Georgia to Fort Lauderdale

Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island

On the Georgia coast we crossed the road bridge to Jekyll island where we walked along a stunning beach covered in driftwood. Turtles nest here and we visited the Georgia Sea Turtle center where they monitor the turtles and rescue any injured ones.

St Augustine Market Place

Crossing the state line into Florida we stopped at the historic town of St Augustine. It was first settled by the Spanish in 1565 and the town square and market place is the oldest public space in the USA. It also boasts the oldest wooden school in the USA, and is home to the Castillio de San Marcos, an impressive fort built by the Spanish to protect the town. The climb to the top of  St Augustine lighthouse and museum on the nearby Anastasia island gave us a great view over the surrounding area too.

Driving on the beach !

Heading down the coast to Daytona the weather just kept improving with glorious sunshine all day. On Daytona Beach Shores, we drove along the beach - just because that is what they do here - and it was a bit of fun and not something that we can do at home.

On the winners podium at Daytona

No trip to Daytona would be complete without visiting the International Speedway, and we did a tour of the track which just happened to be "hot" - there were cars lapping the track. Practice sessions may not have the same atmosphere as on a raceday but the sound was just incredible, as was thirty one degree angle on the banked curves. The track is so well set up with full service campsites that we can just imagine how great it would be sitting on the roof of an RV coach with a cooler full of Budweiser, watching the racing.

Our last day on the road took us to Titusville, and the Space View park that looks over the Kennedy Space centre and the NASA shuttle landing facility. From here we crossed onto Merrit Island and drove down past Cape Canaveral, through Cocoa Beach - home to the one of a kind Ron Jon Surf Shop, and past Patrick Air Force Base. Its a lovely area here but with time running out we got back onto the freeway to Ft Lauderdale on the outskirts of Miami. What a difference in just a few miles, the traffic went crazy with five lanes of freeway backed up solid, so we are definitely a busy city again. Not many pictures from this day but the latest selection are now on Facebook as promised - please click here to see them.

For those of you who aren't aware of our plans for Christmas and New Year, you'll have to wait for our next post to see what we get up too, and we wish all our families, friends and followers of this blog a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year for 2015.

Alabama to Georgia

Sel in front of  the "Pathfinder" shuttle stack

Our next stop was indeed Hunstville, Alabama and we visited the Space and Rocket museum which has the only complete space shuttle stack on display in the world. The shuttle is named "Pathfinder", and was originally a full scale mode used for handling tests such as checking roadway clearances and crane capabilities. Although not an actual flying shuttle it is an accurate and full scale replica, the orange external tank is real and was actually used in propulsion testing, and the two solid rocket booster are also real having been built after the Challenger disaster but never used. The museum showcases plenty of other rockets, many of them with military origins, plus numerous authentic rocket engines, and lots of interactive displays, exhibits and a myriad of information. The centrepiece is an actual Saturn V rocket, as used in the Apollo space program. It was the last one built and was never fired, and there is no mock up here - its the real deal. Also on display is the Apollo 16 command module named Casper, the last one to land on the moon, which is pretty special to see.

The visitors centre
at Jack Daniels 

Briefly returning into the state of Tennessee we stopped at Lynchburg for a free tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery. Even if none of the Bourbon names were familiar to you, Jack Daniels is a truly global brand and can be found in nearly every bar anywhere in the world. Now we want to set the records straight here - Jack Daniels is not a bourbon...but it could be. It is made in exactly the same way, with the same ingredients and to the same strict rules as bourbon is, with the addition that it is mellowed through charcoal before being aged. So, they could call it bourbon but they choose to set themselves apart as a Tennessee whisky, and are very proud to be different. Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed the tour, seeing everything from the charcoal being made, the spring water which began it all, Mr Jack's original offices, through to the mash vats, the four giant stills and the charcoal vats. Its a surprisingly small operation really although the barreling, and most of the ageing and bottling is now done off site. Moore County where they are located is - rather ironically - a dry county, although the distillery do now have an exemption and offer tastings for an extra fee, as well as a bottle shop selling some of the more unusual and hard to find special editions. We spent some time in the quaint and nearby village of Lynchburg where we had a spot of lunch and visited the historic jail where legendary Jesse James was allegedly once incarcerated, as well as browsing the huge amount of branded merchandising that Jack Daniels has also become famous for.

