September 8 - Niantic, CT

Starting Mileage - 51463

Today was good. Not only did we board and tour the Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine, but we also had a pizza. Not just any pizza, but a mystic pizza. And not just any mystic pizza. Today we had THE Mystic Pizza from Mystic Pizza in Mystic, Connecticut. As in the movie Mystic Pizza. They call it the pizza that made the movie famous. And not only that, but amazingly enough, it was a most excellent pizza.

We awoke to more rain and acorns bouncing off Vinnie. We grabbed a shower, packed quickly, and headed off for a real store-bought breakfast. Then we headed east along the Connecticut shoreline and passed through New London before stopping in Groton and the US Submarine Museum and the Nautilus. Both were excellent. The museum is being enlarged. Right now most of the exhibits now center around WW-II submarines and the development of submarines in general.

Bob forgot that I walked through the Harkness State Park flowerbeds. He wouldn't go with me in the rain, so I took off padding through the puddles with my flip-flops and umbrella. I still have not gotten used to being warm during the rain, since in California it usually rains during the winter.

We have only one umbrella. Deb forgets that the two of us under one umbrella is like two of us being in one canoe or on a tandem bicycle. It just doesn't work.

This estate was donated to the Sate of Connecticut when the Standard Oil heiress who had it landscaped died. This estate was one of their 7 residences. t is on the end of a peninsula (250 acres) overlooking Long Island Sound. This morning I was the only person wandering amongst the dahlia beds in the rain with the foghorns blowing in the background. Another garden had been laid out in rectangles within rectangles all pinks, purples and whites with a pond in the center. In all there were about 6 different types of areas each unique and each beautiful. It turns out that the place had been allowed to fall in disrepair and decay and become quite overgrown until the local volunteer gardening club took it under wing and started redoing the house and yards. Then the state chipped in with a couple of million. The entire repair and restoration has been done since 1992 and it is quite remarkable. But Bob did not see it. Bob sat in the car!

I finally found us another free museum. The navy has now given us 2 great museums--first the naval air museum in Pensacola and now the SS (submersible ships) museum here in Groton.

We were not given access to the nuclear end of the sub, but the self-guided tour was pretty good.

We stopped in Mystic and wandered around the town for a while. Cute town, but the threat of rain was hanging in the air so we kept moving.

Mystic's main street had expensive clothing stores, some pottery and glass shops. Just like almost every tourist town across America. But the setting around it and all the old houses and rivers and sloughs made it quite attractive.

This area along the coast of Connecticut and now Rhode Island is much more populated than Massachusetts and other states to the north. Prices for houses are higher. Still way less though than Silicon Valley. Here it is New York City's influence. People drive faster and there is more congestion.

Bob made some new friends today. I had the camera focused waiting for him to step out of the historic Stonington lighthouse. I kept waiting. Then I heard peals of laughter from inside the lighthouse museum. And I waited. Finally I went back inside and Bob was getting a rundown on the neighborhood with hints on where to look for houses and jobs. We all chatted for quite awhile. I guess it gets boring in the museum shop and they'll talk to anybody.

The "they" Deb is referring to is two little old ladies who commented on the disinformation T-Shirt I was wearing. That started quite a long conversation on life in New England.

And for Sydnee--we have many white-tailed bunnies hopping about the campsite tonight.

September 9 - Narragansett, RI

Starting Mileage - 51543

Ms. Crabby was at it again today, making life miserable for her but not for me because I just ignored her. She wanted to go for a ten-mile ride, but I didn't want to go through all the trouble of dressing and assembling the bikes for just ten miles, so Ms. Crabby reluctantly agreed to go for a walk on the beach instead. So we did that and had a semi-good time. It was foggy and misty on the rocky coast.

We could have ridden much farther than 10 miles if Mr. La-Z-Bones would have been able to get his ridin' shoes on. I don't like taking off with him waiting….counting the minutes til I return. It was foggy, but not cold. It did rain sporadically during the day, but in really short intervals.

We went to Jamestown (1636 or thereabouts) so Debbie JAMES could say she had been there. Nice town on a cute island. We also stopped at yet another lighthouse, the third oldest in the USA. It was gnarly.

