A Weekend in Providence

Old Dude paying a visit to H.P. Lovecraft

For many moons now, Ms. B. and I had planned to attend a Dark Shadows gathering at Seaview Terrace in Newport, RI, this weekend, but a while back, event organizer Bob Issel regretfully announced that, due to HBO using the mansion as a staging area for the series Gilded Age, and their shooting schedule running overtime, the Dark Shadows event would have to be postponed. Well, boo. We had nonrefundable plane tickets, so we decided there was nothing for it but to spend the long weekend in the Providence area anyhow.

Friday, November 15, 2024

These days, the only flights you can get at reasonable prices are the ones that depart for your destination before the ass-crack of dawn and return you home barely in time to catch the Late-Late Show. Brugger and I hit the road for Greensboro's Piedmont Triad International Airport well before sun-up this morning, bound for Providence by way of Detroit on Delta Airlines. Fortunately, our flights went off without a hitch, and we arrived at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport a good half-hour early. Once we'd retrieved our bags, we picked up our rental car and went on a desperate quest for lunch, for the Great Starvation was upon us. We found acceptable fare — fish & chips for the Old Dude, mac & cheese for Brugger — at a little Irish pub called Sullivan's Publick House in Pawtucket, not far from our lodgings. Upon checking my geocaching app to see if any caches lurked nearby, I discovered there was one just across the street! Needless to say, I zoomed straight over and made quick work of it.

The only hitch of the day came when we arrived at our AirB&B in Pawtucket. Check-in time was 2:00 p.m., and we arrived at 2:45 p.m., only to find the place hadn't been cleaned. We immediately messaged our host, who figured there must have been some miscommunication with AirB&B regarding the timing, so he saw to it that everything was promptly set right. We planned to head into Providence proper anyway, and it wasn't very long before he let us know everything had been taken care of. Yay! This was a disconcerting greeting, to say the least, but we were pleased that our host rectified the situation before it could become a serious issue.

For our part, we made our way southward to Swan Point Cemetery, to the resting place of H.P. Lovecraft, which I figured I ought to visit at least once in this lifetime. Some thoughtful geocacher had designated the grave a virtual cache (a cache with no physical container; instead of signing a log, you answer questions about the specific location). Upon our arrival, we discovered a passel of turkeys madly running about the graves, perhaps hoping to have the place renamed "Turkey Point." Probably not gonna happen.

Once done, we made our way into downtown Providence, where I led Kim on a little tour of the area where NecronomiCon 2024 had been held a few months ago. Our first destination was Reiners Bar & Game Room at the Graduate (formerly the Biltmore) Hotel. It's a lovely bar, and their dirty gin martini rocked. After a little roaming around, we drove back to Pawtucket, where we settled on Rasoi Indian Restaurant for dinner. Since I've consumed more than my share of dead critter recently, I decided on the Vegetable Biryani, which was good, but I sure did miss the lamb, which is my preferred protein in the dish.

I found one more cache on our way back to our AirB&B, which — true to his word — our host had thoroughly cleaned and otherwise prepared it for us as it should have been.

And now, exhaustion sets in. At least this kind of exhaustion, unlike the brand of exhaustion we've been otherwise suffering lately, is quite welcome.

Turkeys run wild at Swan Point Cemetery

Providence by night

Saturday, November 16, 2024
Our B&B is generally comfortable, the bed in particular, but the walls are thin, and some of the noises from the surrounding environment are a bit more than one might care to hear in the middle of the night. Still, when I woke up this morning, I felt generally well-rested, for which I was glad, as we had a busy day of winging it planned — well, winging it but for a highly anticipated lunch appointment with a certain New Englander of our acquaintance.

 

Ms. B. needed a new computer mouse, so we set out about ten o'clock and picked up a mouse at a Staples just down the way. Then we drove over to nearby Benefit Street, specifically to visit number 135, which served as the inspiration for H.P. Lovecraft's "The Shunned House" (1924). The house was built in 1763 by Stephen Harris and owned by John Mawney, for whom it is named. Lovecraft's connection with the house came by way of his Aunt Lillian Clark, who lived there from 1919 to 1920.

