As Promised...

Or threatened....or warned...however you see it. Per my last entry, here is the word on 3 different events/experiences from here on tour.

1. SKETCHY HOTEL

So Friday, we finish up in Concord, and drive 50 miles Northwest to Lebanon, NH. BUT - we were booked into a hotel just across the river in White River Junction, VT. Fine. So we follow the directions to the hotel - and when we get to where it should be, on a dead end road, there is a dark building with NO HOTEL SIGN - but a bright yellow sign that says 'China Lite'. So either we're staying at a Chinese restaurant, OR (upon further searching) that room at the other end of the building looks like a hotel lobby (of sorts.) So we drop Elisa off to check us in and THUS begins our experience at the REGECNY INN AND SUITES. For the most part, what follows is going to be a PHOTO JOURNEY through the sites and sounds of the hotel. The LUCKY sticking point is that we checked in around MIDNIGHT on Friday, and we checked out at NOON on Saturday. BUT - there were still reports of people sleeping fully clothed, showering with flip flops on and fitful sleeping with the thought and/or feeling of SOMETHING crawling on the sleeper. We survived it...and I'm sure atleast ONE of us has bed-bug-bite-scars to remember it by.

2 Things I found in the lobby that INSTANTLY signaled SKETCH: L - just a MOLD NOTICE from the Health Department. Nice. R - a random TOKEN machine. WHAT? What could you POSSIBLY need tokens for? Chinese food?

So this hotel DOES number their rooms like all others...just some, a little more...creatively than others. And of course, don't even THINK about renting room #110. Classy, right?

Right across the hall from mine and Andrew's room was an open storage room...with some sweet computer components from the early 70's perhaps. And some other stuff. Just come on in...look around. Jackie found a shawl and a like-new toothbrush.

L: So mold is no good...but RUST is evidently fine. Just as long as the wall is held togethere by scotch tape. R: WAIT A MINUTE! I thought you said the mold was in the C wing.....hmmmmm......

Various streaks, wipes and...um....vomit splatters from around our various rooms....

2. MY TRIP TO A LITTLE SLICE OF MORMON HISTORY

For those of you just joining us, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints....the Mormons. (That is NOT your cue to slam your door in my face.) And although Utah is traditionally thought of when someone yells 'THE MORMONS ARE COMING!' You MIGHT be surprised to learn that the early years of the Mormon Church took place EAST of the Mississippi River...in Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois. (And probably some other places, too. Mormon I am. Mormon Historian I am NOT.)
ANYWAY - 12 miles WEST of the Regency Inn & Suites, in a little town called Sharon, VT, there is a monument marking the birthplace of the first prophet and president of the church, Joseph Smith. Yes please, says I! I mean...my 2 options were to SLEEP in the beds at the sketchy hotel, or hop up early before our shows on Saturday and head out to Sharon. I went with the latter (day saints) of the 2 choices. And I'm really glad I did. I learned some interesting things about Joseph Smith - and about the Monument. Like the monument itself was erected in this spot in 1905. I bet none of YOU knew that, either. File it away for Jeopardy, folks. And CRAZIEST of all...I ran into a couple from the congregation that I grew up in (in Boise, Idaho) - who are a missionary couple at the Visitors Center there in Sharon! How crazy is THAT?
It was a great little trip - that in the end helped me gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the faith that I was raised in and live today...and where it came from. No dirty hotel bed sheets are going to give me that.

SO - here is how you know you've found the right place...or the START of the right place.

And here is another sign, telling you you're getting CLOSER....

This is from inside the Visitor's Center and it is a statue of Joseph Smith.

So this is the actual monument. Like I said, it's been here since 1905? I'm MORMON and I didn't even know that. Not quite sure WHY I needed 2 shots of it...but you get to see them both, too.

A couple of rocks with plaques. L: Marking the site of the backdoor of the Smith home. R: The actual front step of the Smith home.

Just some random SCENERY SHOTS from around the Sharon, VT area. Now imagine it with LEAVES! Beautiful!

A sign.

