We packed up around ten o'clock, did a stop at Home Depot and then headed for the border. The lineup was very small and I thought the drive home might be ok. That was not the case. Traffic started to get heavier and heavier until we had many slow periods. As soon as we could, we got off the 401 and headed for Hwy 7 to take us home. We arrived home at 6:00 pretty tired. It was a great holiday.
Tomorrow, I have the very large job of completely emptying the trailer. Carl has some repair work to do and then it will be put up for sale. It is the end of the trailer era (at least, I think so).
Thanks for reading my New England vacation blog.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13, DERBY, VT TO MASSENA, NY
Today was a beautiful sunny day and our drive continued across the top of Vermont and into New York. It was again a very scenic roadway.
At Massena, we picked up our packages and then thought to have a look at the ALDI chain of stores. ALDI comes from Germany. They have a lot of unique things with good pricing so, by the time we got to the cash the bill was $105. None of what we bought will go to waste.
We were fortunately able to get a camping spot just outside Massena but the campground is filled to the brim.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, MONCTON TO DERBY, VT
We had our stuff together by 8:30 and were soon on the Trans Canada Hwy heading for America. We reflected on our lovely stay with Stan and Rhonda and we are so glad that we had this time together. Thanks to both!
It rained on and off until mid afternoon. The rain had brought down leaves in some places. The timing was exactly wrong when we arrived at the border at 12:00. They decided to go have lunch and do shift changes and whatever. It took us 20 minutes to finally get to the booth. Our two red peppers were confiscated. Since we were running on fumes we had to fill up right away in Calais. The afternoon had lots more driving right across the state of Maine, through New Hampshire and into Vermont.
The fall leaves were brillant and incredible.
We finally arrived in Derby, VT at 8 o'clock. We made our own dinner of soup and cream cheese bagels and then waited for bedtime.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, MONCTON, NB
Rhonda had to go to work again. The rest of us spent the morning relaxing. In the afternoon, Stan drove us around to see downtown Moncton. We passed by the monument that was put up for the 2014 shooting of 3 RCMP officers. It is bronze and features life-size statues of Constables Doug Larche, Dave Ross and Fabrice Gevaudan who were killed during the Moncton shooting. It is located in Riverfront Park next to the Petitcodiac River. There is a lovely riverfront trail that runs for miles next to the river.
Since we were out and about, Carl picked up another part to fix up the rv to get it ready for sale.
A little while after Rhonda came home, we decided to go out for dinner together. We went to a restaurant called Nita's and we all enjoyed our meals. It was a pleasant evening. Later, everyone went in the hot tub except for me.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, MONCTON,NB
I spent the morning destressing and Carl did trailer maintenance. The new water pump has been installed and the frig sparker seems to be working again so, we are ready for the trip home.
Our friend Stan, drove us out to a harbour town called Shediac for a look around. While quite busy and pretty in the summer, things have wound down for the season. It was still worth the drive to see the area though.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, BAR HARBOR TO MONCTON, NB
This morning was comprised of driving through the outback of Maine and then, just before Calais, a text message appeared on the phone. Our water pump had arrived at Walmart in Calais (1 day early) so, we swung by and picked it up. That was most efficient. Shortly thereafter, we received a thorough grilling from Canada Border Patrol. The afternoon was spent on the Trans Canada 1, heading for Moncton. By 5:30, we were warmly greeted by our friends at their home. A lovely evening was had.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, ACADIA NATIONAL PARK
It rained all last evening and overnight. By nine o'clock this morning the clouds had cleared out and left us with a bright day to explore Acadia National Park.
First stop was the park visitor center to get a park map and advice on the best things to see. The park has a 27 mile one way loop road around. Done by lunchtime, right? We got back to the trailer at 5:30. Our day included a 2 hour sea walk with a park ranger. The park is beautiful with one sight more amazing than the last. The coastline is gorgeous with a sand beach, a pebble beach, cliffs, mountain views and of course, the changing leaves throughout.
Two cruise ships were in port at nearby Bar Harbor. We went to surveil the town. Bar Harbor is very quaint with lots of tourist shops and restaurants. It was almost dark so, there wasn't time to do a thorough walk through of the town.
Dinner was had in the trailer. Tomorrow, we will be heading to Moncton, N.B.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, BOOTHBAY HARBOR AND BAR HARBOR, ME
It was damage control this morning. We had to take the time to get a new appropriate water pump and by 10:30, we had an order placed with Walmart. We have to pick it up down the road in a few days at Calais, Maine. We had to jump through a few hoops when our Canadian credit card billing adress would not work on their website. Finally we ended up paying with a Walmart Cash card.