135 Benefit Street: H.P. Lovecraft's "Shunned House"

We took some photos of the house and wandered around Benefit Street, where I also claimed a very cool virtual cache in the graveyard of the nearby Episcopal church. Kimberly and I both loved the atmosphere of the neighborhood, especially since many houses were still decorated for Fall and/or Halloween. A few already had Christmas decorations up.

From there, we proceeded down to Wickenden Street, near Brown University, so Ms. B. could fit in some shopping and I — yes, you guessed it — some geocaching. We both ended up very pleased with the results of our respective endeavors.

A little before 1:00 p.m., we headed back into downtown, where we met longtime friend and fellow writer, Tony Tremblay, who so kindly drove two and a half hours just to visit with us. We had settled in advance on dining at Durk's Bar-B-Q, where we now enjoyed a lengthy lunch and some great conversation. Then we migrated a short distance up the road to have drinks at 110 Grill, which I'd enjoyed visiting when I was here back in August for NecronomiCon.

A portion of the graveyard behind the Episcopal Church

Mr. T., Old Dude, Nice Lady

Once we had bid Tony a fond farewell, Brugger fit in a little more shopping at Providence Place Mall. We then decided to head back toward Wickenden Street, as it offered lots of options for drinking, dining, and geocaching. We had hoped to hit a coffee shop for a shot of caffeine, but the couple we found had just closed for the day. So we drowned our coffee woes by way of a Chardonnay for the lady and an Old Fashioned for the Old Dude at a nice little joint called The Point Tavern. Once done, it was still a hair too early for dinner, so we took a nice stroll out to the pedestrian bridge over the Providence River, where I snagged a couple of more caches. Then we walked back and found a fine dinner at Champa Thai/Laotian restaurant.

That was about all we had in us for the evening, and Kim had some work to catch up on, so we returned to our lodgings, where Kim worked and I blogged.

Till tomorrow, friends...

Another beautiful evening in Providence, viewed from the pedestrian bridge over the Providence River

Sunday, November 17, 2024
Brugger and I have noticed over the past couple of days that, wherever you go in Providence, the air is filled with the distinctive aroma of pot smoke, even when you're in a car. Mind you, this is not a complaint.

Our target this morning was Newport, about 45 minutes south of Providence. As mentioned previously, our original plan for this trip had been to attend a Dark Shadows gathering at Seaview Terrace, but HBO's filming schedule squashed that event. Since neither Ms. B. nor I have been to the house before, we decided to make our way to it and at least check out the exterior. So, we set our sights on the Ruggles Avenue address and headed out fairly early this morning. Sure enough, the property was closed off to visitors, but there are several areas where one can take decent photos, and so... many photos I took. I hope we'll manage to attend some future DS event there and can look forward to visiting the interior whenever that might happen.

After roaming about Seaview for a while, we headed into Newport proper. Ms. B. needed to find a CVS, so that we did, and once she'd accomplished her mission, it was lunchtime. We happened to see La Forge Casino Restaurant just across the street from the pharmacy, so we decided to give it a try. We both had burgers, which were pretty good, and I had a bloody mary, which was very good.

After that, we needed some exercise, so we set our sights on the Cliff Walk along Newport's eastern coastline. There was easy access at the end of Ruggles Avenue, near Seaview, so we parked there and started walking northward. A short distance on, we arrived at the clusters of rocks in the ocean that appear in the Dark Shadows opening titles. Several geocaches hid along the walkway, and I managed to claim the ones along our route. We hoofed it for several miles, so I figured that maybe we managed to work off a french fry or two from lunch.

Some of the rocks that appear in the opening titles of Dark Shadows, seen from the Cliff Walk

Old Dude and Ms. B. not quite on the rocks but still cool. Sort of.

One of the many mansions in Newport's Gilded Age area

Salve Regina University uses many of the Gilded Age mansions for their academic and administrative buildings as well as student housing

But wait! Oh, no! Ms. B. wanted to check out a local winery/brewery not too far away, so after our walk, we ventured up the road to Newport Vineyards & Restaurant, where we likely undid any calorie loss from our walk. She had a Riesling, which, unfortunately, she found unimpressive. Rather than wine, I sampled one of their IPAs, which was quite good, though — like so many items in the area — way overpriced for what you actually get. 

