Day 44 Pushing through to Providence

Total was a truly gorgeous day!

(TA-DAH! Obligatory gorgeous day photo.)

We woke up to sunshine and seventy degree temperatures in Augusta, Maine. The hotel that we stayed in last night was next door to an IHOP, so of course we had breakfast at IHOP. We both had their spinach and mushroom omelet, with an order of pancakes on the side. Yum!

(The mushroom and spinach omelets were tasty; the pancakes not quite so. We left most the pancakes on the table.)

We then found a Starbucks in the local Barnes and Noble and obtained two decaf coffee beverages and a couple of interesting books for the road. The bookstore had this intriguing mural of many well-know, historical, notable authors, including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolfe and others. Naturally, Doug has to take a picture of the mural. Also, he took photos of this beautiful cemetery located next to the B&N. There were several families visiting there, paying respects to (we assume) deceased family or friends. It was an appropriate reminder that this was Memorial Day weekend, a time we honor those who have lost their lives while serving the nation in the military. Here are some photos from Barnes & Noble and the cemetery.

(Cemetery next to the mall with the Barnes & Nobles)

(Patrise places our order.)

(Mural Franz Kafka and Langston Hughes, along with authors we were not familiar with.)

(Zora Neal Hurston depicted in the mural.)

(F. Scott Fitzgerald as depicted in the B&N mural of authors.)

The day’s journey was one of our longer ones: all the way to Providence, Rhode Island. A total drive of 3 and a half hours, much of it in heavy traffic. Patrise started driving and drove to the border of Maine and New Hampshire. Yes, I said New Hampshire, because Maine borders New Hampshire for 11 miles before you hit Massachusetts on I-95 South. We changed drivers shortly after we crossed over the border, and Doug took over driving the rest of the way. Sights along the way to Providence:

(Rural homes near York, Maine)

(Massachusetts Welcome sign on I-95S)

(Waltham, Massachusetts -- Cambridge Reservoir)

(Screenshot of a map to show how we traveled from Maine, through New Hampshire, through Massachusetts, and into Rhode Island.)

(We actually came to Pawtucket, RI, before encountering the "Discover Beautiful Rhode Island" sign. Maybe they think Pawtucket is not quite so beautiful [LOLOLOL])

(Amtrak's northeast corridor Acela train speeds its way through Pawtucket, Rhode Island.)

We drove to a vegetarian restaurant in downtown Providence, along the Providence River, called Plant City. We are both getting really good at parking our RV in tight places and today was no different. The downtown area was packed with people and there were very few parking spaces available anywhere. We did find some space in the parking lot reserved for Plant City but it was a tight squeeze! Doug did an excellent job!

Plant City was an interesting restaurant, because it combined three different themed vegetarian restaurants (an Italian, a Mexican and a burger concept) into one physical building. However, inside the building, you had to sit in different locations, based on the type of cuisine you wanted to eat. So much for mix-and-match. After being thoroughly confused, we eventually decided to enjoy a vegetarian pizza and eggplant parmesan. Both dishes were good, but the sauce on the pizza reminded both of us of tomato paste, and it was not nearly as savory as the marinara sauce in the eggplant parmesan.

The view from the window of the downtown area along the river was stellar. It was our first time actually seeing Providence, although we had been through it on an Amtrak train years ago. We got to watch locals enjoying riding bikes, skating, running, and walking on the trail that ran alongside the waterway. It truly was a splendid day to get outside and enjoy nature. Brown University surrounded our location, so there were a lot of young people in the area, including many young families with children and lots of dog owners walking their dogs. People were canoeing and kayaking on the Providence River. It was such a lively place for people-watching. Here are some photos of Providence, in general, and activities along S. Water Street.

After the late lunch, we headed to our hotel, the Springhill Suites by Marriott and checked in. Since we arrived so early in the evening, Doug decided to go to the gym and get some exercise while Patrise checked in on emails. We watched television, including the NBA Eastern Conference finals game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. We used the Wifi to get some other work done, and generally relaxed the entire evening.

Tomorrow we head to Connecticut.