True to form, this last blog comes late from my pen (well laptop), so apologies for the very late post.  We wanted to finish off on a positive and New York was a truly positive, if expensive, place to say our farewells to the US for the time being.  I’m afraid this blog might read a bit like a restaurant guide, it had been a while since we had so many great dining options to chose from so we spent a fair amount of time in them this week.

Alex left you in the club at our ‘boutique’ 350 room hotel, Soho Grand Hotel (well recommended) throwing shapes, she didn’t mention that we felt our age somewhat more on the Sunday morning!  After a relaxed day we eventually sallied forth from the hotel to meet a colleague of mine from HSBC, Mickey Isabella, for dinner at a Greek restaurant, Kellari, only to discover her waiting outside as they had no power, or more importantly, heating as the temperature was hovering around freezing.  We chose to go to the Strip House next door, unfortunately for those expecting titillation this is an upmarket steak house which had great service, great steaks, Alex and I shared an enormous porterhouse steak.  It was great (that word again) to catch up with Mickey and gossip about HSBC and about general US politics and current affairs, with a very good bottle of wine to smooth the larynx.

We arose somewhat earlier on Monday and went for breakfast at a smart little restaurant called Egg Shop where we had really marvellous breakfast ‘sandwiches’ along with freshly squeezed orange juice and hash browns. 

We spent the rest of the morning walking the streets, visiting the Charging Bull and the recently added Fearless Girl statues, having a discussion with a protestor on the steps of the Federal Hall about how the US was in danger of being controlled by the British again, I have to say I thought it was pretty spurious his argument, but we left on amicable terms.  We walked down to the Battery and caught the Ferry across to Ellis Island, passing the Statue of Liberty en route, we spent two hours here reading about the poorer immigrants and the indignities they went through to gain passage through customs.  The scariest was the eye hook used to check if the person had trachoma, a contagious disease that causes blindness, those discovered with it would be returned to their port of departure.  There are sad tales of families being split up with one member being sent home, sometimes never to see the family again, but in the main the vast majority were allowed through to populate the newly opening lands and work to improve their lives.  We both were moved by the museum and the stories it gives for the approximately 12 million people who passed through.

In the evening we met up with Michelle and John, our pals who we met snorkelling in Florida, for dinner at Becco.  This is a good Italian from a renowned chef, we both had the all you can eat triple pasta, although Michelle’s swordfish steak was the winner of the mains!  The company was wonderful and with a couple more bottles of good red wine we caught up on our travelling tales since we last saw them in August.  After dinner we wandered down to Times Square and to Saks to view the Christmas lights, Saks display was something else entirely from the much staider Oxford Street lights we are used to in the UK.  Really lovely to catch up with them both and we feel we’ve made friends for life and will definitely keep up and hopefully catch up in the future during our travels.

Tuesday, we set off to ‘do’ the Met, I caught the subway (much dirtier and smellier than the London Tube but quick and efficient) while Alex walked the three and a half miles to get her steps in (don’t ask).  I walked through a chilly Central Park to meet her on the steps and we went in to the museum to concentrate on the US galleries (we have a fare amount of European art in London already).  The museum is enormous, and we got lost wandering its galleries before finding one another outside on the steps.  I decided the Met’s own café was too expensive and we set off to a local sandwich store, Eat, that I hoped was cheaper, this was not the case and we ended up paying around $50 for two soft drinks and two sandwiches, taught me not to expect any affordable lunch options near Park Avenue.  We spent around four hours in the Met before deciding to catch the bus all the way back to our hotel.  The weather was getting colder and it was a chilly wait for the bus to arrive and the journey was around an hour down the length of 5^th Avenue, again worth it to watch the people get on and off and the surroundings.  For dinner we went to a nearby pasta bar, Sola, for a bowl of fusilli and ragu and another good bottle of red.

We had visited the Flight 93 memorial on the way across to New York and on Wednesday we went to the 9/11 Memorial and museum.  Like the Flight 93 memorial this is a truly moving experience, starting with a film showing US and world politicians reaction to the attack along with some of the key figures on the day, such as the chief of the fire department and the mayor, Rudy Guiliani.  It was a powerful start to a museum that gives an incredible amount of detail on the attacks but most importantly imparts many of the human stories of the day and tragedy that struck so many families.  Some of the images are very upsetting and the mangled remains of the steel girders and the crushed fire trucks are incredible.  The museum and the memorial pools will remain in our memories for a long time to come.

We settled for a quieter evening and went for a pizza at Rubirosa’s.  This was the best pizza we’ve had in America, and possibly ever, really enormous traditional thin crust pizza.  The waitress was lovely and cheered us up after our sobering trip to the museum earlier.  Also, good value for money!

Thursday, we decided to walk the length of 5^th Avenue and visit the Guggenheim to add to the list of Frank Lloyd-Wright buildings we have seen.  We wrapped up and after an hour of walking reached the museum to find it is closed on Thursdays, hmmm not saying who was responsible for checking opening hours but it wasn’t me!  We went for a coffee around the corner in the most pretentious Starbucks ever where there was a special bar serving individual ground coffee for a large amount of money and a really long queue for the normal stuff at the back of the store!  We had a quiet evening in anticipation of our flight home the next day with a simple burger at the Burger and Barrel Winepub, which was a bit overwhelmed by Christmas office parties (although not as raucous as those of our youth!) but was nice nonetheless.  We had an early night and had a good nights sleep.