Heavens! We still had plenty of time to kill before our evening dinner reservation, so we ventured to the southeast end of the peninsula and found an interesting beach (and several geocaches). While I hunted caches, Ms. B. wandered the beach to hunt intriguing shells. We both found what we sought. This activity took us till about 4:00 p.m., and since we had a 5:30 dinner reservation at the Black Pearl restaurant (whose exterior doubled for the Blue Whale bar in Dark Shadows), we headed in the direction of the waterfront district to see what kind of trouble we might get into there.

As it turned out, a couple of Adventure Lab caches awaited us, one of which led to a few locations used in the movie Hocus Pocus 2, which both Ms. B. and I find fun to watch. The second AL took us on a little walking tour of the area, which we enjoyed.

Come dinnertime, we wandered over to Black Pearl, a cozy and atmospheric nautical-themed restaurant — very apt for the Blue Whale's real-life counterpart. We considered the numbers in the menu's price column mighty high, but we had counted on this and bit the bullet. Ms. B. had shrimp & pasta, which — rather sadly — didn't quite meet her expectations, especially since it's a dish she's very fond of. I had shrimp cocktail and Clams Casino, both of which were excellent, but I'd say that, for the price, the quantity came up a bit short. Still, for something like this, we figured we were paying for the experience as much as the food, and we did very much enjoy the experience.

Just down the way, we'd seen an Italian place that served gelato, and since we both love gelato... that is where we ended up. Giusto was its name, and yeah, that was some mighty fine gelato.

After a satisfying day and evening of mostly winging it, we made our way back to our Pawtucket lodgings, where we repeated last night's procedure: Ms. B. got some work done, and I blogged.

Try not to breathe too much of that pot smoke out there!

Looking down Newport's Thames Street

The Oliver Hazard Perry, docked in Newport

The Black Pearl Restaurant, a.k.a. The Blue Whale in Dark Shadows

Old Dude and a lovely ale, spinning Dark Shadows yarns for the nice lady

Monday, November 18, 2024
"On the far horizon were the open countryside’s purple slopes. Against these, some two miles away, rose the spectral hump of Federal Hill, bristling with huddled roofs and steeples whose remote outlines wavered mysteriously, taking fantastic forms as the smoke of the city swirled up and enmeshed them."

—H.P. Lovecraft, "The Haunter of the Dark"

On our last day in Providence, we still had some time to explore because we needed to check out of our AirB&B by 10:00 a.m., and our flight didn't depart until 7:20 p.m. Once we had fulfilled our clean-up duties and checked out from our lodgings, Brugger and I drove over to Federal Hill, first to claim a couple of caches — one being another stage of the Hocus Pocus 2 Adventure Lab cache (nothing more than a Walgreen's store, which had been done up for the film). Then I got it into my head that we should find the location of the long-demolished St. John's Catholic Church, which had served as the inspiration for the Starry Wisdom Church in "The Haunter of the Dark," which is perhaps my favorite H.P. Lovecraft story. This endeavor proved not at all difficult because, once I determined its actual address (at Atwells and Sutton Street), we found St. John's Park and an inlaid panel in the sidewalk that gave a brief history of the church. It's been over thirty years since the building was demolished, but I can't say I didn't feel touched by the "Shadow From the Steeple," to use the title of Robert Bloch's follow-up story...

Brugger in St. John's Park, the site of the old church that served as HPL's inspiration for the setting
of "The Haunter of the Dark"

Old Dude hanging with Roger Williams, founder of
The First Baptist Church

We found lunch at a little Italian grocer/eatery called Roma which was so Italian it felt more like being back in the boot than in Providence, Rhode Island. A Caprese chicken sandwich for Ms. B. and a pork loin sandwich with grilled onions and provolone per me, both excellent.