Ruby Falls

Next stop was the city of Chattanooga, internationally known for the 1941 record "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glen Miller, inspired by the fact that the city was a major railroad hub. It still plays on that today, but also boasts the attraction of the spectacular Ruby Falls, a 145 foot tall underground waterfall located within Lookout Mountain, and only discovered in 1928. Our photo just doesn't convey what an amazing sight the falls are.

On top of Lookout Mountain is Rock City, located just over the border in Georgia. From this elevated viewpoint it is possible to see across seven states, and the attraction is well known in the USA for
its many barn advertisements with the slogan "See Rock City" that can be seen painted on barn sides and roofs across the county. Aside from the great views the attraction boasts extensive gardens running through a variety of unique and bizarre natural rock formations, and also rock caves that are now home to many spectacular black-lighted exhibits based on well known fairy-tales.

Dolly's statue in Sevierville

After here we headed up to Pigeon Forge, a mountain city resort in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. Primarily a tourist destination, it's biggest attraction is Dollywood, a theme-park owned by Dolly Parton, and although it was closed when we visited we did see Dolly's statue in her nearby hometown of Sevierville. We did get collared by a timeshare sales presentation there but we escaped without buying anything and were even given a prepaid debit card by way of a Thank You for attending, so it was well worth the time spent there !

On the flight deck of USS Yorktown

After using our free gift to fill the tank of our rental car, we drove to Charleston, SC, on the Atlantic coast. This historic city has a vibrant waterfront from where we could see Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the civil war were fired. Charleston is a natural harbour, and just to the east at the mouth of the Cooper river is Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. It is home to many exhibits but by far the most imposing is the USS Yorktown (CV10), a decommissioned US Navy aircraft carrier. Now open to the public as a museum, there is full access to most areas of the ship - the bridges, flight deck, hangar, crew quarters and engine room. There are many aircraft on display too, and in hindsight we could easily have spent the entire day here.

Driving the Holiday Festival of Lights

Whilst in Charleston we also stopped by at the Angel Oak, a huge and impressive ancient oak tree which our photos just don't do justice too, and in the evening we drove the Holiday Festival of Lights, a three mile drive-able circuit through James Island County Park comprising over 700 light exhibits which was quite unique.

The Plantation House at Hofwyl-Broadfield

Crossing into the state of Georgia, we stopped in the border town of Savannah - a former British colonial capital and host city for the sailing events in the 1996 summer Olympics in nearby Atlanta - before moving further down the coast to Brunswick. Here we visited the Hofwyl-Broadfield plantation historic site, which represents the history and culture of the rice industry on Georgia's coast. When the rice industry collapsed the plantation became a diary using Jersey and Guernsey cows so we felt a special connection to the place, and we were very lucky to have a private tour guided tour of the plantation house and outbuildings.

The remains of the fort, and the Spanish Moss in the trees

The Georgian coastline is a network of small islands interspersed with marshlands and tidal estuaries, and we visited St Simons Island, connected by a road bridge and home to Fort Frederica. It is now a national monument but was once a thriving fort and village built in the mid 1700's to protect the southern boundary of the British colony of Georgia from the Spanish who raided from their territory in Florida. Basking in the sunshine on a stunning and warm December afternoon we were privileged to see dolphins swimming and playing close to shore in the river estuary, and the drapes of spanish moss (which isnt spanish, or even moss...) glistening in the trees was truly stunning.

No photos this time on Facebook but we'll include them in our next post which will be coming up very soon.

Tennessee and into Mississippi

So on our last post we had just arrived in Nashville having crossed the state line into Tennessee. We ventured into the huge mall at the Grand Ole Opry on the Saturday after Black Friday - swamped with people but not the scenes of chaos that we have seen on the news from the UK.

In downtown Nashville we visited the store of Antique Archaeology This is the sister store to one that we visited in Davenport, Iowa and will be familiar to anyone who follows "The Pickers" on the History Channel. In keeping with the music scene there was a live band playing, and we saw many artifacts that have been on the TV series though we couldn't help feeling they are doing pretty well selling branded merchandising now.

