New England Oct 2015

We are back from a 2-week trip to New England and I decided to document our trip this year. Just some comments and a bunch of pictures as a reminder of what we did.

Oct 7 - We flew to Boston on US Airways and transferred from the airport to the Embassy Suites. The hotel is nice and has free wi-fi.  It was definitely cooler up there and we had time to take a walk in the park next to the hotel. Since this was an Embassy Suites there was a managers reception in the evening where Penny and I got enough food, cheese, fruit and chips and salsa for us to call it supper.

The initial Caravan meeting was at 8 PM and we met our tour guide, Lindy.  She did not appear to be up to par with the other 5 tour guides we have had - and she wasn't.  She did a competent job but she was rusty.  She hadn't guided a tour for 5 yrs.

Oct-8 - Our bus tour began with a drive to Boston's Old North Church where Paul Revere  began his midnight ride.  This is the church steeple where the lanterns were hung to indicate which course the British were taking.  We had a talk inside the church explaining the social structure and ownership of church seating.

Old North Church

We drove by  the state capitol building, Cheers and Boston Commons on the way to a rest stop / coffee break to Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market.  It was snack time and Penny and I had a cup of frozen yogurt.

CHEERS

The weather vane on Fanueil Hall is a grasshopper.

(not my picture)

We continued on to Lexington. Lexington was a short stop to see the green where our Revolution began.


















We then followed the route of Paul Revere from Lexington to Concord stopping at the Old North Bridge where the "shot heard round the world" was fired.



















Next it was off to Plymouth Rock and the replica of the Mayflower  On the way we passed Sleepy Hollow cemetery - I snapped a quick picture as we passed.

 Neither Plymouth Rock or the Mayflower were that impressive. It's not even certain that the Pilgrims landed here and much of the rock has been broken off and taken to other locations. But it is a  must see tourist stop and now we can say we saw it.

Next was lunch time and I had my first lobster roll. A traditional lobster roll is a sandwich filled with lobster meat soaked in butter and served on a steamed hot dog bun or similar roll, so that the opening is on top rather than the side.  I found out later that this was a "tourist size" lobster roll.  One I got later on Martha's Vineyard was the real thing as you will see.

There is a little noted monument in Plymouth.  It is 81-feet tall and is tucked away in a neighborhood away from the tourist area.  It is the Monument to our Forefathers, dedicated in 1889. "On the main pedestal stands the heroic figure of "Faith" with her right hand pointing toward heaven and her left hand clutching the Bible."  Can you see anyone building a monument like this now?  At first sight this monument is surreal.  The bus winds its way through backstreets of a Plymouth neighborhood.  Then it comes to a gravel road that circles this huge statue.  It reminded me of the movie Planet of the Apes when they discover the arm of the Statue of Liberty  sticking out of the sand.  It's an impressive monument and in good shape.  I'm sure at the time it was carved here it got great notice.  It is not an insignificant piece of art.  It just reflects a bygone era when faith was deeper in society.

You can get an idea of the size of the monument by noting the people at the base.

The day ended with a drive to Hyannis to stay 2 nights at the Double tree. The hotel was very nice and Penny and I parked ourselves by the outside fire pit.  Before long there were about 20 people, mostly from our group, around the fire chatting it up and keeping warm.

  

Oct-9 - Today it was off to Cape Cod to catch a ferry to Martha's Vineyard.  It was a cool clear morning and we stayed outside on-deck taking pictures for the ride over.

Our bus came over with us on the ferry and once there we got on it and were taken to a small originally  Methodist retreat community on the Vineyard  now called  the Martha’s Vineyard Campmeeting Association.  It's full of "Martha’s Vineyard” cottages built between 1859-1880.  It has an iron Tabernacle erected in 1879.    We wandered among the cottages and took pictures.  This is the cottage Penny and I liked best.



















We then got back on the bus to go to the town of Edgarton - a historic whaling town.

Here we had "leisure time".  In other words we were on our own to get lunch and wander the narrow streets with elegant homes.