There was a virtual geocache at Providence's First Baptist Church, the very first Baptist church in the United States, established by Roger Williams in 1638; the present building was constructed in 1774–1775. Back in August, the opening ceremonies for NecronomiCon took place at the church, though I did not go after the virtual at the time because, after the festivities that day, the skies opened up and dumped a big old gullywasher upon us mere mortals.

With a good bit of time still to kill before hauling ourselves to the airport, we parked ourselves at Murphy's Tavern downtown, where the Lovecraft Ezine guys and I had several times parked ourselves and sank all manner of drinks during NecronomiCon downtimes. Brugger and I sank some fine spirits here, and I provided her with a few shivers by reading to her the first few paragraphs of Lovecraft's "Haunter of the Dark," which described the locations we had visited today as they appeared back in his day.

And then it was off to PVD. After returning our rental car, we checked in and settled ourselves at the airport's Providence Provisions restaurant (which I had seen a lot of back in August when I was stuck at the airport for two days) and fortified ourselves with a decent meal. Thankfully, this trip, our two flights were not only on time but early, so instead of 2:00 a.m., we arrived home at a little after 1:00 a.m.

For a trip that turned out to be something altogether different than what we originally anticipated, this one goes into our personal annals as one of our most enjoyable ventures — other than the fact Brugger was plagued by a lingering cough even after she'd gotten over the previous week's cold. Now, given the direction this country has taken, who knows if she and I will have the resources to indulge in such excellent outings as this in the coming days; hell, if she loses her medical insurance, thanks to at least half the country's fierce and foolish battle against any kind of universal health coverage, almost every penny that we've previously been able to pump into the economy will be going straight to healthcare. If this kind of thing is what "making America great" means to you, then you can go get fucked by an orangutan, and thank you very much.

Adieu, until next time.

Our last round in Providence, at Murphy's Tavern

Back From NecronomiCon... at Last!

For me, one helluva grand adventure in Providence, Rhode Island, began on Thursday, August 15 and ran — technically — through Sunday, August 18. The trip home extended my personal adventure a full extra day, and not in a desirable way. Still, this particular snafu hardly impacted the incredible adventure of NecronomiCon Providence, 2024.

Thursday, August 15
I had originally intended to leave for Providence on Friday morning, which meant I'd arrive too late to attend a couple of the panels I'd hoped to be on. However, as it turned out, circumstances allowed me to leave a day earlier, which proved perfect for the panel schedule. Predawn on Thursday morning, I mounted up and set out for Providence by way of Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, with a connection in Philadelphia. A few years back, I had sworn off flying American Airlines due to their abysmal customer service, but for this trip, American was the only airline whose flight schedule accommodated mine. I'm happy to say that, on the outbound trip, things could not have gone more smoothly. Smack on schedule, with no complications along the way, my aircraft landed at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport. By the time I reached baggage claim, my checked suitcase was waiting for me on the carousel. After a relatively quick Uber ride, I checked in at the Omni Providence Hotel, one of the two main venues for the con.

There was a geocache at the convention center adjacent to the hotel so — first things first — I walked over and found it. Hooray! A new state to add to my caching stats.

Home away from home: the Omni Providence Hotel

Once registered at the con, I headed straight for the dealer's room, where I met Lovecraft eZine proprietor Mike Davis and man-about-town Pete Rawlik, soon to be joined by Mike & Bridgette Brenmark. Mike D. was kind enough to offer space for some of my books at the eZine table, so I joined the group working the table for various spells over the duration of the con. Almost immediately, I ran into Kristi Petersen Schoonover, the editor of 34Orchard magazine and the anthology Wicked Sick, both of which feature my work. Somewhere in here, I also ran into authors Matthew Bartlett, Mike Burke, the mysterious Johnny Canine, Kristin Dearborn, Scott Goudsward, Michelle Renee Lane, John Langan, Errick Nunnally, Paul Tremblay, and many other folks whose paths have crossed mine, either virtually or in person. No one inflicted grievous harm upon me, which I always interpret as a good sign.

Mid-afternoon, I set out on a medium-length walk around downtown Providence, where I found a single physical cache and completed the virtual stages of a nearby Adventure Lab. Every day of this trip, I far exceeded my daily mileage goal (at last four miles) on foot, I can tell you!

