Rain puts damper on weekend
Winter coats resurface as traditional holiday trips to Bay State are derailed
By Donovan Slack, Globe Correspondent, 5/24/2003
Yankee magazine gushes that there's ''nowhere better than Boston'' in springtime, and the state's tourism website, exhorting visitors to come enjoy the Bay State's outdoor treasures, proclaims that ''Spring has arrived in Massachusetts!''
But tell that to the Sigreses, a family of three who traveled nearly 5,000 miles from Rio de Janeiro. Struggling through blustery gusts in Plymouth yesterday for a glimpse of the rock where the Pilgrims landed, they wore down coats and rain slickers purchased when it became clear they'd dressed for the wrong weather entirely.
''We just bought them today,'' said Henriette Sigres, pulling her hood close around her face as the wind blew blasts of drizzling rain. She said they had a few good days during their two-week stay in Boston, when they walked the Freedom Trail and gazed at tulips in the Public Garden. Even yesterday, they gamely looked for a silver lining, remarking that New England's trees are beautiful. Still, shivering in her coat while her husband waited in the car with the heater on, Sigres shot a bleak look at the sky and muttered, ''This weather is miserable.''
She wasn't the only one to say it. It rained all across the state, and winter-weary people postponed barbecues, camping trips, and golf outings, shifting to less summerlike activities. Bob Chandler of Mashpee, who'd planned to play golf this morning, instead scheduled a trip to Home Depot with his wife, Mary Katherine.
''What else are you going to do?'' Mary Katherine said, as the two ate lunch at Lobster Hut in Plymouth, hoping some hot food would pass the time and lift their spirits. ''Can you believe it? We're wearing turtlenecks and flannel shirts at the end of May!''
Rain and cold are not exactly rareties during spring in New England. The season can be the region's most fickle, swinging from summery balm to rain and cold. And winter can sometimes seem painfully slow to ebb.
''I've worn a winter coat in June,'' said Claire Olson of Duxbury, who for 14 years has worked as a park ranger at Pilgrim Memorial State Park. ''That's why I always have my winter coat in the car.''
And many appeared undeterred. In Boston, under a shroud of clouds that hung low over the city, tour buses lumbered out of town and down Route 3, bound for the Cape.
Several drivers carting loaded rooftop bike racks had covered them with blue plastic tarp, perhaps with hopes for a small break in the weather.
Grace Arias of Alexandria, Va., who had planned her family's getaway to Provincetown six weeks ago, imagined a little beach time and beautiful sunsets. She'd packed accordingly.
''We brought shorts,'' she said.
Still, they headed out yesterday, outfitted in winter coats.
Some were not so stout of heart. Many who had planned springtime retreats on the Cape canceled when they learned earlier this week that stormy weather was expected.
''They were forecasting rain 10 days before,'' lamented Skip Simpson, manager of Anchor-In, in Hyannis, where the occupancy rate fell to 80 percent after the bad forecasts. ''Last year, we were booked up solid a week in advance.''
For some visitors, though, canceling was not an option. The Mildon family from Hauppauge, N.Y., had planned their Memorial Day vacation in February, just after the Presidents' Day snowstorm. From the beginning, 7-year-old Nick and 10-year-old Adam said they had their hearts dead set on coming to Massachusetts to learn about Pilgrims -- and to do a little swimming.
''One of the reasons we still came was the hotel had a great pool,'' said their mother, Karen. ''And it's indoors.''
Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.
This story ran on page B1 of the Boston Globe on 5/24/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
[ Send this story to a friend | Easy-print version | Search archives ] |