For our final morning in the US we chose to visit the One World Trade Center Observatory.  Fortunately, there were no crowds and we were able to catch the striking lift the 102 stories with little wait.  The lift plays a film of the development of Manhattan Island from the first Dutch settlers to the present day showing its inexorable rise in height and density from the foundation of New York.  The day was dull and cold but the views from the top were still worth while and we spent an hour pointing out landmarks both in Manhattan but also in New Jersey and the other five boroughs.

We returned to the hotel, finished our packing in our enormous £10 suitcase purchased over 15 months ago on East Street market, and rather than take a cab took the large black Chevy Suburban hire car recommended by the hotel.  It had just begun to snow and we felt it would be a more comfortable way to get to the airport.  This turned out to be a great decision as the driver was from Brooklyn and we went through his local area on the way with him talking about his family’s background in the Dominican Republic, his parent’s arrival in New York and their lives as musicians.  We reached JFK with time to spare to enable us to sit in the BA lounge and we got on the plane relaxed and ready for the flight home.  We had our welcome aboard glass of champagne and were then informed that while we had arrived with plenty of time to catch the flight, the flight crew themselves were delayed in the snowy weather and we would be delayed until their arrival.  What was more galling for those passengers who were also delayed was they closed the gate with several not having made it on board!  We eventually took off two hours late, after which the flight was uneventful, and we arrived back after some sleep to a cold and windy Heathrow and the start of the next phase of our lives together.

We’ll post some additional thoughts on our trip, things such as our favourite parks, cities etc and what we have most enjoyed about our trip.  Suffice to say here that we loved our trip, we loved the people we met (even those who support the 2^nd amendment so vehemently), the countryside is incredibly beautiful and sometimes still remote from the bustle of our everyday worries, we found it easy to buy Reg, easy to drive around and easy to find places to stay  We would recommend to everyone to spend an extended time in the US, in particular visiting the National Parks, which for an annual pass costing $80 is the most value for money purchase we made.

M

In complete contrast from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame we set off on Sunday and drove south west, over the border from Ohio into Pennsylvania to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece – Fallingwater. One of the themes for us this year has been seeing his work in whatever state we have been in, mainly because we joined his fan club and get a discount when we turn up!! We needed to justify the membership fee and Fallingwater is nowhere near anywhere that you might reasonably go on a trip to the US from Europe – so we always planned that this would be a specific destination for us as we would be the closest we are ever likely to be to it. That said it was still about a four-hour drive!

It is a very popular property to see and is quite rightly regarded as his best house. Smaller than you expect but the setting is superb. Frank being Frank he decided not to put the house beside a waterfall and look at it – but instead he built it into the bedrock of the waterfall.

By now we feel that we could possible identity ‘Frankisms’ within his work – so we were treated to the usual things like very low ceilings and narrow entrances into rooms because he was a tiny man and he wanted a dramatic impression when the whole room is revealed. A house in a waterfall might like insect screens on the amazing windows that open completely on one corner of the building – but no, not Frank as they are ugly, so they were installed afterwards by the owners – the Kaufman family – much to Frank’s annoyance. Of course, the windows leak and there was an almighty row about the structural stability of the house whilst being constructed, not to mention a huge overspend – but who said the genius of Frank came easily? We know for sure that it doesn’t having seen his various projects all over the country.

Fallingwater was the most perfect example of his belief that nature should come inside the building and that his building should not jar with its setting. It is quite superb and if we can recreate any of his ideas in the Cotswolds we would be very happy!

Later that day we stayed in Connellsville, Pennsylvania and went to probably the weirdest café yet on our trip. Run by some rather exuberant men – it was called Wavy and Jane after their grandmothers. These chaps were in complete chaos – they sold everything and nothing if you can imagine that, and we waited about half an hour to get the tea and cake we had selected. In the meantime, we admired the window display of a camouflage t-shirt on a hanger, some scary dolls that were dressed for Christmas and some old carboard boxes. We thought that they had opened that day such was the chaos – but no that is how it was meant to be. Extraordinary and I am not sure that Pret or Starbucks will take any tips from them!

We realised on Monday that we were very close to the Flight 93 memorial. This was of course the fourth plane on 9/11, the one that the passengers fought back on. The Park Service has built the most tasteful and appropriate memorial to the people that lost their lives that terrible day in a very rural part of the state.

The exhibits tell the story again and even though we can all remember that day – it was still surprising to learn some of the details. This was the plane for instance that only had four hijackers instead of five as one of them had been detained at the airport when entering the US. It also was delayed by half an hour which is again why the passengers already knew about the Twin Towers. Little details like this helped explain why this attack did not go to plan.

The stories of the victims and their courage was overwhelming. Unlike the other planes this one had its technical data retrieved from the black box and the cockpit recorder, so the full horror of the events can be heard. It sounds ghoulish to listen to this sort of thing, but it is done to honour their memory and make sure none of us forget. It is a measure of the exhibition that they have a box of tissues on the side for the public and by golly they were needed as it was very upsetting.

The scene has been landscaped beautifully and sensitively. It was quite something to see and spend some time there.

Tuesday was a very wet day, but undeterred we set off from our new location – Clarion, PA to explore the Cook Forest which has an area of old forest called the Cathedral. Mr Cook was a lumber baron and probably should be arrested with our sensibilities today as he managed to deforest thousands of acres of the most beautiful trees. But just at the very end he managed to save some, and this state park has preserved some 3-500-year-old pines that although not like the redwoods in the west were nonetheless very beautiful. For the last time we donned our walking gear and explored the terrain very happily in between the showers with a car picnic thrown in.