A first scenic stop point was Boothbay Harbor. Boothbay Harbor is a lovely small town on the ocean with numerous hotels, bed& breakfasts and restaurants. Today it was very windy here. I bet it would be stunning on a nice summer day.
To get to Bar Harbor, the GPS took us on a country tour with narrow roadways and scenic landscapes showing off the changing leaves. The rain that started mid afternoon did put a damper on the drive. It rained lightly for the rest of the day.
We were settled into the Bar Harbor campground by fourish and we stayed in for dinner.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, SALEM, MA
After packing up, it took us about an hour to drive to Salem. I don't know about you but, when I hear about Salem, it always makes me think of the Salem Witch Trials. The Salem Witch museum was where we wanted to go, to learn more about this subject. Approaching Salem, there were people waving signs that said $20 to park. We drove by and then as we got closer to town, it got busier and the parking rates became $30 and even $40. We didn't bite and drove until we found a free parking spot about 1 1/2 km away. At the Museum, we were informed that they were selling tickets for the 1:30 presentation and so, we bought in. Some time was spent at the nearby Visitor Center and then, we went back and got admitted to the museum. At this time, we were herded into an auditorium for a multi media presentation about circumstances and factors that contributed to the persection of witches. It was very interesting. From this room, we moved to part 2 where the basis of witchcraft was explained. Over time there has been an evolution from the Celts beliefs to todays modern Wiccans (large population of them in Salem). The museum gets about 3 stars from us.
Salem takes Halloween very seriously. Many houses, stores and even cars are decorated. Children are seen walking around in costume. It is very unique.
After the return hike to the RV, we discovered that the Rv water pump had stopped working. Another problem! We will have to figure out where to get a new one.
We needed fuel so, found the nearby Costco where our credit cards were both declined at the pump. Visa said it was not there fault so, we had a chat with Costco management. They apologized and suggested we buy a Costco cash card to use at the pump for today while they investigate the problem. After successfully getting our fuel and food, the trip continued with us moving up the coast of Maine to see the water and some of the smaller towns like Kennebunkport and Sico. By seven o'clock, we had arrived at our Walmart and were parked for the night in Falmouth, Maine
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, BOSTON, MA
What a day today was! We had researched transit to go into Boston so, we arrived at the parking lot after the half hour drive. To pay, you need an app and an account and then, it was $3 to park for the whole day. After walking to the train station, our tickets were purchased with a credit card at an automated booth for $2.90 for a one way trip, per person. On the train, it was announced that maintenance was being done on the tracks for this line. After 4 stops, we were pointed toward a luxury shuttle bus to take us back to the train further down the line. As a result of this delay, it did take us quite a while to get to the city. The train dropped us at Park Station which, is right where the Freedom Trail walking tour starts. The tour was in the CAA book along with a corresponding map so, we headed off. For 4 hours, we saw churches, cemetaries, and historic homes and buildings. The most fun was The Haymarket. Every Saturday, vendors come here to sell produce, cheap. A cabbage was $1, 3 pkgs of strawberries was $2 and 2 pints of blackberries were $1. That was the most fun we had today. We then did the return trip in reverse with the train, bus, train and truck routine.
At a nearby Costco, the line ups were so long that we actually put our items back. In addition, the lineup at the Food Court was similarly ridiculous so, we went back to the RV and made our own dinner. It was a very tiring day and tomorrow we will be moving on into Maine.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, OUTSIDE BOSTON, MA
We decided to take a day to rest. Rest, that is, except for doing laundry and trailer furnace trouble shooting.
Around noon, it occured to us that there is a National Historic Site near us called Minute Man so, off we went. The MM Visitor Center showed a 25 minute film about the battle between the British and the Colonials. It was a great multi media presentation. This battle occured about a year after the Boston Tea party and tensions were running high against the British because the economy had taken a hit.
The second visitor center was at the North Bridge. This is one of the locations where the British met Colonials and, after a shoot out, soldiers on both sides died. Eventually, the British were driven back to Boston.
