17 - In My Footsteps Trip - 9-8-2010

Initial Impressions

Christopher Setterlund

17 – In My Footsteps Trip

September 8, 2010

1.       I visited the North Shore for the 3^rd time today.  Hit Beverly, Peabody, Marblehead, and Swampscott.  I will never get tired of that place.

2.      Was worried most of the way up since it was raining, but in the end it was good since it washed my dirty car.

3.      Need to ask 5 Hour Energy to become a sponsor of my travels.  I now depend on it for my increasingly long drives.

4.      Today I ended up going about 240 miles, $20 of gas.

5.      Got to photograph the Witch House in Salem on my way up, from the car of course, but since I didn’t see it before I can now add it to my collection.

6.      Beverly was actually an easy town to shoot since most of the historic homes were on Cabot Street.  This was good since the rain caused traffic which caused my drive up to take longer, boo.

7.      I bet everyone has bitten the inside of their mouths before, right?  I like chewing gum but honestly I did it twice in the same spot today and it was pretty intense pain.  Maybe I am going cannibal subconsciously.

8.      Lynch Park in Beverly is amazing.  There is an unreal rose garden which I filmed.  There are tons of beech trees too and some statue of a guy with a falcon which probably means something.

9.      Made sure not to stand on the cliff wall at Hospital Point Light this time, did it before, quite dangerous, 50 foot fall.  I told a lady there I did travel writing and she watched me take my shots, hanging over fences and stuff.  Too bad she was old or maybe she could have been my groupie.

10.  At the Smith-Felton Historic Site in Peabody some guy started yelling that I was on private property even though there were signs for parking and such.  He asked who I was with and I said ‘nobody.’  He waited for me to leave but I was nice about it since he might read my writing someday, but honestly he was a jackass.

11.  Brooksby Farm in Peabody was great.  A real working farm with animals.  I got to watch a snoring pig which was funny.  There was also a rogue chicken who escaped his pen, he was trying to get back in through the chain link while the others laughed and talked trash.  I ratted him out to the farmers and they said that chicken always escapes.

12.  I got back together with an old love today, Chick-fil-A.  Haven’t had it in 5 years since I lived in Florida.  That was part of my reason to go to Peabody.  Too bad it was in the Northshore Mall.  Had to go wander the mall to the food court but it was worth it.  Plus I am going to email the president of Chick-fil-A and ask him to put one in the Cape Cod Mall since the same folks own the Northshore Mall.

13.  Saw a sign for Bill & Bob’s Famous Roast Beef in Peabody.  I swear we had one here years ago.  What is Peabody like the U.N. of fast food?  They also have a Sonic so I am not far off.

14.  It was like Dazed and Confused heading out to Marblehead Light as wave after wave of high school girls ran past my car.  I get older but they stay the same age. 

15.  At Fort Sewall in Marblehead I was able to take a photo through the lens of binoculars.  I got a sick shot of a lighthouse out on an island.  I became more interested in doing that than checking out the fort, but that was cool too.

16.  By the way, who in the hell goes sunbathing at a fort?  Also, why sunbathe when it’s cloudy?  And lastly, why sunbathe if you are hideous?  Nobody’s gonna look, you’ll just be tan and hideous.  Hit the gym first then worry about your tan.

17.  I still say Abbot Hall in Marblehead looks a bit like the Penn Warehouse at the beginning of The Office.  Maybe it’s the shape of the tower, or maybe I just want it to look like it so bad that I am insane.

18.  Why build a cool castle if you won’t allow people inside?  I guess just to be jerks.  Thanks jerks who built the cool castle near Crocker Park but won’t let me trespass.  Hell with your privacy!

19.  Marblehead Light is awesome, it’s a skeleton.  Oh and someone spray painted a heart on it.  I am torn, on one hand it’s graffiti, but on the other hand it’s a heart and not some dumbass gang symbols. 

20.  Oh yeah and Marblehead is sort of like a corn maze with no corn.  Way too many one way streets, and narrow ones at that.  Who the hell designed that town?

21.  Swampscott is a nice place but did not have too much in the way of important sites.  It would be nice for a beach day but not for my articles.

22.  It was cool to find a random house I had seen on my Google Maps though, no significance, just a really cool design. 

23.  Did not buy a cooler to bring home some Sonic from Peabody.  Thought about it but why not save that for another trip.

24.  Oh and I sent all sorts of Facebook updates to my page, or so I thought.  Nothing like sending witty quips to nobody, waste of texting $, boo again.

25.  Found out I have multi-color lights in my car on the way home by accident.  It was like having a dance club in my car tonight.

26.  Might have to cut my trips from 4 towns to 3, just too much work, too little light, and way too many articles.

Quote of the Day: “Hey that’s private property.” –jackass at Smith-Felton Site in Peabody

                             “Yeah?  Then why are there signs for parking here?” –me

The guy just pouted and watched me get in my car.

Song of the Day: Misunderstanding – Genesis (because it played while I was temporarily lost in Marblehead…must be some misunderstanding, must be some kind of mistake, classic)

Photo of the Day:  The Rose Garden at Lynch Park in Beverly