ConGRADulations!! - Sun 18th June 2997

After a leisurely breakfast, drove to Centreville to see Chris and Paul on the occasion of their daughter Josephine's graduation (she is off to UMES in August for 4 years). It was good to meet up with old friends and also meet the rest of the family, including Pebbles the pooch (allegedly Josephine's replacement!). there is a photo of the occasion but in another camera. When the picture is emailed I will add it to the blog.
Beautiful warm sunny day, but humid. Think it will be hotter and even more humid tomorrow.

In Town Tonight - 16th June 2007

A pleasant day in Reston. Jenny met up with some of her friends from Reston Garden Club

www.restongardenclub.org at Iris's for Lunch - see photo, whilst George and Clive went out for a couple of beers and a bite. It was good to meet up with good friends again, and, as always, Iris did us proud with a wonderful lunch, as well as sangria and lemoncello.

All day and into the evening in Reston Town Center it was the Annual Taste of the Town event. http://www.restonchamber.org/Taste2007/intro.htm

It is an event where many of the local merchants set up stall and provide tasters of their food and drink. The arrangement is that you purchase a batch of $1 tickets which you can spend at the various stalls. Clive was only really interested in having a Funnel Cake - but then so was everyone else. The queue was humungous and so he went without.

The evening live concert in the Town Center was by a group called The Monster Band www.themonsterband.com

Apparently they are popular in the DC area, but to be quite honest - not really our kind of music, we like 60's pop, C&W and Blue Grass. A second group at the top end of the street - Natural Selection - was doing more toe-tapping stuff, so we stayed there a while.

National Birthday Celebration - Fri 15 June 2007

Nice easy day today. Drive down to Reston and settle in to our accommodation for the next three days, which will be a pleasant change from moving on every day.

Got settled in just in time to join in on the National Birthday Celebration for Sherri at the "world famous" (!!) Vienna Inn.

www.viennainn.com

Had a great time catching up with some good friends and joining in the celebrations.

Must admit it's the first time I've seen a candle on a glass of beer instead of on a cake!!. Seems to be in character with the Vienna Inn.

Had a great evening.

It used to be a Lake - Thurs 14th June 2007

Today was simply a meandering scenic drive through the mountains of Pennsylvania, mainly on US219. On the way we came across the Johnstown Flood National Memorial. We called in and learned all about the flood of 1889 caused by a dam bursting and emptying a lake down the valley of the Connemaugh River to Johnstown - killing more than 2,200 people. The picture is of what used to be the Lake.

Tomorrow we arrive back in Reston.

Black, Black, Black!! - Wed 13th June 2007

Passed the morning in Lockport watching a couple of school outing cruises passing through the Locks. They seemed to be having a great time - lots of waving.

We also explored part of the Erie Canal historic district before taking a guided tour of a former water power tunnel system. It was very interesting, involved lots of walking in the dark and being dripped on! There was even a section in a boat - see photo. www.lockportcave.com

In the afternoon we set off down NY16 entering the start of the north Pennsylvania mountains.

We are overnighting in Bradford, PA. As is usual for us, just after we had settled into our room we heard a train whistle. Hope it doesn't go on all night.

Wet, Wet, Wet!! - Tues 12th June 2007

A full day at Niagara Falls. We got ourselves a Visitor Passport for the day. That got us free Trolley Rides all day, entry to the IMAX Cinema, entry to the Discovery Museum, entry to the Aquarium, a trip on the Maid of the Mist to the base of the Falls, and a visit to the Cave of the Winds at the base of the Falls, both of which provided a useful recce for the planned barrel trip in the afternoon. The first picture shows Jenny at the Cave of Winds waiting for first sight of the Barrel, and the second shows a wet Clive after exiting the Barrel!!! Not true - we chickened out, only because the guide said there is a $20,000 fine for anyone who falls in. Nobody has survived to pay it yet :-)

In all seriousness though it was a really enjoyable day out in beautiful weather - too hot if anything.