At 5:00 p.m., the opening ceremonies commenced at the nearby First Baptist Church in America, which H.P. Lovecraft himself admired for its history and architecture. Here, I met eZine regulars Matt Carpenter and Alan Hughes and plagued them with my existence. A lovely parade of Great Old Ones, Deep Ones, and other Unspeakable Things commenced, accompanied by unearthly organ music from above. During the proceedings, the sky opened up to dump torrents on the land, which made for a wet return to the hotel. Happily, none of us melted, drowned, or otherwise demised.

Come dinnertime, our Lovecraftian contingent headed to Reiner's Bar & Game Room at the Graduate Hotel (formerly The Biltmore) a short couple of blocks down from the Omni. Damned good food and drink, and we made arrangements for a big honking party of 20 on the following night for the Lovecraft eZine Patreon subscribers. In fact, I'm going to give this particular Patreon a well-deserved plug here, as Mike provides incredible amounts of content and goes way above and beyond when it comes to giving subscribers their money's worth. I've been on board this train for a couple of years, and as a regular panelist on the eZine's Sunday night podcast, I can tell you that if you are in any way a fan of the Lovecraftian/cosmic horror oeuvre, there's no better value out there.

Several of us hung out at the bar until it was time to pack it in.

Lovecraftian horrors! Old dude, Lovecraft eZine proprietor Mike Davis, Pete Rawlik, Mike & Bridgette Brenmark

Old dude and Kristi Petersen Schoonover

A taste of Providence — on the way to the opening ceremonies at the First Baptist Church in America

Those Baptists... what a wacky bunch!

Friday, August 16
The day's first panel of interest was Joe Pulver: The bEast Among Us, at 9:30 a.m. Joe and I were good friends for many years, having shared numerous literary, social, and anti-social adventures in the middle 2000s, usually at the home of author/editor Robert M. Price, in Selma, NC. Later, he became a regular on the Lovecraft eZine podcast, where he took great delight in disparaging my name and my character, for which I will always adore him. I hadn't signed up to be on the panel because, at the time, it didn't look like time would permit it. Little did I know then that I'd end up modifying my schedule significantly. C'est la vie. Anyhoo, on the panel, we had authors Chad Anctil, Jon Black, Michael Cisco, Pete Rawlik, and Jeffrey Thomas. It was a decent discussion about Joe and his work, and at the end, I was able to share an anecdote or two of no small amusement. I trust he is looking out from Carcosa over the Lake of Hali and scowling appropriately.

I here had the pleasure of finally... finally... meeting Jeff Thomas in person. Back in the 1980s and 90s, I published some of his work in Deathrealm, and we've been virtual friends ever since. A while back, we chatted face-to-face on a Zoom interview, but until now, I'd never been able to shake him by the hand, rip off his arm, and batter him about the face and head. What a fuckin' treat this was!

Joe Pulver: The bEast Among Us panel: (L–R) Jeffrey Thomas, Michael Cisco, Peter Rawlik,
Jon Black, Chad Anctil

Afterward, I was a panelist at Small Press of the 1970s/1980s, along with Paul DiFilippo, Tim Lonegan, Darrell Schweitzer, and Alan Tromp. We had a good turnout and a good discussion, with Alan providing an excellent slide show of numerous magazine covers from the period in question, including quite a few from Deathrealm.

Kristi Petersen Schoonover hanging with a bunch
of Providence locals

I had a lunch date with Kristi Petersen Schoonover and her husband Nathan, and since their time was of the essence, we headed to the nearby Caffé Nero for a coffee and a quick bite. From there, I headed back to the dealer's room to work the table for a while. Mid-afternoon, I took a break to hoof it around several relatively nearby locations in Providence to hunt caches. I had much success (and a wee bit of unsuccess). And again, back to the dealer's room. Happily, I sold a fair number of books (though, sadly, those funds — and a hell of a lot more — quickly evaporated thanks to the Sunday–Monday travel debacle).

