Can you spot the non-MIT student?

At Kendall Square T station in Cambridge...


...three out of four passengers...


...are students at MIT.


Can you spot the non-student?

The Pavemen Cometh

It's a know fact that the asphalt plants in Maine close for the winter on Thanksgiving day. Therefore, the first three weeks of the month of November is macadam madness, as every Mainer who's seen one mud season too many, decides to pony up the big bucks and get their driveway paved before spring!

Steaming asphalt - the way life should be...

A Walk Through Augusta, Maine

Augusta, Maine's capital and nerve center. Teeming with state employees from 8 to 5 on weekdays. At 6:00 AM on a Saturday, not so much.















The famous Mid-State College (not to be confused with Max-State College or Average-State College).















The Colonial Theatre, built in 1913. Every 10 years there seems to be a movement to restore and re-open it. Alas, not yet.

Another Dance Lesson

It's Polka Time!

Always be careful when you accept a polka lesson.

A Visit to Sing Sing

I’m on a trip to New York, staying at a campground in Westchester County. Driving through Ossining I see the name on a map - "Sing Sing Prison".

Sing Sing?! The actual Sing Sing Prison? The setting for The Big House and movies starring James Cagney? The origin of the phrase "sent up the river"? The home of "old Sparky" the first electric chair in the USA?

I take a turn off Route 9 onto a quite suburban street. The neighborhood becomes more residential as I approach the Hudson River. The road curves to the right and there is a fence to the left. With concertina wire on the top. I crest a small hill and suddenly a blank concrete wall - 20 feet high - looms ahead.

The road turns right and follows the wall towards a corner with a tower.

I park in a small pull out and walk up the street to the corner. The wall continues for half a mile. I snap a few pictures.

Suddenly, a door clangs above. "Hey you! You can’t take pictures here!" A large, heavily armed guard glares down at me from the wall. "Oh yeah?" I say "Try and stop me!" I run for the car as an alarm wails from somewhere beyond the tower. Spotlights flick on as I open the door and hop in. "Stop! Stop or I’ll shoot!" "You’ll never catch me copper" I yell as I hit the gas and speed off down the street.

Later, at the Ossining Quimbaya Coffee Shop, I watch the meter maid check my time. She doesn’t suspect a thing.

A Quick Trip to Newfoundland - The road north

I get up very early and quickly pack everything while my stove heats up water for coffee. I’m planning to have my “real” breakfast somewhere on the road overlooking Bonne Bay. As I leave the campground, a young moose bolts from a ditch and runs across the road mere inches in front of my bumper.

I stop quickly and hop out to try for a picture but she’s long gone by the time my feet hit the gravel. However, I look down and spot a small snail crossing the road ahead of my front tires so I take his picture instead.

A small picnic park on the north shore of Bonne Bay serves as my breakfast nook.

I also take the opportunity to reorganize the back of the Element so I can more easily get at things I might need during the day (like my rain coat).

The weather alternates between showers and fog so I continue north on Route 430 through Gros Morne and past the various “scenic attractions” announced on roadside signs.

Somewhere around Port au Choix, the rain stops and the clouds lift and I see blue sky ahead. When I reach Saint Barbe, it has become a fine day and wherever the road follows the coast, I peer across the Strait of Belle Isle trying to get a glimpse of Labrador’s coast, 12 miles away. However, the fog lies a few miles offshore and I see nothing. Except, there is something out there. A large sailboat?

I pull over and get out my binoculars. An iceberg!

At Eddies Cove Route 430 head east and leaves the Strait of Belle Isle and the icebergs behind. Along the road I notice many small fenced in areas.


These are Newfoundland gardens plots, planted out here in the relatively rich soils away from the coast and the salt spray.

Unlike the Tablelands, the bedrock underlying this region of Newfoundland is limestone and, where the soil is thick enough, it’s relatively good for growing.

Where the soil isn’t thick and the winds are strong (pretty much everywhere) a number of rare plants still occur, taking advantage of the small, sheltered micro-climates in the cracked limestone barrens.

It’s late afternoon when I reach Pistolet Bay Provincial Park. I set up my tent and have a real meal, my first in three days. The sun is still high in the sky – it doesn’t set until 9:30 at this latitude – so I take a drive out to Cape Onion.

The horizon is dotted with icebergs, though only a few small ones are in the bay.

