and under. 4 Standish Strdunetours.com – Diane BTITCOMB’S BOOKSHOPOff Route 6A,astatue of coat and tricorn hat beckliophilic gem that is Titcohas traded in books, gamover 50 years. The shop ffilled with wonders, from19th century toareplicadier. Alongside them are materials covering a widegenres. It’s three floors ofand whimsy where any bthemselves for hours. 4322331, titcombsbookshop.cWELLFLEET FLEA MARThis highway-side instituas Patti Page singing “Oldeven find a well-worn recthe weekend flea market p.m. Up to 150 vendors mist Church, peruse the Main Street shops, and pick up concert treats at Chatham Candy Manor. Concerts and lobster roll lunches are every Friday from June 28 to August 30. Kate Gould Park, 15 Chatham Bars Avenue, chathamband.com; First United Methodist Church, 569 Main Street, 508-945-0474, chathammethodist.org–Patricia Harris and David Lyon ART’S DUNE TOURS, PROVINCETOWN You haven’t seen Cape Cod until you’ve taken a ride through the remote and wild dunes of the Cape Cod National Seashore. These iconic tours, aboard comfy six-passenger vans, have been offered by the Costa family since 1946. On the slow and scenic one-hour Daily Tour, learn about the history and ecological significance of the region. You’ll also getapeek at the famous dune shacks, where artists, including writers Eugene O’Neill, E.E. Cummings, Jack Kerouac, and Norman Mailer, once lived and worked, inspired by the otherworldly landscape. Tours begin in midMay, starting at $41.20 for those over 8 years old; $25.75 for children 5-8; $15.45 for children 4 Thanks in part to the Cape’s diversifying scene has evolved beyond chowder aThat’s great newsfor foodous palates. On the Upperin Falmouth (392-6621,tcom)servtional racal flavoramen. PuebloStreet, 5book.comcopatzcuaMexican resmile stretch ofgreat spot for tacoEATAROUN–ONMay, starting at $41.20 for those over 8 years old; $25.75 for children 5-8; $15.45 for children 4 Thanks scen s he al 392- co bo co xi st ot ene has evolved beyond c That’s great news scen That’s great news ous palates. On th in Fal 392- co co Mexi mile s great spot Drink from Aplaya Bhindi Masala from Keshar
APRIL 28, 2024 2 5 reet, 508-487-1950, artsBair and Pamela Wright P, EAST SANDWICH a man wearing a red kons you to enter the bibomb’s Bookshop, which mes, and memories for feels likeatreehouse m books published in the ofaterracotta army solmore recently published e range of topics and f knowledge, literature, book lover could lose 2 Route 6A, 508-888- com – Kevin G. Andrade KET AND DRIVE-IN ution is as retro-nostalgic d Cape Cod.” You might cording of that tune at that runs 8 a.m. to 3 make it one of the bigpopulation,the food and lobster rolls. dies with adventurr Cape, Tiger Ramen (587 Main Street, 774- tigerramencapecod. ves up bowls of tradiamen, and infusesloor in its Drunken Clam On the Mid Cape, Mi o in Hyannis(577 Main 508-771-4382, facem/mipueblomagiaro)is one of three staurantsin a quarterf Main Street and a os and pork hominy stew. Also in Hyannis, Mr. Kabab (199 Falmouth Road, 774- 470-4511, facebook.com/hyannismrkabab)serves up takeout falafel and shawarma— inside a United gas station. To get your fix of mango lassi and Indian curries,try KesharIndian Restaurant and Bar(476 Route 28, 781-985-3201, kesharindianrestaurant.com)in West Yarmouth. On the Lower Cape, Chatham’s Branches Grill and Cafe (155 Crowell Road, 508-358-1716, branchesgrillandcafe.com) isserving up Caribbean flavors; don’t missthe mannish water (tripe soup) or Jamaican jerk chicken. Also in Chatham, Aplaya Kitchen and Tiki Bar(483 Main Street, 774-840-4144, aplayacapecod.com)is a seasonal outdoorspot for tiki drinks and Filipino specialtiessuch as chicken adobo and empanadas. When visiting the Outer Cape, make sure to stop at Kung Fu Dumplings in Provincetown (293 Commercial Street, 774-538-7106; kung-fu-dumplings.square.site)for handmade dumplings,steamed buns, and bubble tea. – Susan Moeller gest flea markets on the Cape. Come back in the evening for iconic summertime entertainment at the drive-in’s double feature. The main season for both begins in late May, with extra days (and nights) added as summer progresses. Flea market admission $1-$3; drive-in admission adults $15, seniors $12, ages 4-11 $10. 51 State Highway Route 6, 508-349-2450, wellfleetcinemas.com – Patricia Harris and David Lyon T YOURWAY NDTHEWORLD NTHECAPE