Tonight we are staying in Lockport which is to the East of Niagara, and tomorrow we are hoping to go on a museum trip to explore the history of the Erie Canal.

Water, Water Everywhere - Mon 11th June 2007

Today we spent the day driving along the Seaway Trail, which is a scenic route on minor roads all along the edge of Lake Ontario. The picture is a view from one of the many State Parks along the route. One notable aspect of that part of the country is that there are miles and miles of apple orchards. Reminded us of Washington State which also has a large apple growing region.

Eventually we ended up at Niagara Falls and booked into a Comfort Inn right at the entrance to the Falls Park. We reckon we got a bargain rate!!

Walked around the falls before preparing for the evening festivities.

Tomorrow the plan is to go on the Maid of the Mist and to the Cave of Winds. For an encore in the afternoon we intend to go over the falls in a barrel before moving on ;-)

Scenery and Laundry - Sun 10th June 2007

Today we decided to head West towards upstate New York.
VT9 from Brattleboro to Bennington is particularly picturesque through the mountains
It also seems to be a great favourite of bikers. We must have seen hundreds on the road.
From Bennington we continued West on NY67 to Johnstown. Still nice scenery but more pastoral.
Eventually hit the I90 to near Syracuse - where we will overnight and take the opportunity to catch up on the laundry. Pretty prosaic but a necessary component of roadtrips.
Although we did meet another couple in the Laundry Room who are also heavily into roadtrips. They are from near Zion NP, Utah and are six weeks into their current roadtrip with another six weeks to go yet. All in a Cadillac - can't be bad.

Eggs, Bacon and scenery Sat 9th June 2007

It was raining a bit when we hit the road this morning. So that provided a good excuse to start the day with Eggs, Bacon, Home fries and Toast at the Littleton Diner. Surprisingly the first of the trip so far.

When we came out it was starting to clear up so we took the leisurely scenic route down the Connecticut River valley. Finishing up the day in Brattleboro, VT.
Apparently Brattleboro has a reputation as a bit of a hippy place. Lots of 'arty crafty' shops, tarot, feng shui and all that sort of thing ;-)
A bit of history about the place - apparently the town was named in 1725 after Colonel William Brattle Jr. of the Kings Militia. Col. Brattle never even had the grace to set foot in the place. A true monarchist!!
Incidentally, for those at home in the UK, it was 91deg F in Rutland yesterday. A bit too warm. It is much pleasanter today around the mid 70's.

Not as planned Fri 8th June 2007

Today the plan was to take a scenic byway up the Connecticut River valley.
It didn’t start too well when Grumpy dropped hi specs on the bathroom floor and smashed one lens. Of course he had no back-up pair, and is practically blind without specs, AND supposed to be driving. Hence the grumpy demeanour in the photo.
Went to the local branch of Eye Works ( www.eyeworks.com ) where the Optician Scott Thielen could not have been more helpful. He obtained my prescription from my Optician in the UK and directed me to a branch of Lenscrafters in Rutland, Vermont. There the staff were also very helpful with the end result that 1 hour later I was fitted up with a replacement plastic lens. All an example of American service and can do attitude at its best.

Once sorted we set off on another scenic route through VT planning to overnight near Lebanon. Unfortunately the weekend coincides with Graduation celebrations at Dartmouth College. So no rooms anywhere. We carried on and eventually ended up at Littleton, NH for the night - which is quite a way further north than we had planned at the start of the day. But there is definitely an upside. We passed through lots of really attractive scenery in the White River/White Mountain area that we would not have visied otherwise.
As an extra bonus we passed the Norman Rockwell Museum ( www.normanrockwellvt.com ) and as I have long been a fan of the cover pictures he produced for the Saturday Evening Post, we dropped in for an enjoyable visit viewing some but not all of 2500+items on display.
After all that, tomorrow is another day, but tonight we are going out for a drink.

