11.10.2008

Always an Adventure

Roadside Attraction Road Trip 2008.
It's always an adventure with us!

Andrew came into town this past weekend and we had no agenda or plans. Well, as is the tradition for our visits we can not manage to remain stationary for too long, so we quickly go from dormancy, to racing the clock and the sun.

Destination: Plymouth Rock.

Andrew decided that he had never been this close to Plymouth Rock, this close to Thanksgiving before. It was clearly a pilgrimage that we should embark upon. "Fair enough," I agreed, "But let's at least spice up the journey a bit." I've been researching and found a website that maps all the quirky roadside attractions per state and thought we should see what Rhode Island and Massachusetts had to offer. [Note: I didn't quite comprehend that our noon departure was setting us up for failure and pitting us against the sun. It's mid-November and in Southern New England the sun will completely set by 4:45 PM. Saturday was no exception.]

We set out after noon for lunch at my favorite Woonsocket hot spot, The Cakery, but of course, we had to stop at our first roadside attraction on the way: The Historic Modern Diner, "America's First Diner"












We found a giant mural with my beloved Gerber daisy




















And then an incredibly unique convenience store. Pawtucket has quite the sites to offer.



















We forged on toward Woonsocket passing two more roadside attractions on our way.
The giant coffee cup.



















And of course, a giant milk bottle (currently vacant).



















We made it to lunch at the Cakery. One reviewer described it as their version of the Cheers bar in Woonsocket, they are totally right. It's great. It's run by sisters and their mother. The food is amazing, the desserts are incredible, the atmosphere is fantastic, the hospitality is fabulous, it's painted really girlie with pink and brown, they make wedding cakes--it's basically the quintessential coffee shop/bakery/cakery/sandwich shop of any girl's dreams. Full of a fajita roll up, broccoli quiche, and marbled chocolate cake, we venture onward.

Next site: Giant Paul Bunyan wooden statue



















And, surprise, another milk jug, this one still functioning though, as an ice cream shop, but closed for the season. Sad.























































Then we arrived in Plymouth! We saw Plymouth Rock, the "Oldest Tourist Attraction in America" and the Mayflower II. Let's just say the "rock" is less than impressive. It's a big cracked rock, set in a sand pit, lowered in the ground, and caged in like a wild lion.















The Mayflower II


















This is the transition when the fun trip turned ugly. The sun set, we didn't get to see Plimouth Plantation (the pilgrim re-enactment) and we still had 6 more stops to make, many of which didn't have addresses just cardinal directions in their town...but we were bound and determined.

Mattapoisett's giant sea horse (It's hard to portray the scale in this picture, but it's huge! You can see the tree top in the lower left)























And the day wouldn't have been complete without a third milk bottle. [I realize the picture is terrible, but when you're in the middle of a rural, residential neighborhood, after shedding blood and tears to find it, you turn on your bright headlights and make the best of it.] What you can't see is that there is a cow on top of the milk bottle--they love their dairy in Dartmouth.





Interestingly, only a few blocks away is another giant structure, an ice cream pint. What are the odds that two crazy people would build these so close together? Maybe the same crazy person built both. My theory is that the two neighborhoods have a rivalry about which ice cream stand to go to, and if kids go to the wrong one after school they get beat up by the other kids...but we can't know that for sure because I made the whole thing up.























And lastly, is that a McDonald's with a train car going through it? Funny you ask...yes, yes it is.

2 comments:

  1. What an incredible day. Thanks for the wonderful roadtrip! I had an absolute blast. Minus not seeing the pilgrim village. When can we do it again?

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  2. I have been to or seen some of these funky New England landmarks...the coffee cup and many milk bottles...but maybe not the same milk bottles. I agree with what you said about Plymouth Rock...pretty unimpressive, but most folks want to see it...just to say they did. I'm so glad to see you out "adventuring" in your new area...I did that when I lived out there and it was always a good time!

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