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fossilizedferret
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Name: Herb
Country: Canada
State: Nova Scotia
Birthday: 11/9/1951
Gender: Male
Interests: Music, photography, hiking, biking, jogging, travel, writing, food, trees, birds, rocks
Expertise: Computers, writing
Occupation: Other
Industry: Entertainment
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  herbtyson
MSN: herbtyson
Yahoo:  herbtyson
Member Since:
5/31/2004
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| I haven't used Xanga in quite a long time, and had a dickens of a time figuring out how to post a new entry. The entre was "Add weblog". Well. That seems incorrect. Isn't the whole thing a web log? So, adding one would mean adding a NEW web log... not blogging a new entry.
In any case, maybe I've managed to stumble forward, their warped terminology notwithstanding. Xanga seems kind of antiquated now, what with WordPress blogs, Facebook, LiveJournal, and other outlets.
And what's with "Save Changes"? I'm not changing anything... I'm making a new blog entry. Sheesh. And Xanga wonders why people aren't using it much anymore...
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| This was posted on Tuesday evening, not Wednesday morning. We spent the past two days on Prince Edward Island, and have now moved on to Nova Scotia. Tonight, we're going to have dinner at the Five Fishermen, a highly acclaimed restaurant in Halifax. The other time we ate there—at the end of our Newfoundland trip—we saw Queen Elizabeth through the window at a reception in the building across the street from the restaurant. No idea if she'll be there again tonight. (Later. She wasn't there. Our waitperson was there the night we saw the queen and remembers it. Although, my recollections might be a bit cloudy. Karen says we saw the queen, but she and we were outside.).
While on PEI, I stopped and took pictures of a number of beautiful churches. We also saw this little guy. We're not sure what he's sitting on… we think it might be a freshly washed potato. PEI is famous for potatoes. If you've had French fries this week, they probably came from PEI.
Here's St. Mary's (Roman Catholic) Church in Indian River.
This next one is St. John the Baptist Parish (Roman Catholic) Church in Miscouche, PEI.
Our first night in PEI, we went to the New Glasgow Lobster Supper place and chowed down on lobsters, mussels, etc. The next day, we concentrated on eastern sections of the island, stopping to see the Cheese Lady (who has pet llamas), the Ardgowan national historic site, Government House (in Charlottetown), and had lunch at the Peter Pan Drive-In. Good fish & chips there. We drove up to the Greenwich extension of the PEI National Park, stopping at the St. Peter's Pewter Place along the way. By the time we got to Greenwich, Diana said we would get back to North Rustico too late to pick up lobsters to cook for dinner. With her giving us an ETA of 6:06 pm, them closing precisely at 6 pm, we decided to try for it. We got there a 5:55, bought a couple of 2-pound lobsters, and took them back to the cottage and commended them to the great beyond.
On Tuesday, we rose and drove to Lennox Island, stopping at churches along the way. Lennox Island is inhabited mostly by surviving members of the Mi'qmaq tribe. There's a cute little gift shop there at which Karen bought some trinkets and a fertility stone. Don't know what she has in mind…
After that, we tried to stop at this little café for lunch, but they had just closed the dining room. It was 2 o'clock, and the sign said that's when they closed the dining room, and indeed they lived up to the sign. So, we headed down the road, got lunch from Wendy's, then headed across the Confederation Bridge to NB. We stopped for gas, then turned on a book by Sue Henry, Death Trap. It's set in Alaska, and is starting very slowly. I suppose we'll give it another try when we head back down to Maine in a few days. | | |
| Every year, I promise myself that I’m going to document the first signs of autumn, and every year, I forget to. Not this year. The Bradford flowering pear tree is showing signs of changing. It hasn’t been particularly dry, so I can’t blame drought.
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Today was busy. We picked up Katie from Brandeis at 11. You can check her blog for details. From there, we drove to Cabot's Ice Cream (yum) in Newton. That was lunch. The ice cream was good, but not not as good as Toft's in Sandusky.
After that, we needed to bide a little time so we didn't get to Boston U. too early. So, we visited the Wilson Farm store in Lexington. It's similar in concept to Steuk's, in Sandusky (dead now), but larger and more vivacious. We procured a few bagels from there, after looking at the pretty flowers and sampling their ham and lamb (well... just me). They also have some nice looking fresh goose. But, at about $55 apiece, I won't be buying one anytime soon. Note to self: find a source of fresh goose in the DC area.
After that, we made our way into Boston through heavy traffic in the Cambridge area, and finally dropped Katie at BU. I watched in the rear view mirror as she crossed Commonwealth and met up with her friend. Then we took off for NH.
Along the way, we realized it might be nice to have a tour book for NH, so I programmed Diana for AAA in Lowell. Armed with said book, we then headed towards Nashua.
At Nashua, we decided to do a Nashua-Derry-Manchester triangle. I also wanted to find a dollar store to try to find some sunglasses, and a drug store to pick up some new ear plugs. Plus, Derry has the Robert Frost Farm. So, we headed off to Derry, and about a mile from there, we passed Dollar Bill's.
