In August 2012 my travelling companion, Joan, and I embarked on a road trip to the north eastern states of the USA. We had been discussing a trip to Maine and Boston for some years, and now an opportunity presented itself. This time we agreed that we would do the trip in my old 2003 Hyundai Sonata, a vehicle with a fair amount of space and comfort and with 88627 miles on the clock. We eventually covered 3427 miles on this trip.
At 7 am on Saturday, 18th August, we left Atlanta with Sterling, Massachussetts, 1100 miles away, as our first destination. A longtime friend of Stephen’s had invited us to spend a few nights there at his house. At dusk we started looking out for somewhere to spend the night. At 8 pm we stopped at a Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Largo, Maryland, having driven 720 miles. During the day we had made a stop in Richmond to stroll through Hollywood Cemetery which is named for its holly trees, and is the resting place of the Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Other notable people buried there are Presidents John Tyler and James Monroe. Also buried there are eighteen thousand Confederate soldiers. The cemetery, which was opened in 1849, is located on a hill on the northern side of the James River, so while ambling through the southern portion of the cemetery one is treated to some lovely views across the river and the valley.
With me doing the driving, the next day saw us continue on I-95 through Baltimore, Wilmington in Delaware, and Philadelphia. We made a pit stop at the Welcome Centre on the Delaware border. For some reason Joan had decided to keep her hair in curlers for the morning despite me giving her some weird looks. I was reminded of folk back in South Africa who would go shopping with their hair in curlers, and we always wondered what occasion could be of such great importance that one would be willing to be seen in public with curlers in one's hair, and a busy shop of all places. When we stopped in Delaware I suggested to Joan that she walk on ahead of me if she insisted on keeping her curlers in! ..and she did! There were no curlers visible on her return.
Along the New Jersey Turnpike the traffic became very heavy. We stopped for gas in Yardville, Mercer County, New Jersey (the Garden State) about halfway between Philadelphia and New York. I managed to negotiate the traffic and the maze of highways through the outskirts New York City. At one of the tolls near New York the queue was long and the traffic moving at a snail’s pace. A young black girl called to me from a car in the next lane and asked where I was from in South Africa. She had spotted the South Africa flag pasted on my car's rear windscreen. " From Pietermaritzburg". I said. She replied that she was also from there. There was no further conversation because the traffic moved along and contact was lost. This was simply another in a long list of coincidences that I have experienced in my lifetime.
The interstate (I-95) through Connecticut follows the coastline but the ocean was not visible from the vehicle. At New Haven we branched off onto I-91 and headed north to Hartford, where we took I-90 going north east to Worcester, then on to Sterling. The interstates were all very busy, and when we reached Worcester, finding our way became rather complicated. We took several wrong roads and had to phone Nicholas more than once to find our way to his house, where we eventually arrived just before sunset.
That evening Nicholas drove us into Leominster, a smallish town, where we had pizza for dinner.
The following day, 20th August, Nicholas drove us to the outskirts of Boston to catch a train to the city centre where he took us to some of the popular historic attractions. The places included Boston Common, the house of Paul Revere, and Faneuil Hall. The latter was built in 1742 and the upper floor was used as a meeting hall by Revolutionaries, then during the British occupation of the city, it was used as a theatre.
That evening Nicholas drove us into Leominster, a smallish town, where we had pizza for dinner.
The following day, 20th August, Nicholas drove us to the outskirts of Boston to catch a train to the city centre where he took us to some of the popular historic attractions. The places included Boston Common, the house of Paul Revere, and Faneuil Hall. The latter was built in 1742 and the upper floor was used as a meeting hall by Revolutionaries, then during the British occupation of the city, it was used as a theatre.
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| Boston Harbor |
We also visited Cheers, the pub made famous in the popular TV series, and ordered a beer each. A walk through the 19th-century downtownBoston residential neighbourhood of Beacon Hill was also enjoyed. The geography of Beacon Hill comprises a South Slope, a North Slope and a Flat of the Hill. Charles Street is the neighborhood's main street and it is filled with antique shops and neighborhood services.
On the way home we drove through the historic town of Concord, which was the home of two famous writers, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Louisa May Alcott (author of “Little Women”).