We had lunch at a seafood restaurant right on the water.  I had another lobster roll but this time it was the real thing - big and full of lobster.




  Then we walked along the road that paralleled the shoreline until we found a path out to the lighthouse.  We spent the rest of our time walking on the sand until it was time to get back to the bus.

The bus returned us to the ferry landing where we had some more time to wander and see the expensive houses in the area.

We also saw this neat 3-wheeled car.

This house is owned by the Norton Family  (anti-virus)

By this time the sky was getting ugly so we headed for the shelter at the landing.  We made it there just before the rain started.

The rain stopped just in time for us to board the ferry.  We stayed inside for the return trip to Cape Cod.

Dinner was at the hotel and we shared a table with a couple in our group.  We had  wood fired pizza.

Oct-10 - Today we visited Newport, RI and Mystic, CT.  The first stop in Newport was the Vanderbilt "summer cottage" The Breakers.  This 70-room Renaissance style palace is on the water and kept in very nice condition.  You are given headphones and can walk through the place at the pace you choose depending on how much info you want.  We toured the house and grounds taking pictures and marveling at the sheer opulence.   (No pictures were allowed inside)

Again - note the size of this place!

We then had a sightseeing drive viewing other mansions and noteworthy sites on our way to downtown Newport .  Here we were turned loose for lunch and wandering - and for me to sprain my ankle.  This was my first of 3 falls I had on this trip and by far the worst.  I stepped off a tricky curb that looked like it was level with the street but wasn't quite.  I caught it with just the inside edge of my right heel and turned my ankle painfully as I lost my balance and went to the ground.  I heard my camera lens hit the ground and hit on my right knee, right elbow and left hand.  My camera was OK but my ankle was very painful.

I got up and started walking- not being able to put weight on the foot at first but gradually being able to walk with endurable pain.  I was wearing my hiking boots with good ankle support.  I don't know if I tripped because of the boot's larger footprint but I'm fairly certain my ankle would have been in much worse shape without that support.

I limped on and Penny and I picked a place to eat called the Barking Crab.  We both had flatbreads and then went off to take pictures of restored houses and other things in Newport

My ankle did swell up and turn black and blue but I could walk on it without being too uncomfortable.  I was fortunate that I didn't break my ankle - that would have ended the tour for me. After Newport we drove to Mystic CT to see Mystic Seaport.  We had plenty of time to explore the seaport from one end to the other.  Penny and I really enjoyed this location.  It was the first stop on the tour where we had the opportunity to play around with the cameras and be more creative setting up the pictures we took.  We had sunshine and blue skies with pleasant temperatures.

On the way to our hotel we drove through downtown Mystic and saw the Mystic Pizza restaurant made famous by the movie.

Dinner that evening was a walk across the street to 5-Guys.  The Mystic Hilton where we stayed had just been renovated and was very comfortable.

  

Oct-11 - Our itinerary today brought us through the Berkshire Mountains of MA  - a nice scenic drive - to the Norman Rockwell Museum.  I didn't know if this would really be an interesting site but it turned out to be OK.  The museum does a good job documenting Rockwell's life and works and the grounds were pleasant.  The color here was just beginning.  There was an apple tree with ripe fruit on it and they encouraged us to pick one. 

I had some fun

The next stop was in Bennington VT at a civil war memorial there.  Penny and I had been here before and also to a cemetery nearby where Robert Frost is buried.  We were pleased to learn our tour guide was aware of the cemetery and included it in the stop.  Penny and I had taken many good pictures here in the past and this gave us the opportunity to take more with our new cameras.

Our stopping point  today was a ski resort on Stratton Mountain in the Green Mountains of VT.  The bus stopped at a general store before we got there and we got wine and cheese for dinner.  The condo we stayed in here had 2-floors, 2 bedrooms and bathrooms and a balcony with a nice view of a courtyard and the other resort lodgings.

That evening our bus driver, Craig, set up a keyboard and entertained the group with memorable tunes and a sing-along.  It was fun and entertaining.