The evening's plan was the eZine Patreon dinner at Reiner's, where 19 sinister folks gathered at a big honking table and made merry with much food and drink. Afterward, Pete Rawlik was hosting Lovecraftian trivia at the nearby Trinity Brewhouse, so Johnny Canine, Alan Hughes, and Kevin Joiner proceeded to the venue to heckle him. This we did, and we consumed some entertaining spirits, including one to which I took an unexpected shine — a Jamaican-themed brew called "Jamaican Me Crazy," a tropical stout with flavors of coconut, orange, and coffee. Not what I might ordinarily consider my speed, but damn if I didn't enjoy it.

Then, rather than retire, I took a very light-night stroll into Providence's dimmer corners to hunt a geocache. Fortunately, I found it readily, and I didn't die. When I later described my adventure to some native Providencials, they made no bones about the fact that I am a lunatic. Hey, I'm a happy a lunatic. And after this night, one geocache richer.

Old dude and New England horror author Scott Goudsward

Mike Davis and John Langan muddling their way through the Dutch copy of John's novel, The Fisherman

Geocaching by night. L: The Hasbro Building; R: The Omni Providence Hotel... again

Saturday, August 17:

Early morning Providence

Once again, I was up early, so I guzzled some coffee and hit the streets to hunt a couple of nearby EarthCaches — geocaches for which you answer questions about geology at specific landmarks rather than hunt a physical container. Having successfully completed this endeavor, I headed back to the con to work the dealer table for a while. Then I had a lunch date at nearby 110 Grill with podcaster Penny Dreadful and author/editor Kat Kerestman — who presented me with contributor copies of her latest collaboration with S.T. Joshi, Shunned Houses, which features my story "The House at Black Tooth Pond." (The book's official release date is October 2; the hardcover and Kindle editions are now available for preorder, and the trade paperback will be available on the release date.) I had met Kat at AuthorCon this past year, and it was a delight to finally meet Penny Dreadful face to face, as I have been on her Dark Shadows podcast, Terror at Collinwood, a few times over the years.

Kat Kerestman, Penny Dreadful, and ye old dude at 110 Grill, with books

I spent the afternoon working the dealer's room until 5:00 p.m., when I was on the W.H. Pugmire: Queen of the Sesqua Valley panel, a tribute to longtime friend, author, poet, Deathrealm contributor, and more, Wilum H. Pugmire. Moderated by Nicole Cushing, the other panelists included Thomas Broadbent, Pete Rawlik, and Jeffrey Thomas. As you might imagine, this one, much like the Pulver panel, was bittersweet. Everyone presented their unique insights about and memories of Wilum, whose life and works touched all of us deeply. To wrap it up, I read Jessica Amanda Salmonson's poem, "Wilum," from Deathrealm #1, which was a tribute to him circa 1986, and all the more apt all these years later. Of all the panels I've been on over the years, this one probably hit me deepest in the emotions department.

The W.H. Pugmire: Queen of the Sesqua Valley panel: Nicole Cushing, Peter Rawlik, Thomas Broadbent, the old dude, Jeffrey Thomas

Sort of out of the blue, the eZine gang had decided we should all go to see Alien: Romulus, which was playing at the iMax cinema in the big indoor shopping mall adjacent to the hotel. So, immediately following the panel, I hauled ass to the cinema, bought popcorn and a beer for dinner, and settled in to watch the film. If you want to read my capsule commentary, you can see it on Facebook here. It might not be as glowing as some reviews I've seen.

Waterfire photo by Timothy Burrall

A number of folks had suggested we go down to the river to see Waterfire, a regular summer event for which over eighty braziers in the rivers that flow through downtown Providence — the Woonasquatucket, the Moshassuck, and the Providence Rivers — are set alight to create a spectacular "sculpture," created by artist Barnaby Evans. I was quite keen on this idea, but the movie had run long enough that logistical issues for meeting the others proved prohibitive. I thought about going down to one of the nearby parks on my own, but I kept getting texts from certain eZine personnel proclaiming that they were thirsty. So, for a final-night-of-the-con eZine gang fling, I joined the thirsty bunch and headed back to Trinity Brewhouse for a few more rounds, plus some much-needed food, since the popcorn had long since worn off. Afterward, I considered going on another lengthy geocache trek, but fatigue was beginning to set in, so I opted to head toward the sack.