Johnny Cash Museum

Also in Downtown was the Johnny Cash museum, and though we are not huge fans he is one of those names that is so significant in the music industry that we could not just pass him by. It also gave us a chance to see Broadway, the main strip in Nashville, full of bars playing live music in between stores selling cowboy boots of every style, size, colour and pattern.

That's a 9 foot tall tyre !

Final stop in Nashville was the Lane Motor Museum, a impressive private collection of mainly European cars and also motorcycles, micro cars, cycles and a few trucks too. Located in a former bakery that has been renovated into a brilliant museum, it was well worth visiting. Highlight of that trip has to be the US military LARC, a huge submersible vehicle with nine foot tall tyres which is located outside. Sporting four massive engines, it could carry a whopping 100 ton payload, and is unlike any other vehicle we have seen.

Outside Graceland, Elvis's home in Memphis, TN.

Moving onto Memphis on the banks of the Mississippi, we had a quick bite to eat and a walk around Franklin, a small but homely village and another significant site from the civil war. It was perhaps foolish to think that summer had returned with the temperature hitting 20c by mid afternoon, as by the following morning we woke to just +1c. A big difference but despite the cold wind it didn't stop our visit to Graceland, the eternal home of Elvis in Memphis. Now we aren't the biggest Elvis fans either but there is no doubt that he was a special and talented man who made an enormous contribution, and had a huge influence on modern music -  and continues to do so today. His house has been preserved just how it was when he passed away suddenly in 1977, and what a fantastic place it is. Being able to walk through the living areas was a great experience, as were the exhibitions with numerous awards and memorabilia, finishing with quiet reflection in the memorial garden where his body is buried beside his other late family members.

Stax Museum of American Soul Music

"Elviness" is everywhere around here, the motel we stayed at filled with its own collection of Elvis photos and memorabilia, and playing Elvis Radio from 9 am till dusk everyday (yes, Elvis has his own dedicated radio station on Sirius XM which plays his songs 24/7 - well he certainly recorded enough material to do it !)

Continuing the music theme and on the recommendation of several people that we met back in Franklin, we visited the Stax Museum of American soul Music, also in Memphis. Located on the site of the former Stax Records and recording studio, it celebrates Soul music and the legacy that Stax Records has left. The list of artists who where recorded and produced there are incredible - Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Albert King, Booker T and the M.G.s to name just a few, with some stand out exhibits including a 101 year old Mississippi Delta church from where the gospel roots of Soul emerged, the restored 1972 gold trimmed, peacock blue Cadillac El Dorado that belonged to Isaac Hayes, and the Hammond Organ used by Booker.T.Jones to record "Green Onions". Legendary stuff indeed.

When Stax was producing hit records in the 60's, Memphis was still a deeply segregated city and whilst there was certainly racism around some artists the studio provided an escape from the turmoil of the real world where the only desire was to make good music - some of which became the soundtrack to the civil rights movement.

Room 306 at Lorraine Motel

That led us to our next stop - just over two miles from Stax is the former Lorraine Motel, where in 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated, the day after he made his famous "I've been to the mountain top" speech. The motel has been preserved for history and is the centerpiece of a privately owned complex that now makes up the National Civil Rights Museum.

Our final stop in Memphis was Tom Lee Park, on the banks of the mighty Mississippi river where we learnt about the heroic efforts of Tom Lee, a negro who in 1925 saved thirty two lives when a steamboat capsized on the river. The park offers great panoramic views over the Mississippi and looks like it would be a great focal point in the warmer months.

Panorama over the mighty Mississippi 

Delta Blues Museum

Within a very short time of leaving Memphis we crossed into the state of Mississippi on Highway 61, the "Blues Highway". What a difference - the land opened out as we entered the Mississippi Delta, with vast cotton fields spread out all around us. The cotton crop has finished for this year but the remnants are still scattered over the fields and the roadside, in places thick enough to give an appearance of light snow. This is the land of Blues music, and we stopped in at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksedale to learn more about the origins and history of the Blues, associated with many well known artists like B.B.King, and Muddy Waters to name just a few. Clarksdale is also the birthplace of many musicians such as Ike Turner and John Lee Hooker - and several famous people have also lived and worked here including the actor Morgan Freeman.