"at the Y-M-C-A"

Oct-12 Columbus Day - After Breakfast at Stratton we had some time to take pictures of the ski resort area.  This area was approaching peak and the hills were bright orange in the morning sun.  











































































































































Next stop was Plymouth Notch.  It is the birthplace of Calvin Coolidge (30th president).  We stopped along the way to take a picture of a classic Vermont farm.




















And made a stop at the Vermont Country Store where Penny and I wandered and took pictures.  I didn't even go in the store.











We also made a picture stop at a pretty lake .




















































Calvin Coolidge's birthplace was by far the best picture spot for autumn leaves  on our trip.  I decided to walk the perimeter of the grounds and take pictures rather than look at and inside the old buildings.  I took lots of pics.

We found out later that Tony and Donna's cabin is very close to this place.

From here we went to Woodstock.  That was supposed to be our lunch stop but we knew we would have limited time there.  Penny smartly bought 2 pieces of pumpkin pie and we ate that on the bus on the way to Woodstock.  We used the stop at Woodstock to (wait for it!)--- take pictures.  We visited our favorite spots in Woodstock and spent some time at the covered bridge there.

The next stop was a maple syrup "sugar house".  I didn't think I would learn anything new here but I was wrong.  This is a modern maple syrup factory and the guide describe the complete maple syrup production process with detailed and interesting facts starting with the trees, collecting the sap,the reverse osmosis process, government standards, grades of syrup and whether to buy it in plastic or glass containers.  Once again Penny was the smart one and skipped out at the end of the talk and had our syrup bought and shipped before anyone else in our group got to the store.





















The grounds here were interesting with vintage functional autos and old buildings.

doesn't this look like a painting?

From here we went to a resort in North Conway NH.  This was the most disappointing part of the tour for me. It was getting to be dusk.  We were now in northern NH near one of the best leaf peeping drives and the leaves here were at their peak.  To avoid holiday traffic and to keep to the schedule the bus took an alternate route and made no stops to see the leaves.  With their schedule it was too dark to see the leaves anyway so Caravan just missed the boat.  Having been in this area before both Penny and I expected that the tour would stop in this area during the peak of color.

The North Conway resort was away from any restaurants so the dinner at the hotel restaurant was provided by Caravan.

Oct-13 - My day started with another fall off the doorstep of the hotel on the way to the bus.  I had my camera in 1 hand and a coffee in the other-backed through the door to open it and expected the door stoop to extend out a little further than it did.  I did the missed step thing and went down - losing my coffee and once again  my camera lens hit the ground.  I got a couple scrapes but the ankle was OK this time.

Today we went to the Portland ME waterfront.  Our tour director had set up a boat tour of the Portland lighthouses but the weather was foggy and rainy on and off so we wouldn't find out if we would go until it was launch time.

Penny and I had lunch at an Irish Pub.  I had fish and chips that came with a huge hunk of fish.  It also was very good.

Our view from the pub

We did go out in the boat but the fog and rain persisted and we didn't see anything clearly.  The boat ride was interesting and the fog made for a unique experience with boats and forts and lighthouses appearing out of the mist.

We disturbed some ducks

We had one more stop before our final night of the trip and that was a visit to Kennebunkport  where we had free time to wander.  Penny and I got an ice cream and wandered up and down the main drag taking pictures and enjoying the sights.  There was a fog rolling in and the tide was going out.  I couldn't resist taking pictures of these 3 boats lashed together.  They were waving back and forth in the current and periodically would line up perfectly for a moody watercolor-looking picture.

The resort we stayed in for this last night was a great place.  The location was on the water, the staff was welcoming and very friendly.

  

Pictures at sunrise were brighter

 

 Our farewell dinner was a whole Maine lobster.  One of the staff demonstrated the proper technique for eating lobster and we all were given plastic lobster bibs to protect or clothes.

Oct-14 - After breakfast at the hotel we boarded the bus for the ride to the airport where we would pick up our rental car from Alamo an begin part 2 of our New England visit.