Sandwich Heritage Day Book Signing

            Happy Birthday Sandwich. 375? You don’t look a day over 370.  I had the chance to be a part of Sandwich Heritage Day this past Saturday, June 14^th.  It was a lot of fun.  Held at Sandwich High School there was a lot to see and do if you attended.

            I was privileged to be stationed at the author table put up by Vicki Titcomb and Titcomb’s Books.  I came in as part of the second wave of authors at 2:30.  Ironically the author’s seat I took over when I arrived was that of Jim Coogan, my high school history teacher and author himself.  He helped build my love of history back then and I was finally able to tell him so.  One of the other authors I signed with, Shirley Pieters Vogel, author of Faith, Favorites, Fun, and Fotos of Cape Cod, was extremely nice and I really enjoyed speaking with her.

            I am still learning how to schmooze and speak to total strangers but with each signing I get better.  I try not to pressure people into buying, figuring if they thumb through my book the photos and words will sell it for me.  The highlights of my signing time were first off signing for a military family who had recently moved to the area after being in Germany for a few years.  The second highlight was my sister Ashley surprising me with her copy of my book.  She makes it a point to try to come to as many of my events as possible so that I can sign the book in a different spot.  She stayed for the rest of the event to give me some family support which is always good.

            In addition to having a chance to sign books for the people who gave my work a chance there were several other events going on that afternoon.  There was a Cape Cod Baseball League game getting ready to start at 4 between the Falmouth Commodores and Bourne Braves.  There was also face painting, Wally the Green Monster, and games emceed by Dan & Stephanie from WCOD. However, the cupcake contest was what nearly everyone was waiting for.  There was a table underneath one of the two tents lined with different cupcakes made by amateurs and professionals alike. They all were unique and looked delicious but there were only a chosen few who could be the ‘judge’ of which was best.

My sister Ashley and I

            The celebrity guest judges for the cupcake contest included Maury Povich and Connie Chung among others.  They arrived in an old green school bus and immediately began meeting and greeting.  I am not going to lie I held a copy of my book In My Footsteps: A Cape Cod Travel Guide in my right hand and waited for the celebrity couple to head for the tents.  I shook their hands and mentioned that I was going to be   Connie was interested in the book although Maury claimed he ‘forgot his wallet at home.’  She said they’d check me out after the cupcake contest was over.

signing my book over underneath the second tent.

            Not wanting to risk it I signed my book for them figuring I’d give it to them if they didn’t want to pay.  After the contest I made my way over with the book and overheard Connie tell Maury that she needed to come and ‘get the book.’  I ran back and they bought my book and I was able to get a photo with them and the book.  It was a great moment.

            After that the attention shifted away from the tents   This ended our time at Sandwich Heritage Day.  My sister and I helped Vicki load her car back up before watching a few minutes of the baseball game.  Each and every event I am a part of is special; it is not everyone who gets to do something they love.  I truly enjoyed Sandwich Heritage Day, working with Titcomb’s, and meeting Maury Povich and Connie Chung.  I will not soon forget it.

Standing with Maury Povich, Connie Chung, and my book.

and toward Fenton Field where the Cape League game was beginning.

Links, Links, and more Links

In My Footsteps: A Cape Cod Travel Guide - Amazon.com

In My Footsteps: Cape Cod - Boston Globe Review

History: In My Footsteps - Cape Cod.com

Titcombs Bookshop.com

Christopher Setterlund.com

48 - 3/30/11

Initial Impressions

Christopher Setterlund

48 – 3/30/11 – In My Footsteps Trip

     Had a great trip today to Newton, Medfield, and Walpole, Mass.  You know spring is here when you end the day with some redness on your face.  Sunscreen might be making a return next week.

     Before I even got on the highway a couple of cute kids at the back of a bus were waving to me so I waved back and it ended up being a fun game where we kept waving in different ways until the bus turned off.  Sign of a good day to come.

     I will say this, there is a huge difference between 5 Hour Energy and the liquid crack shot I took today.  5 Hour brings you down nice and gentle, liquid crack makes you crash, I found out the hard way about 6 hours after taking it when I was practically falling asleep.

     My first stop was Crystal Lake in Newton.  Had high hopes for some old cabins and a maniac slasher.  What I got were some heavy construction guys laying a new fence, scary but in a different way.

     The Newton Town Hall was cool, it had a creek running along it with a few bridges.  It was here that I also noticed the first annoying tiny bugs of the season and also the first of hundreds of geese that I would see.

     The highlight of Cold Spring Park was finding a baseball in the woods, yes I took it, sorry but if you leave a perfectly good baseball behind it’s finders keepers.  Might autograph it and put it on eBay, not my name, somebody famous.

     Hemlock Gorge was pretty cool.  I saw a muskrat swimming near the dam/waterfall but he went under and never came back.  I did see more geese, like I cared.  The big thing there was Echo Bridge which is supposed to be known for echoes.  There is a stairway leading you directly underneath it but when I went there I didn’t hear anything but the stupid geese honking.

     The highlight of the day was my visit to the abandoned mental hospital in Medfield.  It was the size of a small neighborhood, all of the buildings were brick and most had red plywood over the windows.  It was easily the creepiest place I have ever visited.  It was only made worse with the creaking and cracking and wind howling through broken glass.  I toughed it out and stayed a half hour before starting to feel the insanity building inside me.  That was why I skipped the mental patient cemetery, I am crazy enough as it is.

     The rest of Medfield was easy to find as the historic homes all seemed to be within sight of each other.  Then the trip took a sidetrack when I visited Noon Hill.  I thought the ‘overlook’ at the top of the 370 foot hill would be cool.  Too bad that all it overlooked was trees that you had to peer through to see anything.  Trust me, my hour long trek to find that spot was a major bust.  The highlight of the Noon Hill Reservation was the group of chirping frogs, it was like a way more annoying version of the Budweiser frogs.  Damn things never shut up.

     It was also here on that hike where my crash from the liquid crack kicked in.  Got back to my car and wanted to sleep.  I don’t think I will be buying that drink again even if 5 Hour Energy keeps turning down my sponsorship requests.

     Despite being really tired I did enjoy what I saw in Walpole.  Bird Park was really cool, nice and wide open, and of course filled with geese in a pond.  The funny thing was this pair of ducks.  The female duck kept quacking nonstop for like 5 minutes while the male swam quietly beside her.  He must have done something bad to deserve that beating she gave him.

     There was this random wooden clock tower on a street corner, can’t figure out what it was or why I felt the need to stop and shoot it.  However I did not feel like asking the small group of sketchy looking thugs standing on the street corner about it, y’know, it wasn’t that important to me.

     Kind of funny but my last stop was the Walpole Town Hall.  I parked across the street and got out, there was a girls’ softball practice going on and they all stopped what they were doing to look at me.  I was just like ‘what’s up ladies,’ before trying to look professional in my photography.  I had to laugh as I left because they literally all stopped and watched me, maybe I am magnetic?

     Almost got killed getting on 495 by some idiot who did not speed up or slow down as I entered.  Ironically their front end was already damaged which made it obvious that they hit someone in the same way before.  Spent the rest of the ride trying to stay awake, of course I succeeded.

Photos of the Day:

Have you seen my baseball?  Split-finger, that's a strikeout pitch.

Where nightmares live, at an abandoned mental hospital.

Bird Park in Walpole

The falls at Hemlock Gorge in Newton.