2 6 THE BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE Summer tra vel hatched a plan to paddle Charles. By then middle-aged, wlife and how best to spenleball may have been menfriend Gene Hurley, whowithin a stone’s throw of long unrealized scheme tthing,” he said. I was intrNeither of us owned apaddled our banged-up bafter an adventure that tointo unspoiled slices of whomes and stately manortowns—and made our yeAs noted, the Charles Rover 80 miles from the hamap published by the ChAssociation picks things uham Dam, 65.4 miles froplanned to launch our joustream from the dam. Depending on rainfall,CONQUERINTHE CHARLEB efore setting out to paddle the length of the Charles River, you should know that no one really can say where it begins. Some will tell you that, officially, it’s Echo Lake in Hopkinton. The lake, which is actuallyamanmade reservoir for the town of Milford, sits 83 miles—as the water flows—from Boston Harbor. If you go there, you will find no signs or markers claiming such fame, only ones sharing the fact that granite was once quarried in the area. In defiance of this narrative, some maps label tiny streams flowing into the lake as the Charles River. You can step across these headwaters without much ofasquish. So, it’s best to let go of the idea of finding and making the “source” of the river your starting point. Local ordinance doesn’t permit boating on Echo Lake. It only gets practical farther downstream. I know all this because, on a golf course with three high-school buddies in October 2022, we We set off to kayak as much of the famed river as we could. If only we could figure out where it started. By Gerry Brown
the entire length of the we were talking about nd our next chapter. Pickntioned, but then my has lived most of his life the Charles, shared his to paddle it. “The whole rigued. kayak. Months later, we boats into Boston Harbor ook us over beaver dams, wilderness, past modest rs, through 23 cities and ear. River “starts” a little arbor. But the paddler’s harles River Watershed up at the North Bellingm Boston Harbor. We urney somewhere up, sections of the river PHOTOG RAPH BY DAVID D EGNER FO R TH E BOSTO N G LOBE NG ES upstream can be unnavigable. At times your boat will bottom out. Even when the water level cooperates, there are countless obstacles. The 19 dams on the river are just the start. Fallen trees lurk around seemingly every bend of the Upper Charles and frequently force awkward portages. With work and personal lives to juggle, we didn’t have a great sense of how long it would take us to complete our expedition, except that it wouldn’t be just a day or two. We planned piecemeal, one leg of the journey at a time. But the goal was clear: to paddle into Boston Harbor by the end of the summer. WITH LITTLE PREVIOUS KAYAKING experience, we decide to test the waters by launching an initial leg on April Fools’ Day at Bellingham’s Box Pond, through which the Charles flows. We’re both thinking the same thing. Two fools in over their heads. The Native American name for the Charles River is Quinobequin, meaning meandering. We quickly understand why as we find our way downstream through the lovely, bird-filled Bellingham Meadows, where the narrow switchbacks eventually lead us on a twisting route to our first real test, a dark passageway under Interstate 495. At certain times, when the water is too high, the tunnel is impassable for paddlers. We quickly size it up and decide to try to squeeze our way through, the top of our heads scraping the ceiling. Eventually, we are ejected back into daylight, smiling with relief and wiping spider webs off our faces. We go a bit farther on this day, scooching our boats overaburgeoning beaver dam before finding our planned ending spot at Maple Street in Bellingham, where we had parked one of our cars before starting. Our next time out, we are joined by Jim Grant, another member of that initial golf foursome. It is his first time in a kayak and he is on edge. We put in at Bresnahan’s Landing in Medway and cruise downstream through Populatic Pond between Franklin and Norfolk. Before long, we settle into a rhythm. That doesn’t last long before we get spun around by some shallow, rocky quickwater under bridges at Myrtle Street and Dean Street along the NorfolkMillis line. We exit the water at a canoe launch by Forest Road in Millis, toasting our fun with some hazy IPAs. OUR CONFIDENCE BUOYED, Gene and I decide to backtrack upstream to find the farthest reasonable point from Boston Harbor to put our boats in and mark the starting line of our grand adventure, and also to fill in the short gap on the route we left between legs1and 2. We set off on another gray day from Howard Street in Milford, upstream from Bellingham’s Box Pond, where we first got our feet wet on Day 1.