On Wednesday we set off bright and early for Niagara. As we drove north east and into New York state the weather started getting very snowy, however there is a band over the lakes that manages to keep the temperatures just a little bit higher, so the snow was not settling.

We arrived at the falls in the town of Niagara Falls having driven through Buffalo very quickly on the freeway. We were both surprised how completely built up it is along this lakeshore and it is in complete contrast to the waterfalls we have climbed and hiked to within the national parks. Rather like the pyramids in Cairo no one prepares you for this natural wonder of the world being very close to casinos, hydro electric plants and industrial estates.

The falls are incredible but oh my word it was absolutely freezing. The wind was howling around – the type that gets into your ears and you think will pickle your brain. We had to go back to the car and get even more layers on and silly hats to survive.
Going in winter is an odd choice, but it added to the spectacle as the spray was blowing wildly around. No boat trips as it is too cold, but we did walk all around Goat Island and over Rainbow Bridge into Canada to see the view from there. The power of the water is mesmerising and the new observation tower on the American side gives a very good view from up high of the water plunging down.

On the Canadian side we had a hot drink in the restaurant at the top of the falls to warm up. Whilst there we witnessed some excitement – a man went over the railing, no one knew if he was a suicide and the police sent a car and someone on foot was trying to locate him. Second thing was a marriage proposal complete with ring which happened right in front of us. The good news is the lady accepted and seemed very happy and the man over the railings had just taken a photo and despite a telling off from the cops was free to go and safe! All that drama for free!

We stayed in Niagara Falls that night and had a very pleasant dinner in a wine bar. The town was pretty deserted as the temperature was really falling now. It was like a ski holiday where you spend five minutes putting on clothes to go out and about and every entrance must have a curtain to stop the draught.

By the next morning when we were to drive to Hudson, just up from New York City, the weather had really deteriorated and it had started to snow. We had a long old drive, but the preparations for the weather in NY were something we could all learn from in the UK. There were ploughs all along the freeway, parked on the central reservation waiting for things to get much worse and the salt on the road despite making the car completely filthy ensured that the snow never got to settle. All the municipal vans in the towns seemed to have mini ploughs attached to them too – so that it seems everyone lends a hand to keep things moving.

We stopped outside of Albany to send some stuff home via DHL, courtesy of Nick’s account. Very grateful to have this opportunity but it took a while to pack up the contents and as it was dark so quickly – 4.30 we sadly did not make it to the capitol building. Another thing to do next time.

We got to our hotel in Hudson and headed over the road for a Mexican meal. Hudson is a very trendy place where NYC people weekend. Slightly too far to commute – two hours on the Amtrak, but ideal for a holiday home. Perhaps the nicest main street we have seen – it had all types of buildings – houses, hotels, shops going down towards the Hudson river for about a mile. Lots of cafes and designer shops which of course are very attractively decorated for Christmas.

We dropped the car back to Enterprise whilst in Hudson and completed more chores to whittle down our possessions. By now we have done the last wash of the trip and lost the laundry baskets, left our picnic gear and repacked the cases so that we can leave Hudson with all that we can carry.

On Friday night we went to see some live music at the Helsinki venue. We had a great time and the band were called Band of Thieves. Another CD purchased so that we can relive that night when we are back in England.

Saturday, we awoke to snow in Hudson. We got the Amtrak into New York City and the journey was very pretty due to the snow. Railways sidings and graffiti covered bridges were transformed by the white stuff into an Arctic wonderland – well something like that!

New York as ever was magical despite the snow. We got to Penn Station and found a taxi, had some food to ease our hangovers and started over. Sadly, I heard that my Dad was in hospital, so we were very preoccupied throughout our time in the city, but Saturday night once we heard he was safely on a ward and on antibiotics we did manage to get out and about. The snow was so bad that we needed our walking boots, so we staggered to the Italian nearby and had a great meal watching all the various characters coming and going.

New York seemed like a sweet shop full of fashion and nationalities after some of the places that we have been. So lively and so cosmopolitan – it was quite amazing to see all the looks, hear the conversations and enjoy the amazing food.

That night we went to the club room in our very trendy hotel and managed to throw a few shapes. Not bad for a couple of old timers!

Our adventures continue for our last week in the US which Matt will post very shortly.
A x

 

 

 

 

We’ve said our goodbyes to Reg and are now on our road trip to New York, it’s a very different experience driving a Toyota Corolla weighing 1.25 tons (I find this hard to believe for such a little car) to our 30-foot, 7.25 tons (I can’t quite believe this figure either from the Forest River website) RV!

First Sunday post-Reg we spent with the Craigs, went to see Murder on the Orient Express at their swanky cinema with reclining seats, drinks and food delivered during the film.  Have to say the food was better than the film with Kenneth Branagh overacting as Poirot and the rest of the cast with almost cameos, although Johnny Depp was his most coherent in a role for a while.

We had a Thanksgiving Dinner afterwards which Barbara cooked for us all and her friend Christine, which had all the trimmings although Alex and I passed on the pumpkin pie for dessert.  It was beautifully cooked and with a bottle of champagne to celebrate our trip, it was an enjoyable way to give thanks for our fortune, although not sure who we were thanking, not the indigenous inhabitants who possibly regret helping the pilgrims in the first place.

