Tag: #solotraveller

Toronto Canada

25 May 2018

Toronto has a population of almost 6M people and they have as much traffic as some of the large USA cities. More than Boston and several accidents so I decided to take the Greyhound in from Kitchener, where I am staying with my cousin’s partner Maria Luisa. So glad I did. I walked 27,000 steps and it would have been difficult facing a 2 hour drive after that.

Met up with my cruise son, Grant, from my Transatlantic cruise.

I did the free walking tour with Tour Guys.

I relaxed at Queen Quay Park and watched the planes coming in to land at the airport over the harbour. It made me feel like I was home.

Crossing from New York State to Ontario Canada

23 May 2018

I left Tupper Lake NY for Canada to visit my great aunt, cousin and friends. The GPS took me on a fun route including an unexpected ferry ride to Wolfe Island.

I didn’t realise I was crossing to an island until I got to the Canadian border check where the officer informed me the only way off was to get another ferry to Kingston Canada or go back to New York USA. My plan was to go to Kingston I just didn’t realise that entailed 2 ferry trips.
I can’t think what the border officer thought of me driving without knowing where I was going. Although most of this trip I start off with a destination but end up somewhere else.

I met these quirky women dressed in red hats and purple clothing. I asked if I could get a photo for my blog and they said people would think they were crazy. I told them that my friends would say that we are a good fit and I believe “your vibe attracts your tribe”. The Red Hat Society is a worldwide playgroup for women over 50, currently with membership in 30 countries. Audrey, Noreen, Frances and Helen are Kingston Ontario Canada Red Hat Society ladies and they were certainly fun.

On the second ferry trip, the 20 minute voyage was free!!

I explored Kingston Ontario Canada and it is an easy city to walk around. Parking is $CAD1.50 an hour so quite reasonable.

Walking around I loved the aromas coming out of the restaurants, so different to the smell of USA fried food.

On my walk I found the Martello Alley which lures you in to explore the quirky art. David, the gallery owner, is responsible for brightening up this alley which is the only art alley in the province of Ontario.

The gallery is also a co-op for local artists. When in Kingston pop in and say hi to David and meet the inhouse artists.

Crossing three borders Maine/New Hampshire/Vermont

21 May 2018

This morning I left Kennebunkport with the goal of reaching Vermont. I had no idea where I would stop but I put the town Sharon into the GPS so I had some direction. I am in awe of this countryside. The different types of trees with lots of shades of green and a smattering of purple and orange up the high mountains, the running rivers with whitewater rapids or like this spot in Alton Bay, New Hampshire just stunning.

House in Laconia New Hampshire

House in Lebanon New Hampshire

Across the border to Vermont.

More places in this area with the USA flag.

The Original General Store Pittsfield

I decided to stay in a hotel called the Clear River Inn and Tavern in Pittsfield Vermont which has a lovely running river out the back.

River at the back of Clear Tavern

Pittsfield has a population of 560 and I met almost 10% of them tonight at the Tavern attached to the hotel. I learned that Vermont is one of the states which allows people to carry firearms around but they choose not to. As one local said “we don’t have to prove anything “. I asked about bears and I have my hopes high that this is the place I will get to see one.

The locals advised me to be careful driving to watch out for moose. I asked one local what the plural of moose was and he said “more than one”. I like their humour.

If you get a chance to visit this area, this is a very beautiful place and these are real people of the USA. Pittsfield is also a very popular skiing place in winter. Those who know me can tell you this would not be a place for me in winter. Right now, it is stunning.

I enjoyed meeting the locals Whalen, Rob, Rob, Tim, Ralph and Jack and thank them for their hospitality and Juliette for taking the photo.

New Hampshire and Maine

20 May 2018

I will start with the last thing which happened today which is a highlight of my trip. Not every day you get to see a USA President close up.

I was in Kennebunkport, Maine enjoying this pretty seaside town.

I went to see the Wedding Cake House.

Just as I was about to leave I noticed many people with the USA flag as if getting ready for a parade. I did not know that Kennebunkport is the location of the summer home of US President George Bush. He was coming home from hospital and there were news crews and lots of people to welcome home George Bush.

Thank you to a local, Janet who told me about what to expect.

I captured the motorcade. President Bush was in the first vehicle and the back windows were open so that everyone could see him. I unfortunately only filmed the vehicles and as I am not a professional with Presidential processes and I did not think to follow the first car. Who would have thought he would be in the first vehicle! Perhaps you might see the window was open at least. I saw him but the car moved too far down the road for me to capture it on film. But there are pretty flashing lights on his car.

Motorcade

Janet then told me where the President lives and so I drove over to the house and got these pics.

This is the lovely view from the other side of the peninsula of his home.

Well that was how I ended the day.

It started with three (3) bridges of Portsmouth New Hampshire. Another seaside town in New England.

This tree was planted after William Whipple signed the Declaration of Independence.

Four (4) tugs ready for work.

Then I visited Ogunquit, Maine which is a very pretty beachside village. Some of these places are so frustrating to take photos as there is nowhere to pull over on the side of the road and the parking lots charge a flat fee of $US15. It was also raining. So this wikipost will have to do.

