Our Wander Years

Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

Posted on September 1, 2023 by Sparky

Marlene and I toured Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty on Thursday. These sites were the main reasons we stopped in the New York area – Marlene had the Statue of Liberty on her bucket list. In fact, Marlene had never been to New York before, so we planned to devote one day to Ellis Island and the Statue of Libery and the other day to New York City. That would knock both items off of her bucket list.

Both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are on islands which can be accessed by ferry from Liberty State Park in New Jersey. We drove there and bought tickets in the morning. We got the senior discount – $18 instead of $24. And we opted for the additional cost of “pedestal access” which gave us entry into the statue pedestal and museum. That add-on raised the total cost for each to $18.30. That’s right – the admission to the pedestal was 30 cents. I can’t imagine why they bother to have two different prices. Why would anyone not pay 30 cents to access the pedestal? The pedestal is actually a bit taller than the statue – 154 feet to the statue’s 151 feet – and is pretty interesting in its own right. Absolutely worth 30 cents.

The tickets were sold at the old Central Railroad of New Jersey terminal building which was a long walk from the ferry (probably a tenth of a mile). The ferry ride to Ellis Island was only about 10 minutes. We spent nearly two hours touring the building (only one building – the one used to process immigrants from 1892 to 1925 – has been renovated and converted into a museum). There are many displays and a 25-minute film about the processing of the immigrants. Quite interesting.

We boarded the ferry again for the trip to the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island. This ride was just a bit longer – about 15 minutes. Once on Liberty Island we could have gotten a free audio tour, but we passed. We walked around the island a bit, taking in both the views of the city and the statue before entering the pedestal.

We were on Liberty Island about 2 hours. We walked to the top of the pedestal – 195 steps (shorter than the Bunker Hill Monument). Everyone else took the elevator. We also spent some time in the museum.

A long day, but very interesting. And the weather was beautiful. Clear and about 75 degrees. A good day.

Categories: Adventures, NJ, TS9 | Leave a comment

TS9 Hop 1: Worcester MA to Newark NJ

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Sparky

202 miles via I-290 (south out of Worcester), I-90, I-84, I-91, CT 15, CT 8, I-95, I-278 (into Manhattan), FDR Drive (down the east side of Manhattan), I-278 again (out of Manhattan and over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge) and I-95 again. Cumulative TS9 miles: 202.

This was a familiar route over mostly interstate roads. Traffic was heavy (no surprise) and showers came frequently. But it was an uneventful trip.

During my 24 days in Worcester I did a lot of driving: 1,525 miles. The Toyota consumed 64.4 gallons of gasoline for an average mileage of 23.7 mpg. Total fuel cost about $234 ($3.63 per gallon). Not great but there was a considerable amount of city driving.

Categories: CT, MA, NJ, NY, Routes, TS9 | Leave a comment

5 final days in Worcester MA

Posted on August 30, 2023 by Sparky

Marlene and I will embark on the 9th trip south (TS9) in a few hours. But before I go I want to document the very busy last 5 days in Worcester MA. Or, to be accurate, the time we spent in Worcester MA, New Salem MA, Kittery ME, Portsmouth NH, Rockport MA and Newport RI. Whew! I get tired just thinking of all the traveling and sightseeing we did in our final 5 days in Worcester.

First, New Salem MA. Ray and Kim, who provided our squatting home in Worcester, invited us to their cabin in the woods in New Salem MA for two nights – Friday and Saturday. I have gushed about this serene cabin before and it was just as serene this time, with deafening quiet (except for the humming of the hummingbirds). But this time we also got several visits from the resident white-tailed buck (who let Marlene get surprisingly close) and a juvenile porcupine. Some wild turkeys, too.

We spent several hours on Saturday at a HUGE tag sale in Belchertown. I walked away with a $2 pair of sneakers and a $1 Red Sox cap. Marlene got a bunch of stuff, some of it useful. Ray and Kim scored some nice items for the cabin.

We were well-fed, too. Kim prepared some wonderful fish tacos on Friday and chicken shish-ka-bob on Saturday, accompanied by an amazing salad with grilled red onions. She is a wonderful cook.

We also walked to the Quabbin Reservoir (4 miles round-trip) and found a very colorful (and non-poisonous) spider on the shed door.

Sunday, after a hearty breakfast, Marlene and I returned to Worcester. But we stopped in Royalston MA along the way so that I could show Marlene what disc golf was all about. I did the first hole at the Tully Lake Disc Golf course, just as a demonstration.