After a slower drive back to the RV park, we had dinner and rested for our Boston adventure tomorrow.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, PLYMOUTH, MA
What a windy night and it was cool at 11o when we stepped out this morning. The high reached 13o later today. The Plimouth Plantation gets 5/5 stars from me. It is a living history museum representing 17th century New England. It brings Pilgrims and Wampanoag stories to life through the 17th century English Village, Wampanoag homesite and the Craft Center. At the Wampanoag site, the actors are native, in costume, and in period.
In the English Village at each home, men and women are also in costume from that time and their accents and scripts are super informative and interesting.
By 1:45 we were on our way to an RV Park outside Boston and, were all set up by four o'clock. We discovered that it is easier to set up in daylight and will try in future to make that happen.
Friday was supposed to be for touring Boston but, we decided rather than fight the crowds and traffic, that we would postpone Boston until Saturday.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, CAPE COD AND PLYMOUTH, MA
The weather was dull today, mostly cloudy but, it was bright and sunny inside the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory. The factory is highly automated and we saw only two employees inside doing quality control. The tour is self guided and you just look through windows and on some tv screens at the manufacturing process. At the end of the tour is the gift shop where, you get a free small sample and you can buy their chips for $3.79 US a bag. We bought some because well, we are here!
Quite nearby is the Cape Cod Beer Company where a presentation was given about the beer brewing process. Carl sampled several beers, enjoyed them and then purchased them because well, we are here! This brought to an end our exploration of Cape Cod.
Plymouth proved to be quite near and is famous for Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims allegedly landed in December 1620. The rock is protected by a neoclassical granite portico erected in 1921 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims arrival in Plymouth. A landscaped waterfront park surrounding the portico offers scenic views of Plymouth harbour.
An early delicious dinner was had at the Steelwell Tavern on the main street of Plymouth before retiring to our overnight at the Walmart out of town. We needed a few groceries so, upon entering Walmart, we were greeted by a display of Cape Cod potato chips and the price was $2.98. Oh well!
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2019, CAPE COD, MA
The weather was quite different when we stepped out this morning (cooler). It was a one hour drive to reach the Province Lands Visitor Center. Here we stepped out onto the observation deck overlooking the dunes and watched 2 movies.
Leaving the center passed us by the Herring Cove Beach. There was a short stop here to admire the lovely beach which, was inhabited by less than six people on this coolish end of season day.
Provincetown was the location where the Mayflower Pilgrims first landed back in 1620 and inked the Mayflower Compact which marked the beginning of American Liberty. We visited the Pilgrim Monument and Museum. The monument was built by 1910 and is 252 feet tall. The walk to the top is 116 steps and 60 ranps but us old folks made it all the way to see the lovely view. It is the tallest all granite structure in the US. Following the climb, we viewed the nearby museum.
The Atlantic Spice Museum in North Truro proved to be a smallish store with biggish prices and we did not buy anything.
Marconi Station Site is Marconi made the first official transatlantic exchange of radio message in 1902 with a wire antenna suspended from 4 giant wooden poles. Since that time, the building has fallen down and the poles were removed as they were falling into the sea.
Of interest, was Nauset Lighthouse, which is famous for being on the package of Cape Cod chips.
The second to last stop was at the Salt Pond Visitor Center where no new information was gleaned.
Hunger drove us back to the trailer for BLT sandwiches for dinner. It was supposed to be seafood but, either the restaurants are closing down for the season or the reviews were not good.
Tomorrow we will leave Cape Cod and head for Plymouth, Massachusetts.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2019, PROVIDENCE, RI
Afer a delicious egg sandwich breakfast, the capital of Rhode Island beckonned. After a 45 minute drive, parking was achieved right in front of the capital building in Providence. We were right on time for the tour which, was quite good. Unfortunately, both legislative houses were closed due to renovations.
In the lobby, a Gettysburg gun (cannon) is displayed . It is from the Civil War. A confederate shell fired at this gun and the ball lodged directly in the mouth of the gun. The crew was unable to remove the ball and so the gun was retired. The Gettysburg gun was originally displayed in Washington. In 1874 the gun was given to Rhode Island. In 1962, it dawned on a artillery expert that there was likely still gun powder inside and that it was an explosive hazard. The National Guard drilled 2 holes in the barrel and flushed out 2 pounds of powder. It was left flooded with water inside to dissolve any residue.
History is also displayed in colorful, restored, residences lining Bennett Street. Commonly called The Mile of History, this concentration of original Colonial houses has fine examples of early Federal, Greek Revival and Italianate architecture. Brick side walks with hitching posts border homes and churches displaying historical plaques.
