Thursday, July 31st
The previous day in Boston really took a toll on both of us. We walked what seemed to be an eternity along the Freedom Trail, climbed up 294 steps to the top of Bunker Hill, and then caught another game that night. When we woke up this morning, it seemed to catch up with us.
Even so we had a noon game to catch in Pawtucket, RI, so off we went. This is the home of the PawSox, or Pawtucket Red Sox, their AAA affiliate. Also a very popular team as well judging by the turnout. Being a noon game of course meant kids...a LOT OF KIDS! I figured 80% of the attendance were kids 12 and under. That's cool - no problems. We found a great seat, got moved, then settled down in front of a a real New Englander - racist comments and all. Great stadium and great game too - the PawSox took it with a walk-off home run. Good times.
From here it was off to Providence since, well, that's what Sam has been waiting for most of this trip (?) Not sure why he loves this minor cities so much, but he does. We parked in the downtown area and made our way up to the Rhode Island Statehouse. Quite the edifice, and especially considering how small RI is to begin with. We took the best 10 minute tour possible - due to the fact it was closing. With a teen in tow that's really not a problem.
From there is was dinner at a local mall (which makes Indy's Circle Center look really small) and then a quick trip to Brown University. This would mark the first time either Sam and I would visit an Ivy League school. Now Brown isn't the top of the Ivy food chain mind you, but it did nicely for us. Tidy little campus with an interesting football stadium too.
Here's where things get interesting. My plan was to visit the oceanfront before sundown near Newport. I located a state park and off we went. Well, as we were getting nearer, we crossing over one humongous bridge, and I decided what the heck and crossed another into Newport proper to access a state park along the ocean. I saw signs pointing us to "Scenic Newport" and I thought...how quaint.
Well...that was an understatement. Sam and I landed in one heck of a tourist mecca which we were totally unprepared for. People swarmed all of the narrow shop-lined streets, dodging in and out of traffic. We did manage to squeeze through it, but were quite overwhelmed with the entire scene. We eventually made our way to Fort Adams State Park, where people were setting up for the Newport Jazz Festival. We weaved our way through the preparations and then the old fort to the oceanfront for a spectacular view. After some climbing around we made our way back to the Newport shopping area and took in some Ben and Jerry's.
However, we were not done yet. On the way in we saw the most charming baseball field where a game was going on. We found out it was a collegiate team, and stopped by on our way out of town. Since we showed up in the 7th inning, we just made our way up and enjoyed a fantastic two innings in a wonderful old ballpark. Refreshed we hit the road for our next destination in Connecticut - and another state to add to our first-time list.
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