The writer(right) with friend Gene Hurley.
APRIL 28, 2024 2 7
2 8 THE BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE We pass a small farm and slide under several creepy bridges, then fight our way through an overgrown thicket blocking the entrance to the pond. Having stashed Gene’s truck there, we load the boats up and leapfrog the section we already did with the scary tunnel under I-495 and resume our day’s journey in Bellingham upstream from where the Pearl Street Mill once stood. At that spot the map marks the Caryville Dam, but it was removed a few years ago. Nevertheless, we run into an obstacle early on: a large iron girder that spans the channel from the days the river ran under the now dismantled mill. With a strong current pushing us into the barrier and high walls on either side, there’s no easy way out. We manage to carefully float our boats under the barrier while we scramble over it. We end at dusk by the Sanford Mill Dam between Medway and Franklin. When we reconvene in late May, we cover about 10 miles on a glorious day, passing through Medfield and Sherborn. It’s the first time we see other boaters on the river. We take time to check out South End Pond, then slip past King Philip’s Overlook, a scenic bluff above the river, and pull out for a break to explore the old Medfield State Hospital campus on foot before finishing for the day. A couple of days later, Barney McFarland, the final member of our golfing group, tags along for the fifth leg of our journey. Blue herons, a bow fisherman standing in the wash of the South Natick Dam, and a series of spectacular mansions near the confluence of Wellesley, Needham, and Dover highlight our day. We are starting to getalittle cocky. As if to keep us in check, several weeks later,aseriously ornery swan guarding its cygnet inanarrow stretch of water threatens to swamp my boat, then Gene’s, forcing us into a semi-panicked escape. Once in the clear, we hustle around Cochrane Dam in Needham, go under Route 128 for the first of three times, and into Dedham. Not far downstream from all the multimilliondollar real estate we passed on our previous leg, we come upon the only trailer park inside Boston’s city limits. We end our day at the Millennium Park boat launch in West Roxbury to the sound of the Needham Heights commuter rail train rumbling outbound. SOME WEEKS LATER, we make our way through more of Needham and Newton, getting out to get around three more dams. On our final portage of the day, we haul our boats on foot a couple blocks down Washington Street in Newton Lower Falls. Struggling with the kayaks, we leave our boats on the sidewalk and pop into a Dunks for a boost. To my disappointment, the woman behind the counter betrays absolutely no reaction to the sight of two life-jacketed guys Box PondBELLINGHAMMILFORD Summer tra vel
d Populatic Pond South End Pond Cochrane Dam South Natick Dam Sanford Mill Dam M MEDWAY MEDFIELD SHERBORN DOVER WELLSELY NEEDHAM NEWTON LOWER FALLS AUBURNDALE WALTHAM FRANKLIN MILLIS Water Lily PHOTOG RAPHS BY GERRY BROWN ; OTHER IMAG ES F ROM ADOBE STOCK
out from under him. Thepounces instantly to arrein up to his waist, but woable to save him from sinHe is largely dried outup, pulling off within sighwhere a silver pillar markHead of the Charles Regabor wasn’t too far now. OUR FINAL DAY BRINGpicture-postcard section othat we all know so well. traffic on the river picks uhouses dot the shoreline and clubs pull oars up anstay close to the riverbanApproaching the Longfelboats appear. Planning to end the dahave watched the boatingriver kayaks aren’t ideal fwe want the flattest seas channel adjacent to the Msqueezing past another dthe Zakim Bridge and pauRiver Dam locks. Two long blasts, followon the air horn I had boulockmaster to our presenor two, the doors crank owalls of the narrow lock la tour boat carrying sightour plastic boats feel flimgrab the ropes hanging aus from getting knocked pumped in to bring us toAs we exit into the saltloudspeaker booms, “Havthe giant squid!” We hang a left toward out Old Ironsides before qly crossing the channel bWharf. After starting back in Away over countless downof bridges across more thdays, Gene and I completboats out for the final tima champagne toast and sothe lot where we’d parkedNot long after we entea man on shore shouted a“Where’d you put in?” “Milford,”Itold him. Hmust’ve misheard me.