On Monday, despite a bit of a hangover, we ran along Lakeshore Drive past a number of attractive houses looking over Lake Michigan including one built by Frank Lloyd-Wright, which I completely missed!  Alex looked more carefully on Tuesday and it is a beautiful example of his residences (although not as beautiful as Fallingwater which Alex will give more on next week). 

Tuesday, we cycled around St Joseph, stopping for lunch downtown, then across to the lighthouse and around Benton Harbor across the St Joe river.  We went to a Mexican for an early birthday dinner for Marty, eating way too much without the discipline of being stuck in a campground miles from the nearest fast food restaurant!  This was our farewell to the Thompsons who we have had since the beginning of our trip and have ridden up mountain, down valley and across the 42 states we’ve visited on our trip.

Alex walked the two miles plus to Enterprise Car Rentals to pick up the Toyota (I didn’t do the walk as I pulled my calf muscle running). We packed for the trip and were brutal about discarding clothes and items we didn’t need which we took to the Goodwill charity shop and sadly we had to trash the B’s as, with each having a puncture, we couldn’t give them away.  We went to lunch with Barbara at a great organic café in downtown Benton Harbor, sad to say goodbye as they have helped us with our journey, including the offer to drive to Philadelphia to drive Reg back to Michigan after my dad died.

We set off to Detroit along the I-94 and checked into our first hotel on the road, we chose the Motor City Casino which was a great choice as it was a very large comfortable room close to downtown, well for two Brits who are happy to walk a mile to the centre of Detroit.  The casino floors were enormous and filled with smokers and rather depressing, however as we didn’t have any desire to gamble we were content to leave them to it.

On Thursday we caught up with Stacey, who was over from Australia for her daughter Antonia’s wedding to Zack.  We went to Hitsville USA, the original home of Motown records. Berry Gordy Jr. started the company with an $800 loan from his family, which he used to purchase the first of several houses on the block that he fitted out as a recording studio.  It’s quite a small museum but filled with information on the acts he signed and the process he instigated to make them into stars, including hiring someone to instruct the acts in how to dress and present themselves to improve impressions of many who were still teenagers when they signed.  The tour was interesting, if a little sanitised, the guide wasn’t allowed to answer questions about money, e.g. why many acts left the label, or the personal lives of the key figures.

After Motown we walked into downtown.  Detroit has changed further since we were here last year, the renovation of the downtown areas old skyscrapers continues apace with new shops and restaurants opening.  We popped into a Bank of America branch in the Guardian building by the river that had an incredible interior with a design inspired by Native American and Aztec art with the centrepiece a map of Michigan highlighting the industry of the state.

Friday, we visited Ann Arbor, the home of the University of Michigan, which has 44 thousand students with seemingly a stadium for every variety of team sport you can think of, including ice hockey and lacrosse.  Nice town but not as nice as Hanover (home of Dartmouth) or Oxford (home of Ole Miss) which both seemed older and more attractive.  From Ann Arbor we drove up to Lake Erie and alongside the water past several summer vacation towns with a variety of housing, ranging from mansions overlooking the water to trailer parks for everyone else.  We arrived in Cleveland after dark and had a Japanese meal in a restaurant near the hotel, I’m not sure anyone else had ever walked from our hotel to it as there were no sidewalks for the short half mile walk.

Saturday dawned bright, however it’s getting colder so we rugged up and drove into downtown Cleveland for the main event, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  This turned out to be so good that Alex and I spent even more time here, four and a half hours, than we had at the ABBA museum in Stockholm. a mere three.  It is well curated, starting with a gallery of musicians who influenced early ‘Rock and Roll’, i.e. blues, jazz, gospel and country music, moving on to a series of exhibits on different cities influence, e.g. Liverpool, Detroit, LA etc, with individual galleries for the Beatles, Stones and Elvis.  The museum is also currently running an exhibition to mark the 50^th anniversary of Rolling Stone magazine which was really interesting on it’s genesis and growth, including an ongoing ‘feud’ with the Rolling Stones over the magazines name, Mick is obviously a big fan as he appears in a vox pop alongside Taylor Swift and Lenny Kravitz ribbing Jann Wenner, the publisher, about it still.

We went to dinner in The Butcher and The Brewer, which continued hip America’s obsession with ‘small’ plates that are difficult to gauge if you’ve ordered too little or too much.

M

To say it was chilly on the Monday we woke up back in North Carolina would be an understatement – we had ice on the inside of the window!! Camping in such temperatures has it challenges – but the upside is that the campsite was very beautiful veiled in frost and mist.

Our gamble of coming back to Asheville in better weather so that we could enjoy the Blue Ridge Parkway seemed to have paid off. We drove back towards Asheville and as the day warmed up it was crisp, clear and sunny. The only snag now being that some of the Parkway was closed due to ice – but we spoke to the ranger and got a list of walks that we could do over the next couple of days to see the best of it.

Indeed, on Monday we really went for it as we decided to stay in town (no campsites very close to Asheville) and got a bargain on Hotels.com of an apartment for $100 a night which was the size of a small mansion. We had stairs, two bedrooms and two bathrooms (of course!) a full kitchen, laundry, upstairs TV room as well as a dining table, sitting room and a lovely gas effect fire. It was way too big, but we soon spread out and got used to it! Sitting in front of the fire after our exertions on the Parkway was rather cosy and lovely – after all Reg does not have a fireplace (even though we have seen some RV’s with them!).

