Day 9 was the day to relax! The room we ended up in was an ocean view, we had a decadent dinner that would have made Caligula jealous, and we took a Water Journey. But all of that in good time because we spent the day seeing some other great stuff. For those of you who know who Dale Gribble is, you can probably guess we saw the largest bug in the world! The giant weta? Not that shrimp! I’m talking about the largest bug!

As I mentioned in my previous entry, we hightailed it out of Woonsocket, RI. I love a sleezy motel but that was somewhere between The Wire and Hostel. Mostly I just wanted to get somewhere with a better shower, I have priorities. Our first stop of the day was the Modern Diner, which is a bit of a misnomer.

The Modern Diner was the first diner to be accepted by the National Register for Historic Places. It’s also the last Sterling Streamliner line of diners. Diners actually originated in Providence, RI by Walter Scott in 1872. So basically everything this “modern” diner has going for it is that it’s historically significant.

I had to order their specialty, the custard french toast, one of the Food Network’s Top Five (I’m not sure what it’s the top 5 of, but the menu says that). It’s thick french toast covered with strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, and house glazed pecans topped with a warm custard sauce and raspberry drizzle. That was a freaking good french toast but I actually think my ploye with Dr. Jen’s snow ice cream was better!

After a nice, healthy breakfast we needed a quiet walk to digest and think. To the graveyard! We headed on over to the beautiful Swan Point Cemetery to see two of its “residents.” Little did we know, this place was gorgeous! Prep for pictures.

The first resident we looked for was elusive. Kind of makes sense as H.P. Lovecraft wrote about so many dark and elusive creatures. For this cemetery, his family’s section and his grave in particular were very modest. People left some weird junk by his headstone. I get the pencil but why the monkey ball? How has no one left a Funko Cthulhu?

The other gentleman I was looking for had been parked up on a hill overlooking the majority of other graves. His name was John Rogers Vinton and he was tragically killed during the Mexican-American war. He was hit in the head by a cannonball and supposedly it’s the same one that adorns his tomb. I doubt they actually looked for and found the killer ball but that’s what they engraved in the marble, so I guess it’s literally written in stone. I like that it looks like it’s actually made from wood.

Colonel John Slocum was killed in 1861 during what his grave refers to as the “war of rebellion.” His regiment, the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry, built a fort in Washington D.C., dedicating it to their deceased colonel. Sadly it was destroyed during WWII for other priorities but his grave makes a better monument to him anyway. I’m curious who put the rose there.

Paul Krot is also buried in the boneyard. Krot was a chemist, inventor, and photographer. He was an instructor and created the Spring Systems of Photography. In a cemetery of interesting stones, his stands out.

Now just a few other graves I found interesting. The scroll work, lettering, and overall designs are just so original and beautiful. I can’t imagine what these would cost now.

 

It’s crazy that the city of Providence can have a connection to both Lovecraft and Poe. Poe is from Baltimore, of course. But his main squeeze wasn’t! I’m not sure how they met, maybe some internet dating site for mopey goths, but she lived in an unremarkable house down a thin but unremarkable street. It’s that yellowish house with the two windows on the side.

So remember that big bug I teased about at the top of the post? Feast your eyes on this! It sits atop a pest control business, not unlike the termite that sits atop Mr. Gribble’s truck.

We had some spare time before our Water Journey appointment, so we headed to the local zoo. I picked up a penny and token while we bummed around. A lot of the exhibits were closed for the season but we only had to pay half price. I didn’t take any pictures as there was nothing extraordinary.

The Water Journey though? That was amazing. It’s a kind of bath-house spa. It’s very upscale and does the typical massages and skin treatments. Their big service though is the Water Journey. We were given towels, cucumber water, bathrobes, and sandals before being lead to a large room. It was dimly lit, warm, and had soft music playing. There were three pools, 3 saunas, and a steam room.

The path you were supposed to take was:

1. Soak for 10-12 minutes in the 98 degree Dead Sea salt pool. Since it’s the same temp as your body it was neither hot nor cold.
2. Sit in a eucalyptus steam room for 8-10 minutes. The air is so thick you feel you shouldn’t be able to breath, but it’s just steam so there isn’t a problem once you get use to it. It’s also scorching hot.
3. Cold plunge in the 55 degree tank for 30 seconds to a minute. Some people only got in up to their ankles, others did really well. Dr. J jumped in and right back out each time. My best time was about 15 seconds.
4. The traditional sauna at 165 degrees or an infrared sauna at 150 degrees. We tried both during our rounds and a third that was hidden outside.
5. Another plunge in that cold, cold pool.
6. A soak in a 104 degree epsom salt pool for 8-10 minutes. It was only 6 degrees warmer than the other pool but it felt like lava on my hands and feet after the cold plunge.
7. Wrap it up with another cold plunge dip.

Everything was amazing! I actually found I liked the steam room and cold plunge the best. One limbered me up and the other shot energy through me. We both left there feeling wide awake and refreshed.

We closed up a great night at the White Horse Tavern. Opened around 1673, it is the oldest tavern still in existence. It has taken several forms through the years and is now more upscale.

As a vegetarian, Dr. Jen had the mushroom risotto. I had the pork osso buco. Both were good but each of us only ate half our dinner. We had our eyes on dessert and didn’t want to fill up on useless, healthy calories.

We cleared all three plates. We ordered the chocolate goat cheese (strange but good, we had to try it), the Baked Alaska so J could have ice cream, and the bread pudding because I love that stuff. Jen’s favorite was the goat cheese but that’s because she’s a dolt. That bread pudding was the best bread pudding I’ve ever had. And I’ve eaten a lot of that stuff!

Woot! Three posts in one day! That’s a record for me! We leave tomorrow with no real plans on the way back home. I hope to write the post for Day 10 on Sunday but we’ll see. I might be too busy catching up with my dog.