3. A DAY IN BOSTON WITH US

And who, exactly, is the US of which I speak? Well, none of the cast...they were all either too sick or too tired to head in to Boston. So I bought myself a train ticket and snuck my good ol' friends, HOOPS AND YOYO, into my bag and headed off down the tracks to Boston. From Lowell (where we performed yesterday and today) to Boston is about 25 miles...and on the train, with all the starts and stops, it takes about 50 minutes. Nice time to unwind from our shows and just kick it. I also called my mom and got some Boston-Must-See's from her and my friend, Darci Nelson, and got some from her, as well. Their ideas were coupled with a few text-message suggestions from Tara Giordano...so I was PRETTY sure I was covered.
The plan for the day was simple: See as MUCH of Boston as humanly possible before 1) everything closed; and 2) I passed out from exhaustion. So, I arrived to the city about 2pm, and immediately set off on The Freedom Trail - which might be one of the smartest things a big touristy-city has ever done for its tourists. Basically, it's a red line that runs from the Boston Common on a 2-mile course around the cities historic landmarks...and you just follow it and let it show you the city. You can do as much or as little as you want, and it's free. So I did a majority of it - cutting off Bunker Hill and USS Constitution. But I saw...I mean everything! And Hoops and Yoyo loved it, too.
After our Freedom Trail hike...we headed over to Cambridge to check out Harvard Square and kick around there, as well. I saw Harvard. It was no Yale, that's for sure. But it really is a cool area - with great shops and just a really COOL feel. I ate dinner at a place called Border Cafe - and it was great. I had Catfish Mardi Gras - which was delicious....I don't know how else to describe it. Just trust me on this one. Couple that with lunch at Cheers, and it was a great day in Boston! I do have a rather unfortunate 'Hunt For Cheesecake' story to tell...but I think I will save it for tomorrow...since it's just a driving day.

So the Freedom Trail starts at the Massachusetts Statehouse. And so there shall we start, as well...

Just follow the Freedom Trail.

DETOUR: So Cheers isn't on the Freedom Trail. But I made a quick adjustment and added it to my own personal Freedom Trail. Hoops and Yoyo were happy to stop.

BACK ON TRACK: The reading begins. Lots of reading and bronze and walking and stuff...

So there was a lot to see....Graveyards (which just look creepier in B&W) - like this one where Paul Revere and other historic figures are buried - and Churches...

...and statues (Ben, Hoops and Yoyo kickin' it), and buildings (original City Hall, anyone?)...

...and most importantly, bronze donkey's. Wait...what? Hoops and Yoyo didn't care WHY - they just insisted on a ride and a picture.

So this church brags about being the starting point of the Boston Tea Party. And so I believed them.

And here is the Old State House. I LOVE LOVE LOVE in Boston how the OLD is nestled right in with the NEW all over the city. This last picture is a great example of what I'm talking about.

Here stands Sam Adams. Here lies Sam Adams.

Buildings and statues and parks and stuffed animals.

Some of my favorite shots of the day: The Boston Holocaust Memorial

Irish Pub Row.

The Paul Revere Mall. This place was DESERTED - so H&Y ran around for awhile.

Old North Church is nestled in the tiniest little neighborhood! Look at those STREETS!

Another church...this one is a panoramic shot on it's side. Revolutionary, I know.

CONCLUSION: We're all alive and kickin' after this past weekend...and as you can see from above, we've even had some extra fun to spice things up on those days that we thought we JUST couldn't go on! And each time we went on, we found our inspiration: if we go do our shows, we get OUT of the hotel. If we GO to Lebanon, I can head out to check my 'roots'. If we just get through the last 2 shows, I can be on my way to Beantown. Tour is quite an experience...but it leads to so many MORE experiences, I can't help but love it for all its crazy days and ways and happenings as we go along!
I hope you're enjoying it, too!

Over and out----
Gussy


Just a couple of buildings from Lebanon, NH. On the left is the venue we performed in. Cute little space. The other one is a church that sat across the Green in Lebanon.


Jill shows off the $1 Mermaid I bought her at Walgreen's in Lowell, MA.


So on the FREEDOM TRAIL, I found this Serenity Garden in Little Italy. I didn't want to go in - but Hoops and Yoyo insisted. AND they insisted on this picture, as well. Yoyo is a LOT harder to find than Hoops. He blends in.


I was entertained by this poster I saw in an Italian Deli on my walk.


Not the BEST shot - but this is a beautiful open flower shop I walked by in Harvard Square/Cambridge. So beautiful.


SOOOOO - I had to act like I was taking a picture of that corner building - but I couldn't pass this guys HAT up. Enlarge the picture if you can, to get a good look at the TWIG HAT this man is wearing. FULL ON real twigs make up that hat. And THAT, my friends, is insane.