Monday night we went out on the town in Asheville which was surprisingly lively. We found a good Italian which was very authentic – no TV screens whilst we dined, and then went to a bar with live music. We had heard that Asheville was a bit hippy and offbeat and this was confirmed by the crowd at the gig. The performer was a female folksy singer songwriter who had a tattooed chin – something I think to be avoided. I thought she had a beard from a distance, but then I am a bit of an old fuddy duddy! This is clearly a new craze. The men in the bar seemed to be wearing gnome hats and one chap even had two hats on – so when we came to leave, and Matt put his silly ski hat on – at least he fitted in!

The songs were rather challenging to start with, but the beer was good, and she then invited two of the hat men on to the stage and they accompanied her on guitar and drums (wire brushes of course for fear of breaking the laid-back vibe) and they rattled off more ‘tunes’. It was very pleasant and excellent people watching.

Tuesday, we tried to start with a run into the Biltmore Estate which was around the corner from our own mansion. This is the largest residential house in the world (but do check this fact – Norris McWhirter’s amongst you). It belongs to a Vanderbilt. We got stopped immediately by security as there was no mechanism for charging foot entry and turned away. We did not go back to the house as we were rather put off by the $60 fee each to see around it. Basically, it is full of European treasures that we might be able to see at home for free! Shame as the grounds are beautiful apparently but we simply cannot do everything on the list. So instead we had another hike off the Parkway with stunning views into the valleys on either side of the ridge and a delicious dinner closer this time to our mansion apartment.

Wednesday dawned bright and clear again and we decided to start the long trek back to Michigan. It has been great since we came back at the start of November that we made it to both the Carolinas and they were well worth the trip, but we needed to head back over the Great Smoky Mountains and drive back north to see our friendly RV dealer – Krenek, and of course Barbara and Marty.

Driving through the Smokys was as lovely as ever and that night, eve of Thanksgiving we stayed in Kentucky. After a quick pit stop in Walmart where everyone was exceptionally friendly asking us about our plans for the holidays, we went to our last ever KOA campsite and had another meal of things from the larder. Matt was not keen for me make a pizza using up the kidney beans and anchovies – but I thought it might be delicious…!

The cold had not left us and on Thanksgiving Day we woke to find that all the water outside had frozen in the hose and tap supplying Reg. Matt battled with kettles and saucepans until we could get breakfast, shower and get going. It only delayed us by half an hour or so, but by now dear reader we are beginning to feel the end of the trip is looming.

Thursday was a glorious day and as it was the holiday the roads were very empty. We had a superb drive up the freeway through to Indianapolis where we then came off and headed up highway 31 into Michigan. The landscape gradually altered from the hills of Kentucky into the big skies and vast flatness of the mid-West.

It was very emotional when we crossed the state line into Michigan. After 27,000 miles we had made it back and all of the sudden the sheer scale of the trip hit us both. We feel very proud that we did it without too many problems and certainly no serious dramas.

We were staying in Van Burren State Park, right beside Lake Michigan. The site was completely deserted as everyone was tucked up in the warm eating roast turkey and mashed potatoes by this stage – but we hooked up and went to stretch our legs. Climbing over the sand dunes we reached the lake and were greeted by the most beautiful sunset. It is funny as Marty said that he thought (admittedly he is very biased) that Michigan was the best place in the US, and for a split second looking at the view it did cross our minds that perhaps we should have just spent a year in Michigan as it was so attractive!

Alone that evening we had our last supper in Reg – a stir fry for anyone that needs to know, and we could at last let rip with the music a bit louder than usual. It was fun to look back over the year and think of our highlights. Our farewell party. No more nights around the table or washing up (yeah for that bit at least!).

So, Friday dawned, and we had to literally get everything out of Reg and decide if it is coming with us to New York, going to charity or being shipped home. It would have looked very funny if anyone had filmed us as stuff was moved inside and outside all day long. Imagine moving to a new house in a very tight space – it was a logistical challenge.

Late afternoon we took Reg to a truck wash to make sure he looked his best for the dealer on Saturday and we picked up a hire car so that at least we could deposit our possessions into something to clean him thoroughly.

That night after we had finished we went into South Haven for dinner, but we were both very tired and I think it is true to say a little bit melancholy that it was nearing the end.

Saturday – the big day for Reg was bright but absolutely freezing. Very windy. Barbara and Marty turned up like the cavalry at 8am which was a very big ask on our part to them at the weekend, but they bore no grudge. They took the Thompson Twins in their car and Marty cleaned the windows for us on Reg. We were all set for Krenek at about 10am.

It felt rather exciting to be back. Rob, our contact, captured the mood by taking a picture of us and Reg for the last time and said that they would upload it on to the company Facebook page. The distances covered and the number of states we have been to is relatively unusual for a typical RV so it a bit of a story for them as a business. This upbeat celebratory mood and the excitement of seeing the Craig’s completely helped mask the sadness that this was end for us.

Reg was given a complete work out. They kept him there until lunchtime. In the meantime, we arrived at Harrison Avenue our home for the next four nights) and started to unload all our stuff. Bea and her friend were there and started with the clothes and salvaged a few things that they wanted to keep, whilst we tried to deposit our stuff on to Marty and Barbara without them noticing too much!! It all worked out very well and we are so incredibly grateful for their patience and good humour. Not only have we now offloaded things on to them, but we also used and abused their address over the last year. We could not have done this trip without them.

Matt and I went back to Krenek in the afternoon and had the most amazing chat with the boss – Scott Krenek, as to where we had been and what we had seen. It was very special – as for two hours we lived back through it. It was good fun to also be nerdy and talk about camping in detail as there are not many people who understand how we managed for a year without ever turning the generator on!