The house that Elvis was born in

Moving ever on-wards we stopped briefly in Tupelo, at the birthplace of Elvis Presley. The building is a simple "shotgun" style shack also now preserved as a tourist attraction. It was here that as a young boy Elvis first heard Blues music, and in later years his blending of Blues with Country, Pop, Gospel and Soul revolutionized popular music thanks to his unique sound.

So we've been pretty busy again, and next stop is Alabama to visit Huntsville, nicknamed Rocket City for its connections to the space industry. Watch out for another update soon !

Finally please click here for the latest Facebook photo album.

Kentucky

Curious Roadside America

The worst of the snow thankfully remained north of us as we crossed into West Virginia, though we did get a dusting overnight and up to a few inches in some places as we drove through the state over the next few days. We stopped at a few curious places along the way but there wasn't very much for us to see here, our goal being Kentucky which is famous for producing thoroughbred race horses, and bourbon whiskey - and you might have guessed that we are not that keen on horses, Arriving in Kentucky we could tell straight away that we are very much in "The South" now - the welcomes are very warm, the accents pronounced, and everyone says "Y'all" (as in Y'all have a nice day now).

Stopping in Frankfort we toured several distilleries before moving on to Louisville, home of Muhamed Ali, and continuing on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail to Bardstown. There are many distilleries on the trail, from the huge producers like Jim Beam who produce over 50% of all bourbon, to the smaller craft distilleries like Limestone Branch who just have a few barrels ageing in the same room as the pot still.

Outside Jim Beam. The Beam name has deep roots in Bourbon.

Bourbon originated from when Kentucky was part of Virginia, and was the frontier to the Wild West. As an incentive to attract settlers to the area, anyone who could build a cabin, plant an acre of corn, and live here for a year was given 400 acres of land to settle on. Many people came, and those who succeeded soon had a surplus of corn, and with nowhere to trade this surplus they turned to making whiskey, and the rest is history. Production was limited to just four licensed distilleries during Prohibition for "medicinal purposes" but is currently enjoying a global boom.


At each distillery that we toured, we learnt something new about how their particular product is made and the history of the distillery - and many are surprisingly interlinked, not least by the Beam family name. The rules for what can be labelled Bourbon are very strict, and although the process for making bourbon is the same across every distillery, the tours are as unique as the brands themselves. We've learnt about the importance of the pure local water which is from limestone bedrock, the mashbill (the unique recipe of grains), the fermenting process using the proprietary yeasts which are closely guarded trade secrets, the first distilling of the brewers beer into low wine spirit, the secondary distillation using a doubler to produce the high wine spirit known as white dog, and the barreling at no more than 160 proof into new, charred white oak barrels.

Newly filled barrels waiting to go for ageing in the rickhouse

Then there is the ageing in wooden rickhouses and how natural temperature variation throughout the seasons push and pull the spirit in and out of the wood to impart flavor and colour, plus the water lost to evaporation during the ageing years - the angels share. Finally there is the dumping of the barrels for batching and the bottling line, some which were completely automated and others all done by hand. Despite the strict rules and essentially the same process, the subtle differences in each step by each distillery produces a wide variation of the finished product, not to mention the different bottles, labels and finishing touches such as hand waxed bottle tops.

Last stop on the trails was a visit to Independent Stave, a cooperage in nearby Lebanon, KY where almost all the barrels used to age bourbon are made. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures there but it was fascinating to see how the barrels are hand raised by the coopers, charred to specification and sealed by hand. These barrels can only be used one time for ageing Bourbon, and once used are often sold to distilleries in Scotland for ageing Scotch Whisky. If you're partial to a wee dram then it is likely to have been aged in a previously used bourbon barrel from Kentucky.

National Corvette Museum

Its not all about bourbon though - Kentucky is also the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln who frequently crops up on our travels and we visited his birthplace and boyhood home which are both part of the National Parks Service. Not far away is the National Corvette Museum, which is located right next to the very plant that produces these classic American muscle cars in Bowling Green, KY. We heard about this museum early into our travels, as inside it a massive sink hole opened up in February this year which swallowed and destroyed eight cars on display. It was well worth visiting though we didn't enjoy the long drive back in the dark in torrential rain and whilst being overtaken by eighteen wheeler trucks at 75 mph !