The trailer was retrieved from the campground and we crossed the bridge to Cape Cod around 3:30. By 5;30 we were settled into our campsite and preparing pizza for dinner.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019. NEWPORT, RI.
Yesterday on our cliff walk, we saw a mansion called The Breakers with many, many people milling around it. Upon doing some research, we decided to go and see it. The Breakers was built in 1895 and is the most opulent of Newport's mansions. Though designed by American architect Richard Morris Hunt, this 70 room summer cottage of Cornelius Vanderbilt II appears more the product of European High Renaissance. Many details were inspired by french and italian designs of that period.
The most spectactular room is the dining room, lavishly decorated with red alabaster, bronze and gilt.
Particularly noteworthy are the 18th century reception room and the great hall, which is more than 2 stories high and arrayed with marble columns, pilasters, cornices and plaques.
After touring the house with the audio guide received, the gardens provided a nice stroll in the sunshine.
Returning to more mundane matters, grocery shopping was done at the Stop n Shop, for which I now have yet another discount card.
Carl spotted the Newport Brewing Co on the way back to the RV and bought some beer from them. Since Carl got beer, I got a latte.
Dinner was a stir fry that was made in the trailer. Today was another incredible weather day.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2019. NEWPORT, RI
The entire day was taken up with looking at the sights in Newport, RI. Beginning in the mid 1800's, the countries wealthiest citizens recognized its promise as a vacation spot. Newport became the hotspot for the elite. We walked a historic home route during the morning and early afternoon.
In addition to the homes, there are more than a dozen historic mansions that can be toured.
Nearby to these mansions is the Cliff walk: a 3.5 mile walking path that skirts the surrounding bluffs. We walked a good piece of it and it was very scenic. All told, between the historic house tour and the cliff walk, we walked over 12,000 steps today.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2019. MYSTIC SEAPORT, CT
Today from 10 until 5, Mystic Seaport was explored. Among the 19 acres are more than 50 historic homes, shops, galleries and trade buildings that promote an understanding of life in a seaport during the mid 19th century. It was a perfect weather day to explore this old village.
One highlight was the Mayflower II ship that the Mystic ship yard has restored and will sail back to Massechusetts next summer.
By 5:30 pm, we crossed from Connecticut to Rhode Island and carried on to our RV park where we spent the evening and night.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2019, MASHANTUCKET, CT
Cabela's was a great, quiet place to overnight. Two other rv's were present. Last night we did a walk through of a deserted store but, made no purchases.
The drive to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center took just over an hour. We spent 5 hours here, amazed at all there was to see and read. Our private tour guide was excellent. The center is devoted to the history and culture of the MP Tribal Nation. The recreation of a 16th century Pequot village features wigwams and clothing made by native craftsmen. There are many interactive computers and 13 filmed presentations explaining daily life and present history events. At the end of the touring, there was an 18 storey lookout tower to explore. From high up you can see the landscape and their massive casino development. This center deserves a stunning 5/5 stars.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2019, HARTFORD, CT
Just before 9 this morning, we set off for the state capitol in Hartford. A parking spot for 2 vehicles was snagged right away but, since we had missed the 10:15 tour for the capitol building, we hung out until 10:45 and then walked the kilometre to the capitol. The 11:15 tour started on time and took us to a hearing room, both of the legislative rooms, and then showed us the highlights such as statues and architecture. It is not a very impressive capitol building compared to some others we have seen.
A short drive away a historical tour of the Mark Twain house was booked. An actress calling herself Kate Leary, a ladies maid, treated us to a time period appropriate tour of the home (late 1870's and 1880's). She talked about her work, the household members and their 3 childrem and the decor of the home. We were schooled about the character of Samuel Longhorn Clemens (Mark Twain) and his family. It was new to us that he had ended up filing for bankruptcy and going into financial ruin after he spent all his money (and most of his wife's) on a high tech print setter. His competition beat him to the market and was more reliable. To get out of debt, he moved the family to Europe where it was cheaper to live and then, set off an a grand speaking tour for more than a year. With this effort, the family did recover financially but two of their daughers died (one from spinal meningitis) and the third ended up dying from addiction. It seems like a lot of bad luck followed the family that should have been as blessed as it started out.
