27 - 12/2/2010

Initial Impressions

Christopher Setterlund

27 – 12-2-2010

In My Footsteps Trip

1.  Took my first trip since Maine two months ago.  Visited New Bedford, Dartmouth, and Acushnet.  160 total miles, $15 in gas.

2.  Went to Dartmouth first, it is actually more of a small rural town than I thought since UMass is there.  After getting off of the highway and through the center it was nothing but farms until I got to my first destination.

3.  Had to walk once I got to Demarest Lloyd State Park since the gate was closed.  It was worth the mile each way once I got to the beach.  Although I did find it funny that there were tons of those mini grills and nowhere to park, nothing like a long hot walk for a family in summer to cook outside.

4.  I ended up passing 2 places I was going to shoot thinking I’d see them again, which I did, after getting lost and doing a couple huge circles around Dartmouth.

5.  At the Apponagansett Park there was an awesome giant ice cream bucket Gulf Hill Dairy it was called.  Wish it had been summer to see that 30 foot ice cream bucket in action.  I went from delicious thoughts of ice cream to no appetite when I found a perfectly white fish skeleton on the other side of the parking lot though.

6.  Has anyone heard of a ‘Compost Toilet?’  There was one behind the Apponagansett  Friends Meeting House.  Wondering what the hell it is.

7.  There was a donkey behind the Russells Mills Library, I asked him if he worked there, he did not reply, but he did stare at me a lot.  Probably daring me to step over the fence so he could kick me.

8.  It was funny how I went back to Fort Taber and Fort Rodman and the weather was identical to when I went there in February.  Windy, mid-40’s.  Rather than trying to describe how eerie it is inside the earthen Fort Taber I videoed it.  It is tough to narrate a video though with people around, don’t want to look crazier than I am.

9.  I don’t advocate damaging historical landmarks but the holes punched in the brick covered windows at Fort Rodman make for some awesome photos.  Though reaching in the holes with the camera kept making me think a ghost’s hand was going to reach out and grab me.

10.  Nastiest thing of the day was a porta-potty at Fort Rodman.  It made the fish skeleton look like a rose garden.  Details aren’t necessary except for the fact that stuff was everywhere, f’n gross!

11.  The Rotch-Jones-Duff house in New Bedford has an awesome rose garden with a tiny hedge maze to lead you around it.  Probably looks better in summer, and it would have been less creepy without the guy sweeping leaves out of the street near my car.

12.  The New Bedford Historic District is definitely one of the coolest areas I saw.  The cobblestone streets are so crazy, every car goes by and their tires rumble over the stones.  Got to see some guys fixing a section of one of the streets too, that was neat.  Not to mention the fact that my parking meter was already paid for, sort of a perk I guess if I really want to stretch it, hell it was probably 75 cents.

13.  Acushnet did not have much for me to see.  The Town Hall was cool, and the Christmas display in front of the Fire Station as the sun started to sink was great.  The rest was a little let down.

14.  I think I was a little disappointed after finding out that the Panda Chinese restaurant I was so craving ended up being Panda ‘Chinese Food’ and not Panda ‘Express,’  Sorry but ‘Chinese Food’ is not the same as ‘Express’  another lie from Google Maps, damn it.  So I hit Sun On down here instead.

Quote of the Day:  “What should I do?” – LeBron James.  It is his return to Cleveland tonight after all.  Hearing the crowd call him an asshole over and over is so sweet.

Song of the Day:  Groovy Reggae Music - Ekolu

Photo of the Day:

Oxford Creamery at the Bucket, Dartmouth