Yeee-Haaar

We've now moved on into Nashville in the state of Tennessee, well known as the home of Country music. We've already been to the Willie Nelson Museum and Cooters Place - a museum of sorts dedicated to the 1980's tv series "Dukes of Hazzard" and run by Ben Jones who played the character of Cooter the Mechanic. Thanksgiving has been and gone, as now has Black Friday and all the commercial hysteria that goes with it - out of curiosity we did stop by a Walmart at 5pm on Thursday just to see the hoards of people queuing up to get their hands on a bargain TV.

Y'all have a nice day y'all, and as usual please click here for a selection of our latest pictures, which are all from the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Maryland to Virginia via the Capitol

US Naval Academy in  Annapolis, MD

Before leaving Maryland we stopped in at the United States Naval Academy in Annopolis. The entire campus is a National Historic Landmark covering 338 acres, and is home to many historic sites, buildings and landmarks. It was very interesting to learn how the candidates live there and are trained, and what a privilege it is to earn a placement there.

Crossing the state line into Pennsylvania, we stopped at Gettysburg which is home to the biggest battle ever fought on US soil, and also where in 1863 Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg address (Four score and seven years ago...). Its a physically huge site, and after a trip to the impressive visitors centre to see the restored Cyclorama we toured the battlefield on a National Parks bus.

View over the Gettysburg historic battlefields from an observation tower 

Scattered with memorials and monuments from both the Union and Confederate states, the battlefields are a truly unique memorial to the many lives that were lost on both sides, in a style of fighting and battle that is thankfully consigned to the past. The town is very much lived in however the surrounding fields are mostly untouched or have been restored, and now make up the Gettysburg National Military Park. It was very interesting to learn about and understand the origins of the civil war over the fractious issue of slavery, and to ponder the possibilities had the result swung the other way.

Sachs Covered Bridge

Leaving Gettysburg we stopped briefly at the Sachs Covered Bridge, that was used by General Lee's retreating Confederate Army and still standing today though to foot traffic only. Next stop was the Crystal Grotto's near Boonsboro, a natural cavern complex with more formations per square foot than any other known cave system in the world. Taking 100 to 150 years to form just one cubic inch, the speleothem's varied from fine and delicate to gigantic columns from floor to ceiling, and was an impressive sight.

On the same day we made a quick stop at Harpers Ferry national park, at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. Being right on the boundary between the Union and Confederate force, it was a strategic position and the town changed hands no less than eight times during the course of the civil war.

Sunny Obama

Finally making it to the Capitol, Washington D.C., we had perfect weather to see the sights, first stop being the White House. Not expecting to see anyone significant especially as The President was away in China, we had a great surprise to see the two first dogs Bo and Sunny out on the South Lawn which made our day.

Within walking distance is the National Mall,  a national park in the heart of D.C. We walked to the Washington monument, through the park to the World War II memorial at the end of the reflecting pool, and on to the Lincoln Memorial where the imposing statue of the solitary figure of Lincoln sits in contemplation. As we stood on the very steps where in 1963 Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a Dream" speech, it felt like a truly monumental place for many reasons. The nearby Jefferson memorial, though not as prominent in popular culture or with visitors, was equally impressive though we couldn't help being reminded of a certain Simpsons episode where Lisa visits Jefferson because Lincoln was too busy !

World War II Memorial on the National Mall with the Washington Memorial in the background

Getting ready for the first ever
"Concert for Valor"

Around the Mall are many museums and we spent a long time in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, which was very moving and emotional. It was a busy week in D.C. because 11th November is veterans day in the USA, and the Mall was the setting for the first ever "Concert for Valor", held in honor of veterans of the US Armed Forces. Unsurprisingly, security was incredibly tight and having seen the number of porta-loos we decided to skip the free evening concert and watch it live on TV instead. Fortunately the estimates of 800,000 people were over enthusiastic and in the end around 100,000 people turned up, but we are still glad to have seen the preparations.

Selfie in front of the Capitol

On our final day we visited the United States Capitol building on Capitol Hill. Like many of the museums and public buildings in D.C. it is open to anyone and free to tour. Starting with a short film and an exhibition of the history of the building, the highlight was touring the building, starting in the crypt, moving through the old supreme court chamber, and finishing in the impressive rotunda beneath the famous dome, despite it being surrounding by scaffolding for refurbishment.

