Is Providence, Rhode Island the Country’s Most Creative City?

by Paul Brady on

Summer in New England is so pleasant and so cliche, I didn’t arrive in Rhode Island expecting to find much more than craft breweries, lobster rolls and some wicked good times. And they certainly have those!

But no sooner had I parked the car than I stumbled across a storefront packed with bizarre costumes, alien heads and smiling ogres, looking across the street at City Hall.

What, I wondered to myself as I snapped photos as fast as possible, was going on in Providence?

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I’d inadvertently found the home of Big Nazo, a performance troupe dedicated to the absolutely mind-bending, warming up for an event that evening on Westminster Street at Roots Cafe. Ringleader Minio Pinque introduced himself and started in on the upcoming show calendar for the group, as I gawked at half-finished suits.

A troupe member donned what can only be described as an alien helmet to demonstrate the huge range of costumes Big Nazo uses, everything from enormous full-body get-ups to small masks that jazz up more traditional costuming. Later that evening, a marching band would be coming by to practice for its upcoming engagement with Big Nazo. (One of their numbers was “Crazy in Love.”)

The city is of course home to the Rhode Island School of Design, which accounts for some of the creativity in the air. The current show to see is Cocktail Culture, on view until July 31. The exhibit is a fascinating trip from pre-Prohibition days to the Jet Set era, a museum show surprisingly au courant despite its throwback themes. There is only one reference to Mad Men.

Other art spaces proliferate. The aforementioned Roots is a cultural hub, as is Art Space 220, a downtown collective that encourages creativity with shows and funding. Brown has its own spectacles, like a greenhouse filled with exotic plants and open to the public. An over-educated botanist mentioned that the attraction of the moment in the area was the blooming of a corpse flower at the University of Connecticut. 90 minutes away.

The creativity even extends to breakfast. The favorite joint is Julian’s on Broadway, with Star Wars action figures in the bathroom and neon signs on the wall. Nobody bats an eye if you order Bloody Marys at 9 am, like a table of eight did, nor a massive breakfast that could feed two, like one big, big guy did. As for me, I did what I always do when in New England. I got the hash.

New York’s Most Fascinating Park, Floating Above the City

by Paul Brady on

In a town where 500 square foot apartments can fetch $4,000 a month, the installation of a small slice of lawn calls for a mayoral press conference. And Mayor Bloomberg was there on June 8 for the opening of the second phase of the High Line, New York’s most innovative park, built on an abandoned elevated rail line on the far West Side.

Years in the making, the new section includes a stretch of brilliant green grass, bird houses, adolescent trees and a new perspective on a newly resurgent Manhattan neighborhood that’s getting more alluring (and affluent) by the moment.

Traveling the American Road – New York’s High Line


As someone who calls New York home, I explored the first section a few years back when I worked in Chelsea Market, the bougie shopping center that’s home to Food Network, Google, MLB.com and other wanna-be-big start-ups. The park, newly opened at the time, was just out the door-and a wonderful place for a mental health break.

With the new section, now pushing all the way north to 30th Street, the park should draw more people, which drives more business along the corridor. Real estate signs are sprouting up, and a pop-up beer garden has appeared, along with food trucks and a temporary art installation. (It happens to be sponsored by AOL, but I only found out about that when I visited.) Also along the new portion of park? The first U.S. property from Grupo Habita, a super-trendy Mexican boutique hotel group that’s a favorite of the Chelsea and Mexico City art sets.

It’s quite the resume for a disused rail trundle, left to rot in a forgotten corner of the city. No wonder the mayor-and tourists by the tens of thousands-are showing up to see what’s happening.

Join Traveling the American Road blogger Paul Brady for a Philly happy hour!

by Annemarie Dooling on

We’ve done Detroit, Cleveland and Boston. Now Paul Brady is headed to the City of Brotherly Love.

Join us at Independence Al Fresco, the outdoor garden at Philadelphia‘s Independence Visitor Center, this Thursday, June 23rd, as Mr. Brady recounts tales of epic country breakfasts, Stanley Cup confetti and many, many lobster rolls. As an added bonus to the snacks and beer we’ll inevitably chomp down out of summer road trip jealousy, Finger Lakes Wine will be serving some of their spectacular vino.

Oh, yeah. We’re also giving away some swag to attendees.

RSVP here before coming by, and tip Paul off to any and all of your favorite Philly spot, but be forewarned, we’re not responsible for any cheesesteak mishaps that occur post-happy hour.

[Photo: Flickr/Uberzombie]

Boston Celebrates Its Bruins with a Massive Parade

by Paul Brady on
I wasn’t going to be in Boston on Saturday morning. But with the city planning to celebrate its sports heroes, who won the Stanley Cup after a drought of nearly 40 years, I tore up my road trip schedule and made a beeline for Beantown.

Riding on Boston’s famous Duck Boats, the team paraded through the streets, holding the cup aloft as hundreds of thousands cheered. Goodwill was everywhere, and it lasted through the weekend: On Sunday, the Bruins threw out ceremonial first pitches at Fenway Park as the baseball faithful gave a standing ovation. With the cup now in Boston, the city can safely brag that it is indeed Titletown, USA.

Traveling the American Road – Boston Bruins Celebration Parade


On the Track at Watkins Glen International

by Paul Brady on

While the state park is fun and the wineries in the area are getting better every year, Watkins Glen is famous because of its speedway, a storied road track that’s hosted everything from NASCAR to Formula One to, this summer, a three-day Phish-stravaganza. When I rolled through town, there wasn’t much happening in the way of races.

So I took my car on the track.

Traveling the American Road – Watkins Glen International


It wasn’t as furtive as it sounds: for 25 bucks, anyone can sign up for a Thunder Road Tour of The Glen, as the track is known, and drive its infamous first turn, navigate the “esses,” negotiate the tight curves of the back end and come to a stop on the start-finish line for a photo op. Four other cars would be rounding the track with me, but we were under strict instructions not to try to pass each other, much to my dismay. (“Try not to put the other cars into the wall” was an instruction I did appreciate.)

My first lap was a gimmie, a chance to get a feel for the track and relax at the thought that I wouldn’t need to stop for any traffic lights or check my blind spot: This is certainly not highway driving.

The second loop was faster and much more fun, a chance to take the turns a little harder, punch the accelerator in the straights and test the brakes. It was also the lap on which our peloton would stop on the start-finish line. After getting used to “racing,” pulling the car to a stop felt nearly impossible. We all hopped out, and I took a picture for a family visiting from South Carolina, who in all their years watching racing has never set foot on the pavement of a track. They were giddy.

While we were stopped, I ask the driver of our pace car how fast we were going compared to a typical race day. His answer? About 30 percent, with our 60 mph a mere fraction of the 180-plus that drivers can achieve when gunning for the winner’s circle.

I vowed to really crank it up for the last of my three laps, pushing hard into turns in my Explorer, trying to squeeze as much race-day excitement I could from the controlled scenario. There were some thrills, but what I really got out of the day was a burning desire to see a real race live. Probably one at The Glen.