Before I leave New England

[urbpan]

I need to see:

Mount Washington,

Quabbin Reservoir,

Martha's Vinyard /or Nantucket /or Block Island,

Loons,

Atlantic Puffins.

Am I forgetting anything?

Comments

[vampyrusgirl.livejournal.com]

Block Island is GORGEOUS. There are tons of trails, and we saw about five people the whole day on the trails. Off the trails, it's tourist central.

[artemii.livejournal.com]

have you already been to acadia?

[when are you leaving?]

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I don't think so (I've been to "wolf neck" maine)--that's a good idea!

when are you leaving?

Not until the kid graduates high school (5 years at the earliest)

[artemii.livejournal.com]

oh! you made it sound like you'd decided to leave next week or something. :)

acadia is so beautiful. it's my earliest memory of new england (from when i came here as a child on a roadtrip).

[http://users.livejournal.com/purplebunnie_/]

Trinidad, California.

[zalice.livejournal.com]

I was going to suggest the same thing! I love Acadia. I wish I could go be a park ranger there, but I hear the waiting list is miles long. :)

[richmackin.livejournal.com]

Atlantic Puffins?


Things I have seen since I've seen since I've moved to the Pacific NW

Mountains in Washington,
Crabs, but not in a Reservoir,
Marthas, Vinyards / Bike Buckets /rock Islands,
Loonies,
Pacific Puffins

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

When people find out you are from New England, do they say "Oh, have you ever been to ______ ?" (fill in the blank) And if so, what do they specify? Or do they just say, "Oh, another one, huh? Whatsamatter, couldn't handle the snow?"

Yeah, Atlantic puffins. there are places in Maine where you can see them.

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Cranberry bogs at the height of season

Dinosaur Nat'l Park

Not a nature site but Fenway Park -- at least walk around the outside ;-)

(Hi Jef, It's Alex -- Andy's old friend).

[drocera.livejournal.com]

You have to climb Mt Katahdin (take the Abol trail if you're a beginner)! It's in Millinocket, inside of Baxter State Park. Also, if you have acsess to a private boat, sail out of Kennebunkport harbour and visit unihabited Wood island. There''s on old lighthouse keeper's house there (which you can "break into" because it's been broken into many times before)...there's no furniture, but there are still old turn of the century wallpaper and fixtures..pretty intersting, as is the island in general. The lighthouse is still there, but it's all automated now. Harbour seals lounge along the Southwestern bank, and the rest of the island is a jungle of trees and goldenrod. (If you go in the autumn, the goldenrod is over six feet tall and you have to literally beat a path to the lighthouse) Also, don't miss out on Camden, Maine - climb Mt Battie and you get a great view of Camden Bay, sprinkled with all those islands, and sometimes you can see as far as Cadillac Mountain at Acadia. Speaking of - go THERE, too, Acadia. Astounding scenery wherever you go. Definately go to the top of Cadillac! (but watch out for the wind up there - it'll blow ya over!)

Other things to see or do: drive the logging trails of northern Maine, up by Moosehead lake...oftentimes you see bear, moose, deer and perhaps a bobcat or two...Wolf's Neck Park to see Osprey...Bradbury Mountain in Pownal (there's the remains of an old 1700's stone constructed community cow pen in the woods up there)...Wells Nature Reserve (Laudhold Farm) in between Wells and Kennebunk Maine. ( I used to volunteer there, back when I lived in Maine)....

And if I think of anything else, I'll let you know. I love Maine and miss it desperately. I'd like to move back one day.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Hi, Alex! I seem to bump into you in the strangest places!

Cranberry bogs at the height of season
Excellent idea!

Dinosaur Nat'l Park
I was actually born in Rocky Hill! We visited the grounds a few years ago but the museum was closed. A return trip is a good idea.

Fenway Park
A definite must. I've been to a few games and live close enough to it that I pass by it several times a week!

[new-man.livejournal.com]

Hi, Alex! I seem to bump into you in the strangest places!

I've been thinking about going back out to Vegas, so naturally I thought of Andy. I gave him a call yesterday and we played some catch-up. At one point he said something like "You're probably way too busy to do anything as self-indulgent as blogging", and I had to admit I had an LJ and used it often (most recently are some notes from doing volunteer work down on the Gulf Coast; it's sort of gruesome stuff).

