Gnew Gnome

We've been wanting to get a garden gnome but hadn't found one we really liked till I got a Lakeside Collection catalog with this jaunty fellow.  We both liked the design, the price was awesome, the fact that he's small, and I love the changing colour ball he's holding.

It's solar powered so every night, it turns on and cycles through all the colours of the rainbow.

Cool, no?

Sagamore, Part 3

Walked over to the Canal from 6A for a couple snappies.

There is something about houses with this shape that bum me out.  I may have had a nightmare or weird dream, or maybe saw a scary tv show or movie when I was little.  I love the architecture but I'd never live in one.

This is the old Keith mansion.  It's huge and beautiful and in need of some TLC.  I bet it'd make a great bed & breakfast, but it's an eye doctor's office now.  Reminded me of the Gatsby Mansion in Victoria.

I love his sign.

Mural on the Montessori School.

Louis' goes back a long, long way and unfortunately it's closed and the windows all papered up.  But the signs remain.

Canalview Apartments, aka 'The Blocks'.

Surprisingly I found nothing I wanted to buy in the gift shop!  Lots of pretties, but nothing spoke to me.

Looking down into the hot shop.

Back of the Christmas Tree Shop.

The bridge is being painted.

Rte 6A, going under the bridge.

When I first learned how to skate, I had lessons at the indoor rink in Plymouth (the rink in Hyannis, while in a large Quonset Hut type building, it was considered 'outdoors'), until the Gallo rink was built in about 1972 or 73.  

The last time I was on skates, 1988, was here.  I loved it but I don't dare try it now at this age.  I cannot afford a broken knee or wrist!  

I hope you enjoyed my little tour of Sagamore!

Sagamore, Part 2

A very funny thing happened when I was shooting the Guglielmo Marconi Club, which is a men's club made up of mostly Italians, and men are recommended for membership, you can't just join.  Russell is a member of it. So was my Uncle through at least the 1980s.  I had been listening to a tape for awhile but had the radio on between the short drive from the Christmas Tree Shop to the Marconi Club.  'We Built This City' by Starship was on the radio and as I shot the picture of the sign, the line, 'Marconi plays the mamba, listenin to the radio!' was playing.  The timing was beyond perfect.  It took me aback a little; I even said out loud, 'Whoa....OK that was too weird.'  I even wrote it down on a scrap piece of paper so I wouldn't forget.  Seriously what are the odds of hearing that song at a Marconi location??

This used to be St. Theresa's Catholic Church but now it's a thrift shop.  I only went to mass once here when I was little and it was so pretty that I told my parents I'd want to have my wedding there.  I was told that it wasn't really my parish, and I could only get married at the church in Sandwich which was nice too, but not as warm & small as this one.

This creepy run down house is next to the graveyard which is perfect for it. I hope the inside is in better shape than the outside.

There was a fairly modern car in the driveway and the doors and windows were open, or else I would have crept around shooting more of it.

It reminds me of a specific episode of the X-Files, called 'Home', which was beyond horrifying, & chilled me to my very core.  And forget ever hearing Johnny Mathis' song 'It's Wonderful, Wonderful', which automatically starts to play in my head every time I drive by this house.

The Keith family tomb.  They operated the Keith Car & Manufacturing Company in Sagamore, making stage coaches and railcars in the 1800s.

Russell's paternal grandmother.

His paternal grandfather died when Russell was just a baby.  It bugs us that the last name is spelled wrong.

A lot of cool old stones, just like the rest of the local cemeteries.  So picturesque.

Massive rhododendron growing around this stone.

Sagamore, Part 1

Continuing on with my Local Bucket List, I spent a morning shooting pictures in Sagamore, of all the major sites on the Rte 6A corridor.  Sagamore is one of the villages in Bourne, and is right next to Sandwich and hugs the area between 6A and the Canal.

I started at the Sagamore Inn, a place that I've eaten at since I was in a high chair.  This is a townie place, although does get a good amount of tourists since it's the first restaurant you get to once you cross the bridge.  Best Yankee pot roast dinner EVER. It's always packed.

This is the first time in my entire life that I noticed 'restaurant' is misspelled on this sign.  The Whaleback is a true townie bar, although I never set foot in it in my life.  A lot of my friends have and Russell used to go a lot too. He was a regular.  I have heard that the food here is outstanding and very reasonably priced.  It, too, is always packed.  

And it's tiny.

Been meaning to check out Ship & Shore Artifacts for ages.  Great stuff! I got a set of 5 multicoloured glass floats in hemp cord w/ cork spacers for $13.00.  The same exact floats are for sale at the Clam Shack in Wareham for $50. That made my decision quite easy.

Canal Cafe, also known as The Little Bar.  Another townie hangout.  There used to be another townie place along this road called The Bridge Cafe' but it burned down quite a few years ago.

They are going out of business and I was bummed they were closed when I was here.  I'll have to try to remember to stop when they are open, if they ever are.

The iconic Christmas Tree Shop right at the bridge.  This company was started in 1970 on the Cape.  It's now located in several east coast states.

The design, with it's massive thatched roof, was somewhat controversial when construction began on it.  If I had to guess, I'd say it was built in the late 70s.

So many things to see in this store and everything is very reasonably priced.  I picked up my 2014 calendar while here!  Only $2.99!!!!!