We proceeded to Robert Frost Farm. His grandfather gave him the farm, with the proviso that he had to work it for ten years for it to become fully his. His g/f worried that a poet might not make enough money.
After seeing the farm a bit (it's closed this time of year, so we just walked around it), we headed back to Dollar Bill's. They had tons of neat stuff--Katie would be quite jealous. Unfortunately, though, they didn't have any sunglasses that were quite what I was looking for. They had the wrap-around type that squeeze your head so you can't think. This might go a long way to explaining how folks in New England drive, however.
I'm guessing that they must've run out of 9s.
Next, we headed over to Manchester. After bopping into a CVS where I was able to procure acoustic earplugs, we next headed for the Currier Museum of Art.
"Are you here for the concert?" the reception person asked.
So, for our $6 admission, we not only got to see some really good art (including a Monet and other impressionists), but we also got to hear the Manchester Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. They had two violins, a viola, a cello, and a piano. It was superb. The middle piece was by a Brazilian composer who now lives in Seattle. The concertmaster actually spoke with him on the phone this morning. Below is our view of the concert.
After that, we set a course for Kelly's World Famous Roast Beef in Danvers. Karen & I discovered them on the Boston Coming of Age trip a few years back. They have these enormous roast beef sandwiches. So, we chowed down there, and then drove back to the motel in Lexington.
Not only is this motel the newest incarnation of the Susse Chalet, it was also the Holiday Inn Express where the coming-of-agers stayed 4 years ago when Katie was in the 8th grade. Wonder what it'll be next time we're up this way.
Katie just called to say that she was admitted to McGill. Yay! But, unless she totally rejects the other three places. McGill is basically moot at this point. We shall see. | | |
| April 11, 2006
We're in Lexington, Mass. Today, we visited the Dr. Seuss National Memorial sculpture garden in Springfield, Mass, then headed east to where we are now. We had lunch in Quincy Market at Durgin-Park, and walked around a bunch of shops. Later, we drove to Lexington and checked into the Quality Inn. It's the same thing that used to be called the Susse Chalet back in the 1970s. We went over to Lincoln and visited a few other places, including a very funky sculpture garden.
Karen liked the Durgin-Park food, but Katie & I didn't. I had fish cakes and clam chowder. Neither was terribly impressive, especially considering that the place is quite famous and renown for its food. Karen has fish chowder & fish cakes, and liked both. Go figure.
At the Dr. Seuss National Memorial, Katie met a guy named Maxwell (sorry Matt). Here they are sharing a special moment.
A few other Seuss cuties.
And, a close-up of the good Dr. himself.
In Lincoln, we went to the DeCordova sculpture garden. Here are some of its offerings:
April 12, 2006
We're back at the Quality Inn in Lexington tonight. Katie's at Brandeis, where she went to some classes today, and is spending the night in the castle. We'll pick her up at 11 tomorrow, take her to lunch, and then head for Boston University.
More on yesterday. Last night, we were heading for this historical inn called Longfellow's Wayside Inn. Arriving there at 6:30 or so, however, we whimmed dinner. And it was excellent! Katie had the vegetarian pie (too much celery for my tastes). Karen & I had the prime rib. These were 3-course dinners, however, that included soup/salad, entrees, and dessert. Their clam chowder more than made up for the lousy chowder at Durgin-Park.
Today, after dropping Katie at Brandeis, we decided to head down to the Hingham Lobster Pound for lunch. Unfortunately, I forgot about their quirky schedule, and didn't call to verify that they were open. They weren't. They're closed on Monday - Wednesday. Arrrgh!
So, we decided to head down the road a few more miles to a place called Jake's Seafood. I called to verify that they were open. The food was good, but not nearly as good as the Hingham Lobster Pound... with one exception. Jake's has wonderful lobster bisque. Note to self: remember Jake's bisque, but forget their fried shrimps and scallops.
After that, we decided to head up to a Robert Frost historical walking trail in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Lawrence was a planned industrial city back in the 1800s. It appears to be largely under reconstruction now. Unfortunately, there's a large population of young folks who love to blast music at full volume and fuller bass from their vehicles. We visited the visitors' center, then walked the walking trail. Or, rather, part of it. There's a canal that goes through Lawrence, and some Robert Frost history is located along it. Not far from there was a nice Unitarian church which, unfortunately, has now fallen into the hands of the Methodists. Alas.
Next, we decided to head down to a horticultural park in Wellesley. It featured the Goddess Garden:
We waked the grounds and took a few pictures, then headed over to Wellesley College... because we love checking out the young ladies. Ahem.
After Wellesley, we decided to head back to Lexington. We call Lexington House of Pizza along the way, and ordered dinner. Note to self: one of LHOP's Greek salads is enough for 3 people. Maybe even four.
More details when I can remember them.
By the way, here's the "computer desk" I set up last night. There was a small round table that K&K used. I decided to make do elsewhere.
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