Yes, we saw more lighthouses. And more museums. And more huge, extravagant houses. And more beautiful coastline. I guess I am running out of steam. I think they are pretty and interesting, but I could care less.

We are now in Massachusetts again. We are going to "do" `Boston tomorrow and then ride around Saturday before heading to Cape Cod on Sunday.

It is forecast for rain tomorrow. That is why we are doing the city. Every time I have been in Boston it rains. That is 2 for 2. Friday is forecast for partly cloudy, so we will ride about central Mass, then head for the cape on Sunday. That’s' the plan, Sam.

September 10 - Mansfield, Mass

Starting Mileage - 51661

Today was Boston Day! I have always liked Boston. We got up in time for the campground limo to take us to the train station. It was raining off and on already, and the train was about 20 minutes late. We arrived in Boston about 10:00AM and started walking.

First of all we are about 50 miles southeast of Boston. The MBTA (the train system) charges $3.50 to get to South Station. Now for any of you who have ever driven anywhere near this vicinity you know that is a good deal. No one in their right mind drives in Boston. We would have paid far more to get dropped off near the center of the city. And once the train arrived it only took about 45 minutes to get there.

We had neither a map nor destination, and only a dim memory of last year's Boston experience so we couldn't really get lost. However, we soon found the Freedom Trail, which is a double red brick trail built into the existing roads and sidewalks. It leads past all the major historic venues in Boston. It makes seeing all the important historical sights very easy. We followed it to the Quincy Market and found Durgin-Park just in time for lunch. Durgin-Park is a "must do" Boston restaurant. An ambiance that is beyond funky, surly waitresses, and great food.

Yummy lunch. A plate of steamed mussels in garlic and butter for an appetizer. A generous portion. Then home slow-cooked meals like we can't do in Vinnie. I had short ribs…very tender and gobs of juice. Bob's beef was another type of potroast that was equally as delicious. Unfortunately, we were too plugged to try any of their desserts. We waddled out back into the rainy torrents.

There were few tourists about. Maybe the weather had something to do with it. There ware so many intriguing restaurants and stores in the Italian North End. Little tiny Italian women in their good navy blue dresses examine the meat at the butcher's; clusters of men gather outside the Brotherhood of Italy Hall.

We stopped at the Haymarket, too. This is Boston's version of a farmer's market, but the prices and selections are great! I've never seen such low prices for such good-looking produce.

We went through Paul Revere's house this time and stopped at the Old North Church, then walked across the river to examine the Constitution. She is a beautiful old ship still commissioned by the Navy. So we went to another sea faring museum and learned the history of the Constitution. She stopped in Santa Cruz in 1933 during her journey around the country.

The Old North Church is where the (one if by land, two if by sea) lanterns were hung which started Paul Revere off on his famous ride. And the Constitution is the nation's oldest commissioned ship.

We were sopped. The rain was no longer vertical. Once again the two of us tried to fit gracefully and amicably under one umbrella. We were laughing so hard at times that it didn't seem to matter. Besides wet does not equal cold. I still am not used to that fact.

When we walked back across the bridge, huge sprays of puddled rainwater were splashed onto us by passing vehicles. Bob got pretty good at anticipating, so we dropped into a crouch and held the umbrella in front of us. No, the drivers did not slow down. This is Boston!!

The driving here is absolutely horrendous. Most of these people would kill their grandmothers to gain half a car length. Games of "chicken" are commonplace at every intersection. The pedestrians are just as bad. Deb and I stood waiting for the light to change at many intersections. Silly us! The locals just blasted by us into the oncoming traffic. Nobody seems to pay any attention to traffic signals. They also think that blowing their horns helps.

I made another new friend today returning home on the train. As he was booting his laptop, he looked over at us--soggy hair, rain-drenched Burley coats and shorts with tennis shoes and said, "You are not regulars, are ya?" My banker buddy got no work done til we left the train. Now hear this…he has nine children… all less than 10 years old and five of them under 5 (including 2 sets of twins). He had earlier said it was not an option now for him and his wife to take off as we did and after hearing how many kids he has, we understood why. And he was quite relaxed even after a day of investment banking and a commute…but what about the wife back at home?