ª Gerry Brown is a deputy and an alumnus of Bostoemy and Northeastern Uncomments to magazine@with kayak paddles. We end the day with a picnic delivered by my elderly mom at Riverside Park in Auburndale, near where she grew up. On our penultimate leg, Gene and I put in on a gorgeous Saturday in early September and paddle 9 miles through Waltham, Watertown, and into Allston. We have three more portages around dams in a tricky section of the river, including at Moody Street in Waltham, where we take out at a kayak rental dock. Despite our accumulated experience, it remains nearly impossible to makeagraceful exit from the boat. Sitting low in the water, you need to lift your butt high enough to bridge the narrow gap between boat and salvation. There is a terrifying instant where you are suspended in no man’s land and anything is possible. On this day, Gene is reminded of that fact. I have clumsily scrambled from the boat onto the safety of the wooden dock and he is starting his own attempt when his boat slides sharply Longfellow Bridge Boston Harbor DEDHAM BOSTON WATERTOWN ALLSTON CAMBRIDGE
APRIL 28, 2024 2 9 e young dock attendant st his descent. Gene goes orking together, we are nking farther. t by the time we wrap ht of Harvard Stadium, ks the finish line of the atta course. Boston HarGS US TO the broad, of the Charles River This is also where the up considerably. Boatand rowing teams nd down the river. We nk, out of their way. llow Bridge, the duck ay in the harbor, we g forecast closely; our for ocean waters and we can get. Finding the Museum of Science and duck boat, we slip under ause outside the Charles wed by two short blasts ught online alert the nce, and, after a minute open and we enter. The loom skyward, and when tseers pulls in behind us, msy and outclassed. We along the sides to keep around as the water is o sea level. twater,avoice over the ve fun, but watch out for Charlestown and check quickly and carefulack over toward Long April and winding our ned trees, under dozens han 70 miles over nine te our quest, pulling our me at Fort Point Pier with ome back-slapping, near d one of our cars. ered the harbor that day, a question to us: He looked as if he editor at ESPN, on Latin AcadUniversity. Send @globe.com. Paddling the length of the Charles River is possible, but careful research and preparation are required. * The pocket-sized Charles River Canoe and Kayak Guide isindispensable. It has detailed maps and information, including the locations of dams and potential placesto begin and end your day on the river. * Think carefully before paddling the upper stretches of the river; the biggest risks are getting over, under, or around fallen trees in very muddy, slippery, and relatively remote locations. You will get wet and can slip and fall easily. * Safety isakey consideration.“You should be aware of time of the year and the water temperature,” says Bryce Morris, owner/partner at Paddle Boston,which rents boatsfrom the spring into fall in numerouslocations along the river. “We are looking for water temps to be 60 degreesin general,while balancing a few other variableslike the air temperature,wind, and time of day.” Always be aware of boat traffic. * If something does go wrong on the river, have a cellphone handy, ideally in a dry case on your body. * Massachusetts mandatesthat you wear a life jacket from September 15 to May 15. Morrisrecommends wearing it at all times. He also advises to watch for thunderstorms, especially on summer afternoons when they can blow in quickly. In the case of a storm, get to shore,secure your boat, and find shelter. * Other necessary supplies include water and food, a whistle to call for help, a foldable handsaw for cutting through smaller branches, a headlamp in case you find yourself on the river after dark, and an air horn.
