#Schummer14: Day 20 recap of Summer of Schnyder ~ Rhode Island

After 376 miles of hurried driving the day before, we drove only 17 miles on Day 20 as we spent the day in and around Providence and Pawtucket, Rhode Island – the country’s tiniest state.

We had a great breakfast at a small bakery called Pastiche that our friend, Charlie, scouted out in the nearby Federal Hill area (it’s the city’s Little Italy). I had a lemon cream tart with blackberry sauce and a spiced chai latte. Lee opted for munchkins from Dunkin’ Donuts – amazingly, it was his first stop there the entire trip (even though it often feels like there is a DD on every corner in the northeast).

On our way to a minor league baseball game, we drove by the Hasbro world headquarters for some fun photos with a giant Mr. Potato Head and were surprised to see Monopoly-themed parking spots, too.

We spent the afternoon watching the Columbus Clippers (AAA for Cleveland) play at the home of the Pawtucket Red Sox, aka PawSox (AAA team for Boston). Lee recently read a book about the longest game in the history of professional baseball and it happened here in 1981. It went 33 innings and included players like Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs early in their hall-of-fame careers.

After the game, we happened to exit through an area that wasn’t well advertised but was really cool – it was a series of displays on the history and art of baseball. There were lots of historic photos and accompanying stories. McCoy Stadium needs to make sure visitors know about this gem!

We spent a little time walking around our hotel that night but otherwise relaxed. While we were walking around I realized that I had been to Providence once before, on a scouting trip for a new event we were launching at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Lee and I stayed at a new hotel in a historic building – The Dean – in the Downcity historic district. It was built in 1912 as a church and since has been many things including a brothel. It had a fun vibe to it – lots of neon and antique materials in the common spaces & an old cage elevator with the metal doors you pull across. The rooms also had some antiques along with locally made furniture. The metal bed frame might have looked cool but it made a lot of noise! The bathroom was also aiming for trendy and European but completely missed the mark on functionality. And that old elevator made a noise you could hear in your room (even though we didn’t share a wall with it) every time it was used. Good thing we were only staying one night before heading to Cape Cod for three nights.

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#Schummer14 – Lee & MeLinda Schnyder are turning their home in Wichita, Kan., over to a friend and taking a month-long road trip. They’ll travel from Kansas to Ontario and Quebec, Canada; then through Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The trip home will include stops in Ohio and Missouri. Beyond the blog, you can follow #Schummer14 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.