 Adjoining the Capitol by underground tunnel is the National Library of Congress, strictly speaking the Jefferson Building which is one of three that make up the library as a whole. The building is just as impressive as the Capitol itself, and we learnt that the original collection of books was completely destroyed by the British in the war of 1812 when they used the collection of books as kindling to burn the Capitol building.

US Capitol looking East from the Mall

Icicles. Its that cold !

Deer on the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway

Having had our fill of museums and state buildings we are back on the road, going west inland through Bluegrass country and heading towards Kentucky. We've already driven Skyline Drive and the BlueRidge Parkway, atop the Blue ridge mountains of Virginia in spectacular sunny weather, and visited the famous Luray Caverns with more stunning calcite formations. We planned to go inland now before winter sets in and whilst its still fairly mild, but if you follow the news you may have seen that the USA is in the midst of an Arctic blast. The night before last the outside temperature dropped to -10c, so perhaps that hasn't gone quite to plan, however there has been very little snow here like unlike the north of the states where they are measuring it in feet per hour. Fingers crossed it doesn't get as far as where we are !

Finally for the folks who follow us but are not on Facebook, here is the link to the latest selection of photos. Next update should be around Thanksgiving at the end of the month, so please keep checking back.

Massachusetts to Maryland

Nantucket, where whales used to be processed.

The weather forecast for the weekend in Cape Cod was not great but we decided to chance a day trip to Nantucket, the island famous for whaling and now a booming tourist destination. As it turned out we had a near perfect day, with sun shining and calm winds for the hour long ferry crossing as foot passengers. The history of Nantucket is as diverse as it is rich, from its early origins with Native America tribes, to the settlement by the English and the whaling boom, the great fire of 1846 and eventual decline of whaling after the advent of modern petroleum refining.

We learnt much of this via a walking tour of the town which was part of our visit to the whaling museum, hearing also about how many whaler families followed a Quaker lifestyle and how advanced the islanders once were over their mainland counterparts. Nantucket has also produced some famous people, notably Mr Macy who started Macy's department store.

The similarities to our home island of Jersey were quite striking - near identical area of land mass, similar climate with milder winters than the nearby mainland, high house prices, expensive cost of living, and many other problems and advantages of living on a remote island. One big difference though was population, only around 10 thousand residents, many of whom move away for the winter.

Pilgrim Monument
Provincetown.

Next stop was Provincetown, right at the top of the Cape Cod peninsula. Another town with plenty of history, this is where the pilgrims landed on the Mayflower in 1620. On top of the hill overlooking the town sits the Pilgrim Monument, the tallest all granite structure in the USA, where from the top we could make out the outline of the skyscrapers in Boston, forty two miles away.

Woods Hole Oceanic Institute

Leaving Cape Cod we stopped at the Woods Hole Oceanic Institute, a private non-profit research and higher education facility dedicated to marine science, education and research. We reckon TJ might like to find out more about this place. Shortly after this we crossed briefly into Rhode Island, the smallest of the fifty states but the one with the longest official name - "the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations". It was the first colony to prohibit slavery in 1652, and the first state of the original thirteen colonies to declare independence from British rule back in 1776.

Mark Twain's house, Hartford, Connecticut

Driving over another state line into Connecticut, we visited the house of Samuel Longhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name of Mark Twain, in his home town of Hartford. He traveled very extensively in his day, and having encountered him many times during our travels it was really good to see where he settled and to learn more about the man himself, who did far more than just write great books.

Continuing on through the rolling hills of Connecticut we stopped briefly for lunch in Mianus, a neighborhood in the town of Greenwich, for no other reason than it appealed to our childish sense of humour (note that if you read that previous sentence and it didn't make you snigger, then you probably don't understand our sense of humour !). Shortly after we crossed into New York State for the second time on our trip, and after a frustrating and long drive through downtown Manhattan we swapped our rental car in Queens for a few days hopping on and off the NYC metro.

