I had always wanted to see New England and although I know that most people visit in The Fall for the famous colours, I was worried that if we went then, we would spend all our time chasing the colours and not seeing the place itself, so off we went in June. There are no direct flights to Boston from Birmingham so we flew to Newark and drove round the coast.
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| The Charles W Morgan |
Steam trains in America do not travel very fast in our experience, but we enjoyed the trip through the woods and the cruise along the Connecticut River was very relaxing and a wonderful way to see the countryside. It would have been even more relaxing had we not arrived on the same day as Theodore Tugboat (an American children's character, on a par with Thomas the Tank Engine, they do have them both there on the same day at times!) The children on board thoroughly enjoyed our boat having to be “rescued” by Theodore.
We then carried on along the coast and spent the afternoon at Mystic Seaport, "The Museum of America and the Sea". This village-museum is well worth a visit, the seventeen acre site includes all the shops and businesses that would have been found in a 19th century seaport along with several museums and of course the ships themselves, including the Charles W Morgan, the only remaining vessel from America's 19th century whaling fleet. We were pleasantly surprised to find that we were allowed to go on board and explore all the ships, with no restraints as to where we could go and what we could touch. There were museum staff on board to answer any questions but nothing formal at all. We enjoyed lunch in the tavern and watched a demonstration of climbing rigging where we learned the origins of many of today's sayings.
We left Mystic and spent the evening driving through Rhode Island, the smallest state, and on to Hyannis on Cape Cod where we had pre-booked a hotel room for the following two nights. We knew that we would need an address to put on our immigration forms, so we booked this one hotel on the Internet before we left home; for the rest of the trip we found places to stay as we went. At this time of year, this was relatively easy to do (in some places we were the only guests), but later in the year it would be advisable to book ahead.
The following day we spent exploring Cape Cod. We had breakfast in Hyannis, drove along to Chatham to wander in the shops, then followed the coast road stopping at Marconi Beach, where the remains of a transatlantic wireless station can be seen. The first formal transmission from here was on 19 January 1903, between Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII. Unfortunately, only scattered remnants remain, most has been destroyed by erosion. We carried on to Race Point Beach, the furthest that you can go by car, then drove into Provincetown, the town at the tip of the Cape. During the summer months, the population swells from 3,500 to around 75,000 - thankfully it was not that crowded in June. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours here, enjoying clam chowder for lunch, then a cold drink as we sat in the sun and started writing a few postcards. We then returned to Hyannis, following the road on the other side of the Cape as much as we could.
We rose early the next day and drove down to Woods Hole at the southern end of the Cape to catch the ferry across to Martha's Vineyard. We walked round Vineyard Haven before catching the local bus to Edgartown where we looked across to Chappaquiddick. After lunch, we caught another bus to Oak Bluffs, a lovely old town famous for its “Gingerbread Houses”. From here we caught the ferry back to Woods Hole then drove up the coast road, crossing Cape Cod Canal by The Bourne Bridge and carried on up to Plymouth where we easily found a room in a sea front motel.
We were glad that we had already seen photographs of the famous “Plymouth Rock”, as it is not as large as we had previously thought. The “boulder” is traditionally regarded as the stepping stone used by passengers of the Mayflower as they disembarked at Plymouth, and is sheltered by a granite portico.
One monument that did impress with its size was the National Monument to the Forefathers, the largest free-standing granite statue in the world at 36 feet tall, well worth the ride out of the town centre and no other visitors when we were there.
We also spent some time at Plimoth Plantation, a reproduction village, set out as it would have been in 1627. It is very interesting to view the houses and other buildings, furnished and decorated as they would have been in the 17th century, but be warned - the staff all take the part of a real pilgrim and while in costume they live as that person, talking in the old dialect, which is quite difficult to understand, and they know nothing of modern life. They will answer questions as to what they are doing, and why they are doing it that way, and it is fascinating to see how things were done in those days.
While there, you can also visit Hobbamock's Wampanoag Indian Homestead, where you can watch Native Americans demonstrate the skills of their 17th century ancestors, building their domed shelters and carving out canoes, amongst other traditional chores such as raising crops, drying food and weaving. An interesting and educational day, it made me appreciate the trappings of modern life.
After leaving Plymouth, we headed north to Boston and had the shock of our lives when we encountered the traffic and the roadworks! Boston is in the middle of what they call “The Big Dig”. A ten lane highway is being built under, over and through the city and the noise and disruption need to be seen to be believed. We took a trolley tour round the city hopping on and off as we pleased and at times it was far quicker to hop off and walk. We managed all the traditional Bostonian things including The Freedom Trail, the famous red line on the sidewalk leads you round the most historical places in the city including Boston Common, The Old Granary Burying Ground where you can see the graves of Paul Revere and Samuel Adams amongst others, The Old State House, City Hall, Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. When we were there, the market place was full of flowers and plants and the scent was amazing, and the oldest building in Boston - Paul Revere's house, a 17th century wooden structure. We also went up The John Hancock Tower, joined in the fun aboard The Boston Tea Party Ship, and went in the bar where everyone knows your name - Cheers. Parts of Boston are stillquiet, the area round Beacon Hill is lovely and we walked down Acorn Street, the most photographed street on the hill. Boston Common is lovely but gets very crowded when the weather is good, and The Waterfront is the ideal place for an early evening stroll. We also caught the “T” out to Cambridge so that we can say we have been to Harvard. I would like to return when The Big Dig is finished as I do not think that we saw the city at its best.
