Jamestown Finale...some photos

ahhh...Stroh's....
a hurricane took the family pier
hello crab
swimming
wholesome (drunken)

Jamestown Finale....some history

...heading down to Jamestown,RI. for the final hang-out at the O'Neill summer house. The Jamestown Bridge here, although not the best shot, was the tallest bridge in New England until its replacement in 2006. Oddly enough, it is also known as the Verrazano Bridge, like a certain NYC partner. Giovanni da Verrazano actually stopped by here in 1514. Dutch traders set up a harmonious trade port on Dutch Island, leased out by local Native Americans (contrary to popular thought, Native Americans did have a similar notion of property rights as the European colonists). By 1638, Massachusetts Bay colonists had purchased (not stolen, and not for 'trinkets') property in and around Newport, and were leasing grazing lands from local Naragansetts & others. In 1657, Coanicut Island, Dutch Island & Gould Island were purchased from the Naragansetts with whom there was relative peace until King Phillip's War (1675-6) which pitted colonists & their Native allies (incl. Naragansetts & Pequots) against other tribes (eg. Wampanoags), still considered to be the bloodiest conflict in American history. The Naragansetts were in the midst of trying to be allies to both colonist & King Phillip's Wampanoag Confederacy alike & found themselves embroiled in a war that went back & forth both in terms of atrocity and conquest, with neither side interested in diplomacy at this point. Rhode Island colonists retreated to Naragansett Bay along with Pequot, Mohegan & some Naragansetts and fought in bloody battles for life & death with Phillip's league. By this point, the Naragansetts had wholly allied with Phillip & went on the march from the Bay area upon losing battles & ultimately the war to the colonists & their Native allies. The Naragansetts were dispersed among their allies throughout the region & never wholly returned to the bay that is named after them. The colonial success brought Royal endorsement of the colonies and increased colonization (50-60% of colonists died in the war) and thus, settlement of the area. By 1700, the area hab become a prosperous agricultural area (with nearby Newport a growing port deeply involved in international, including slave, trade). The 1776 Revolution saw British occupation until 1779, when locals returned to their farms, maintaining an agricultural community even though the Industrial Revolution. A growth in regional ferries connected these farm islands and brought them to the attention of the new wealth who soon built summer estates in the Newport area, including Jamestown. Beaver Tail, the island portion where Jason's family summer house is, was the last to see the arrival of the summer rich, with agriculture remaining even to today. His great-grandfather built the house as a wedding gift to his daughter, across from the larger Lippincott estate across the bay. And most of all, Jason & Lisa were married there!
the Bay
...on the rocks

...Summer keeps a-chuggin' along...

look...a couple new outside bars...heh heh
somerville treats

nice, everso nice, as the summer keeps us in grand weather...although it seems like the bulk has been a steady dose of work with not enough play, this summer definitely did not disappoint. Granted, friends drifted towards other climes (warm storms rather than snow...)work was stressful and the time seemed to slip by too fast. & yet, we met new folks and had a grand time with old friends and new places...

rocksteady night.....

2nite.......rocksteady-ska-reggae..........@ the Independent - 10pm............all vinyl goodness....

...September Beginnith

well....the tourists head home (cue up the Freeze, "I hate Tourists"), but only to be replaced by the very scourge that finances Boston (no, not stem cells....although, wait I have an idea...), STUDENTS. Yep, our fun-filled drunk & horny foreigners (Jersey to Singapore), whose idea of education is the vomit-soaked, condom-strewn sidewalks that make even the homeless sick. Ah, glorious September!

...another year......

Another year down...just hit the big 3-8.....and what a year it has been...Got to visit Ireland in January, got married in May & saw the gradual diaspora of friends...life moves at its own pace, I suppose. It has been a thoughtful birthday for me as I approach 40, especially since turning 30 so far back now, was not that big of a deal for me. Questions of success & failure loom and I just hope with Skye, friends and family that I can cheer myself back to a less morosely contemplative self. Oh well....

cool....

just a cool shot from our aquarium outing...