New York is a huge city, the most populous in the USA, and with something for anyone and everyone. We've seen and done so much in just a few days - vibrant Time Square buzzing with energy in the evenings, the ice rink and Christmas Market in Bryant Park, the stunning Grand Central Station, the amazing view from the Top of the Rock observation deck in the Rockefeller Plaza complex overlooking Manhattan Central Park, walking the Brooklyn Bridge on a cold sunny day, riding the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, the nine foot tall clock weighing two tons in the opulent lobby of the Waldorf Astoria hotel, and walking through a small part of the enormous Central Park. Visiting the 9/11 Memorial was a moving experience, the two pools located in the footprints of the twin towers a solemn reminder of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of 2001 and 1993. New York has rebuilt though, with the new One World Trade Center being the tallest structure in the western hemisphere and just having opened to its first tenants this week. The observation deck is not yet open but it will be a great view from up there.

Panorama looking north over Manhattan and Central Park, from Top of the Rock Observation Deck

Our timing for New York was great for several reasons, firstly it was Halloween and there was a huge Halloween parade along 6th Avenue on the evening of 31st October, secondly a friend from Jersey was also in NY at the same time, and we met up one evening in Times Square and had a great catch up (great to see you Dave), and finally it was the weekend of the NY Marathon. No doubt that we've walked many miles but nowhere near the length that each of those fifty thousand competitors did on that cold Sunday.

On the Brooklyn Bridge, with Manhattan in the background.

We could have stayed longer in New York and done much more but the constant noise of car horns and sirens, crowds of people and endless hot dog stands are quite intense across the senses. Leaving New York we quickly crossed into yet another state, New Jersey. This is the 4th smallest but the most densely populated of all the states, named after the birthplace we share with Vice Admiral Sir George Carteret. The Jersey Shore is home to seaside resort towns like Atlantic City, famous for its boardwalk, casino's and beach, and driving along the coast it seemed like every waterfront house had its own boat dock. Being well out of season now,  New Jersey was only a one night stopover for us and today we crossed from Cape May to Lewes by ferry into yet another state, Delaware, and then drove a short distance into Maryland. That brings our tally up to 31 States so far, and it wont be long until we reach Washington D.C. (which isn't a State or even in a State, though some Americans may argue otherwise to that last one !)

Finally for our readers who don't do Facebook, here is the latest batch of photos for you - click here to see them.

Maine to Cape Cod, MA

After Belfast, we meandered our way down the rocky East coast of New England, through many sleepy and quaint fishing villages with stunning scenery, and enjoying the remainder of the fall foliage which is in its last throws of color.

Boothbay Harbor

Pemaquid lighthouse

There are many lighthouses dotted along this stretch of coast and in particular we stopped at Pemaquid lighthouse which features on the Maine quarter dollar coin. In the stunningly tranquil Boothbay Harbor we had an unexpected doggie fix when we met four black labs in the"Two Salty Dogs"  pet outfitters - it's friendly owner having acquired two more dogs since opening his shop !

Continuing south we visited the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, at the site of the former Percy and Small shipyard on the banks of the Kennebec river. We learnt about the Victorian era of boat building on this site, wondered at the skill and sheer effort it took to build these huge trading ships, and took a short boat ride on the river to see more lighthouses, bald eagles nesting in the trees and wild seals swimming and fishing in the river estuary.

Full size representation of the six masted schooner
"Wyoming"at the Maine Maritime Museum

South of Falmouth and another lighthouse fix at Portland Head, we passed through or near towns with names like Wells, York, and Portsmouth, Dover, Exeter and Newbury. It's not hard to understand why this area is called New England. We stopped for several days at Marblehead, a small peninsula just north of Boston, in a charming little B and B where we met some great people as well as Mulligan, the lovely Golden Retriever.

Bewitched in Salem !

From here we visited nearby Salem, which trades extensively on it's well known history of witch trials in the late 1600's. It was interesting to learn about the hysteria that happened here though there is much more to Salem with its rich maritime history of trading with China and the East Indies. It became the port of choice during the Boston Port Act and is also the birthplace of the National Guard, so there is plenty to see and do here.

A 15 minute car journey south followed by 20 minutes on the metro and we were in the city of Boston for a day trip. Founded in 1630, it is one of the oldest cities in the USA and the scene of several key events in the American Revolution. The weather was not kind to us but despite the rain and driving wind we walked the full length of the Freedom Trail. Its a 2.5 mile long brick path weaving its way through the city past many significant buildings and places of historical interest.