Probably a good thing because I went out like a light.

Waterfire photo by Thomas Paine

Trinity Brewhouse final fling: the old man, Peter Rawlik, Alan Hughes, Bridget Brenmark, Mike Brenmark, Johnny Canine, Kevin Joiner

Sunday, August 18

Snazzy, wot?!

I rose early for a nice walk after a final downtown Providence cache, and then I hauled myself to the dealer's room for a while. By the last day, crowds had thinned a bit, and I don't believe any of us sold much. Once again for lunch, I met Kristi and Nathan Schoonover at 110 Grill, where I discovered that they make damned good bloody marys. Here, at long last, I ran into author Nick Kaufman, who'd been posting photos from the con all weekend, but until this moment, I'd seen no proof of life. Always nice to see Nick.

The dealer's room closed at 4:00 p.m., so I hung out until then with the last stragglers. My flight out was supposed to leave at 8:30-ish, so I had plenty of time to kill. I caught an Uber out to PVD, checked my bag, and then went walking again to hunt a nearby cache outside the airport. It rained a little in Providence, but there were reports of major storms to the south of us, and I learned that numerous flights had been delayed or canceled.

I killed time by putting in a lot of mileage à pied and checking out the various drinking/dining establishments. To my surprise, I ran into artist Nick Gucker, whom I'd not seen at the con, so it was nice to chat with him for a bit. He'd illustrated a couple of my stories for early issues of The Lovecraft eZine. I amused myself (sort of) by observing the shit going on around me (examples here). Come time to board, there was no plane at the gate, and on the arrival/departure schedule well over half the listed flights were delayed or canceled. Our plane never showed up, and around 10:30 p.m., it was officially canceled.

The soonest I could get another flight to Greensboro would be at 4:35 the following afternoon, which American booked for me. But this meant having to collect my checked bag and finding a hotel — the cost of which the airline would not reimburse since weather issues are an "act of God." I knew there was a Hampton Inn & Suites nearby because I'd seen it while I was geocaching earlier in the day. It was the closest walkable lodging, and I wasn't about to pay for transportation to get there. Thankfully, it wasn't raining — much, anyway; I did get sprinkled on. The place was way the fuck overpriced and no great shakes, but at least it was reasonably comfortable. Any port in a storm, eh?

Monday, August 19
Hey! There are caches nearby! So, I got up early, had a quick (thankfully complimentary) breakfast, and set out walking. Picked up two caches, which at least gave me a smile. I had to be out of the hotel by 11:00 a.m., which meant another lengthy spell hanging around PVD. By now, I'm getting really tired of looking at the place. Again, I hoofed it over to the terminal, checked my bag, and found some lunch. Then I walked back and forth a lot. Again. Drank damned bloody marys. Again. So, I decide to console myself by considering all the good things about the moment. The airport has air conditioning. There is food and drink (albeit ridiculously expensive). Bombs are not falling around me. The likelihood of suddenly finding myself a refugee seems very slim. So, all things considered, I reckon life is pretty good.

But the plane is late. Here we go. Again. My biggest worry now is that Kim has already left for Michigan, so the cats only have enough food to last for the evening. Fortunately, I'm able to ascertain that friend Samaire can step in for cat maintenance if necessary. Finally, over an hour late, the plane lands, and we eventually get to board. It takes a while, but finally, we're off the ground and on our way to PHL.

Fortunately, my layover at PHL was long enough that I still had about an hour wait. We boarded almost on time, but once we headed out toward the runway... we stop dead. And we sit. And we sit. And we sit. After thirty minutes or so, the pilot tells us that because of new, approaching weather fronts, they're waiting for approval of a new flight plan. So we sit. And sit. And sit.

Finally, after an hour and a half on the runway, we're airborne. It's bumpy up there, but — thankfully — we make good time, and at just after 11:00 p.m. — about two hours late — we touch down at GSO. Happily, my checked bag has ridden on the plane with me and is delivered via carousel within a matter of minutes.

