Tag: #USAroadtrip

Upstate New York

22 May 2018

I wish you could see the scenery through my eyes. I drove from Pittsfield Vermont (VT) to Upstate New York (NY) through the Adirondack Mountain Range. Think of all the movie scenes set on lakes or rivers you have enjoyed like “On Golden Pond”, “Not Without My Daughter” or the advertisements for Canada.

Lakes, white water, stillwater rivers, trees of all shades of green, it just keeps changing and even in the rain it looks stunning.

Ticonderoga NY

I pulled over and sat and enjoyed looking at this for 10 minutes. I still haven’t seen any bears or moose.

The view from my room at the Sunset Park Motel in Tupper Lake NY. An inexpensive but clean and warm room with a million dollar view.

The site for the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, Lake Placid NY.

Imagine this area covered in snow!!

North Hudson NY Town Court House

American Legion Building in Ticonderoga NY

For Star Trek fans. Set site Ticonderoga NY.

I saw a sign for a ferry from Vermont to New York and after checking it out decided, why not. It saved me about 45 minutes but I did it for the fun.

Ferry crossing Vermont to New York.

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.

Rhode Island

18 May 2018

The home of the Americas Cup. I just wanted to get a quick pic and buy a magnet in Newport and get to my next stop. However, I spent six ( 6) hours here. I discovered the Volvo Ocean Race yachts were in town. I had no idea what that was but now I know this race, dare I say, is more prestigious than the Americas Cup. I went to Fort Adams where I learned about this crazy race. I took the shuttle $US12 return to Fort Adams and the flag kept enveloping me.

This race is definitely crazier than the Americas Cup. A global sailing race run every three years. All teams have a yacht made to exact specifications so the race depends wholly on the team’s ability. Is this the ultimate challenge? There isn’t even a money prize. Just the cup. Check out this video clip

Did you know that parts of the Southern Ocean are so remote the closest man-made thing is the international space station. This race also promotes awareness of the destruction plastic is causing in our oceans.

I went to the Brick Alley Pub for lunch. It has wonderful sports memorabilia.

My airbnb hosts took me out to Capone’s in Peabody Massachusetts for a dance.

The live band The Eric Grant Band played great covers.

Band video.

Two nights in a row I had live music!!

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.

New Haven Connecticut

16 May 208

What a cold, wet, miserable day! But can’t let that stop me doing some sightseeing. Louis Lunch is claimed by the Library of Congress to be the birthplace of the hamburger.

I said it was wet and cold!!

Yale has so many places to visit which are free to the public. I went to the Yale Art Gallery and the British Art Centre. My favourite piece of art was this ceramic. I didn’t take a note of the name unfortunately.

And this Steinway which was owned by Noel Coward

The place I was keen to look at was the Cushing Centre in the Yale Medical Library. Professor Harvey Cushing was known as the “godfather of neurosurgery”. The Cushing Centre is home for a collection of 600 brain specimens together with medical records, photos, equipment and tumor register. The Centre was opened in 2010 and the public have access. You need to provide identification to security to access the Centre.

A scavenger hunt sheet is provided.

It was very macabre but interesting. My question is, lots of brain tumors are thought to be caused by the use of mobile phones, but what caused all these tumors which date back to the early 1900s?

Here are my architecture pics around Yale.

If you love books the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library is a beautiful structure housing an array of works dating back to the 1400s.

With my new found wealth of knowledge I located a trivia group on MeetUp, in New Haven and thanks to Kelly, Laura, Adrienne,Vinnie, Bob and Joe I was again part of a winning team.

Connecticut

15 May 2018

I was warned about traffic driving from New Jersey, through New York, to Connecticut. I have driven in Brasil but the turnpikes, traffic, add a severe thunderstorm and accidents it was quite a challenge and am proud that I got through, although at one stage I was wondering where I could find someone to drive me out of this area. I was going around in circles as I kept missing the turnpike. I don’t remember how many times I went past the Metlife Stadium, the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets. Almost enough time for a game.

Frustrated I just drove away from that turnpike and Siri took me another route away from the Washington Bridge. I had left Atlantic City at 10:00am and planned on being in West Haven Connecticut by around 5:30pm. After 10 hours on the road, I arrived at 8:00pm.

However, I did get to see some lovely sights along the way, once again, because I turned off the toll roads on the GPS.

Sea Bright is now the place with the biggest homes I have seen. This exclusive area has a road which divides the ocean from the homes and the rear of the homes back onto the river. Some parts of the road there is an extra lane where you could park, but there are signs all the way along “no stopping and no parking” and I realise it is so that you cannot photograph the mansions. These are a couple of small ones I snuck.

Then down the road a little further there are parking areas across the road from the homes, but they are all private parking for the residents. I understand that there are 7 beach clubs and only members can attend and use the parking.

Above is the private beach access across the road from each house.

I like the cute bus stop on the shopping strip.

Atlantic City New Jersey

14 May 2018

I found Atlantic City a bit dreary in the day time, as many of these casino towns are. They are best at night with all the lights hiding what you don’t want to see. Although there was enough fog to hide everything.

Although the highlight of my last night was seeing these famous girls on stage, Regina and Jessica. They had me waving like a crazy fan. Safe travels back to New York lovely ladies.

In daylight, it showed a beach with grey sand.

The boardwalk reminded me of Venice Beach and Kings Cross full of cheap souvenir shops.

There is a beautiful Korean War Memorial on the Boardwalk.

The next morning I drove to Lucy the Elephant, a New Jersey historical landmark.

This is a side of Atlantic City which is the opposite of the casino area. Beautiful beach and lovely houses (mansions).

One of the things I admire about the USA is how patriotic they are, but this memorial shows that their returned servicemen may need some more support. “Flags for Forgotten Soldiers”. 660 flags representing the number of veterans who die by their own hand each month. Veterans Crisis Line

Mothers’ Day

13 May 2018

Happy Mothers Day everyone!! Hope you enjoyed your day.

I was driving from Maryland to Atlantic City and can you believe I was looking for a fridge magnet for Delaware. I did finally find one without a run in with the Military or NSA.

Driving from Maryland to New Jersey I turned off the toll and motorways routes and once again found a gem of a town, Port Deposit. Even though the weather went from 32C (90F) yesterday to 11C (51F) and it was overcast I still enjoyed this charming town with a population of 650.

There are so many river and railroad towns that are part of the Civil War history and Port Deposit was one which was bypassed and had no damage.

Some of the homes.

The Paw Paw House

The Cactus Rose has a warning to unruly children.

The Water Witch Fire Station

I arrived at Atlantic City New Jersey and as this is a casino town, it is open 24 hours. I stayed in the Claridge Raddison, a hotel steeped in 1920s history.

I went to the rooftop bar and met this lovely family Marie, Juan and Wilber celebrating Mothers’ Day. Juan is from the Dominican Republic (DR) and I couldn’t resist asking his wife if she would permit me to dance bachata with her husband, as DR is the home of bachata. The barman put on latino music for us and we had some fun. This was the highlight of my Mothers’ Day.with Marie filming us.