Going to Vermont

July 17, 2016

At about 6:00 this morning, it started raining. We waited a while in the tent, hoping it would stop. Then Wendy went out to the bathroom and came back and said the sky was full of dark clouds. There was no point in waiting. We packed up our stuff. As we were getting stuff in the car, it was really pouring. We just kind of threw things in the car. 

We started driving out of Acadia at 7:30 - the earliest morning we've had this trip. At about 8:00, we passed a Tim Horton and got breakfast. Then we drove the rest of the way to Montpelier.  We passed all the way through New Hampshire. Montpelier is tiny.  We are staying at the Econolodge.  It's definitely not luxurious, but is quite cheap - $75 per night. 

We checked in and then started taking stuff out of the car to drive. Wendy managed to get her tent dry in the sun in the parking lot. Then we drove to Cabot Creamery to see how they make cheese. It was interesting. They don't allow you to take any photos. I was in mpressed that when farmers bring them their milk, it is tested for antibiotics and hormones. They won't accept milk with either. After the creamery, we drove to a place where they make maple syrup. They are not making syrup now, in the summer, but you can walk around and see the machinery and also walk up the path into the forest to see where the trees are tapped. We had a maple flavored ice cream cone. It was very good. 

Last, we walked around Montpelier. It's only about 4 blocks. There are Bernie Sanders photos in many store windows. We had some Mexican food and then headed back to the hotel room. 

Acadia National Park

July 15 and 16, 2016

We left Portland and headed up to Bar Harbor. We took a slight detour to go to a farmers market in Belfast. We were hoping to get Maine blueberries, but didn't find any. We bought some cheese and wine for dinner tonight. When we got Bar Harbor, we stopped at a little lunch place and had sandwiches. We also stopped at a roadside stand and bought strawberries. Then we continued on to find our campground in Acadia. It's kind of strange. I think the whole island is the park, but there are private homes here. There are also many private roads. When you enter the campground area, you have to pay or show your admission permit. We needed to go in to register for our campsite. We had a reservation, which I had made online ahead of time.  I asked whether I could get my senior national park pass there. I've wanted to get one, but you have to buy it at a national park and there's always a long line to enter at Great Falls and I don't want to do anything to slow up the line. So, I got it at Acadia. It's $10 and it's good for life. If I had gotten it before I reserved the campsite, it would have been half the price. (Still, $22 per night was a great deal). We set up our tent and then went out to drive around. We are at the Saewall campground. It would have been better if we were at the Blackwell camp. Most of the interesting things are near there. There wasn't time to drive all the way to Park Loop Road. It's on the other side of the island, so we just drove around the area near our campground a little. We found a store and bought more dinner supplies: ice, pepperoni, more cheese, tomatoes and grapes.  It was a very gourmet store - nice stuff, but expensive. We would have been better off to buy things at a regular grocery before we got to Acadia. Then we went back to the campsite and ate dinner. I went for a walk after that. Then we started a fire and had some wine. 

On Saturday, 7/15, we left the campground to go see the sights. We had intended to stop in town to get coffee and then find a nice spot to have coffee with our blueberry scones that we got at the bakery yesterday, but the town was packed. There was some kind of parade (flamingo festival?). People were lining the street and the road was full of traffic. We just drove on as quickly as we could. We ate our scones in the car a little later. We also had bananas. (I got up before Wendy and I had 2 chocolate covered coffee beans when I was getting dressed in order to get my caffeine. Than we drove over to the park loop road. It means getting onto another peninsula. We drove to Cadillac Mountain. It has unbelievable views. Also, the gift store had coffee. 

After that, we went to see the wild plant garden. 

We also went to Sand Beach. It was wonderful. I took off my shoes and walked in the ocean. This is a beach where I would have loved to swim. The water was cold, but it would have been lovely to swim I it. 

Then we went to see Thunderhole. It's a place where the tide comes in and fills a little area. We could also see whales from there. 

We went to Gordon's Pond and had lunch in a lovely restaurant. I had lobster roll. I feel like I need to keep trying lobster roll at different places. It's always good. 

Then we decided to walk the trail around Gordon's Pond. The ranger said it was 3 miles, but I'm sure it was more than that. It was a nice trail. We climbed over rocks and walked on planks over a bog, but we were worn out after that.  And Wendy had a blister on her foot. 

When we got back near the campground, we were totally sweaty. There's a store near he entrance to the campground that has showers for $1.50 for 2 minutes. We had enough quarters for each of us to take a 4 minute shower. We took showers right away - at about 4:00 because we thought it would be crowded in the morning. And it was getting crowded as we left. So, we got ourselves nice and clean to drive to Vermont tomorrow morning. 

We came back to the campsite and had our leftovers from last night for dinner. It was more than enough. We had leftover cheese and gave it to some neighbors at another campsite. Wendy went to bed early because she didn't sleep last night. I sat up and drank some brandy that I bought in town. 