Ogunquit, Maine.

A couple more photos of Kennebunkport, Maine. This is a vacant block which you need to look closely, it has many birdhouses.

It is quite an elite block for birds when perhaps a house like this would fit on the block. This is a Kennebunkdepot house.

This would not fit on the block.

Well I have now completed my goal of the East Coast states. My stay at The Lodge at Kennebunk was very comfortable. It is the cleanest best value hotel I have stayed at on my trip so far. The staff are very friendly and I highly recommend. Even my friend who is a 5 star snob would enjoy a stay here.

Now to visit the remaining 19 states.

Boston and Salem Massachusetts

19 May 2018

Rainy and cold, 8C (46F) but won’t stop my day of adventure. I met an ex work colleague from Sydney who now works at Boston University, Craig Slater and he kindly showed me around Boston. Thank you Craig for the lovely day.

That’s Boston in the background from the MIT (Massachusetts Institue of Technology). I wish someone at MIT could do something about the phone reception in this country.

I wasn’t kidding about rainy and cold but there were some committed people out sailing.

Visited MIT.

Went to Harvard

Rubbed the foot of the Harvard founder, John Harvard, which people think is a Harvard tradition, and isn’t, but I wanted to rub anyway.

Preparation for the Harvard Graduation has commenced. I hope the weather is better for the event than today.

Boston Tea Party meetings were held here.

Declaration of Independence announced here.

Learned about the Boston Massacre.

I love the subway busking. Sorry it is a bit shaky but the train ride gets rough and I appreciate how difficult it is for these performers to do this without hurting themselves.Subway buskers video Boston

Then drove 30 minutes to Salem for a Hocus Pocus tour and information on the Salem Witch Trials.

In 1692, 20 people wrongly accused of being witches, 19 hung (14 were women) and 1 pressed.

This is a memorial for the 20 wrongly executed.

A controversial statue of Elizabeth Montgomery, the TV witch, riding a broom, was donated by the TV show and stands in the site of where the witch hangings were carried out.

The town has several witch museums and stores with quirky shopfronts.

Mystic and Mohegan Sun Connecticut

17 May 2018

Mystic is a tranquil seaside village in the Long Island Sound.

This part of the USA, New England, made up of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, is getting very pricey and I am trying to work the logistics to visit 3 states without stopping to sleep anywhere. It is also cold and wet and making me want to stay indoors.

So this evening I went to the Mohegan Sun Casino which is operated by the Mohegan Tribe. It is very impressive. I almost didn’t go after the mediocre casinos of Atlantic City. It is one of the largest casinos in the USA and has FREE parking for 13,000 cars.

I had some delicious Italian Wedding soup for dinner. There was an excellent free concert by Ben Gallaher.

I then went to the late Comedy Club show for $US10. They were amateurs but quite good. I recommend a night here. They have top quality entertainment and I will miss out on FloRida, Josh Groban and Keith Urban . This was a great night.

Maryland

12 May 2018

My second time to embarrass myself with authority occurred as I crossed the border to Maryland. I had entered a stop in my GPS for a visitors centre so I could buy a fridge magnet.

When it directed me to the NSA Visitors Centre I knew Siri got it wrong. I drove up to the security and said, “oops. I am in the wrong place”. The cute guard said, “perhaps it might be the right place”. I said “I don’t think so unless you sell fridge magnets”. Yes. I know what you are all thinking. I am lucky I wasn’t arrested for stupidity. He asked me for my identification and if I knew anyone at NSA. I said I did but he was based in Hawaii now (sorry Paul but I didn’t give him your name). I was quite nervous but trying not to laugh at the same time at how stupid I must have looked. The guard just said politely “Mam. Please make a Uturn to the left to exit”. I have heard of people being questioned for hours when taking a wrong turn. I must have looked genuinely stupid. I did get my magnet just before I crossed the border to Delaware at a petrol station.

After my NSA excitement I found my airbnb, I was exhausted from driving from Pennsylvania and was going to have a rest. I was going through Meet up app and found a ballooning festival (Howard County Ballooning Festival) 50 minutes away. I contacted the host Dakota, confirmed the address, got changed and arrived at the festival 1 hour after I checked into my airbnb.

I met Dakota, Chas, James and their lovely friends.

I missed the hotdog eating competition and an hour after I got there, an announcement was made that the balloon glow was cancelled as a storm was coming through. This was the best photo I got of any of the balloons.

I was disappointed but I felt for all the children who were looking forward to the hot air balloons. It was a 3 day festival, free, but parking was $US20 each day and by looking at many of the people the parking would have been a lot of money for them, as it was for my limited budget. I didn’t return the next day as it rained all day.

Straight after the festival I found a salsa Meetup 45 minutes away. I arrived at Mr Mambo Salsa but was told by someone in the carpark that there was no dancing there ( I later found out I was on the wrong side of the building). I checked the Meetup and went to an alternate address 45 minutes the other way. I love when I cross borders my phone GPS announces “Welcome to …” in this case it was Virginia. I just drove 4 hours in the morning from Pennsylvania to Maryland and then all of a sudden I am in Washington DC crossing over to Virginia. I love this country!!

