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 !

Springfield, IL to Rochester, NY

Abraham Lincoln's Home.

Following on from Ronald Reagan's home, we stopped in Springfield, IL to visit Abraham Lincoln's home, now given over to and maintained by the National Park Service. Its free to visit and though partly restored it has many of the original pieces of furniture making for a great glimpse back in time, especially given the significance of this great man. Springfield is also the final resting place for Honest Abe, who's tomb lies in the Oak Ridge Cemetery which we also visited.

Amish horse and carts in Shipshewana

Putting some more miles on our rental car we stopped briefly at 3 Floyds brewery and brewpub in the town of Munster, to pick up some goodies for our friend, before driving through Amish country near Shipshewana. We've seen several documentaries on TV about the Amish people and it was great to see a few of them in person, with their horses and buggies, and alternative way of life.

Tell almost any American citizen that you are going to Detroit, and they might ask you why ? Well, Motor City may be a shadow of its former self having filed for bankrupcy in 2013, but the Henry Ford Museum on the outskirts is well worth visiting. Its a vast building, housing a wide array of machinery, exhibits and Americana, many of which were Henry Ford's own collection. To give some idea of size, an original DC-3 Dakota aircraft hangs for the roof as part of the aircraft exhibits, and a huge Allegheny steam locomotive at one end. It took us over four hours just walking around the exhibits, then we also toured the adjacent Greenfield Village, where nearly 100 historical buildings have been re-located and arranged in a village setting. Its not all show though, there is a working locomotive round house, traditional glass blowers, weavers and potters all working here and manufacturing items, but it is all accessible and fascinating to see.

A selection of stoves in The Henry Ford.

As well as the museum, which was originally know as the Edison Institute, the Ford Motor Company are based right here and they do factory tours too however unfortunately when we were there the factory was closed for several months to be re-tooled for the new all aluminum body F150 pickup truck. As it happened we simply wouldn't have had time to do a factory tour as well and in hindsight we could have spent several more days in Detroit, contrary to what everyone had told us.

Selfie taken from Prospect Point Observation Tower

Another long day in the driving seat to our next stop, the magnificent Niagara Falls. The Canadian side may have the fullest view but from the US it is still pretty impressive and we had a great day out with the sun shining and blue sky overhead. There are many walkways through the state park with great views from Goat Island of the Bridal Veil and Horseshoe Falls, plus the American Falls which looked amazing from the Prospect Point observation tower. The best part though is putting on a blue plastic poncho and getting on one of the Maids of the Mist boats, going right up into the falls and feeling the power of the water.

Its hard to comprehend the sheer volume of water, but it doesn't all go to waste as we learnt in the visitor center of the nearby Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant. There is incredible history here, where New York generates some of the cheapest electricity in the country.


And so onto Rochester in upstate NY, to see our friend Jules and her family who live here. We've had a great weekend catching up with them all, eating and drinking too much and taking in the Hilton Apple Festival - which is in the town of Hilton, not a hotel !

Fall is rapidly taking hold now, the leaves are changing color even here and we've just heard that Chicago has had its first snowfall of this year. There are pumpkins everywhere as people get ready for Halloween, and we are looking forward to getting up to Maine next week to see the changing foliage at its best.


Finally for any of our followers not on Facebook we have just uploaded a big photo album with great pictures from both this post and the previous one, You don't have to be on Facebook, just click or press on this link to view our pictures.