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| The basin at sunset with the State House in the background |
Another month and yet another trip for work. This time, I was in downtown Providence, RI for a peptide drug development conference. I was excited about this trip not only for the great science, but also because I would find my first cache in Rhode Island. Woot!! As it turned out, I had very little time for caching, so my choices were limited to the ones around the hotel. There were several nanos down by the Waterfront, so on my last night I ventured out to find them. The first one was Providence Nano Series #12: Waterplace Park by Aerial (
GC2RG5C), a tough to find but very well-placed nano near a well-populated basin. As you can see from the picture above, it is a gorgeous place to see the river, shopping, and the State House. In the basin were a bunch of baskets of firewood, which I thought was strange (you can see them in the picture).
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| Closer view of the State House in Providence |
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| Beginning of the Waterfire event! |
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| Fire in the basin during Waterfire |
I was able to get a closer view of the State House with another cache in this series, #11 Station Park (
GC2RG42). This was another well-placed cache that took me awhile to find. I then got a call from the family back home in San Diego, who were dealing with serious wild fires, so by the time I was ready for the next hide, it was almost dark. A number of people were amassing near the basin, and music was being piped into the area, so I decided to return. What I saw was a true treat, and something I would have missed if it were not for geocaching. Waterfire! I started chatting with the guy standing next to me about what was going on, and apparently his son is a volunteer for this event, which happens a number of times each summer. A group of people with torches walk silently through the crowd to the dock, where skiffs filled with people dressed in black (and a lot of wood) pass by and take the torches out to light the wood in the river. Between the ceremony, the music, and the fire, it was a really, really cool event. I'm so lucky to have caught this as I had no idea this was going to happen this night. Apparently, this was the first one of the year, and had been rescheduled based on the weather and the tides through the river. I wound up hanging out down at the basin for over an hour, watching the boats tend to the fires, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells, and enjoying the company of a few hundred locals.
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| Near H. P. Lovecraft's grave |
My last geocache in Rhode Island was also pretty special. As I was looking for caches near the hotel, I saw a virtual cache called H.P. Lovecraft by Julia (
GC9497). I'm a huge fan of cemetery hides, and a fan of Lovecraft, so when I saw what this cache was all about, I had to find it. I drove out to this one on my way back to Logan airport. GZ is in Swan Point cemetery, and is located near Lovecraft's grave. I had no idea that he was buried here and so I took an extra 45 minutes getting lost in the south side of Pawtucket looking for this place. What I found was one of the most beautiful cemeteries I have ever seen. A truly peaceful place, with interesting markers, blooming trees, and a true sense of reverence. It took me a bit to zero in on where his grave was, and apparently the cemetery folks monitor people who venture into this area. By the time I parked and walked over to where his tombstone was, I saw the security people coming my way. I got the info I needed to log the virtual cache, but was reminded by the security people that no pictures were allowed. Fortunately, I took one before I got to GZ, so this gives you an idea of what the general area looks like. I never would have seen his grave if it were not for this cache, so I got two memorable experiences on this trip.