Having learnt so much about Paul Revere and the events of 19 April 1775, we decided to follow his ride out to Lexington, where the first shots of the Revolution were fired, and then on to Concord and The Old North Bridge where was fired the “shot that was heard round the world”. We had not planned this detour but it was well worth it, the scenery and architecture was wonderful and we felt that we would remember far more about America's history than we would by just reading about what happened. There are plenty of things to see and places to visit and it all brings the past to life. We left one area of history for another as our next stop was Salem.
It was in Salem that we decided to treat ourselves to a stay in one of New England's famous bed and breakfasts instead of the usual motor inn and we checked in to The Inn at Seven Winter Street. This was a delightful old wooden house with just one ground floor room vacant. The room was furnished with old furniture including a four poster bed that I almost needed steps to climb into, and the hospitality ran to a decanter of sherry on the dresser and a plate of chocolate mints at bed time. Breakfast was as many muffins and as much fruit as you could manage, lovely; we enjoyed our stay.
We then carried on up the coast to Maine and a visit to Kennebunkport, now famous as the summer residence of George Bush (both father and son). We found this a delightful seaside town and our last stop on the coast as our route next took us inland to New Hampshire and the Lake Winnipesaukee Region. We drove round the south shore of the lake, stopping for a break in Meredith before carrying on round the lake to visit The Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough.
En route to the car park, you pass “The Pebble”, a boulder taller than either of us, and Bridal Veil Falls, well worth a stop and short walk. Once at the car park a jeep pulls carriages to take you up to the house itself, which offers outstanding views across the lake and the country side, back in the car park and another jeep takes you through the grounds to see the spring and bottling plant for Castle in the Clouds water; more water bubbles up than can possibly be bottled and sold, so it is used for every day purposes on the estate, including flushing the loos! We also went on to visit the estate brewery and sample the different beers brewed using the spring water. We found them to be very pleasant and, at less than a dollar a bottle, decided to purchase a six pack to bring home for presents. We were the only people on board to purchase any, and everyone else looked in amazement at our box of six bottles - I was almost made to feel like an alcoholic because I was sitting holding them. I might add that we were the only English people visiting that day, so that may have had something to do with it. After our visit we drove on to Squam Lake, pausing in Holderness to photograph this picturesque lake where they filmed On Golden Pond, then carried on to Lincoln where we checked into The Kancamagus Motel for a few days so that we could explore The White Mountains.
We drove along The Kancamagus Highway which I should imagine is amazing in its fall colours, it is pretty wonderful in June. The 34.5 mile road runs from the Pemigewasset River in Lincoln in the west, to Conway in the east, climbing to nearly 3000 feet as it crosses the flank of Mt. Kancamagus. There are several places to stop to take in the spectacular views, or walk into the mountains. We took the short walk to The Sabbaday Falls, so called because early explorers of the Passaconway Valley reached the falls on a Sunday and during the following years they became a favourite "Sabbath Day" journey. All the stopping places have machines to pay for parking (different coloured tickets at each) so, if you intend stopping at several of the viewpoints, it is better to purchase a single multi-stop ticket before you set off.
We ended up in Conway and took a ride on The Conway Scenic Railway, a 50 minute round trip in the mountains, very relaxing and the railway station has to be one of the prettiest I have ever seen, there are also plenty of steam engines behind the station to wander round if you are interested in trains. While making our way back to Lincoln, through Crawford Notch, we saw our first moose on the side of the road; we have seen herds of them in fields before, but this was the first one out and about on his own.
The following day we drove up to The Mount Washington Cog Railway, and booked tickets for the 11 a.m. train. The track is at such an incline all the way up that the seats in the carriages are angled. We were lucky enough to get the front seats on the ride up and we were told that our feet were at the same level as the heads of the people on the back seat! The track climbs the mountain entirely on trestles - the only railway in the world to do so, the steepest part being Jacob’s Ladder, over 37 percent gradient - difficult to stand up here - we tried. We spent twenty minutes at the top of the mountain before the ride back down; unfortunately, the cloud was down, so we could not see much and it was rather cold and damp, also windy. It was here on 12 April 1934 that the highest wind ever observed by man was recorded, 231 mph. The summit is known as the “home of the world's worst weather”. We drove back down Franconia Notch, stopping to take in the views of the “Old Man’s Foot”, The Old Man of the Mountain and then again at Flume Gorge where we spent a very pleasant couple of hours walking the gorge and enjoying the tranquility of being in the country.
