Boston & Newport

By Jim.

Where has the time gone?  We knew that the New England leg of our trip would be a whirlwind, and we were right.  As a result, we’re behind on our postings.

We got to Boston (Foxboro, actually, which was the closest RV park we could find) on October 9, when the whole area was angst-ridden about the Red Sox-Yankees American League Division Series. Nobody does baseball-related angst more acutely than Boston does, and we arrived just in time to watch a taut, down-to-the-last-play Red Sox win.

Wednesday, October 10, was our much-anticipated trip to the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.  It’s magnificent.  The building was designed by I.M. Pei – Jackie’s choice at a time when Pei was relatively unknown.  “He was so full of promise, like Jack,” she said; “they were born in the same year. I decided it would be fun to take a great leap with him.”

What a leap it was.  The Library is located on Cape Cod Bay, just south of downtown Boston.  

It exudes class and the dynamic optimism of the 60s, which felt painful at this time when we have a President who has created a climate of crassness and retrogression.

It also recalled a time when Presidential words inspired, instead of causing fear and agitation.
One of our best ad-libs of the trip was deciding Friday morning to go to Newport, RI.

A century ago, Newport was the capital city of the Land of the Robber Barons.  The amazing ocean-front mansions (the Vanderbilts and the Astors actually called them “cottages” at the time) are still there, but it’s now a vibrant coastal resort town with plenty of sights, galleries and restaurants catering to the proletariat.

We walked the entire Cliff Walk Friday afternoon, which took about four hours.  It’s immodestly beautiful…and the surf was up!

When we got back to the car after our walk, we had another You Can’t Make This Stuff Up moment – Ginny bumped into one of her old Weston friends, Liz Montelli, on the beach next to where we were parked.  

Liz and her husband, Andy, opened up their beautiful home to us and we had a wonderful time together Saturday morning.  Ginny will have more to say in a separate post about this and other personal connections she made this week.

Speaking of wonderful times, we were taken out on the town Friday night by Matt Cohen, one of my son Pete’s best friends.  

And it is one great town!

After that, Connecticut beckoned!