Arriving at the salsa venue I find out it is the wrong place and salsa was on where I was at previously. I know most of you would give up and go back to your accommodation ( mine was 40 minutes away) but it was Saturday night and I hadn’t danced since the cruise 3 weeks ago!! I went back to the previous venue and found salsa and bachatta!!

I got my fix of dancing and a pic with Mr Mambo

I got my fix for dancing but I do miss my Sydney dance venues and partners.

Kentucky to Ohio

7 May 2018

Every time I cross another border I am amazed at what I see. I seem to continually say “it is soo pretty” or “WTF, how big can these houses get!” I have to say these to myself as I cannot call my friends because of the time difference in Australia or unless they are here in the moment it just is not the same or they get annoyed that it is a reminder they are at work and I am not. It is probably the worst part of travelling alone, not having someone to share the moment, but it doesn’t make me want to change anything. I would be happy for someone to join me but I am really enjoying the whole experience, even the melancholy moments, which do not last for long.

There are people around whom I can have a chat with, whether it is the hotel manager who works the late shift that I had a late night snack with or the elderly man who insisted on escorting me across the Roebling Suspension Bridge from Kentucky to Ohio.

Or the person who filmed this crazy 50+ year old climbing the flying pigs sculpture in Cincinatti.

There’s always someone who will fulfill my need to have a chat.

Cincinatti was known as “porcopolis” in the 1800s so they have a Flying Pigs Marathon and flying pigs to welcome you to the riverfront.

Cincinatti is known as the Queen City of Ohio. A Queen City is the largest city of a State or province which isn’t the capital.

Then there are the people dancing on the keyboard of the Smale Park Foot Piano.

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The Smale Park tulips in the Alzheimer’s Garden.

The Roebling Covington Floodwall murals on the Kentucky side of the Roebling Suspension Bridge.

And I went to my first baseball game in the USA at the Great American Ballpark the home of the Cincinatti REDS. What a lot of fun these games are, not just to enjoy the game but the audience fun with Kiss Cam and shooting T-shirts out of a cannon into the audience and general fun capturing the audience on screen.

I got a certificate for my first baseball game and had the obligatory photo with a police officer and the REDS mascot.

Thank you Amber for the great night.

Pikeville Kentucky

6 May 2018

I woke up to a heavy rain but decided no matter what, I was going sightseeing.

I drove to Pauley Bridge (the bridge to nowhere) and just as I stepped onto the bridge the sun came out and the rain stopped.

The Breaks known as the Grand Canyon of the South is on the border of Virginia (Virginia is for Lovers) and Kentucky, 48 km (30 miles) from Pikeville.

This is the vista from the Kentucky side overlooking the Russell Fork River, which is popular for whitewater rafting.

I then drove to the Stateline Lookout on the Virginia side of The Breaks.

The Breaks Stateline Lookout Virginia

I thought these Elk were cute in Elkhorn City.

The Hatfield and McCoy feud is a very big part of Pikeville history and could be compared in some ways to Australia’s Ned Kelly story. The town has a historical trail of the Feud including the resting place of some involved in the feud.

I have been complaining about the weight I am gaining because I am driving so much and not dancing. I heard about the 99 steps of UPike (University of Pikeville). “UPike climb of 99” . So I decided to do this walk for some exercise. This climb is also part of an initiation for Freshmen.

What a surprise when I got to the top that I was given a goodies bag as congratulations.

Did I say I did the walk because of my weight gain?

These cute bear structures are scattered around Pikeville.

AS a volunteer for the Red Cross Emergency Services I am keen to meet up with other volunteers around the world. When I found this sign for the Red Cross I asked where the volunteer office was located. Someone in uniform advised me that they were located on the 4th floor. No-one was in the office but I soon realised I was in the local gaol.

Behind the corrections facility you will find the Pikeville Drag Racing track.

I ended my time in Pikeville with this sad story of Octavia Hatcher

Kentucky

5 May 2018

Today I left North Carolina for Pikeville Kentucky. I randomly chose Pikeville as a stop as it was just over three (3) hours drive from Asheville.

A reminder that the goal of my trip is to visit the States I have not yet been to, today I started in North Carolina and to my excitement within three (3) hours I drove through Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia to get to Kentucky. So today I could mark off three (3) more States. Although I won’t count them until I have stopped at some spot of interest.

The drive got a bit scary at times. It started raining as I crossed into Kentucky. It was pelting down and at times the car aquaplaned. The road was very steep and winds through the Appalachian mountains and there were many spots where the water funneled across the road rather than down the side of the road. Thankfully the drivers here aren’t like the aggressive Floridians.

Arrived at my motel, the Daniel Boone Motor Inn, yep, he was a real person, not just in the TV show. He is famous for exploring and settling one of the first American townshipswest of the Appalachians, Boonesborough, Kentucky. I took it easy the first night in Pikeville as the rain has not let up.