General Sightseeing Thurs 7th June 2007

After our few days in the fleshpots of Boston and Cape Cod we decided to return to quieter country up north. But first we passed through Newport, Rhode Island and Connecticut on the way to southern New Hampshire. (Two more States for the collection)
The scenery through RI and NH was classic New England - very green with picturesque small towns.
The picture is of a memorial to General Putnam, who seems to have had a bloodlust! He fought in the Indian and the French Wars and took a leading role in the Battle of Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War. In general he seems to have been prepared to fight anybody!!
We are spending the night in Keene, New Hampshire.
Same problem with connection as last night, so will post later.

High Speed Cruising Wed 6th June 2007

Today we took a trip on the high-speed ferry to Nantucket. Apparently it travels at 40 mph but still takes an hour for the trip - what with entering and leaving the harbours.
We only had 3 hours there, and it rained. Seems to be a very nice place, if a liitle “twee” and expensive.
The man selling us the ferry tickets said we would be broke if we went for much longer. Don’t know whether it was a realistic view or his perception of the nature of the clientele before him!!
Anyway, the two pictures are of two oldies in front of the ‘Oldest House on Nantucket‘, and a picture of the upper end of Main St, Nantucket.
After that excursion we left the Cape Cod area and spent the night at North Dartmouth, MA
My firewall is inhibiting the internet connection at this Motel so will have to post when able.

Thunder & more Lobstah - 5th June 2007

Today was devoted to Cape Cod.

The day started bright and sunny, but a thunderstorm developed about 11.00 am finally clearing at 12.00. Just in time for us to sample our latest Lobster Roll ( see photo). BTW George, perhaps I should have said 'claw meat' - absolutely delicious and pure meat.

Anyway the afternoon turned out really sunny and fine. We eventually ended up at the northernmost tip of Cape Cod before retracing our steps and overnighting again in Hyannis.

Apparently yesterday a British yacht on the way from Virginia Beach to the UK got into difficulties in the remnants of tropical storm Barry 250 miles from here and had to be rescued by the US Coastguard The check-in clerk tells us that they are staying in this motel so perhaps we will meet them at breakfast.

Tomorrow is planned to be mainly a boat trip to Nantucket Island.;

It rained!!! - Mon 4 June 2007

They forecast rain today, and boy didn't it rain?
We followed the I93 through (under) Boston then took the coast road Route 3A. It was a pity about the weather because it looked to be really attractive scenery, but we couldn't see a lot through the mist and the rain.
It was so bad that although we were meant to be following the 3A South (sea on the left all the time) Jenny pointed out the breakers on the right!! Didn't think much of it until we came to a dead end in Hull. Look up Hull, MA on Mapquest and you will see how far we were out!!

So we corrected ourselves, carried on South, stopped for a Clam Chowder and a coffee and ended up in Hyannis on Cape Cod.
We are expecting some improvement in the weather tomorrow and are looking forward to some great sight-seeing.

Cultcha!! - Sun 3rd June 2007

Returned to Boston today and passed almost the entire day at the Edward Hopper exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. www.mfa.org
We are both fans of Edward Hopper paintings, so when we saw that the exhibition was on we could not resist it.
Afterwards we went to Quincy Market and had another lobster roll.
Probably quite a good day to pass the time indoors as it has been cloudy and cool (high 50's).
Sounds like it will be wet tomorrow.
Oh well, we've had good weather so far on this trip.

Baaaarrrston Day 1 2nd June 2007

Spent the day in Boston. Which happened to coincide with a Red Sox vs Yankees fixture. At times it seemed like the whole world was on its way to the ball game.

We took the commuter rail into Boston, then took a Trolley Tour to get familiar with the sights and layout. We are staying at a motel in Woburn, on the commuter line a few miles north of Boston. Tomorrow will be a full day in Boston.

News for Norman is that Red Sox won 11-6.

We called in at a bar near Fenway Park - hence the stamp that proved we were over 21!!

Later we called in at Green Dragon Tavern for a Clam Chowder (very good) and bevvy, without realising that it was a hotbed of revolutionaries. www.celticweb.com/greendragon/

The motel here has a Sports Bar attached - so it is almost heaven!!