The next day Joan and I drove through Rhode Island, the smallest of all the states, being only 48 miles long and 37 miles wide, to Newport. Newport is actually an island, one of several in Narragansett Bay and in the 19thcentury it was the summer playground of America’s wealthiest families such as the Vanderbilts, the Astors and the Morgans. These American elite families built their “holiday cottage” mansions on the coast and spent only about six weeks a year in them. Our aim was to walk along the Cliff Walk, which is a 3.5 mile trail along the coastline between two beaches with the sea on one side and the beautiful mansions on the other. Also what makes Cliff Walk unique is that it is a National Recreation Trail in a National Historic District.The cliff walk, although rough in many places, was a most enjoyable walk, and seeing the spectacular mansions from a distance was an added bonus. There are tours available to view the interiors of these homes, but we did not have the time to go on one. |
| Newport |
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| Cliff Walk |
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| Belfast |
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| Street in Bar Harbor |
The next morning we drove back to Bar Harbor to explore the town. Then we took the circular scenic drive around the Acadia National Park and then drove on towards Bangor. We discussed going North through Maine towards Quebec, but decided to head west towards New Hampshire. I had wanted to head north to Millinocket which is the town close to where the Appalachian Trail starts, as I had already been close to the southernmost point of the Trail. But that would have taken us out of our way. There was much more to see further on!
New Hampshire is almost rectangular and its East-West dimension is a maximum of 93 miles (150 km) and 180 miles (290 km) North-South. On the border with Maine we stopped in the town of Gorham, located close to a section of the Appalachian Trail. This northern section of New Hampshire is very mountainous and wooded. It is great for people who love outdoor sports, particularly skiing in winter.
That night we stayed in the small town of Lancaster in the Coos Motor Inn. Our next stop was across the border in St Johnsbury, Vermont. There we took a tour of the Maple Grove Farms Sugar House Museum. It was while browsing through the shop that I saw a newspaper clipping about a Dog Chapel. In answer to my question the shop assistant provided more information and I asked for directions to the place. We then drove out of town to this most interesting place which ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. A world renowned artist and author, Stephen Huneck, created Dog Mountain so people could experience his artwork and share his passion for nature. He built the Dog Chapel on Dog Mountain as “A Place where people can go to celebrate the spiritual bond they have with their dogs”. Each year thousands of people from around the world visit Dog Mountain. You can check it out on www.dogmt.com .
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| The Chapel on Dog Mountain |
Stephen died in January 2010 and his wife died in 2013, but the Dog Chapel and the shop continue.
Back in St Johnsbury we took a walk around the town and paid a visit to the Athenaeum, a public library and art gallery. This National Historic Landmark was donated to the town by Horace Fairbanks in 1871. It has Victorian reading rooms with elaborate woodwork and spiral staircases. It is really beautiful. It is finding such lovely buildings in unexpected places that makes travel so enjoyable.
North of St Johnsbury is Lyndon, an area known as the covered bridge capital of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Despite being totally unprepared with information of the whereabouts of the various covered bridges in the area, Joan and I made a short detour to see if we could find any.
The one we did find is the School House Bridge which is located at the junction of U.S. Route 5 and South Wheelock Road. According to the Lyndon Chamber of Commerce website, records show that the covered bridge was built in 1879. John Clement laid the abutments, J.C. Jones drew the plan of the woodwork and Lee Goodell framed and supervised the building of it.
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| Covered Bridge |
We then drove the next 35 miles to Montpelier, which is the capitol of the state, and took a few pictures in the attractive town.
The next leg of the journey to Montreal took us through a most impressive part of the country, Lake Champlain. It is named after a French explorer, Samuel de Champlain. The lake is long, extending 120 miles southwards from Canada. The width varies from a quarter of a mile to twelve miles. The east bank is bordered by Vermont, the lower west two-thirds by New York State and the rest by Canada. About seventeen miles north of Burlington, there is a bridge that takes one across to South Hero Island, and after traversing to the north of the island one crosses over another bridge to North Hero, then another bridge takes one to a peninsula and some miles further north another bridge takes one across to Canada. The islands are popular as a summer resort area and II would have liked to spend the rest of the afternoon on the North Island, but Joan was keen on getting to Montreal before sunset.
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| Lake Champlain |
We crossed the border into Canada at Alburg, which is a very quiet border post and we were quizzed on where we were headed and why. I suppose that given how secluded this crossing is, border guards have to quiz travelers closely about why they are using it and how they even know it exists. Our explanations obviously satisfied them. From there it was fifty miles into Montreal, where Joan thought it best if we stayed in a hotel in the city centre.
