CAPTIVE IN COVENTRY
Reports from behind the lines in the Coventry 'Green-Zone'
Day 1 - Wednesday
Day 2 - Thursday
Greetings from behind the lines.
FRIDAY MORNING AUG 13:
The Bridge Friday Morning 7AM
Traffic was moving all through the night. In fact
there were times when the entire stretch of road
was empty. Looking out the bathroom window at 2AM,
RT 5 was silent and empty. The campsite, only a mile
and a half away through the woods was lighting up the
horizon. The low clouds and fog over the trees were
glowing like the northern lights.
We woke up this morning to more rain. Looks like more
of the same as yesterday. Traffic is backed up on the
bridge, but at least it's moving. We've got to get Emma
and Olivia to swimming lessons this morning. Karen's
taking off to the site to work at the VIP tent. We're hoping
for lot's of rumors and gossip from her before she gets
back early this afternoon.
Karen gets ready to leave for the VIP tent
So the big cloud hanging over my head all week has been
wondering how we are going to get the kids to swimming
lessons. I had visions of snarled traffic all the way from
here to Derby Line and a 3 hour drive. As it turns out there
is life on the other side of Coventry right now and it's
proceding along at a normal pace. We shot the gap in the
traffic jam out of the driveway, thanks to these dudes:
It only took about 1/2 an hour to get up to Derby Line.
Going up RT.14 to Alder Brook Rd and then RT.105 back east
got us up to swimming lessons in plenty of time, so Emma
and Olivia were on their way
The back route north out of Coventry was basically deserted.
Downtown Newport was moving along at a normal pace. However
it seems that none of the Phishheads are venturing
into town to spend any money. Traffic patterns are taking
everyone straight to the airport without going through
Newport.
Downtown Newport - Friday 9AM
Some of the shop owners seemed a bit down.
Steve at Newport Natural Foods said it wasn't quite a
ghosttown but they weren't getting the bump they expected
Newport Natural Foods - Newport
RJ's Friendly Market said business was definitely down.
The parking lot at Pick and Shovel hardware was basically
empty.
RJ's Friendly Market - Newport
The Pick & Shovel - Newport
Jimmy Qwik Store - Newport
Danielle and Mike Marcotte
Danielle Marcotte at the Jimmy Kwik Store said that business
was not that good considering what was going on. No one was
coming up the few miles from Airport Rd. to spend any money yet.
Not really good news for them, especially since Mike
is head of the Coventry Town Selectboard and was basically
responsible for this entire shindig. Mike's been spending
a lot of time on the phone lately taking a lot of heat from
some of Coventry's tax payers who aren't happy about having
all these Phishy strangers in the Kingdom. Hopefully a lot
more strangers will start venturing out of the campsite and
heading north a few miles to help out the Mom and Pop stores
up in Newport.
The drive back home took us down RT.5 from the north
going against the long line of traffic in the other
lane. We passed by what many of us locals consider
to be ground zero, the corner of Airport Rd. and Rt.5
You can't make a left hand turn here without a special
decal on your car. For all the Phishheads coming up from
the south they make the right hand turn onto the last leg
of their long trek.
Airport Rd. and RT. 5
We're almost home. We tooled down RT.5 avoiding
the frisbees skateboards and bicycles. With only
one more Phishhead between us and our driveway.
The dude inched forward, and the van behind him
inched back and we were home free.
Friday PM