Got Lobstah? - Fri 1st June 2007

Continued on down the coast, passing through but not stopping in Portland, ME.

Just outside of Saco we each had our first Lobster Roll. Absolutely magnificent, comprising almost entirely whole nipper meat. We will have to have more.

Carried on down to Kennebunkport. The photo is of the headland there. Saw no sign of GW making a recce for his forthcoming meeting with Putin.

There was a short severe thunderstorm. The first real downpour of the trip so far.

Holed up near Manchester, NH for the night to plan for the weekend.

On the Sea - Thurs 31st May 2007

Today we travelled a few miles down the coast to Camden Harbor. A very pleasant spot on a nice warm and sunny dockside.

Took a two hour cruise on the schooner Olad. there were only six of us so it was really pleasant. Only had to help haul sails once.

All the locals seem to say this is a good time of year to be here. It is really nice and quiet. Although the season is supposed to have started on Memorial Day weekend, they say it will be another couple of weeks or so before the crowds arrive.

Staying overnight near Brunswick.

Beer, Baseball & Bridges - Wed 30th May 2007

Stayed in Bar Harbor last night. We wandered downtown and found a bar. Spent the evening sampling the local Real Ales and watching the Red Sox winning against the Indians. I still don't 'get' baseball. I suppose most Americans feel the same way about Cricket.

We visited the Acadia NP today. In the morning on top of the mountain the views were great and it was warm without a breath of wind. Later in the afternoon there were a few drops of rain so we definitely caught the best of the weather.

Continued our journey south, crossed the new Penobscot Bridge - which was impressive

www.waldohancockbridge.com

Finished the day in Belfast and found a great motel overlooking Penobscot Bay. The photo is taken from our deck.

To the Sea - Tues 29th May 2007

Today we headed East until we reached US1 near the Canadian border. Followed the US1 until we reached the Quoddy Head Light State Park. Which is allegedly the farthest East you can get and still be in the US.

We followed the US1 down the coast making the occasional detour to the shore. But in the main we still seem to be driving though trees all the time. I say it again there are LOTS of trees in the US.

On the drive down the coast we each sampled a clam chowder, and to be perfectly honest we have had much better elsewhere in the US.

We are overnighting in Bar Harbor with the plan to visit Acadia NP tomorrow.

The Old Canada Road - Mon 28th May 2007

Today we headed North from Waterville on US201 which is decribed as 'Old Canada Road' scenic by-way. Apparently it is one of the old-time trading routes from Quebec to the US.

Very quiet, isolated and scenic. We reached Jackman 14 miles from the Canadian border before turning south-east to finish up near Millinocket for the night.

During the day we took a short hike to see the Moxie Falls. On the way Jenny spotted two kinds of Trillium by the side of the trail.

After today we have decided that we are "wildernessed out" and need to get to the coast for a change of scenery. We realised that we are possibly too far North when we noticed on the map that everything to the east is Canada.

In the Backwoods - Sun 27th May 2007

Today was just driving in the wild country of North East New Hampshire and NW Maine.
From North Conway NH (which reminds us both of a smaller version of Pigeon Forge!!) we drove North on State Highway 16 to Rangely Lakes in North Maine. On the way we saw lots of Lakes, lots of Rivers, lots of Fishermen, lots of trees and one Moose just disappearing off the side of the road.
The weather has been warm but overcast today - which suits us.
Headed south east in Maine to finish up in Waterville for the night.
Much excitement when we spotted our first roadside sign for Lobster Rolls. Hopefully that will be our treat for the next few days. That and Clam Chowder.

Scaling the Heights Sat 26th May 2007

Another fine, sunny day started with a drive along the I89 to Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory outside Waterbury, VT. It being a Saturday, the factory was not in production, but we had a factory tour anyway, including free sample of Triple Caramel ice cream. Carried on through VT capital at Montpelier and took the US 302 to Barre, centre of the granite industry. Just outside Barre, there is a notable cemetery with lots of fancy granite headstones; see sample photo. www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/VTBARhopecemetery Had a great late brunch at a truck stop. Crossed over into New Hampshire, staying on the 302, eventually arriving at Mount Washington, the highest point in the US East of the Mississippi. Took a trip to the summit on the cog railway ( www.thecog.com ), 6288feet. See pictures. Continued through the White Mountains area, eventually overnighting North Conway.