Monday was a huge sightseeing day. We drove to Kittery ME (specifically to the Kittery Trading Post), just to let her say she had been to Maine. She wasn’t impressed. But she was impressed with Portsmouth, NH, just over the river from Kittery. I gave her a driving tour of the wonderful downtown area, then stopped at Prescott Park to view the gardens. She loved those.

But her biggest thrill was found at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. We spent nearly 90 minutes there. I walked out with an armload of very nice clothing for under $17.

The bridge connecting Portsmouth and Kittery

We had a very late lunch at Woodman’s of Essex, sharing a fried fish dinner with french fries and onion rings. Then we moved on to Rockport MA which, of course, she loved. Everyone loves Rockport. After the sightseeing we briefly visited Jett’s grave.

We also stopped briefly, as dusk was settling in, in Salem MA. We got some outside shots at the House of Seven Gables, which was closed. Then the long drive back to Worcester.

Tuesday had two main events: a day trip to Newport RI to view two of the mansions there (The Breakers and Marble House) and, in the evening, a WooSox game in Worcester.

Categories: Adventures, Family, Food, MA, ME, NH, Places, RI | Leave a comment

Five days with Marlene in Worcester MA

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Sparky

Marlene flew into Boston a week ago. It was a non-stop flight but she was in Coral Springs FL the night before, with her brother, and had to leave at 4am to get back to Ft Myers to catch her 11am flight. So she was tired. But she was all smiles when she came through the door into the baggage area. It was her first time in Boston and we hadn’t seen each other for 3 weeks, so she was pretty energized.

I barely made it to the terminal to meet her. One of the tunnels to the airport was closed for repair and traffic was both heavy and detoured. I missed a turn to get to the terminal and ended up in the swarm of cars heading back into Boston. It was about a 15-minute mistake. But I made it.

I gave her a driving tour of Boston and Cambridge, highlighting points of interest that I didn’t think we would see otherwise. We drove past MIT and Harvard and lesser points of interest in Cambridge before heading to Worcester. We stopped for some groceries, got her settled in and had a simple home-cooked spaghetti dinner. Then to bed.

Monday, after a late wakening and breakfast, I gave her a driving tour of Worcester and environs. We had a light lunch at Friendly’s, an old-fashioned New England restaurant chain, went to an early movie then drove to Foxwoods to play the slots. I won $31, she lost about $100. I hadn’t been to Foxwoods in over 20 years. It was sparsely attended and the energy that I remembered was missing. Maybe New England has reached its gambling saturation point?

We arrived back in Worcester around 3am on Tuesday, so, not surprisingly, we slept in Tuesday morning. The car had sprung a slow leak in the right rear tire so I spent some time Tuesday afternoon arranging to get it fixed. Then we went to see my old college roommate, Roger, and his wife, Nancy. We walked to Filho’s Cucina in Groton Center for a wonderful dinner. I had a fettucine/artichoke dish that was out of this world. Marlene had a salad with roasted chicken that she liked very much. Wonderful dinner! Highly recommended. The walk was very pleasant, too. Groton is a beautiful old colonial town.

Wednesday was a BIG tourism day. We drove to the Alewife Station on the MBTA Red Line and took the subway to Boston Common. We walked the Freedom Trail, taking pictures and generally enjoying a beautiful 75-degree sunny day. The kind of day we never get in the summer in Ft Myers.

We saw most of the historic sites on the trail, then took a lunch break at Quincy Market: chinese food and clam chowder. We walked to Old Ironsides (aka USS Constitution) and toured both it and the ARC Gloria, a Columbian Navy tall ship. By that point we had logged about 7 miles of walking. But Marlene wanted to see the nearby Bunker Hill Monument, so we walked up the hill to the monument, then climbed its 294 steps to the top. It would be fair to say that we were tired but we continued on, walking to the MBTA Orange Line. We took the subway to the South End to have dinner with Marlene’s friends, John and Steve. We dined at Five Horses Tavern. Good beer but mediocre food. Then John and Steve drove us to the Red Line and we made out way back to Worcester.

A VERY full day.

Total Wednesday steps: 15,383. About 8 miles!