Second day in Portsmouth

July 14, 2016

Today we walked around downtown Portsmouth in the morning. We just kind of got a feel for the city. We went by the Wadsworth Longfellow House and the Victorian mansion. We are kind of old house'ed out, so we just looked from outside and didn't pay the entry fee. We went in lots of little shops. Wendy actually shopped for herself and for me. She suggested things for me to try on.  I bought a dress and a top. 

Then we drove to the Maine Craft distillery.  We tried several gins, rum and vodkas. The guy was very knowledgeable and explained a lot. We each bought some blueberry moonshine. 

Then we drove to Freeport. We had lunch at a little stand outside LLBean.  I had a lobster taco.  It was good. The lobster is always in big chunks and it's fresh. We shopped some more at the outlets there

After that, we went to the Cold River Distillery.  It was not as interesting of a tasting. The girl had us try only three and didn't say much. Wendy liked the liquor there much better, though. (I thought they were about the same). Both tastings were free. 

At that point, we were getting hot and tired. We went back to the hotel to go to the pool. 

We asked the girl at the front desk where we could get a good burger. She recommended The Lost Bear. We went there and it was great. 

Portsmouth, NH and Portland, ME

We had a very nice breakfast at our hotel in Gloucester. 

Then, we drove for about an hour to Portsmouth, NH. We took a walking tour - described in Wendy's book. It's again a cute little seaside town. We sat and watched a kids' camp practice their musical and in a park and ate lunch at Copeland's. It's a restaurant where they don't allow any political campaigning.  After spending the morning in Portsmouth, we drove to about an hour to Portland, NH. We went to a brewery and took a tour. The tour was interesting. Wendy and I tasted a little beer, but neither of us likes beer. 

We then drove to our hotel (LaQuinta again). When we got there, I checked the email confirmation and realized that I had made the reservation for the 12th and 13th, but we needed the 13th and 14th. We went in and explained to the girl at the desk. She said that in the case of a no show, it charges you for the first night and cancels your reservation for the following nights. Fortunately, she was able to fix it for us. 

We went to the pool for a while and then to the outlet mall. We found quite a few bargains. 

Gloucester

July 12, 2016

Today we drove to Goucester. We went to see Hammond Castle. It reminded me of Hearst Castle in California. There is even a ceiling that William Randolph Hearst gave to Mr Hammond. Hammond was an inventor and is considered the father of remote control. That's how he made so much money. The castle is medieval.  Many things were shipped from Europe. It has lots of interesting rooms. There's a conference room with a domed ceiling where if you whisper on one end,you can hear it on the opposite end.  The courtyard has a roof and he could simulate different kinds of weather. The house also had beautiful views of the sea. 

Mr Hammond also collected things from Columbus's voyage. He had a skull of one of Columbus's crewmen.

We had lunch in a little diner and then walked around Gloucester. It's a cute little seaside town. It has a memorial to the fishermen's wives. 

There's also a memorial to the fishermen lost at sea. Gloucester has been a seaport since the 1600's. They have a list of all those lost at sea since the 1700's. Both memorials are on a walkway along the harbor. 

Our hotel (Castle Manor Inn) called me in the morning, to ask whether we would be arriving after 8, but we were there by 3. It's a cute little place that seems to be family-run. 

In the late afternoon, we went down to Half Moon Beach. We paid $10 for parking for the day. It was a very rocky beach, but we had chairs, so we were quite comfortable. I went in the water a little, but it was difficult because of the rocks.  We enjoyed sitting on the beach. After a while, the tide came in and we went up to another part on the grass. The park was pretty big and I also walked around to see the rocks, etc. there's also a baseball field. It was very nice.  Perfect weather. 

Salem

Today, we left Boston and drove to Salem. We parked at the public parking and then went to the Salem Witch Museum. It was excellent. They have a sound and light gut dramatization of the Salem Witch trials. They also make the point that this can happen any time. They show parallels with macarthyism (fear of communism) and the recent fear of AIDS and demand nixing of gays. We also went to the witch House. It's a house where the magistrate who tried the witches lived. They had an amazing docent who told us all kinds of stuff about the Salem Witch trials. Then we had lunch at a lovely restaurant where we sat outside. We both had fig, goat cheese and prosciutto flat bread.

After lunch, we went to several witch shops and we went and had a tarot card reading. It was really fun. We also went to the the Salem Wirch memorial. There is a bench for each person who was executed. 

We are staying at the Hawthorne Hotel. It's a very old and luxurious looking hotel. 

Last day in Boston

July 10, 2016

Today, we took the metro to the Fine Arts museum. It was very nice. They had some Monet paintings that I really liked. They also had a Megacities Exhibit. It was very interesting and interactive. 

Then we went back to downtown Boston. We watched the street entertainers and shopped. We had last nicholas in a Lebanese place and then went to the Italian section to buy cannoli at Mike's.  There was a church parade on the street. They had a band and were carrying a statue of a saint. They stop all the traffic for the parade. Drivers were getting angry and honking.  Then a man came out with a huge pile of fire crackers and set them off in the street. The parade passes by bars and other businesses give them money for "protection" from the saint. We wandered around looking at different things and then returned to Sommerville to shop for some warmer clothes. I bought a long sleeved shirt and a hooded jacket.  