Lakes to Locks Scenic Byway Fri 25th May 2007

The plan today was to take the Lakes to Locks scenic byway which follows the Hudson and then the western shore of Lake Champlain in NY. First stop was a detour to Granville to visit the Slate Valley Museum www.slatevalleymuseum.org . The slate soil heaps here are very reminiscent of North Wales. Unfortunately, it didn't open before 1-00pm so we missed that. Silly us - we had just assumed it would have opened in the morning. Never mind it was a fairly pleasant detour.

Then up Lake Champlain to Ticonderoga where the Ticoneroga Heritage Museum was open ( http://mysite.verizon.net/unclefvp/indexti.html ) In fact we were the first to sign the Visitors Book this season. The area seems to have quite a strong historical French influence. Pictured are the falls at Ticonderoga

Continued up the lakeshore to Essex, where we took the Car Ferry over to Charlotte, VT. A very pleasant 20 min. trip. Pictured is the ferry leaving Essex, VT

We are staying overnight in Burlington, VT. So now we are in New England at last.

Aother hot (upper 80's) day in the sun.

Involuntary Detour Day - Thurs 24 May 2007

Not much to report today. Decided to tour the lesser known by-ways of PA and NY.
Hence the involuntary detours comment, as we managed to get off track a couple of times.
Most of the time we seemed to be still following the Susquehanna. Big rivers in America, aren't they.
Eventually we came across the Erie canal system.
We have pulled in for the night in Glens Falls, NY just north of Saratoga Springs and near to The Hudson and associated canals.

For those at home: the weather is great. high 80's all day and not a cloud in the sky. the forecast seems to suggest that it will stay that way for aweek or so. We have really struck lucky so far weatherwise

If it's Wednesday - it must be Gettysburg

Spent about 5 hours at the site of the Battle og Gettysburg today.
First we went to the National Cemetry to visit the spot where Lincoln gave the famous address.
Then we attended half hour lecture on the battle at the Electric Map Auditorium in the vistor centre, which certainly provided the framework for the remainder of the visit.
We were glad we got there early - when we came out it seemed like every school on the East Coast (and further afield) had a coach party visiting. Bedlam and crowded loos!!
We invested in a CD for the self-guided auto-tour. Saw lots (and we mean LOTS) of memorials etc. But it was very interesting and a beautiful warm sunny day for the visit as well.

As is our usual custom on these road-trips, lunch was the Subway of the day - Turkey today.

For the last two or three hours we headed north, mainly following the Susquehanna until our overnight stop near Scranton, PA.
As I am typing this I am watching a replay of the Liverpool vs AC Milan on ESPN, and AC have just this instant scored their second. Sorry Norman :-(
Woops- Liverpool have just got one back.
Full-time 2-1.
The plan for tomorrow is to get further North and nearer the coast.

More later.

The Trip over - Tues 22nd May 2007

Up at the "crack of dawn" for the early morning flight down to Heathrow to connect with the 11.00am flight to Dulles.
A bit of a delay leaving Newcastle, otherwise the usual totally uneventful journey. Too much food and too many films.
One film I only saw half of and now want to see the whole, was "Venus" starring Peter O'Toole it looked very good.

Picked up the rental car at Dulles. They were out of Ford Taurus which we prefer, so had to settle for a Pontiac Grand Prix. Seems OK
Drove up to Gettysburg for the first night.
The plan is to tour the Battlefield tomorrow.

We hope all family and friends are well

Another road-trip coming on?

It has now been one and a half years since our last road-trip - and we are suffering severe withdrawal symptoms.
So the plan is now for a trip to the US NE States later this year.
We will keep you posted.