Scott reported on things damaged in Reg that we were unaware of – which was also very amusing. Sometimes we would hear the bottom of Reg grinding – if we went over low kerbs or drives, for example. We assumed it was the cycle rack catching, but in fact we have managed to scrape off two brackets underneath Reg designed to protect his water tanks. Somewhere in the US are the brackets that eventually dropped off… Whoops!

Overall Scott felt we had looked after Reg very well and we agreed a price for him to buy Reg back off us. We got the cheque then and there and did all the formalities.

We have the greatest souvenir ever which is his licence plate as it belongs in Michigan to the driver and not the vehicle. It will have pride of place in our new home.

So, we said farewell. Reg has been amazing as you all know dear reader and the guys at Krenek also did a wonderful job as I for one never saw another RV that I liked as much as Reg. He kept us warm, cool, dry and mobile. 27,236 all out.

Saturday night we celebrated/commiserated at Schu’s in St Joe with the Craig’s. It was the perfect tonic to be with them. We have another three weeks of adventure ahead of us – so stay with us if you can!
A

 

 

We left Charleston on Sunday and as the weather was getting colder we decided we needed more jeans than shorts so this called for a visit to our favourite clothing store, yup Walmart!  I got a pair of $20 Wranglers and Alex a pair of $20 Levis (strangely not 501s).  We drove up to Givhans Ferry State Park, a smallish park on the Edisto River, popular with fishermen and kayakers in the summer, not so popular in November so it was a quiet stay with only a few hardy fellow RV’ers in the campground with us. 

We left on Tuesday after a couple of relaxing days and visited Congaree National Park, nope we’d never heard of it either.  It turns out to be a very important park for tree biodiversity and sadly the largest remaining example of a river flood plain forest.  These forests used to stretch across the whole of what is now the southeast of the United States, from South Carolina, down through Georgia, the top of Florida, across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and into Texas, but the rivers have been tamed and the forests all logged leaving only Congaree as an example of how the region would have looked to the indigenous people.  There are ‘champion’, i.e. tallest and oldest, examples of loblolly pines, bald cypress and water tupelo trees through the park.  It was described as a combination of the Redwood and Everglades national parks with enormous trees and broad wide flowing waters.  During the summer the mosquitoes are also like the Everglades, the visitor centre has a scale that goes up to ‘War Zone’ for how bad they are!  We walked along the Oakridge trail crossing bridges over streams and tributaries looking up at the vast trees and spotting birds and some feral pigs and deer along the route.

We stayed that evening a Paris Mountain State Park which gives the reason why we chose not to run around it in the morning before we set off for The Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP).  The ‘Smokys’ in contrast to the rarely visited Congaree, is the most popular park in the whole National Park Service with up to eleven million visitors a year.  Fortunately, November is a quiet time for them as it is cold and often lives up to its name of Smoky with low cloud and mist covering much of them.  We went via the Blue Ridge Parkway which winds its way along the mountains all the way from the Shenandoah National Park to the entrance to the GSMNP. 

We stopped for lunch at the highest point on the route and walked up to a vantage point within the Pisgah National Forest.  We sat for a while on a bench along the trail and contemplated the sheer beauty of the ridges of forest stretching into the distance without a single man-made structure within the view.  This was truly one of the most beautiful and life affirming sights we’ve seen on the whole trip, just contemplating them soothes the soul and places in context where man sits within nature.

Right enough of the hippie feelings stuff, back to the trip, we drove on to the GSMNP visitor centre, through the park itself and to our campground in Pigeon Forge.  Pigeon Forge is not only one of the places to stay near the park it also is the location of Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s eponymous theme park, entrance to which is $62 per person during the season.  We declined the opportunity to visit her ‘Stampede’ and chose instead to eat dinner in.

Thursday, we went to the GSMNP properly and walked the Appalachian Trail to Charlie’s Bunion and back.  I don’t know who Charlie was and why he got a bunion at this point but the point commands a great panoramic view of the valley below and the mountains across from it.  The problem was it was very cold along the walk and my cheap walking shoes were letting water in from where they had previously broken on the sole and been repaired with Alex’s favourite superglue, I had a beautiful view with freezing toes!  We hurried back changed socks and drove up to Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the park, to walk the steep half a mile to the lookout point from which you can see for up to 100 miles in all directions.  Worth the trip and on the way back the sun was setting giving beautiful (if cold) views in the fading light.

Friday dawned cold and clear and we drove on to Nashville arriving in the late afternoon, booked a trip to the Grand Ole Opry for Saturday then caught the $10 shuttle bus downtown.  Their only strictures were to only get on the bus that was stopped outside BB King’s Blues Bar (as they did not stop anywhere else and consequently any other bus people got on wouldn’t bring them home) and to remember, to the point of suggesting writing on your hand with a marker pen, where you were staying.  Apart from that they reserved the front seat on the ride back for those who might need rapid access to the waste bin by the door, otherwise they were happy with however you wished to behave.

We started in the Famous Saloon and worked our way up and down Broad St, alternating who was picking which bar playing whatever type of music to enjoy. We saw a variety of music, from the traditional Country and Western you would expect, through heavy rock to an intriguing cover of a Beastie Boys classic.  All the bands were pretty accomplished and as none of the bars we visited had cover charges, remarkably good value tor the tips we left each of them.  The highlight was probably the traditional country band, led by a woman with a good double bassist who along with a great fiddler, had the best dancers we saw all night.  Alex’s highlight was talking to a group of black youngsters body popping on a street corner for tips, at one point doing a very good synchronised dance akin to Michael Jackson’s Thriller.  It was all I could do to drag her away to get a poor hot dog and back onto the last, but one busses back to the campsite.

