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.