm not kidding!) Number Four and a side of beef lo-mein. It was even better than I'd remembered. I told the waitress my story, that I'd stop in here regularly years ago for this very same meal. I didn't burden her with the details like who I was with and the significance, but she seemed cool and probably would have thought it cute. The portions were gargantuan and I ate only about a third of the meal, I had to doggy bag the rest. No problem, it would turn out to be my dinner and the next day's breakfast!
I drove to Nastralia but the woods are not as secluded as I may have thought as a kid. The neighborhood looked a little risky to park my car in as well. What's more, the woods looked very thick and over-grown from the street. I'm no kid anymore. I didn't feel like getting dirty, thorn-poked and pollen-covered.
I went down nearby Pearl Street and took this shot of what was the house I came of age in. It's a lot more "decorated" than when we had it but frankly, if they'd have kept it and my father was still there, it would probably look very much like this. My parents tastes were exactly like these new owners. By the way, if you look at the wood-engraved sign, it seems that these "new owners" are the very ones that bought it from my parents in 1984. They've owned it for more than three times the amount of time my family did.
As I drove northeast through town towards the general direction of Cumberland. I made my way to the historic Elder Ballou Meeting House Cemetery where I had ended up one late night of drinking and took home a souvenir.
I thought I'd also stop at the site of the religious statues I mentioned in this FLASHBACK post. Here they are:
Moving northward into Massachusetts, I went to the campus of Wrentham State. It's still there and seems very much still in operation, though the very old buildings like this one where I used to work, G Building, are now apparently abandoned.
I made my way back into Rhode Island and drove south via the east bay to Newport. I was planning to visit the wharves and downtown areas to window shop and be touristy but there were just too many people. Traffic was horrendous and the potholes were worse here than anywhere else. I just decided to do my mansions and then I'd book.
Here's Marble House on Bellevue Avenue. I'd never been to this one. It had been built by a relative of the Breaker's Vanderbilts and was almost as glorious. No inside shots were allowed but here's some of the exterior.
And then I had to pay a visit to my favorite Newport mansion, The Breakers. Isn't it exquisite? Both houses included a digital audio tour which was really well voiced and offered lots of information. Touring these American versions of homes like Downton Abbey just made me more anxious to see the next season of that wonderful show.
In the late afternoon I drove across the Pell and Jamestown bridges (white-knuckled) and made my way back to the hotel.
First thing I rediscovered was the fact that Rhode Island drivers are crazy! I will never complain about Floridian drivers again. Oh yes I will, but it just seemed like Rhode Islanders were driving like insane idiots who had no fear of death!
Second thing I had to relearn was the hills. Central Florida's "hills" are just really gentle inclines and declines. Here they're really hilly hills. Sometimes kinda steep, but overwhelmingly omnipresent. They were everywhere!
Third thing about driving in Rhode Island...the potholes! OMG the potholes!! By the end of the day I was glad to be getting the car back to the rental place since I didn't want to drive in this crazy, rickety roller-coaster ride from hell called the Rhode Island motorways.
I made my way to Chan's and had my dreamed-about (I'm not kidding!) Number Four and a side of beef lo-mein. It was even better than I'd remembered. I told the waitress my story, that I'd stop in here regularly years ago for this very same meal. I didn't burden her with the details like who I was with and the significance, but she seemed cool and probably would have thought it cute. The portions were gargantuan and I ate only about a third of the meal, I had to doggy bag the rest. No problem, it would turn out to be my dinner and the next day's breakfast!
I drove to Nastralia but the woods are not as secluded as I may have thought as a kid. The neighborhood looked a little risky to park my car in as well. What's more, the woods looked very thick and over-grown from the street. I'm no kid anymore. I didn't feel like getting dirty, thorn-poked and pollen-covered.
I went down nearby Pearl Street and took this shot of what was the house I came of age in. It's a lot more "decorated" than when we had it but frankly, if they'd have kept it and my father was still there, it would probably look very much like this. My parents tastes were exactly like these new owners. By the way, if you look at the wood-engraved sign, it seems that these "new owners" are the very ones that bought it from my parents in 1984. They've owned it for more than three times the amount of time my family did.
As I drove northeast through town towards the general direction of Cumberland. I made my way to the historic Elder Ballou Meeting House Cemetery where I had ended up one late night of drinking and took home a souvenir.
Moving northward into Massachusetts, I went to the campus of Wrentham State. It's still there and seems very much still in operation, though the very old buildings like this one where I used to work, G Building, are now apparently abandoned.
I made my way back into Rhode Island and drove south via the east bay to Newport. I was planning to visit the wharves and downtown areas to window shop and be touristy but there were just too many people. Traffic was horrendous and the potholes were worse here than anywhere else. I just decided to do my mansions and then I'd book.
Here's Marble House on Bellevue Avenue. I'd never been to this one. It had been built by a relative of the Breaker's Vanderbilts and was almost as glorious. No inside shots were allowed but here's some of the exterior.
In the late afternoon I drove across the Pell and Jamestown bridges (white-knuckled) and made my way back to the hotel.