DCP: (visit #11)

20-Feb-2010 -- A confluence visit in the dark. Leaving North Woodstock CT and my fourth confluence visit of the day, I skirt Rhode (“A Confluence Free Zone”) Island, and pass through the towns of Uxbridge, Medon, and Milford MA. By now, the day’s sunlight is long gone, and there’s no need to hurry to finish my marathon confluence adventure. I head southeast on I-495, making a stop at Mansfield for my first meal of the day. After dinner, I am back on the road, heading north on Highway 24 to the Highway 106 exit towards West Bridgewater.

I turn east off South Street onto Milebrook Road, and just before Milebrook curves to the left, I reach 42N 71W without having to leave the car. I use the interior light to photograph the GPS. I then step out to take a flash picture of the sidewalk and retaining wall. The resident whose driveway is opposite the cp has lived here for 40 years. When she and her late husband built, theirs was one of the first houses in the neighborhood. She tells me back before concerns about an energy crunch, Milebrook had many more street lights. She tells me since she has retired, she’s encountered several folks looking for 42N 71W, although she has never gone on the DCP website. I write out the link for her so she can check out what a world famous location she inhabits!

And just that quickly, my longest day of confluence hunting comes to an end. I have successfully observed International Confluence Day 2010 in six states, if you count the state of exhaustion…

Travel time since last cp: 1:56:43. Total elapsed moving time: 12:44:34, with 392.4 miles by car; and the end of a full day at 8:15 p.m.

I’ve got some time on Sunday before I fly out of Manchester. I plan to make my first visit to nearby Taunton MA where my mother’s people from England first settled in the 1600s, and then go into Newton to run to the top of Heartbreak Hill on the Boston Marathon course for the first time in 35 years. My best recollection is on that marathon effort [208th place in 2:36:27] I had a lot more company than I did today…

Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem (By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty)

Story continued from here.

United States : Massachusetts

1.4 miles (2.2 km) SSE of West Bridgewater, Plymouth, MA, USA
Approx. altitude: 22 m (72 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap topo aerial ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 42°S 109°E

Accuracy: 5 m (16 ft)

Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

United States : Massachusetts

1.4 miles (2.2 km) SSE of West Bridgewater, Plymouth, MA, USA Approx. altitude: 22 m (72 ft) ([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap topo aerial ConfluenceNavigator) Antipode: 42°S 109°E

Accuracy: 5 m (16 ft)

Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

1.4 miles (2.2 km) SSE of West Bridgewater, Plymouth, MA, USA
Approx. altitude: 22 m (72 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap topo aerial ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 42°S 109°E