Dinner was had at a brew pub nearby to the Mark Twain house and then we spent the night at Cabela's where they welcome RV'ers.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 - NEW HAVEN, CT
Upon our return to New Haven this morning, the Knights of Columbus museum was the first stop. The museum is laid out very well and we learned a lot from the information shown. Displays explain the history of the largest Catholic fraternal organization, established here in New Haven in 1882. Galleries are devoted to found Father Michael McGivney, the Vatincan and Christopher Columbus. In Markham, we have a high school named after Father McGivney and I had no idea of the back story. On the second floor stairway, hangs a cross that was once placed on top of St. Peters Basilica in 1613.
Both of us were very tired from being on our feet all day but, it was overall a good day.
Dinner was, a clean out the frig event and turned out to be tasty.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2019 - NEW CANAAN, CONN.
It was a surprisingly good sleep in the grocery store parking lot. ACME is an upscale grocer similar to a Longo's at home. Carl made amazing berry pancakes and bacon for our breakfast and then we got down to the hard word of planning the next few days.
At 10:30, we headed over to The Glass House visitor center for our tour. A shuttle bus took us to the 49 acre property that is the former residence of architect Philip Johnson (designed the Sony Tower and the Seagram Building in NYC). The 1949 glass house was Johnson's home until his death in 2006. Also on the property is a painting gallery and sculpture gallery. The house, property, and buildings are quite beautiful and we learned a lot about Johnson and the men he hung out with such as Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Julian Schnabel.
Upon leaving the town of New Canaan, we targeted the nearest Costco for fuel and then the RV Park where the next 2 nights will be spent.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2019 - WILTON, CONN.
We had a potica treat for breakfast and then we set off for a self guided tour of the Bershires (not on purpose). The GPS took us the most turny way that it could to get to the Weir Farm. We passed lots of huge, unique and quite posh homes.
A good portion of our day was taken up at Weir Farm National Historic Site. This was the home of painter Julian Weir and then, his family and their significant others. Nearly 60 acres are reminiscent of the era highlighted in the paintings of American impressionist painter J. Alden Weir who acquired the farm in 1882. The site is dedicated to painters. We had a free tour of the Weir home, the two studios and the surrounding gardens.
The parking lot didn't accomodate the trailer so we had to offload it about 10km away and then go pick it up when we were done. Nearby to this location was a BBQ restaurant and the smell drew us in. The food was good and we couldn't finish all we were given.
Tomorrow a tour of The Glass house has been booked. When we asked about parking the RV (because a shuttle comes to get you) it was suggested that we park at the Acme supermarket down the street. After calling them, the store manager suggested we could stay overnight on their property and go on our tour from there. How nice is that!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019
As usual, Carl woke up before the sun and I tried to sleep in, to no avail. We had our usual ham, egg and cheese breakfast sub on flatbread. Returning the way we came, historic downtown Pittsfield was quite pretty and clean. On the way to the Norman Rockwell museum in Stockbridge, we got sidelined by the Apple Squeeze Fair in Lennox. There were lots of booths selling food and home made crafts. At the cannabis booth (legal here since 2016 but just now getting organized) we got a free donut and apple. It was quite pleasant to walk around the fair on such lovely day.
A short drive finally brought us to the Norman Rockwell museum. We lucked inot a docent led talk just as we entered. The docent was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about his subject and it was an interesting talk. We looked at paintings and sketches for the next couple of hours. All Norman Rockwell's covers from the Saturday Night Post are displayed on the walls of the museum's lower floor.
The next few hours were spent driving south through Connecticut towards Norwalk where we spent the night at another Walmart. Rv parks are really tough to find in this area.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019
At 8 o'clock, we did our final trailer pre-departure check list and, the frig wouldn't switch over to propane. After half an hour, Carl determined that the sparker was not working. Fortunately we could circumnavigate it and start the frig from the outdoor location. This delay propelled us into rush hour traffic which was much better than expected today.
The Queenston border crossing was quite busy. It was 11:15 upon entering New York state. The first thing that was requested was a $1 toll which the sign said would be mailed to us. I am curious to see whether they will track us down in Markham for a dollar.
In Buffalo, we did our routine stop at AT&T to get a SIM card for the phone so that we could make phone calls and use the data in the US.
After lunch, basically we pointed the truck onto the I-90 and drove for the rest of the day. New York has texting stop locations and great tourist stops along this highway. When we got off at Massachusetts, the toll was $18 to drive across the entire state. What a bill it would have been if it was the 407 at home!
After 8, we pulled into Pittsfield, Mass. and got permission to spend the night at the Walmart.