Surprisingly Saturday morning was a little blurred and we didn’t get out again until after lunch when we went into town again to visit the Tennessee Museum by the Capitol building, quite interesting for the information on Presidents Jackson and Polk, who between them added a large swathe of territory to the United States and encouraged Texas to join the union.  It also had information on why Tennessee is nicknamed the Volunteer State, basically they rush to sign up at any opportunity to fight, including during the Civil War supplying 100,000 troops to the Confederacy and another 50,000 to the Union armies.

We had dinner in yet another bar with live music and walked to the main event for the day …. The Grand Ole Opry.  If you haven’t heard of it, this is the legendary radio show that was first broadcast in 1925 and is still going strong today.  It has moved several times in its history but we saw it at the Ryman Auditorium, its home between 1943 and 1974 when they built their own purpose built auditorium and resort.  The show is at the Ryman during the winter season when they use the new auditorium for seasonal shows.  The Ryman was originally a church and has a stalls and gallery but still seats several hundred.  The show is still broadcast live and was packed when we were there.  It goes for two hours with three sections, each presented by a more established ‘star’ and with a presenter who reads out the sponsors announcements in a rapid deadpan voice, exactly as you imagine they have done since the 1950’s. 

We both thoroughly enjoyed the show, they had 13 acts ranging from a couple of older ‘greats’ through to a country version of Ed Sheeran and a couple of brothers in a band called Locash who closed the evening, in between they had a bluegrass act (with an ancient front man), a comedian and the largest (in thighs at least) group of resident dancers I’ve ever seen.  The place was rocking at points in the evening and apart from a couple of songs obviously related to religion surprisingly un-proselytising for how I imagined a Country and Western gig would be.  We went home on the Gray Line bus after a great evening.

Sunday we got up and drove all the way back from Nashville, Tennessee to Hickory, North Carolina where we were greeted by a lady who was born and grew up in Ipswich before marrying an American and emigrating to the US.

M

Thanks to everyone for their support during October at a difficult time for Matt and his brothers.

We few back to Philadelphia on Thursday 2nd November and were greeted with the most stunning sunset as we got a cab back to Reg. In the laid-back style of the place that we had left him in, he was waiting for us with his keys on his windscreen… bit of a culture shock after having been home for a month where we have two locks just get into our flat after the security door! Anyway, no one had driven off with him and we were incredibly grateful to the site for having stored him for October.

We went that night for a pizza and a beer to just get back into the swing of things and discovered that once again no one could understand us as we must have become very British again having been home. It was very comforting to be back in the land of junk food, very friendly wait staff and we had a huge pizza (shared) and some beers whilst we were bombarded by TV’s showing sport. Everyone ups and leaves at 9pm, as we did, so we were well and truly back into the US lifestyle.

Next day we had to reequip Reg with food and fuel for our trip to Gettysburg. Again, we attracted a lot of hilarity in a deli that we stopped in for breakfast. The ladies behind the counter were asking me all about the Royal Family (luckily, I know a bit thanks to Mummy) and when I declared Prince Charles to be an ‘arse’ – they kept asking me to say it over and over again as they thought it was funny to elongate the ‘r’ sound as opposed to their ass!

After all that, we drove south west across Pennsylvania and arrived at Gettysburg just before twilight. This meant we could go to the Visitors Centre and orientate ourselves. Except that it was closed but a volunteer outside gave us a map and we went to the National Cemetery where Lincoln made the Gettysburg Address from.

For those that do not know (myself included until last week!) the Address was not a battle cry at all. I think many of us assume it was. Instead the battle had already taken place – three days in July 1863 – 1st to 3rd July between the Union and Confederate forces. The Address were some remarks by Lincoln at the dedication of the cemetery as there were so many bodies at the end of the battle. There had been a campaign to bury the 20,000 plus dead properly and the land had been bought from a farmer and the idea of a national cemetery agreed as a fitting tribute to men who had died in the war. The governor of Pennsylvania spoke first – for two hours (can you imagine listening to that!) and then Lincoln stood up and gave his Address which was under two minutes. It turned out to be one of the greatest speeches ever given.

On Saturday we went to the Visitor Centre which was now open and watched a great film about the battle and then went up to the Cyclorama which is a huge painting done in the 1890’s of the battle. It shows the last desperate day when the Confederates under Robert E Lee were basically marched into the Union guns and unsurprisingly defeated and ended up fleeing the scene. The painting is a masterpiece – completely huge – a bit like the IMAX at Waterloo, and they narrate over the top with sound effects to make it a very real experience.

That afternoon we then got on the Thompsons and cycled around the historic drive which is all over the battlefield. The landscape and atmosphere was very evocative and you could understand how the whole battle rested on who had the higher ground (the Union) and what it must have felt like for those three days.

Like Vicksburg which we went to about this time last year it is always interesting to see all the different memorials and plaques to the soldiers from different states and then watching people from nowadays find their state troops or even in some cases relatives on the memorials. The Civil War is still the biggest loss of US life in a combat situation despite all that has come since. Staggering figures.

After Gettysburg we decided to stay south and west and head for Shenandoah National Park. This is something that we would have done with Mummy and Nick if they had come, it was well worth it.