We left Lincoln and carried on to Vermont, our first night was in Danville where we stayed in another wonderful bed and breakfast, Hamilton House. As we were the only guests, we had our choice of the rooms; all five were gorgeous. The one we chose had another bed that I could only just climb into without steps. The breakfast here was stupendous. We had seen a list of things on the blackboard in the dining room the previous evening as we enjoyed coffee and home made cake after a walk round the village, and thought that we would have a choice from this list. But no, we got everything on it! We had coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh fruit salad, bacon and muffins then fresh strawberry waffles and cream, all for breakfast! We needed a walk after all that and we were told that there was a Farmers Market on the village green that day so we took a walk over. I bought quite a few bottles of maple syrup to bring home both for myself and as presents. It was made on a local farm and cost a lot less than I had seen it in the shops so I was very pleased. The service was also so friendly - everyone wanted to know where we were from, they already knew where we had spent the night - news travels fast in a small community. We eventually managed to drag ourselves away and set off for Stowe where we visited Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory. It was a shame that we could not bring loads home, but we enjoyed seeing how it is made and of course the tasting afterwards; they had several new
flavours that we cannot yet get over here.
We finally dragged ourselves away from the ice creams and drove down to Barre (pronounced Barry) to visit the Rock of Ages granite quarry. There are two quarries on Millstone Hill; the smaller one - 475 feet deep, is half filled with water, the other - over 600 feet deep is still in use, the men and machinery looking like toys from our viewpoint.
From here we drove down to Woodstock, said to be one of the prettiest villages in America, and checked in to The Shire Inn. This side of the road motel has wonderful gardens sloping down to the Ottauquechee River and all the rooms are furnished differently - another four poster bed for us, and wooden rocking chairs on the deck outside our doors. The village really is lovely and we enjoyed our visit to Quechee Gorge, six miles east of the village. The sheer walls can best be seen from the bridge that carries Route 4 over the gorge, it is worth parking next to the gift shop and walking over the bridge to gaze down at the sheer rock walls, and the river 165 feet below. We also walked down the steep trail to the end of the gorge but were disappointed to find that by the time you are at river level, the gorge and the bridge are both out of sight round a bend. Still, the exercise was good for us.
Our route then took us down Highway 91 which runs alongside the Connecticut River and the border between Vermont and New Hampshire. We stopped at Old Fort No 4 at Charlestown then back into Massachusetts and Historic Deerfield. The main thoroughfare of this small town is known as The Street and is home to many 18th and 19th Century buildings, fourteen of which are open to the public. It needs at least two days to really see all the buildings and the admission ticket is valid for 7 consecutive days. It is also worth taking the Channing Blake Meadow Walk through farmland, meadows and wetlands. The village is bypassed by the main roads and is a haven of tranquillity.
Our next scenic drive was the 63 mile long Mohawk Trail from Greenfield to North Adams. We took a slight detour to visit Shelburne Falls to see the glacial potholes and also found the delightful Bridge of Flowers. The 400 foot long bridge was originally used by trolleys but, when it was no longer in use, it was turned into a pathway between flowers and trees spanning the river. As we were there in June, the scent along this path was beautiful and we were pleased to see that all the plants (including trees) were labelled. It really was a lovely surprise.
At the entrance to the Mohawk Trail State Forest stands the bronze sculpture “Hail to the Sunrise”, an Indian brave, arms reaching for the sun. The statue was erected as a memorial to the five Indian tribes that once lived in this area. The highest point on the trail is Whitcomb Summit - 2,240 feet, with stunning views in all directions and also a statue of an Elk, in memory of the brothers of the Massachusetts Elks Association, who died in the world wars. Just before we reached North Adams, we went to The Bridge State Park to see a natural bridge made from white marble, natural wonders abound all over; you just have to know about them. In North Adams we visited the Western Gateway Heritage State Park and learned the story behind The Hoosac Tunnel, the 4.8 mile tunnel took 25 years to construct (1851-75) and was the first time nitroglycerine had been used as a blasting agent. At the time it was the longest tunnel in America but it was built at a cost of nearly 200 lives.
We spent our last day at Hancock Shaker Village, a museum that demonstrates the history of the sect. The village was an active community from 1790 right up until 1960. The buildings are all open to wander round and most have guides, some in character, to explain and demonstrate how things were done. The round stone barn is perhaps the most famous of the buildings here. It was built on three levels, the top level was where the wagons emptied their load into the central haymow, the middle level housed the cattle, the stables radiate out from the central manger so only one person is needed to attend to all the animals, and the lower level housed the manure pits. Banking round the barn ensured easy access to all levels. When we left the village we drove south, into New York State and down Interstate 87 to Newark and home.
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and the smell of the flowers everywhere will stay with me for ever. Most people go for the colour in autumn but I am glad that we went in June; it was quiet and hot, too hot most of the time as they were having unseasonably hot weather when we visited - most days it was in the 80's and 90's. I would definitely go back, some of the places we saw are really worth going back to and there was so much that we did not have time to see in 15 days - no matter how much homework you do before you go, there are always so many other things to see and do once you get there. New England has something for every taste, mountains, sandy beaches and rugged coastline, quiet villages and bustling cities, steam trains and museums. I'll be back.
First published in VISA issues 48-49 (winter 2002 and January 2003)
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