Finding our way into Montreal was a real challenge considering most road signs were in French, and the traffic was horrendous, being a Friday. It was up to me to navigate for Joan and without maps it was not easy. The outer suburbs seemed to go on for miles and when I misunderstood a billboard and told Joan to take an off ramp, it made matters worse for us. We pulled into the parking area of what seemed a business park to ask for directions and there, much to my relief I spotted the logo of the AAA! Fortunately it was still open, and we rushed inside with me flashing my AAA membership card. A pleasant young lady, who spoke English, was able to give us directions and provide us with maps. I cannot emphasize enough the benefits of belonging to the AAA in the USA or the AA in South Africa and the UK. They have been a lifesaver for me on many occasions.
The Quality Inn in downtown Montreal is where we eventually found accommodation and parking for my vehicle in the basement. It was Joan’s turn to pay for accommodation, but her debit card was rejected. It turned out that she had not notified her bank of her travel plans, and this was the bank’s security measure. Joan was most incensed by this, but I pointed out that she should be grateful that her bank implements such measures, as in the event of her card being lost or stolen, it could have disastrous consequences.
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| Cruise ship in Montreal |
Early the next morning, we explored the streets on foot. It turned out we were in the historic part of Montreal. We ended up next to the St Lawrence waterway in the Old Port area, There was a cruise ship in the harbour and a variety+ of other vessels. I have since learned that Montreal is the world’s largest inland port. There is really so much to see in the city and we only glimpsed a few sites of interest, including Victoria Square with a large statue of Queen Victoria, on our walk back to the hotel to pick up the car. We drove past the Botanical Gardens, and thought of paying it a short visit, however the admission cost was more than we wanted to spend on the brief time available to us.
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| Old Harbour, Montreal |
We then headed south towards New York State, hoping to travel on the western side of the St Lawrence River, but somehow we ended up on the eastern side again and went through the border at Massena. There we were able to see the Dwight D. Eisenhower lock. This lock and the Bertrand Snell lock allow about 3000 ships from international ports to pass with cargo and passengers along the Great Lakes-St Lawrence Seaway System, which stretches 2342 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the headwaters of the Great Lakes.
Joan and I travelled on the road skirting the St Lawrence River, stopping where the views looked interesting. At one point we stopped next to a cottage with a lovely view across the river towards a city on the Canadian side. A man stepped outside and we asked him if we could enter the property so that we could take some pictures. He was very friendly and spent some time chatting. He was from Syracuse and spent two months every summer in the cottage. This area is known as the Thousand Islands. I have studied the maps and think that the city in Canada is called Brockville.
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| Brockville , Canada |
This really is a pretty area and I can understand why it is popular for a summer holiday.
From there we drove inland to find somewhere to sleep. We reached Watertown, a smallish town where for some reason we could not fathom, there were not many hotels and they were pricier than anywhere else. We ended up in Davidson’s Motel, a real dump, but listed in the AAA Tour Book, and about 3 miles from the town centre.
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| Mexico, on the St Lawrence |
Harrisburg is the capitol of Pennsylvania and we planned to have a look around the town, including the state capitol building. Traffic was minimal, being a Sunday so there was plenty of parking to be found. While walking to the building, we saw a parked police vehicle, and stopped to ask the driver if we had parked our vehicle in a legitimate spot. He confirmed that the spot was safe and then Joan asked him where there was a good place serving lunch. He gave us the name of a restaurant and directions, but when we got there, it had closed a few minutes earlier. There seemed to be no other restaurants in the vicinity so we walked around the outside of the capitol building, a really impressive structure with a large water feature in front.
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| Harrisburg State Capitol |
After leaving Harrisburg we stopped for gas in a small town, Inwood, close to the border between West Virginia and Virginia.
We then spent the night in a Comfort Inn in Staunton, Virginia. First settled in 1732, Staunton is one of the oldest cities west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. And it also survived the Civil war unscathed.
Monday was spent driving home through North and South Carolina. We stopped at Lake Norman, the largest man-made body of water in North Carolina. We parked next to a yacht club. There were a few shops, including a wine shop that arranged wine-tasting, nearby. We found a quiet place to sit and watch the water and the yachts. We had a picnic lunch, and then reluctantly departed for the last leg of our journey to Atlanta where, 3427 miles later, we arrived home safely.
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| Lake Norman |
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