Day 5: June 10, 2021
Phase One Phinished
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An early -- make that VERY early -- directional marker in Lenox, MA. An inscription on the pillar gives 1750 as the date Lenox was settled. I don't think the pillar itself is quite that old.
A couple of newer and stranger monuments stand not too far down the road. The first commemorates the accidental death of a teenager in 1847. The second commemorates a tough stretch of road, known as Jacob's Ladder, being bypassed in 1910. People leave small rocks, many pre-decorated, at the cairn. Among them is one I assume to be a self portrait.
The first picture is of a short bypassed section of road about 1/4 mile east of Jacobs Ladder Cairn. The other is of the current road about four miles from the cairn.
The Historic US Route 20 Association shares an historic building in Chester, MA. The rest of the building, which began life in the 1920s as a Ford dealer, is occupied by a wonderful restaurant where Bryan Farr and I enjoyed breakfast. Byran is the founder of the association and author of Historic US Route 20. The restaurant uses the name of a restaurant that was here before it, and it seems the only picture I have related to the current Carms Restaurant is of the letters the former Carms Restaurant used on the front of the building. They are now displayed inside.

This was the first time Bryan and I have met although we've had a fair amount of online correspondence as I've planned this trip. I also used his online maps and his book (after reviewing it here) in my planning. I'm pretty confident we'll meet again.

OK. No more down the road shots of narrow tree lined paths. From now on it's going to be wide concrete boulevards backed by gray cityscapes. I'm starting with this shot of the 1922 Memorial Bridge entering Springfield, MA.
A dragon on your front lawn is pretty cool, but if you're planning to raise them, you better have two. The dragons are in Palmer, MA, which is also where I got the drive-by shot of the Night and Day diner.
You didn't believe that malarkey about wide boulevards and gray cityscapes did you? Of course down the road shot will continue including this one showing how automobile roads and railroad tracks can often run parallel in older parts of the country, too. In some of the newer parts, particularly the west, the train tracks were usually first and the roads tagged along later. In the northeast, it was more often the other way around.
Chet's Diner in Northborough, MA, was closed when I stopped by, but online comments indicate it is only temporary. I hope so.
This historic sign looks right at home sharing a post with an official US Highway marker.
The Wayside Inn has always been hovering around the edges of my US 20 trip planning. I somehow misread things last night and convinced myself that I couldn't reach Boston before late today and would need an overnight. I planned on splurging and staying here then hitting Boston in the morning. I intended calling for a reservation soon after leaving Bryan. Fortunately, I did not do that before realizing that I would be in Boston long before the day was over. Having adjusted to the idea of staying here, I briefly planned making a reservation and backtracking after I'd made it to Boston. I was again fortunate and realized that was pretty stupid before committing to anything. It's a cool place and maybe I'll stay there someday, but today I just enjoyed a walkabout with a cold Wayside Inn Draft from the tavern.
This is both the highlight and lowlight of the day. It's a highlight because I think the eastern terminus of US-20 is in there somewhere. It's a lowlight because I'm not. Having now had a few hours to recover, I can calmly refer to driving in Boston as "challenging". Streets (and lanes) are not well marked and I missed some desired turns and made some unintended ones. Bryan had supplied a Google Maps link to get me to the terminus and I almost made it. However, when I found myself again in the wrong lane and in sight of the giant Citco sign that brings this fair city light, I decided that was close enough and hit the exit route on the GPS. I even took some pictures of the congestion I dealt with in getting out of town but no one wants to see that.

Don't worry, Boston. I'm just one city-adverse guy. You are loved. When they learned I was headed here, two of my friends quickly reminded me that you are their favorite. Sorry, Boston. It's not you, it's me.

I eventually made it to a crowded but tolerable Plymouth, MA, where I enjoyed a quiet meal and a view of one coast before heading toward the other in the morning.
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