There’s a small cemetery next to a church on the Cape and as I follow a trail past it I find a lone grave in a sheltered swale a few hundred yards below it:

BABY BOY ANDREWs
Born Sept 21, 1969
Died Sept 29, 1969

As the sun slips behind the fog bank hanging in the Strait, I head back to my tent and wondering about the circumstances of his birth and death and why he’s buried here, outside the churchyard.

A Quick Trip to Newfoundland - Heading to Trout Brook

I’ve been to Newfoundland a lot in the last 35 years. However, most of my trips have been to the Avalon Peninsula on the eastern side of the island. I’ve only been to the tip of the Northern Peninsula and Labrador once – about 30 years ago. So, on this short trip, my vague plan is to explore this part of the island with a side trip to Labrador if time permits.

After getting off the ferry I head to Cheeseman Provincial Park outside Port aux Basques for a quick a shower.

Fifteen minutes later, I’m on the road again. The day is overcast with occasional rain. I decide I’ll drive until I’m tired and then find a place to camp. I play leapfrog with the slow-moving RVs on the road. I pass “Minnie Winnie” a half-dozen times only to have her overtake me when I stop for a photo or coffee.


After 170 miles, I reach Deer Lake and decide I’ll camp at Trout River in Gros Morne National Park. After a stop at a grocery store for a few supplies (including a box of Purity Cream Crackers) I head down Route 430 towards Wiltondale and the turn off to Trout River about 25 miles away.

The road to Trout River takes me through the Tablelands – a series of flat topped mountains that are actually a piece of the earth’s mantle which was thrust up onto the underlying rock when Africa collided with North America about 470 million years ago.

The red rocks are very low in calcium, very high in magnesium, and have a variety of heavy metals which make them toxic to most plants.

Last winter’s snow is still visible in many of the deep ravines near the tops of the mountains.

The clouds hang low over their tops, giving the landscape a foreboding mood.

When I get to the campground, I'm too tired to do much else other than eat a pack of Ramen noodles set up my tent and go to bed.

A Quick Trip to Newfoundland - The crossing

I generally find the rocking of a ship a soothing motion. However, not everyone does. Throughout the night an endless parade of passengers hurriedly make there way to the restroom near my "bunk", including the boy with the squeaky sneakers. A teenage girl with hiccups wanders through the lounge a half-dozen times, like a small wraith haunting the ship.

At 5:00 AM, after 3 hours of non-sleep, I see the sky has lightened and make my way to the upper deck. We are about halfway to Newfoundland and the sky has cleared somewhat.

As the sun peaks over the horizon, I take a tour of our ship, the MV Leif Ericson.




The lifeboats. I decide I really wouldn't want to spend much time in these...

The upper deck with only two benches. I suppose most people spend their time below in the cafeteria.

The sun shows itself only briefly before disappearing behind the clouds overhead, leaving a blank horizon.

At 7:00, the cafeteria opens and I head below to get a cup of coffee. When I come back on deck I get my first glimpse of Port aux Basques, our destination.

The Lief Ericison makes a long turn into the harbor giving a better view.

As we approach the ferry terminal, the ships P.A. announces that we should head for the car deck. Though, I know it'll be a bit before we dock, I follow the herd to the bowels of the ship.

On the car deck the Ferry men return and congregate at the rear door of the ship. We entered the ship through the bow in North Sydney, and now we'll exit through the stern. Outside, the ship is pirouetting and backing into the Terminal ramp. The engine noise is loud and accompanied by various deep rumbles and vibrations and the occasional hard jolt. I wonder how the hiccupping wraith is doing.

Finally it all comes to a halt and as the stern door lifts a bit of natural light filters into our neon undersea world.

Though it will still be 5 minutes before we can actually leave, SUVs, Winnebagos and 18-wheelers all start their engines at the sight of the light. Soon, in the distance, I can see the Ferry men frantically waving for the the front vehicles to move. Though I was the last vehicle on the boat, by luck I get to slip past a large group of trucks and RVs which need space to maneuver.

Once I hit the the ramp, there is no stopping for photos. I'm in the midst of small rush-hour's worth of traffic all rushing towards their home, their work, their vacation! I'm too busy watching out for the semi to my right as a VW passes me on my left and a Winnebago hits his brakes in front to look at much else.

Finally, the cars and trailers disperse a bit and I pull over to get my bearings. I'm in Newfoundland!