Then the hour-long drive to Martinsville, which I made safely. The cats were thrilled to see me, evidenced by their choruses of "where the hell our foods?"

So, it was quite an adventure from start to finish, the "finish" adventure being far less enjoyable than the rest.

At the end of the day, I freaking loved NecronomiCon. It's held every two years, so I hope circumstances will prove favorable for attending it in the future. There are so many people I already know and have wanted to meet who are NecronomiCon regulars, and this was one of those gatherings where I felt right at home with the "gang" — the Lovecraft eZine folks. My only regret was that I didn't get to see quite a few people whom I knew were there... somewhere. Given the size of the con and the fact it's spread out over several locations, with lots of concurrent programming, it's impossible to do everything and see everyone. Which just means I've gotta go back. Hopefully, again and again.

And there are still plenty of caches to hunt in Providence.

This Weekend: NecronomiCon Providence!

This weekend — Thursday, August 15 to Sunday, August18 — I'll be at NecronomiCon Providence! I was initially slated to be on three panels, but my travel plans precluded the first of them. I'll be on two, as listed below:

Friday, Aug 16, 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Small Press Publications of the 70s/80s — Capital Ballroom, Graduate 2nd Floor.
A discussion of the importance and contributions of small press magazines and zines, such as Nyctalops, Whispers, Eldritch Tales, and Weirdbook, in keeping Mythos fiction alive. Despite small budgets and circulation compared to national mainstream magazines, they published many of the important genre writers working during the period leading up and into the 80s mainstream horror boom. Panelists: Paul Di Filippo (M), Tim Lonegan, Stephen Mark Rainey, Darrell Schweitzer, Alan Tromp

Saturday, Aug 17, 5:00 p.m.–6:15 p.m.
W. H. Pugmire: Queen of the Sesqua Valley — South County Room, Omni 3rd Floor
Wilum “Hopfrog” Pugmire (American, 1951 – 2019) came up as part of the Seattle punk scene and publisher of the zine Punk Lust. A devotee of Lovecraft, he was a leading writer and poet in neo-Lovecraftian fiction and poetry from the 1980s until his death. Much of his work was set in the fictional Sesqua Valley of the Pacific Northwest, and featured lush prose and genderfluid eroticism. Panelists discuss his life and work. Panelists: Thomas Broadbent, Nicole Cushing (M), Stephen Mark Rainey, Peter Rawlik, Jeffrey Thomas

I'll have several books available at the Lovecraft eZine table, where you'll find proprietor/host Mike Davis scaring the pants off folks. I know I'll be seeing many of you there. Really looking forward to it.

Books, Brews, and Bashes

I'd like to express my thanks to Traci Morton, owner of Magnolia & Main Books, for hosting what turned out to be an excellent book signing event yesterday. We had a good crowd, and I sold a slew of books — which I gleefully devalued with my signature. Magnolia & Main is a charming little store with lots of books, both new and used, plus other assorted goodies. Local folks — please stop in and check it out! And thanks to all who came out for the event, particularly those who braved a torrential downpour early in the day. I really do appreciate it. Several old friends that I haven't seen in ages popped in, which meant a lot to me.

Magnolia & Main is located at 810 Main Street, Ridgeway, VA 24148.

After the event, friends Terry, Beth, Bob, and Yvonne all headed with Brugger and me over to Renewal Brewing in Uptown Martinsville for a variety of refreshing beverages. We had earlier determined we should all have dinner together, and as we were debating a suitable destination, Bob & Yvonne up and invited us to their place. So, we paraded over to their house and enjoyed an incredible dinner, plus good drinks, and lots of good music and other entertainment. It would have difficult to ask for a better day. Well, that big old rainstorm during the morning damn near drowned us, but at least we all survived.

Except maybe Ms. B. there. She's looking a little rough after diving into The Monarchs. I worry for her soul.

Upcoming events where you may find me raising hell and wreaking havoc include NecronomiCon, Providence, RI (August 15–18, 2024); MHC Is for Book Lovers, Spencer, VA (September 20, 2024); and Martinsville Oktoberfest, Martinsville, VA (October 5, 2024).