"I couldn't possibly fail to disagree with you less."
11 July 2005York, Bath and beyondAugusta, Maine — 2322.9 miles Downtown Providence is a hoot. You (or at least I) wouldn't have thought you could have shoved so much stuff into such a small space, but then I live in what some people think of as the Sprawl Capital of the World. And there are limited-access thoroughfares with low speed limits which are apparently routinely ignored; drivers on a stretch of US 6 posted 35 were doing an easy 60. Still, I had to take a look at it: once upon a time, one of those online quizzes — a serious one, unlike the usual blog fodder — told me that Providence was where I ought to live. And, well, I'm sure I could do worse. One sign I hadn't seen before cropped up right inside Massachusetts: CAUTION / REDUCED SALT AREA. This being July, when road salt is irrelevant, I conclude that either (1) they're too busy to cover up or take down the signs or (2) this is unrelated to traffic and is actually a mandate from the Food Police. An antique shop in Brookline: "A Room With A Vieux." Really. And yes, I went into downtown Boston, partially because of sheer insanity, but mostly because I used to hang out there on weekends when I was a grunt stationed at the former Fort Devens and I wanted to see if I recognized anything. The answer is "Not much." Then again, back in those days I took the T; the view is much different from behind a taxi. On I-93 near Medford I saw a Nissan Altima with a "Kennedy/Johnson" bumper sticker, and that was just the first of half a dozen. I have to assume this is not referring to JFK/LBJ, but with Massachusetts Democrats, I probably shouldn't assume anything. Near Yarmouth, Maine I saw the smallest freestanding McDonald's I've ever seen. I mean, it could have been a little bank branch, were it not for the fact that it was sitting next to, um, a little branch bank. And one last sign: "Welcome to Kennebunk, the only village in the world so named." That's even fewer than Woonsocket(s). Toll report: I-95 through New Hampshire, $1.00; Maine Turnpike, $1.80; total $25.15. Posted at 4:16 PM to World Tour '05Did you go through the tunnel and over the bridge to see what your federal tax dollars helped build? It's really quite cool. Sounds like you might have come closer to us than I expected. I thought you'd stay farther west. My uncle and his partner of 30-odd years live near Kennebunk. I had no idea it was the only one. Around the time Bush 41 was in office, they lived in Kennebunk or Kennebunkport, rather than merely a town or two away. When the President was around, this could mean hitting Secret Service checkpoints. Posted by: Jay at 10:15 PM on 11 July 2005I was planning to, but then the spectre of Rte 128 presented itself, and I remembered this as being scary back in the Seventies and decided I would see if it was still so. (Yawn.) Then I got insane and turned off on 9, but you know about that. I did come through the tunnel and over the bridge, and it was indeed kinda cool. I've seen a few of those teeny McDs in Dallas. They hold about 2 people standing inside & are mostly a drive through. Posted by: Dwayne "the canoe guy" at 10:50 AM on 12 July 2005Well, this one was big enough to seat about 20, if they were really good friends. I saw one in Machias (Maine) billed as a Cafe, which had almost as many seats outside as inside. Of course, the high temperature Down East today was about 72. Posted by: CGHill at 5:36 PM on 12 July 2005 |