It is still raining quite hard at 11 PM. They said it would clear by midnight. Should be stopping any time now. Vinnie had developed a couple of small drips from such a prolonged deluge. We want it to stop now.

September 11 - Mansfield, Mass

Starting Mileage - 51661

Rain, rain, rain all night. Plus one Canada Goose that would not stop honking. I was quite ready to have roast goose for breakfast, and if it hadn't been raining all night we might be. We awoke, however, to completely blue and clear skies and brisk New-England-in-the-Autumn temperatures. Deb, as usual, is having coffee in bed while I'm up doing "the work". Why do I let her get away with that?

Our little pond here in the backyard rose a couple of feet during the night. It was quite a storm. I think it stopped raining partially through the night, but whenever the wind blew little droplets drummed onto Vinnie's metal roof.

We are camped by the side of a pond. Flocks of Canada Geese have been landing and taking off on a regular basis. They take off in a slow and stately manner, and I never knew before camping here that they took off in the "V" formation. As much as I dislike last night's lovesick, solitary, honking goose, I am greatly impressed with the bird in general. They are quite magnificent.

Geese are plentiful here. One town was going to have a shoot-off day just to decimate the ranks a bit. Another town hired a Border collie to maintain peace at the golf course after a veterinarian took off after a goose with his 2-iron. They say it is quite expensive to maintain the golf courses…some they have to clean twice a day to remove the piled poop.

Today we rode around Mass. The weather was perfect, and the roads were, as usual, unmarked. But we had much fun, and the riding was superb. We had occasion to ride through Wrentham where they had just made a 250 foot banana split for the annual town event. We got there just in time to eat the last of it.

Great weather, light breeze and no destination for our ride. We found a couple of wonderful roads. We missed our turns a number of times. About every fourth intersection had street signs, so there we would reorient ourselves. Our biggest problem came when we did have a destination…the ice-cream shop. We circled around Mansfield a bit before we found the correct street. The Rubel bike map I have has the ice-cream stores marked. Good idea for Mr. Krebs to incorporate in the California maps.

September 12 - Mansfield, Mass

Starting Mileage - 51661

Happily, the hateful horrendous honker failed to put in an appearance last night so we got some welcomed rest and we awoke to a clear, crisp morning. I think it's off to Plymouth, a visit to some cranberry bogs, and then Cape Cod.

It was a good day. Today I saw "The Rock". After I don't know how many years of American History, today I saw "IT". The Rock. Plymouth Rock. Sitting there with 1620 hammered into it. I don't know what I expected, but it is just a rock.

I learned about cranberry (named Craneberry by the immigrants due to the shape of its flower…like a crane's head) growing and harvesting from the Cranberry Museum. Sponsored by: guess who? OceanSpray! But it was free and interesting plus taste samples of juices and cranberry muffins at the end.

Then Bob had to have his lobster lunch, since we are within sight of the ocean. Blue skies. Lots of people out on this glorious Sunday. Luckily we arrived in this tourist town early before the crowds. The information lady was charmed by Bob and gave us lots of help.

I led Deb here from the last night's campground with my magnificent sense of direction. And, of course, it is well known that I have an uncanny sense of direction. In fact, those who know me best wish that I had left it canned. It is absolutely horrible. But we got here anyway. And we saw cranberry bogs. Cranberry bogs are not bogs at all. They are 4" of sand on peat. The fields are flooded during the winter so the ice will protect the plants and some states flood the bogs to harvest the cranberries.

Trivia… There are three native American fruits:

1. Cranberries 2. Concord Grapes 3. Blueberries

Quote of the day:

Bob - <munching on a lobster>

Deb - "Don't dip it in butter. You'll ruin it."

At another museum up the hill we found another talker. He was quite willing to keep us for the rest of the day. I think his wife signed him up to work at the museum to get some peace at home. We mentioned that we were going to ride up The Cape, so he scrounged through his drawers finding us what maps he had and personally described each bike path on the route and many of the walking paths as well.

