Reflections

 Fitzgerald lake Conservation Area. Florence, MA

I discovered this area a little over 20 years ago, when I was first visiting the area. It is a place I have returned to many times since. Many times, I have walked the paths alone.

During those walks, I have taken the time to reflect on years before. It has been a safe place where I can relax and think about the things in life I have been grateful for in the past and present, and what I have to look forward to in the future. Today was the last full day of Summer. A very busy one for me, as I went to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, the Lakes Region New Hampshire, All of Rhode Island and even a train trip to Chicago! In between it all, I started playing out full time again, and had some memorable shows.

Last Days of Summer

 Cooler Nights and Earlier Sunsets.

Cornfields waiting for the upcoming harvest.

The Upper Pioneer Valley is beautiful. With mountains, rivers, and rolling farmlands surrounding you. I love the angle of light around this time of year. It has been a productive and enjoyable Summer. Certainly better than last year. My hope is that next year will continue to improve from the previous one. In the meantime, I have plenty of remaining shows, and Fall is my favorite time of year.

United Views

 A few more Adventures in Providence.

We checked out of The Dean and took a stroll across the new Pedestrian bridge that spans the Providence River, and connects both sides of the Riverwalk.

Work continues on the area, as they expand the river walk on either side, and add parks and artwork to enhance the scenic views.

It was sunny and hot out, so after a little while we were getting pretty overheated. We spotted a Dells frozen lemonade stand, and that cooled us off a little. But now we were getting hungry, so we drove through College Hill, up Hope Street to an Indian Restaurant near Blackstone Park.

This would be our final activity in Providence, and we left shortly after lunch. However, we took home some lasting memories from the past two days. It was a well spent 48 hours. 

You've Gotta Have Art

More Adventures in Providence.

The Rhode Island School of Design Museum in Providence has some of the finest displays and variety of Art anywhere on Earth. Be it sculpture, painting, artifacts, or modern multi-media. It's relatively small, but the quality of content is amazing.

A whole day should be centered around visiting this place, because after seeing it, all of the wonderful images are left racing around my head, and if there were more time, I would have lingered nearby sipping a beverage at a nearby location. But we only have two days to see all of Rhode Island, and Newport was calling.

 

 

One Voice is Clear Above The Dean

                            

Bringing my partner to explore Providence for her first time, I wanted to make it a weekend to remember, Rather than stay in one of the chain hotels, I found a very eclectic place called "The Dean".

                                     I was not let down.

Located in the heart of downtown (or "Downcity", as they call it) I had originally booked a small. bunk style studio on their website. However, on check in, I asked if I could get an upgrade, not thinking there were any more rooms available. A few minutes later, I was relaxing in a grand suite with a king sized bed.

But I didn't come to Providence just to hang out in a nice room. So we went to have dinner at a very pleasant bistro with outdoor seating near the Providence riverside. The River Social is the perfect spot to relax and enjoy some very nice Mediterranean cuisine, as tour boats and gondolas go by.

After dinner, we went out to a rooftop bar called The G, where things were hopping.

             Nice views of the city skyline.

We finished up the night at a Karaoke Bar that was located back at The Dean, and we eventually got up to sing a few numbers for the enthusiastic crowd of college students, before closing the night in one of the private rooms.

                           Not a bad Day One at all!

Back To That Same Old Place

Sweet Home Chicago 

A few months back, my girlfriend's youngest child said they wanted to travel on a train you slept on.

A few months later, the four of us were riding on a train to Chicago. I reserved two sleeper cars, and 4 nights in a hotel downtown that had a beautiful view of the city.

I had already done this leg of the trip by myself 12 years ago, and she had been there on her own a few weeks before the pandemic shut things down. Now we were all here together to have some fun, 

explore the sights, 

and sample the cuisine.

We took in the Museums, Parks, Zoo and Aquarium.

We also got some great views from atop the city.

The hotel was nicely located so we could go about anywhere we wanted in a 15 minute span, and the beach & Riverwalk were within sight of our window.

I would love to repeat the adventure, only this time go all the way to Saskatchewan again.

2009

2021