Day # 9

We are in downtown Providence, the capitol of Rhode Island. As the day turns to dusk, the music of Beethoven fills the air with its rich orchestral sounds. We walk across one of the many bridges crossing the Wampanoag River. As we descend the steps to the river walkway, a scow emerges from under the bridge. Five people, dressed in black, occupy the scow, along with a pile of cut wood. The woman in front has a torch in her hand. As the scow reaches a brazier in the middle of the river, she reaches out and lights the brazier. The wood catches slowly, then flares to light. The scow proceeds down the river and the torch-lighter touches flame to the next brazier.

Thousands of people line the riverwalk, enchanted with the scene. Soon a line of braziers centered in the river are burning. Minutes later, a kayak emerges from under the bridge. A rod rises from the kayak, and floating on top of the rod is a fabric fish, a koi, about three feet long, with fluttering wings and an open mouth. A light inside the fish makes it glow red. Then another kayak emerges from under the bridge, flying a green fish. One after another, a flotilla of kayaks, canoes and row boats create a meandering line of flying fish, of red, green, purple and orange, seeming to float in the air alongside the flaming braziers.

We walk under the bridge. Simple chandeliers hang over us, each with six flaming bowls of oil. The music is louder under the bridge, bouncing against the concrete arch and walls. We walk along the river, slowed by the massive crowd. We emerge in a new section of the river. Here the river widens and the braziers are set in a circle. As the wood burns low, the workers in the scow place more wood on the fires. We are surrounded by the buildings of the city, rising around us to great heights. The clean lines of the new buildings mix with the handsome lines of the older buildings.  

When I was planning our trip, I found information on WaterFire, an all-volunteer event that occurs about ten times a year in Providence. If we timed our trip well, we could be in Providence on one of those nights! It was magical, indeed.

This sidewalk shows you the incline of the street!

Kaylyn and I took the morning at a more relaxed pace, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The 8-year-old girl at the next campsite stopped to visit with us, looking for a little girl to play with. My little girl is all grown up! We drove into downtown Providence. Kaylyn turned right and drove up a hill you wouldn’t want to consider in a manual-shift car, a bicycle or ice. We parked at the top of ”the hill” beside the campus of Brown University, and walked over to the Rhode Island School of Design –RISD. Not surprisingly, there is an excellent museum associated with the school. The first room held modern art. I have a hard time appreciating art that is comprised of an everyday object, assigned some deep significance, and called “art.” Moving on, we did appreciate the rooms of ancient and classical art. We ate our sandwiches (note Kaylyn – lunch two days in a row) on the lawn of Brown University’s majestic entrance.

Anticipating large crowds for RiverFire, we moved the truck to a parking lot near the river. For $10 we parked with our truck only a few feet away from the river walk. We explored the city at a leisurely pace, visiting the Capitol, the downtown mall, and admiring the architecture . Kaylyn loved the mix of old, well-preserved buildings and the students from two universities who flowed about the city. 

We found an Irish restaurant for dinner. Kaylyn decided to try clam – because we are in Rhode Island – and ordered an appetizer called a Stufie. She ate about half of it and that was enough. One bite was enough for me. We shared a Shepherd’s Pie made with lamb, which we quickly demolished. We paid our bill and left, scurrying down the street toward the river. Dusk was falling and the braziers were about to be lit.