We rambled through the countryside -- pine forests and cranberry bogs to Bourne. Tonight's campground is adjacent to the Cape Cod Canal. This canal effectively makes Cape Cod an island, since the canal cuts across the entire isthmus. They have built a 7-mile each way wide bike path along the edges of the canal. Last night there were many walkers, riders, fishermen and boat observers all using the path.

September 13 - Bourne, Ma at the base of Cape Cod

Starting mileage - 51724

We got up and headed for Cape Cod. It wasn't what I expected. The western end is similar to the rest of Massachusetts. Small towns and old houses, but there were many more motels, guesthouses, and restaurants so it's obviously geared much more for visitors. We stopped in South Dennis and got on the Rails-To-Trails bike path which runs about 25 miles from Dennis to Eastham, near Wellfleet. It's our first overnight bike trip.

The scenic road (King's Highway or Route 6A) is very busy with a narrow shoulder. We had attempted to find a copy of the Rubel Bike Map of the Cape, but each bike shop said they had just sold their last ones. We knew that there are roads that the locals ride, but we did not know which they were. We drove to the start of the Cape Cod Rail Trail in South Dennis. This trail got us another 25 miles up The Cape. Meanwhile, we found some maps and were able to pick out roads north of the end of the trail.

These easterners lover their rotaries. You know those circles in the roads that are so confusing if you are new in town. They built a rotary on the bike path. Cracked us up!

This trail is heavily used. There are many parking places along the way for start and stop points for those who do not want to ride the entire trail. Lots of riders and walkers. A great place for families. It goes through wooded areas, marshes and near freshwater ponds.

I loved the bike path. It passed through cranberry bogs, hardwood forests, small towns, and alongside New England ponds. It's quite unique. Cape Cod finally became what I thought it would be. Beaches, small quaint cottages and a good, rich salty smell in the air. The beaches are long and wide. I had a lobster roll. It was some lobster meat packed into a piece of bread. Way overpriced! Good, but not that good.

But after that we found a good beach with a lighthouse. I'm starting to like lighthouses. I may take them up as a hobby.

After watching the weather forecast indicating that Hurricane Floyd's influence would be felt up here in a couple of days, we decided to only do an overnight. We stopped at many beaches and overlooks on the way up, so it took us all afternoon to ride about 30 miles. Then came the task of finding an inn or B&B in a small, closed-up summer town. We rode our bicycles all around Wellfleet until we got the idea of asking the librarian for help. They always know everything. Well, she gave us incorrect information, but finally we found a room at an inn (way overpriced), but within walking distance of a great restaurant with a sunset view. The sun set over the water in the west cause the cape is tipped so much.

We finally found a B&B that was an old converted sea captain's home. We got a room with a bed and barely a bathroom. It was funky and $80. We found a good restaurant and got drinks and appetizers. A great dinner after riding all day.

September 14 - Wellfleet, Ma

Starting mileage - ????

We left the inn early. I needed coffee. After breakfast we headed back to Vinnie. The return only took us a couple of hours.

We meandered in Vinnie up the cape towards Provincetown (P-town to the locals). It is an artist, tourist, gay mecca. Many shops. A one way street with bicycles going both ways and walkers ambling up the center of the street.

Once again we got a room because we found one on the fourth floor overlooking the water that also served breakfast for $55. The campground here was $28. Not much of a decision plus we could then be close enough to walk around the town.

We got the room and walked into town. Funky, artsy town. We had a cold martini at one of the local bars and then got dinner. We ate at a "local" type of place. Our waiter was a gay reformed alcoholic and certainly not shy about it. He took a likin' to us, and we had great service and a wonderful conversation with him.

So last night after dinner I walked out on our front deck that is a common deck shared by all the 4^th floor guests. Four people next door were sitting out and talking. I wished them a good evening and took a few moments to take in the sea air and admire the view. I kind of half noticed that their conversation stopped while I was there. I didn't think too much about it until I got back to the room, and Deb informed me that I was wearing my underwear.

End of Week 18