JFK Museum and Cambridge

Today it's kind of misty, though no real rain. And we're both still kind of tired from yesterday. My feet are definitely still sore. We drove to the John F Kennedy Museum. It was interesting and reminded me of how much I like Kennedy. 

After that, we drove over to Cambridge. There wasn't too much interesting there. We went in some stores and ate lunch. 

Paul called. Nicholas (boy next door) is taking care of my cat.  I asked Paul to stop by and see if everything looks okay. He said all is fine. Ohana was being especially friendly to him. 

We went to a Mexican restaurant tonight - Papagayo. We discovered that right by our hotel, there's an area with restaurants and outlet stores. It's very nice. We will probably go back there tomorrow. Wendy asked our waitress what we should see in Boston. She told us to go to Lawn on D. It's an area where they have lots of fun things to do. It's free, but you can us drinks, etc. they have lighted swings, corn hole games, a giant genga game, and many other things. We took the T to the center of town and then walked a mile to get to it. While we were there, it rained pretty hard. We took an Uber back to the hotel. 

Freedom Trail

July 8, 2016

Today we took the subway from our hotel in Somerville into bison. It's only 4 stops to the center of town. We followed the Freedom Trail. It's a red brick path in the sidewalk that leads you to different historic sights. 

Along the way, we stopped at the Parker House Hotel to have a piece of Boston Cream Pie at the place where it originated. We saw Paul Revere's House, Feneuil Hall and Quincy Market. 

We had lunch at The Green Dragon.  It's a place where Boston revolutionaries used to meet and Paul Revere's ride was planned there. I had a lobster roll. 

There were many other interesting stops. We saw printing done with a colonial era press and a chocolate drink made. We sampled that one. It was delicious. 

In the evening, we went to the Cheers bar and had a sandwich and a drink. 

We didn't get back to the hotel till after 9:00. We walked over 9 miles - a tiring, but very interesting day. 

Plymouth

July, 7, 2016

Today, we had breakfast at our La Quinta hotel in Warwick and then went to see Brown University in Providence. We had fun walking around the university.  

  

We also went in lots of little shops near the campus. There was one shop that had lots of cool hippy type stuff. Wendy got a dress and I got a dress and shawl.  I consulted the girl in the shop about tattoos. (She had many). Lately I stop every person with tattoos to ask about them. This girl said that you shouldn't get one in the summer because you don't want sun or chlorine on it for the first few weeks. I told her I've looked at tons of images on the web and still don't know what I want. She said when I see it, I'll know. 

After Providence, we drove to Plymouth. We went to Plimoth Plantation. It was fabulous. They have a native village where real Native Americans dress in period costume and tell you about their customs at that time. 

There was a man who was showing how they made headdresses. He had a couple there made with porcupine hairs and deer tails. He also knew a lot about Native American languages - and even African ones. He said that many slaves were brought from the Empire of Mali to the Americas and intermarried with the Native Peoples. So some people there spoke Bambara.  His own language was Algonquan.  It is a Lenape language. Lenape means human beings. 

There is also an English settlement. That was quite large. We walked through many houses. They have actors in costume who talk to you as if they are the actual people. They have strange accents and know their stories very well. They were really excellent. We spent several hours on Plimoth Plantation. 

There was also a farmer's market on the grounds. We went there before leaving. It was small and didn't have much, but they were making fresh arepas. We sat on the grass and had them for lunch. (It was 3:00). It was quite cool there - near the harbor and I had to go get my fleece from the car before I could enjoy the market. 

Next, we drove less than 3 miles to see the reconstruction of the Mayflower.  It was part of our ticket for Plimoth Plantation. It's fairly small. The ship itself isn't that interesting, but the actors are excellent, and told great stories. 

Then we walked over to see Plymouth Rock

And then to see a grist mill (also part of the tour

After that, we were totally exhausted and my foot was hurting. We drove to our next hotel, La Quinta, in Somerset ( just outside Boston). We will be here for four nights. There is a Pub 99 right across the parking lot. We had dinner there. 

Brooklyn to Rhode Island

July 6, 2016

Today we had a very leisurely start. Both Wendy and I felt that we should leave the bathroom free for Oumar and Lisa to get ready for work. So, we didn't start showering and getting ready till around 8:30. We found a cry little place a few blocks from the apartment to have breakfast. 

Then, we started to drive to Connecticut. It took forever to get out of New York City. 

We drove to one winery, but it was closed. Then we drove to the Jonathan Edwards winery. We did a tasting and then sat outside and had a glass of wine. We stayed there till 5 PM (Lots of driving today) and then drove to Mystic. We split a salad and a pizza.  

Then we drove to Mystic.  We split a salad and a pizza and then split up and walked around the shops for a while. 

After Mystic, we drove to our hotel in Warwick, Rhode Island. We are staying at La Qunita tonight.