Thursday was more sightseeing, but less walking. We traveled to Lexington to see the Buckman Tavern and Lexington Green. But the tavern was charging $12 to enter and I judged that it was not worth the price, so we just walked the grounds then headed to Concord. There we drove the entire length of Battle Road Trail, but our main destination wat the North Bridge which is generally regarded as where the American Revolution began as it was the first time the colonists fired on the British Army, killing 3.

We had dinner at Burton’s Grill in Westford, with my old friends Barb and Bob. Wonderful dinner, wonderful social evening.

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My beard at 4 weeks

Posted on August 25, 2023 by Sparky

The beard continues to grow, as beards are wont to do. The difference between 3 and 3 weeks is not dramatic (and the early-morning 4-weeks photo isn’t very flattering), but I can tell that it is getting thicker. I can’t say that I am liking it much, but my kind friends say it looks good.

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The ninth trip south (TS9) preview

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Sparky

My ninth trip south (designated TS9) will start in 6 days, on August 30. The plan is to arrive back in Fort Myers on September 8, then leave September 10 on the 30-night transpacific cruise. I won’t even unpack.

Unlike the TN9, I will not be alone on the TS9 – Marlene will accompany me. She is with me now in Worcester, having arrived August 20. I will report next on our first 5 days together in Worcester.

The TS9 route is being driven by the following requirements:

Spend at least two days in New York City (Marlene has never been there).
Spend at least two nights in northern Virginia with Jett’s sons and grandson.
Spend at least two nights in Acworth GA with Marlene’s son.
Arrive in Fort Myers by September 8 (we need a full day to adjust our luggage for the cruise).

Those requirements leave just two days free and we will spend them in Charlotte NC – a city I have visited before but haven’t fully explored. To get from northern Virginia to Charlotte we will route ourselves into western Virginia and will traverse a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway – another place Marlene has never been.

The plan, then, is 9 nights in 5 hops covering almost 1,800 miles.

Categories: Preparation/Planning, Routes, TS9 | Leave a comment

Four days with family in Worcester MA

Posted on August 20, 2023 by Sparky

My son Tony joined me in Worcester for 4 days this week, to see the daughter (my granddaughter) that he hadn’t seen for 2 years and the brother that he hadn’t seen for a year and a half. The weather didn’t cooperate – it was cloudy and cool when it wasn’t raining – but it was a successful reunion despite the weather.

He flew in Tuesday afternoon. He was very tired as he hadn’t slept the night before – too worried about getting up at 3:30am to catch a 6:00am flight. We fetched Lili (daughter/granddaughter, almost 18) and went to a late lunch at O’Connor’s Restaurant in West Boylston MA, adjacent to Worcester and very close to where Lili lives. I had a reuben sandwich which was very good, but the appetizer was the best potato skin dish I have ever had.

Then Tony napped.

Wednesday featured a visit to the New England Aquarium. I didn’t join Tony and Lili for that one as I think it is one of the lesser attractions of Boston. Apparently, they thought so too as they stayed just 2 hours while I wandered around downtown, noticing the changes that had accrued in the past year. We then picked up brother/son Frank and had a lunch/dinner at Redbones in Somerville. I have fond memories of Rebones – great BBQ ribs and 30 beers on tap. Well, it has changed. The ribs were still good, but not spectacular, and the draft beers were gone. I can no longer recommend it. Sad. The Redbones in Ft Myers (no relation) is now better than the namesake in Somerville.

Thursday was an afternoon of shopping (back-to-school time for Lili) as Tony bought some clothes for his daughter at the Natick Mall. I then cooked dinner (spaghetti and Italian sausage) for them before we all went to the WooSox game (the Worcester Red Sox, the AAA farm team for the Boston Red Sox) at Polar Park in Worcester. Not the most exciting game – the WooSox lost, 2-1 – but it didn’t rain.

Friday featured a trip to the Museum of Science in Boston. I have been there many times, but my last visit was probably more than 8 years ago. It is a nice museum. Not huge, but there are many exhibits that are interesting for both children and adults. We particularly enjoyed the electricity show. The Van de Graff generator (the huge metal balls) were out of order but the show featured Tesla coils which were pretty impressive in their own way.

One complaint about the MOS – the options to get tickets online and at the self-service kiosks were both wastes of my time. I couldn’t figure out how to complete the sale online and the kiosks seemed to offer only add-on tickets (IMAX movie and planetarium options). I can’t understand how a technology-oriented museum can have such useless software. Annoying.

