Part of the 2010 USA Trip Series
We awoke to a gorgeous day with a stunning sky. We found ourselves on Route 9 in the Framingham area of Massachusetts. First order of business was food. Hui-chen and I decided to try a Chinese restaurant on Rt. 9 called The Red Pepper.
This is classic egg drop soup 磨菇肉絲蛋花湯. Flavored with cilantro (coriander) this soup was better than I expected.
This is zha jian mein 炸醬麵. My wife thought the ginger flavor was too strong but I enjoyed it.
Next up was Shrimp with Crispy Noodles 避風塘蝦. This dish was excellent.
Stir fried tofu with vegetables 豆腐炒鮮蔬.
Our friend Grady met us at the restaurant and then took us to one of the radio stations he built and maintains. That’s me on the far left, then Grady, and the 2 tower climbers that are going to climb the towers this morning.
I really like this photo that Hui-chen took. She can find art and beauty in the strangest places.
This is the reason why the towers are being climbed today. That square structure is called a “sample loop” and provides a sample of the signal to measuring equipment inside the transmitter building. That signal is used to measure the performance of the tower system and there is some problem with the sample loop on each tower that requires fixing. That means tower climbing.
The climbers get started….
The most dangerous part of tower climbing is the actual climb and descent. Once you reach the target height you can clip onto the tower with your climbing belt. But while you’re moving you’re not clipped onto anything.
These guys are fast. It doesn’t take long for them to reach the sample loops.
The sun was in and out, making for some interesting photographs.
This radio station also broadcasts satellite content, therefore it has a bank of satellite antennas and receivers.
This shot shows a climber at the sample loop.
Soon enough, the climbers were finished and they came back down to discuss what they had found aloft.
That’s my friend John on the far right. John works in the movie business and also with Grady on different projects.
With the tower business concluded, Hui-chen and I took a ride into town on the Mass Pike. It had been years since I was on the Mass Pike. Look at how clear the air is! What a fantastic day!
We drove past the historical Schrafft’s building.
We drove past the Sullivan Square power generating plant on the Mystic River.
My goal was to make it up to Lynn, MA and to show my wife the view from High Rock Tower.
The Tower plaque. When it was recently refurbished, a telescope was placed at the top.
You can see this view of Boston from the base of the Tower (where this article is geotagged).
Also there are nice ocean views from the Tower base.
The park has been cleaned up and really looks nice compared to when I used to live in Lynn.
I haven’t seen my friend Mike from Lynn in quite a few years, so naturally I dropped by to say hello. Mike is also a ham operator and that’s how we know each other. We met at a ham radio event, 20 some years ago.
Hui-chen and I were invited to dinner at a Cambodian restaurant by my old friends in Lynn. It was a great time and we really enjoyed being with old friends again. By the way, the food was great too!
Lately I’ve been including a teaser photo from the next article coming up. So here it is:
Can you guess what we’ll be doing in our next article?
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Former field engineer MJ Klein now lives in Taiwan, and writes articles that primarily feature photographs of travels of MJ and wife Hui-chen, plus daily goings on in the bustling island nation of Taiwan, and other places in Asia. Articles feature people, culture, food, situations and sometimes the trials and tribulations of traveling in places such as China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos and of course Taiwan.