3 0 THE BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE Play all new games and puzzles at globe.com/games. 1234 5 6 18 21 24 25 28 31 32 33 34 43 44 49 53 54 61 66 67 71 74 75 76 83 84 90 95 99 100 101 107 108 109 116 120 123 ACROSS 1 Circus impresario P.T. 7 Jobs, so to speak 11 Sweet ending? 18 Marcos’s successor 19 Haystacks painter 20 Friend of Romeo 21 Device to keep track of reps on leg day? 23 Sci-fi setting 24 Archimedes’ area 25 Shuck 26 Combine databases? 28 Fortune 29 Catchaglimpse of 30 A little bit of 31 Everyday order 35 Two-way 37 Spelling Bee co. 39 Let go 43 Voltage spike group? 47 For one 49 Pertaining to chompers 50 D 51 Left without a ride 53 Hype raisers 54 Can of worms, maybe 57 “Terrible” developmental time 59 “That’s possible ...” 60 Site ofacanal 61 California artist town where Clint Eastwood was once mayor 63 Conjure up 65 City near Sparks 66 “Having few visitors” and “there’s no corner market as far as the eye can see,” among others? 71 Ohio’s __ State 72 Due to get 73 Badderthan bad 74 Blond shade 75 They have hitching posts: Abbr. 77 Rock’s Muse, e.g. 79 Blue hue 80 Moscow’s home: Abbr. 83 Longfellow’s chief 86 It’sasin 88 Ship 90 Makes up on the spot 91 Pin that says “Most Chocolate Chips”? 95 Call for 96 Duke’s grp. 97 Wished one hadn’t 98 Fuel injection 99 Good rival? 102 Blighty dweller 105 European language 107 Beer foratiny insect? 111 Over and over and over 112 Over 116 Meritless 117 Simpsons matriarch’s insanity? 120 Relatives by remarriage 121 Out-and-out 122 Kate, William, Charles, etc. 123 They’re prepared for an imminent filming 124 Bird feeder morsel 125 Extremist DOWN 1 Topicaltreatment 2 Greenish blue 3 Litter pipsqueak 4 Approaching 5 Parisian article 6 Chocolaty coffee flavor 7 Road rage sound 8 Pantry raider 9 Abounds 10 __throat 11 Can’t stand 12 A Muse 13 Beatit 14 Came offthe bench 15 Author-reducing abbr. 16 Good news in crypto 17 Peditargets 19 Site of many busts 20 NYC arena 22 Go one better 27 Sandberg of the MLB 28 Phoebe Waller-Bridge series 29 FourQuartets poet 31 Stamp of approval 32 Sought damages 33 Still-life subjects 34 Insurance co. employee 36 Marshall product 38 “You betcha!” 40 Turn in 41 Oodles 42 Actor Pascal 44 Western Irish county 45 Bathroom holder 46 Treasure __ 47 Sofa part 48 Romance author Jenoff 52 Working hypothesis 55 Mischievous 56 High schooler 58 Certain high schooler: Abbr. 61 OK summer hours 62 Conveapart64 McDofound65 Flush66 Live 67 Suck 68 Studi69 “Good70 Whercallerbe 71 “Sticksinge75 Boost76 Score78 For al80 “You 81 119-Dpartn82 Likew84 Chasm85 Parageasin87 One sthingIT’SA SINGE / Brendan Emmett Quigley
Solutions on Page 7 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 22 23 26 27 29 30 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 45 46 47 48 50 51 52 55 56 57 58 59 60 62 63 64 65 68 69 70 72 73 77 78 79 80 81 82 85 86 87 88 89 91 92 93 94 96 97 98 102 103 104 105 106 110 111 112 113 114 115 117 118 119 121 122 124 125 Fill in the grid so every row, column, and 3x3 box hasthe digits1-9. Tips at sudoku.com. SUDOKU 9 1 6 1 4 6 5 3 2 3 5 9 7 8 5 8 3 9 7 3 8 5 3 2 6 7 erted tment onald’s der hed up ied (over) d job!” re certain rs might k Season” r Noah ter shot eboard nos. llto see sure?” Down ner wise ms gon of ess solving gs 89 Schuss, e.g. 92 Org. for contract players at a card table 93 Trial balloon 94 Drive popular in the ’90s 96 Sci-fi visitors 100 Poem 101 __ There (Dylan biopic, sort of) 103 Uncle with tales 104 Storming 106 BMF channel 107 Schmaltz 108 Keen about 109 Common insecticide 110 Mormons, initially 111 Got on 112 Actress Taylor-Joy 113 Blue hue 114 Capital once called Christiania 115 “Look this way” 118 Strava path: Abbr. 119 81-Down partner