We had a farewell breakfast with Lili Saturday morning, then Tony and I drove to Frank’s home and picked him up. I dropped them off near Fenway Park with clear instructions to Tony on how to get to the airport (a 15-minute walk and a $3 bus ride). With less than 3 hours to kill, what could go wrong? Well, I don’t know the details (or, more accurately, I received different accounts of the details from Tony and Frank) but the bottom line is that Tony missed his flight. Fortunately, American Airlines rebooked him at no extra cost, so he made it home just a few hours later than planned.

Despite that last-minute glitch, it was a successful and full four days.

Categories: Adventures, Family, MA, Places, Sports | Leave a comment

A week in Worcester MA

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Sparky

My first week in residence at the home of Ray – Jett’s brother – and his wife, Kim, was mostly spent getting settled – shopping, washing clothes, etc – and enjoying not driving much (though I still had to get behind the wheel every day). Except for the first day when I spent the afternoon with Ray, I was mostly alone. The weather was unsettled. I got a sunny afternoon to play disc golf at Lake Tully but my trip to Kimball Farm to get a fried haddock bite dinner (superb!) was overcast. I was startled by a tornado warning one morning but no tornado materialized.

The big event, though, was three days at Ray and Kim’s cabin in New Salem MA, on the edge of the Quabbin Reservoir watershed. It is a serene setting, with constant activity at the hummingbird feeders. We took a 4-mile was to/from the reservoir one afternoon – good exercise that I sorely needed. And Kim – a fantastic cook – kept me well-fed.

On the last day at the cabin we buried Rusty’s ashes next to Cha-Cha and Grace.

Ray and I also made a trek to the Tree House Brewery in Deerfield MA to sample some fine craft beers. We had 48 to choose from. I had a peanut butter chocolate stout that was fantastic.

Categories: Family, MA, Places, Sports | 1 Comment

TN9 wrapup

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Sparky

I finished my ninth trip north (TN9) on Sunday. This was my first trip with no travel companion of any kind – person or dog. Time for a wrapup.

By the numbers:

10 days, 9 nights, 6 hops, 1,724 route miles (287 miles per hop).
Only 33 extra miles – I didn’t use the car much once I got to my destination.
59.3 gallons of fuel consumed in 1,757 miles (29.6 mpg).
Total fuel cost: $211.37 ($3.56/gal).
I mostly stayed with friends and family. Only 3 nights were in hotels. Total hotel cost: $344.11 ($114.70 per night).

The mileage was a bit disappointing. This was almost all on highways (though I did spend more time on back roads than usual). I expected to get at least 32 mph.

Highlights:

Seeing Jett’s sons and grandson. I love these guys!
Seeing the Appomattox Courthouse. It was a quick trip and a bit disappointing but it did remove one item from my Civil War Bucket List.
Beating grandson Zachary at chess. I was rusty and probably should have checkmated him sooner, but I was very worried that I was going to be beaten by a 12-year-old. Didn’t happen.
The Toyota ran well.

Lowlights:

Rain in Charleston SC. I was hoping to get more sightseeing time, but not in a deluge.

Only one minor lowlight suggests that this was a pretty successful trip north overall.

Planned versus actual route:

The two diversions from the plan were the whimsical trip to the Appomattox Courthouse and the decision to approach CT via PA rather than up the NJ Turnpike (which I dislike).

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TN9 Hop 6: Rhinebeck NY to Worcester MA

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Sparky

150 miles via NY 308, NY 199, NY 22, US 44, CT 318, CT 219, CT 20, I-91, I-291, I-84, US 20, I-290 and MA 122. Miles since the end of Hop 5: 150. Cumulative route miles: 1,724. Total TN9 miles: 1,757.

This was a route that was more complicated than it needed to be, but I like back roads and I have never traveled through northern Connecticut, so why not? The day was sunny, the traffic was light and the scenery was pleasant. Not a bad trip.

My host for the evening was Harry, an old friend and fellow widower. We traded cancer stories over a couple of beers, then went out to dinner at The Tavern at Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, an historic Colonial-era tavern. I had fish and chips. Very good.

The T-Mobile service at Harry’s place was terrible but was better in town. But it was also terrible all across northern Connecticut. I tried to chat with Marlene as I drove, but the call dropped a half dozen times. The edge of civilization, I guess.

This ends the TN9. Wrapup next.

Categories: CT, Food, Friends, MA, NY, Places, Routes, TN9 | Leave a comment