Oppenheimer in 70mm IMAX, the Atlantic Ocean, retired battleships, and the Lizzie Borden house… what do all those things have in common? You can read about all of them in this post π And they were the highlights of a whirlwind four days in Providence, RI, with my nephew, Bob, one of my favorite traveling companions.
We had a great hotel right on the river in Providence. However, Bob didn’t actually make that first night, marooned in DC (Dulles) by thunderstorms and the domino effect of delayed flights across the country. Teamwork paid off though, he got on the phone for a flight to Boston the next day and I found a hotel near the airport (one I stayed at back in my working days when I spent a lot of time near Dulles). He did say he wanted to see Dulles Airport, but I’m pretty sure an overnight delay wasn’t what he was thinking would happen…Β The next afternoon I picked him up at Boston Logan, where we promptly got caught in the epic traffic jam that is Boston when the Sumner Tunnel is closed for repairs. Yikes. Good thing I kind of remembered my way way around: we got directed north and north again by closed off-ramps, and ended up going up through Saugus, and around Boston via 128. I did get the chance to point out where I used to work, and a few off-ramps that led to places where I lived or where Lexington and Concord were. So it was all good, a bit of history, personal and national, on our way to Providence.
Soon enough, we were checked into the hotel and ready for dinner. Only the rain had caught up with us and it was a downpour outside. Bob and the Uber app on his iPhone to the rescue! In minutes flat, we were inside at a lovely booth, enjoying a plate of oysters and then diving into some excellent lobster. By the time we’d finished dinner, the storm had passed over us and we walked back to the hotel, enjoying the scenery along the way. (We did get to avoid the tornado that touched down about 30 miles east of Providence, as we found out later watching the news!)
There are only 19 theatres in the US that have 70mm IMAX, and I had half-jokingly told Bob I was going to be in Providence while it was showing and he should come see it with me. Half a week later, he had the time off and the plane tickets. I think I’m a good influence, not a bad one π The only hitch, and it turned out to be minor, was the tickets were for Tuesday and thanks to the weather delays, we weren’t going to make that showing. The IMAX gods were smiling on us though, because I was able to book BETTER seats for a 10AM showing on Wednesday (and loved that I could cancel my Tuesday tickets with no penalty, that’s a cool innovation on the part of the theatre).
So this is a picture of the mall where the IMAX theatre is, to celebrate that, despite all the changes in plans on Monday and Tuesday, we did actually get to see Oppenheimer in 70mm IMAX and it was worth every hassle to get into those seats. The screen is so huge and everything is so detailed that its really immersion movie-watching. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I didn’t once think “how close to being over is this three-hour thing?” because it was THAT good.
The other thing Bob wanted to do this trip was see the Atlantic Ocean. Last year, driving along the New Hampshire coast, we could smell the ocean and we could hear the ocean, but the one thing we couldn’t do was see it because it was so freaking foggy. So this trip, we would SEE the big ocean. And I picked Cape Judith as our first stop because I thought it would be cool to see the lighthouse there. My research neglected to surface that Homeland Security has fenced it all in and there’s no way to actually get to said lighthouse. Sigh.
There was a nice little park next to the Coast Guard station, so we took a selfie with the ocean in the background. Close, but we couldn’t get down to the water from there. Let’s keep going…
Searching for public access to the coast came up with a few spots, and we hit both of them. One of them was pretty rocky and didn’t have parking but we were there long enough for a wave to soak my feet, so I got to feel *and* see the Atlantic Ocean πΒ The second stop had big slabs of rock and a beautiful view. I let Bob walk out a ways by himself and then snapped him as he absorbed a bit of the Atlantic coastline.
We continued our counterclockwise circumnavigation of Narragansett Bay by crossing over into Newport, where we stopped for some lunch (lobster roll for Bob, whole-bellied clam roll for me) and wandered around a bit, surrounded by tourists and shops trying to entice us to spend our money. The ice cream store won that round.
Continuing our pursuit of tourist attractions, we parked briefly across from the Lizzie Borden house in Fall River. I read a fictional account of Lizzie and her family last year and so I wanted to see the actual house. It’s a bed-and-breakfast place now, which sounds weird to me, but whatever. I don’t think I’d stay there…
Last stop for the day was Battleship Cove, just up the road from Lizzie’s place. We got there late in the day, so we didn’t go in but just looked at the ships from the shoreline. I had not realized how totally different WWII submaries were from the sleek, modern subs featured in the movies. Bob knew way more about them than me. The submarine is that low-slung boat in front of the destroyer, and, yes, it has a bow like a boat. I told you it was weird-looking!
Back in Providence, we enjoyed one last dinner out, at an Asian place near the hotel that had a robot with a cat face and touch sensitive plastic ears you could touch to make the cat purr. It was supposed to be helping waiters deliver food but it looked more like they were training it to take over their jobs, honestly. A bit odd. I liked that we had a real wait staff taking our order and delivering our delicious meals. A short walk back to the hotel, and one last view of the river, and we called it a night.
Friday, it was back to Boston Logan for Bob, but not before one last seafood meal at Legal Seafoods in Braintree, halfway to the airport. From there, Bob graciously agreed to take the Logan Express bus so I didn’t have to endure the snarls and misfortunes of Friday afternoon traffic in and out of Boston, with the Sumner Tunnel still closed (Thanks, Bob!).
We usually manage to get together in some city every few years, so having back-to-back years of hanging with Bob was extra special (Boston last September). Fingers crossed we’ll make it across the pond for even bigger adventures next year…
I’ve learned through the years that it’s not where you live, it’s the people who surround you that make you feel at home.
J.B. McGee
What a great time you two had. I loved seeing your photos and hearing about your trip. We need to get to RI asap!
What a wonderful time, yay! Happy for you both.
Thank you so much for the pictures, too. β€οΈ
I was only in Prov once but boy oh boy was it memorable. That story is for another time. Glad you had a good visit!
Funny timing. I’m in the U.S. to visit family right now, and we came in through Logan, sat in all that crazy traffic, and then went to see Oppenheimer at an IMAX theater. What I haven’t done yet is hit Legal Seafoods. That might have to happen!!
Quite the RI adventure! Great photos as always.
All sounds and looks fun!!
I didn’t know the Lizzie Borden house was a B & B. Not for me either. Thanks for the tour. The Boston Book Festival is in October. I won’t make it this year, but maybe some year we could meet up for that.
Now I’m hungry for some good seafood!! What a lovely time you had with your nephew! I have yet to visit Providence, perhaps I will drive down in the fall, when there are fewer people and when the surrounding landscapes on the way slowly change colours.
Did you just casually drop “across the pond” in your final sentence? That’s some foreshadowing of things to come!