CONNECTIONS Return to 1953 BY PETER ZHEUTLIN A few days after I was born in November 1953, my father snapped a picture of me in my mother’s arms, our German shepherd Carly lying at Mom’s feet. I grew up looking at that photo, made spectacular by a dramatic cliff and the brilliant blue water just a few feet away. I was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, when my dad, a pediatrician and Air Force captain, was stationed at Ramey Air Force Base. Now decommissioned, Ramey was a Strategic Air Command base from which nuclear armed B-52s flew prolonged missions at the height of the Cold War. By virtue of my island birth, I’ve always had an interest in Puerto Rico’s history and culture. We moved away when I was only a few months old, but I dreamed of revisiting the place where I came into the world. Finally, in December 2010, my wife and I traveled to Puerto Rico with our sons, then 20 and 15. I wasn’t just curious to see Aguadilla and the old base hospital where I was born, nowaMarriott hotel. I wanted to find the spot where my father had captured that moment of my mother and me, when my entire life still lay ahead. It took some doing. Access to the beach wasn’t well marked at the time, and the road was little more than a wawe walked into what wasbecause of that treasuredsurprised me and, I thinkbecause they couldn’t undcry. And the waves of emMy dad had died in 192008. But here they had sbeach in the Caribbean wwith so much living, somof them. It was a future tbut which I knew in greanow my past. On that Nothey didn’t know that twohave another son, and degrandchildren standing nbeach. They couldn’t foremarriage would later becdivorce. Dad didn’t know his clikely contribute to the lukill him 44 years later, animagined her fatal pancreThey didn’t know how thor how they’d end, but I dsimultaneously standingdecades apart. TELL YOUR STORY. Email your 650-word unpublished essay on a relationship to connections@gloThe writer as a baby in 19
APRIL 28, 2024 3 1 PHO T O G R APH F R O M P E TER ZHE UTLIN ashboard dirt path. As s to meafamiliar scene d photo, my reaction k, embarrassed my kids derstand it: I started to otion just kept coming. 997 and my mom in stood, on this deserted with their newborn baby, me of it difficult, ahead they could not know, at detail because it was ovember day in 1953, o years later they would ecades later, the two next to me on that same esee that their young come fraught and end in cigarette habit would ung cancer that would nd Mom couldn’t have eatic cancer 55 years on. heir lives would play out, did. It was as if I were at two points in time, As I walked the beach, I found myself looking down at the sand, half expecting a Twilight Zone moment in which I might find something—a driver’s license perhaps, or Carly’s dog tag—that they’d dropped that November day decades ago. Standing there, I felt an intense and surreal connection to my late parents. My connection to the island grew, too. Puerto Rico is a US territory, both apart from and part of the United States, which has exploited it for overacentury. A 1917 act of Congress making all Puerto Ricans American citizens was followed weeks later, not coincidentally, by a new federal law allowing the US military to draft young Puerto Rican men to fight in World War I. A legally recognized Puerto Rican national citizenship still exists. In 2020, approaching 70 and reckoning with mortality, I formalized my birthright citizenship. My citizenship certificate signed by the Puerto Rico secretary of state, that 1953 snapshot of Mom and me, and my memories of standing on that shore with my wife and kids more than a half-century later bind me to the place where I drew my first breath. Peter Zheutlin is a writer in Dover. Send comments to [email protected]. obe.com. Please note: We do not respond to submissions we won’t pursue. 953, held by his mother on the shores of Puerto Rico, with their dog Carly.
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