Farmcoast Delights: Beaches, seafood, fresh produce

I'd heard it called "Vermont with beaches". That's a perfect description of the Farmcoast -- a small group of picturesque coastal villages and farmlands in southern New England.

The RI towns of Little Compton and Tiverton, and the Massachusetts towns of Westport and Dartmouth comprise a beautiful region of farms, beaches, nature preserves and galleries that's only an hour-and-a-half from Boston. Much more restful than Newport (most restaurants stop serving at 9pm).

Highlights of my weekend trip:

• Open Studios for South Coast Artists (July 16-17 and again August 20-21).


• Saturday farmers' market in Tiverton Four Corners


• fresh produce stands all along Route 77


• sunset over the Sakonnet River, visible from Route 77


• dinner al fresco at Stone Bridge Restaurant, with a view of Grinnell Beach and boats in the harbor


• South Coast Beach, where you can walk along the sandy crescent of beach for a mile or so, reaching Goosewing Beach and watching children on their boogie boards ride the current from inland out to sea (unless their parents catch them first :-) )


• Fogland, a slipper shell and pebble-strewn beach with a beautiful, kid-friendly cove, windsurfers and kitesurfers


• a hike in Tiverton's Weetamoo Woods, a 450-acre nature preserve with Atlantic white cedar trees and thus a rare "cedar swamp"


• begonias and lillies at Young's Family Farm (next to the Edith Pearl B&B in Little Compton)


• Dell's Lemonade!

I'll go back, if even for a day trip. Things to see and do when I go back:

• Other Little Compton beaches, specifically Sakonnet Point, Warrens Point and Briggs Beach


• Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary along Route 77


• The Boat House Restaurant in North Tiverton


• The Back Eddy Restaurant (recommended by the B&B innkeeper)


• ice cream at Gray's Ice Cream stand in Tiverton Four Corners


• The towns of Dartmouth and Westport (including its three villages -- Westport Point, Central Village and Head of Westport).


• Maybe a trip to Newport!

Disappointing "30 Seconds to Mars" concert

5-1-11. It takes a lot for me to be disappointed at a concert. But 30 Seconds to Mars did not deliver on its promise in Boston at the Agganis Arena. A combination of factors made it practically sit-down boring.

* Lead vocalist Jared Leto seemed more interested in controlling the audience than singing. He spent more time talking (actually presumptiously instructing the audience) than singing.

* he only sung about half of the lyrics. He did say late in the show that he'd been suffering from an Ebola-like virus which had affected his voice.

* he kept stopping in the middle of songs (I hate that!)

* the Agganis Arena has poor acoustics for music


The show picked up at the end with two acoustic numbers and "Closer to the Edge". But all in all, it didn't hit it's mark.

Stingrays in Grand Cayman

Pet a dolphin? Done that. Swim with a dolphin? Check. Kiss a dolphin? Check again.

Touch and kiss a stingray? Well, it may sound hokey, but it sure is fun! My family and I enjoyed getting up close to numerous stingrays an arm's length long in Grand Cayman. Consider adding it to your bucket list.

Laffing Matterz: Fun Musical Parody in Ft. Lauderdale

My brothers and I laughed full-belly laughs at this dinner theater at the Broward Center for Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale. Laffing Matterz is a funny show based on current events, politics and relationships. Imagine "Saturday Night Live" done to musical numbers, while eating dessert!

Even better, the food was surprisingly good. Four star-quality. The chilean sea bass was probably the best I've ever had. And the steaks were perfectly prepared and just as delicious.

I recommend this to theater-goers and non-theater lovers alike!

An iPhone-only concert? Atomic Tom did it!

WFNX's Miracle on Tremont Street concert, 12/2/10 at the Orpheum.
Line-up: Ra Ra Riot, Neon Trees, Broken Bells.

Broken Bells live reminds me a bit of the Moody Blues -- very instrumental and rather low-key. Neon Trees, on the other hand, rocked!

The evening's highlight was the surprise appearance of the members of Atomic Tom. The foursome performed their most well-known song, Take Me Out -- using only 3 iPhones connected to speakers! They did this on the New York subway in October and posted it on YouTube. Check it out: Atomic Tom - Take Me Out (Live on NYC Subway). This should be Apple's new iPhone ad. Who knew you could play guitar and drums on the iPhone? Incredible!

Friendly, hungry gray jay on Mt. Field, NH

10/30/10: It was with great satisfaction and delight that Sheeba and I summitted Mt. Field on Saturday, after our aborted attempt in August due to intense heat and humidity. Though we were prepared for winter weather, we were surprised at the amount of snow and wind. It was 30 degrees at trailhead and snowed steadily during our ascent.

From Crawford Depot off of Route 302, Avalon Trail crosses Crawford Brook twice, before turning abruptly southeast towards the summit of Mt. Avalon. The path is moderately steep and rough at times and we had to take care due to some icy sections (though not enough to require stabilicers). After Mt. Avalon, the trail becomes quite pleasant and in the lee from wind. We had no view from Mt. Field's summit due to encroaching clouds, though the sun did grace us with its presence for 10 seconds or so a few times. About 1" of snow was on top.

The aggressive gray jay who joined us while we ate lunch swooped down on our food several times, clearly annoyed that we weren't more generous with our food!

The ice on the lower part of the trail had melted by our descent, and we were amused to find our winter boots covered not in snow, but in black mud. :-)

5.6 miles, 2,400' elevation gain (6.5 hours due to near-winter conditions)
Summit: Mt. Field (4,340')
Route: Avalon Trail

Japanese Buddhist Fire Ceremony

10/24/10: A group of Tendai Buddhist monks from Japan visited the Museum of Fine Arts to perform a dramatic, traditional outdoor "goma", or fire ceremony. Audience members were invited to participate by writing prayers for sanctification on six-inch strips of wood. As the monks did their sacred chants, a light drizzle started and audience members mobilized MFA umbrellas to protect the monks from the rain.

A unique experience, followed by a visit to the MFA's incredible collection of Asian art and Buddhist images.