Two Dudes in Massachusetts

Not since the "Two Millenia, Two Idiots Tour" of 2000 have Mike and Keith hit the road together. The impetus for the trip in the first place was to see Noel Gallagher play at the Boston Opera House....which quickly spiralled into an excuse for a good road trip in a six-speed Mazda with a Darth Vader gearshift!

The trip began with a relaxing drive along the north shore of Lake Erie from Wheatley to Fort Erie, before crossing over at Buffalo. Some drizzle chased us across the width of New York state, before we arrived at our first destination a little ways into Massachusetts.

We spent two nights "glamping" in an old train caboose in Chester, as a great base camp to explore the rugged and scenic Berkshire hills of northern Massachusetts....in between guitar-mandolin jams. We moved onto the Boston area, first exploring the Cape Code shore, Plymouth, and the beaches of Nantasket to the south, then through Boston and onto the Salem and Gloucester areas to the northeast.

Gloucester is the quintessential fishing town....even more so than Wheatley! Of course, they also have their own brewery, their own castle, and a great Italian restaurant (The Causeway), none of which Wheatley can compete with. A whale watching tour out on the sea under blue skies and fascinating cloud formations completed the visit.

On to Beantown! We stayed at the Farrington Inn near Harvard, and took the streetcar downtown to bar-hop and sight-see before the show. We even got a local bartendress to play several Noel Gallagher songs when the crowd thinned out....the perfect lead in (accompanied by a few pints of Sam Adams Brick Red Beer of course) to the show at the Opera House.

Noel Gallagher and his lads were incredible, at a fabulous venue for live music. He even threw in a few Oasis classics. There was also this moment of amusing banter with a fan who tried to give Noel some music to check out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHEpyehguO8

We wrapped up the trip with a ballgame at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon. The Red Sox trailed all game 4-0 before throwing up seven runs in the bottom of the 8th, then shutting down Oakland in the top of the 9th to send their fans home happy. Only the long drive home remained, punctuated by a stop for the night in Utica, NY before meeting Jane in Guelph for the ginger hand-off.

Call it a road trip!

(p.s. - not sure why the thumbnails are screwy and can't seem to fix, but if you click on the full size pics everything is fine!)

Glamping in Chester, MA

Night Train

Primitive accommodations

Mayflower II

Plymouth Rock

Chatham....Cape Cod!

Nantasket Beach

Boston from across the Bay

Old Burying Point cemetery in Salem

Thar She Blows!

Fin Whale

Gloucester, Massachusetts

Hammond Castle just outside Gloucester

Memorial to Gloucester Fishermen lost at sea

Noel Gallagher - you delicious bastard!

Noel and his High Flying Birds at the Boston Opera House

N

Iconic Fenway Park

Best Seats in the House