Andy and I exchanged handles, and he mentioned that you had one as well. I've read a couple of your recent entries; you're a terrific and engaging writer. I was glad to see you're thinking of doing some more with it.

Oh!

[new-man.livejournal.com]

And the Saugus Iron Works. I'm sure you've been there, but if you haven't, it's great -- especially in the late Spring.

Re: Oh!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes! I must go there. Some of my ancestors came to be Americans through indentured servitude at Saugus Iron Works.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

You haven't ben to Quabbin? You've read Puma Blues, right?

Walk a good chunk of the Appalachian Trail. I've only walked about ten miles of it, and I did it when I was 10 qnd twelve with Doc and his students. I've seen the end of the trail in Georgia, but didn't hike any of it.

Take Alexis down to Providence and have Jason give you guys the Lovecraft tour. BTW, I keep seeing a lot of zines he's illustrated on eBay. Can you send me contact info for him?

Have you seen a whale?

The last year you're there, spend a night on Evie's mountain. That would seem somehow appropriate, and I wish I'd done it.

I know we're poking out of New England a bit, but take a couple days to see some of the major sites in NYC that you may have missed. Out in the west, the city has a powerful cachet. You'll probably miss seeing it more tahn you'd imagine. If you haven't seen them, I'd recommend Central Park, the Empire State building, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, actually, several art museums. I don't know exactly where it is, but there's an abandoned elevated train line that has picked up enough wind blown earth in the last twenty or thirty years that now trees are growing on it and it's become a sort of elevated park. That should probably be first on your NYC list given your interests. I'm sure there's more but those are the biggie. Now that Alex has found you, I'm sure he can think of a few.

Walk the some of the ocean side of Cape Cod at night, particularly well out on the Cape during a full moon.

Weasel yourself into a tour of Woods Hole.

Yale. Particularly the library which features a wall made of marble so thin that light passes through it. It's an astounding site, Just try to scrub the Harvard smell off you before you go.

Holy Land in Waterbury. One of the weirdest places in NE

Take a canoe trip down some river or another. I did it once and it's a strong and wonderful memory.

Probably more will occur to me in the next day or two. I look forward to reading other folks suggestions.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

You've read Puma Blues, right?
Nope.

Have you seen a whale?
Not in New England.

Holy Land in Waterbury.
Horrifying.

Jason's info sent.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Thanks for Jason's info. I've got Puma Blues going out to you in the next box O' weirdness.

[artemii.livejournal.com]

the appalachian trail went through the small town where i was raised
:)

[richmackin.livejournal.com]

No, mostly they either say "I lived..." or occasionally remark on that being why I'm so energetic and/or talkative

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

that being why I'm so energetic and/or talkative

That's funny. What excuse did you have when you lived in New England?

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

I will self-immolate before returning to New Haven, thanks.

That might be true of NYC too. Yuck.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've got a deeper affection for weirdness for weirdnesse's sake than most people.

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

New Haven is totally depressing and NYC brings out like each of my phobias. :)

[richmackin.livejournal.com]

Har har

[richmackin.livejournal.com]

have you been to my home town, norwalk, CT, home of Stew Leonards, the world's largest dairy store?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Only vicariously, through the works of talking performance artists.

What's inside?

(I just mapquested it: It looks like a neccesary stop on a trip to NYC. Also, Norwalk CT almost as far from my hometown of Suffield CT, as Suffield is to Boston!)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Often when I tell people I'm from Connecticut (and I avoid doing so), they ask me "Near New Haven?" I get perverse joy from saying, "No, opposite end of the state. I've never been to New Haven."

didja notice nobody suggested Hartford?

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

Other than the honorable Yale, New Haven is a bleak wasteland - or at least it was when I went there when I was in high school back in prehistoric days.

Glah. I've seen more than enough of Hartford, thanks.

[richmackin.livejournal.com]

Imagine, if you would, 20% Trader Joe's, 40% farmer's market and 40% Chuck E Cheese with an ice cream parlor attached to it. Oh, and there are no aisles, so you have to walk through the whole place.

Also, the PT Barnum Museum in Bridgeport
Also, Holy Land in Waterbury