Selfie from the water taxi, with Boston skyline in the background

Starting at the site of the Boston Massacre, where in 1770 five colonialists were killed by British soldiers, we walked the trail to the monument at Bunker Hill where we climbed the 294 steps to the top for a great view over the Boston Skyline. Continuing onward we visited the Charlestown Naval Yard - one of the oldest shipyards in the USA, and the USS Constitution - the oldest commissioned naval vessel still afloat. After all that we took a short water taxi ride back to Faneuil Hall and the Quincy Market - we'd have liked to have seen the site of the Boston Tea Party but time was against us and our legs had just about had enough for the day too.

So onto Cape Cod, where we have just arrived for the weekend. We have plenty planned in the coming week or two so please do check back for our next update.

Rochester to Belfast, ME

After leaving Rochester we stopped at the overview of Taughannock Falls, and then did the short hike up the gorge through falling autumn leaves to see this magnificent falls closer up.

Taughannock Falls

We continued North East to Cape Vincent, stopping briefly to see the Tibbets Point lighthouse, which looks out over Lake Ontario and marks the start of the St Lawrence River. It is also the start of the area known as Thousands Islands, an archipelago of over eighteen hundred islands straddling the US/Canadian border in the mighty river. We based ourselves at Alexandria Bay to spend the morning at the extravagant Boldt Castle on Heart Island, now a major tourist attraction where the restored castle tells its history and tragic story. We also took a sightseeing boat trip on the river, crossing briefly into Canadian waters - our third trip over the border - though no passports required this time.

Boldt Castle (file photo)

Back in the car heading east again and past Lake Placid, home to several previous winter olympics, we took a short ferry ride on Lake Champlain, crossing into the State of Vermont and stopping in Burlington, the largest city in the state. It was a bit wacky here, amongst other things home to the worlds tallest filing cabinet, and winged monkey statues on roof of the railway station. A little less wacky was the factory tour of Ben and Jerry's ice cream where we saw a batch of "Cherry Garcia" being made, and learnt about the honorable ethics behind this company.

Morse Farm all set for Halloween

Another stop that day was the Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks, with 200 years of history making maple syrup. We learnt a lot there too, like how the trees are tapped when the sap rises up in the Springtime; that it takes 40 gallons of maple sap to make just 1 gallon of syrup; and how the different grades are naturally created during the short season. We also had a great chat with Mrs Morse (senior) in the shop, who also let us taste all four grades from this year's production. Very yummy they all were too, and though we know several people at home who would have liked some it was prohibitively expensive to send back by post, sorry folks !

The view from the Notch Train on the Conway Scenic Railroad

Onto North Conway, where we had booked a scenic railroad trip up into the mountains to see the colours of the fall foliage, which has just peaked. The scenery was truly stunning and hard to really capture in a photograph.

As if Sel needs the instructions !

Heading still further east and crossing into the state of Maine, we finally saw the sea again when we reached the island of Mt Desert, which is home to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Its a touristy destination catering to cruise ships going up into the Bay of Fundy, and they make the most of the plentiful lobster in these waters with every eating establishment promoting lobster - whole or picked, boiled or fried, in a roll, as a salad, a pizza topping and even lobster ice-cream. It was here that we celebrated our third wedding anniversary with a Shore Dinner which is a local staple favorite comprising a bowl of New England Clam chowder, a whole boiled lobster, and finished off with a piece of Maine Blueberry Pie. To burn it off we hiked to the top of Cadillac Mountain, where the views are spectacular, and being the highest peak on the entire east coast is also the very first place to see the sunrise in the entire USA each day.

Breathtaking panoramic view over Bar Harbor from the top of Cadillac Mountain

The Observatory is at the top of the right hand tower (file photo again )

On route to Belfast where we are now, we stopped at the Penobscot Narrows Observatory, the tallest public bridge observatory in the world with an incredible view over the area, and also Fort Knox, an impressive granite fort built to defend Maine from the British and now a historic site, not to be confused with the famous bullion depository in Kentucky.



Our next stops will be around Boston and Cape Cod and we are aiming to be in New York by the end of October. The trip meter on our GPS shows that we have driven over seventeen thousand miles to date, which we reckon is pretty good going considering we have just passed our 6 month milestone. The States may be getting smaller in size on the East Coast but there is probably more to see and do here than ever, so we've still got plenty more to get through.

Edit: Facebook Photos just added CLICK HERE !