The park is on the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and has a road called the Skyline Drive which runs 115 or so miles of it. We started off in bright sunshine and the leaves were amazing – still very colourful – yellow, bright reds and of course lots of golden browns. All good, busy as this is quite close to Washington DC so I am sure many people come for the day.

Completely unexpectedly we found ourselves in low cloud and the visibility fell to literally a couple of metres in front of us. Some drivers coped well, others not so well but for the rest of the afternoon we either had great views of the Virginian countryside either side of the ridge or just damp and cold with red taillights in front. Reg just got on with it although pity the people behind him as we had to all go at 45mph and overtaking was not an option.

Since we have been back we have tried to be very stoic and British about the weather and how annoying it has been – and thinking back last Sunday was the start of it. Clearly now we are in winter. The clocks have changed here too and it is very chilly at night. We have heating in Reg which we have been utilizing to the full. We are no longer getting up and thinking of shorts and t-shirts sadly!

So even though the weather had interfered with the Skyline Drive we had seen enough and had a walk half way along to get the sense of it. I was struck again by my silliest observation from the whole trip – which is that there are an awful lot of trees in America. (I won’t be winning any prizes for being profound!).

On Monday we then set off for the Blue Ridge Parkway which is a similar thing – a National Park road that would take us on the crest of the mountains all the way to North Carolina – a sort of Appalachian Way for vehicles. Lovely and sunny up until lunchtime – we were amazed by it. Then we drove into the low cloud and did not really emerge again until Wednesday!

Abandoning plans to complete the Blue Ridge Parkway after Tuesday lunchtime because of the weather we decided to get to Asheville where we needed to do some Reg related errands and hope that things cheered up. Sadly, they did not and it was pretty miserable – drizzle, torrential rain, fog, cold and low cloud.

So, the whole purpose of an RV is to take off, so that is what we did – to Charleston which is in South Carolina and always intended to be the most southerly point on this leg of our trip. We hammered down the freeway and got to the site in pouring rain but trusted the weatherman who said things would improve from Friday onwards. And they did.

Friday was lovely and sunny and so much warmer than we have been used to of late. We set off into Charleston and did the best walking tour of our trip so far. For two hours Erica showed us the sights of the city and told us some very funny stories.

Charleston is a very pretty place and there are lots of antebellum mansions and clearly before the Civil War when it was the fourth largest city in the US and maybe even the wealthiest at some time before that, the great and the good had invested on the peninsula with the Ashley and Cooper Rivers either side. The houses still belong to old money and the town is amazingly well preserved (second only to Rome apparently) for not allowing development or any crass commercial activity or height in the old centre.

However, all of this comes at a price. It was the centre of the domestic slave trade and has a very shameful past. We went on Sunday to the Slave Museum and read the ghoulish stories of how humans have treated one another. Matt was surprised and embarrassed to discover that a former Governor of the Bank of England was a serious slave trader in the 1720’s with eight ships transporting human misery across the Atlantic. All his ships were named after his wife and daughters. Hmm… what a lovely touch…not.

We had a good time in Charleston and had a tasty dinner on the Friday night and saw the locals out and about. Everyone is very friendly in the traditional southern way and a lot of ‘y’all’s’ have been spoken, not by us just yet.

So, our first week back has ended and we have loved being back in Reg. We have been slightly frustrated by the weather but thrilled to be back in this lovely place where the people are so genuinely friendly, the history is staggering (sadly quite often rather horrific) and it has given us the opportunity to reflect on the last month – so not a bad return all in all.

 

Sorry to report that we had very bad news last Thursday.

Matt’s dad – Jamie has passed away and we have returned to London.  Not sure when we will resume the trip, but thanks to everyone for their warm wishes and thoughts at this sad time.

A & M x

Monday was very misty in Maine by the Bass Harbour lighthouse where we had camped Saturday and Sunday as Matt told you last time. It was so misty that as we ran along the lanes we could see every single spider web and then worryingly all the downy hair not just on Matt’s head but on my cheeks!! He called me a bearded freak… a charming start to the week! As it turns out this was not the only hair crime of the week…

The mist cleared and we reluctantly left Acadia but as we only have two weeks to get to Washington DC to be ready for Mummy and Nick’s arrival and there is as always so much to see. So that first day we had a reasonable drive inland to get to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Gerry and Donna had already been there and said it was stunning, so as usual our fear of missing out (FOMO) kicked in and we set off.

Sadly, on all our time on the roads we have never been caught in anything nasty, but last Monday was the exception. We were stopped for nearly three hours as a guy had died just in front of us by driving into a truck pulling out of the hard shoulder. It was so bad that the road was closed and we all had to do a three point turn and drive back down the carriageway the wrong way. Quite fun in Reg and I fear we that I am losing my entrepreneurial streak as a lady said she envied us having had a bathroom during the wait. Thinking about it we could have made teas and coffees for the stranded motorists and charged for the loo – instead I had a little doze and a lie down on the shelf and Matt read his book. Poor guy though.

The delay made us arrive at our site in the dark but next morning we could see that we were nestled in low mountains, covered in green, red and yellow trees. The fall in all its glory. Incredibly picturesque – we drove to the Cog Railway which was the first mountain rail road in the world when it opened in 1869.

We got our tickets and went up to the summit of Mount Washington. The train chugged – now the engines run on bio diesel but they still do one steam run early in the morning for real enthusiasts. The track is amazingly steep – you could not stand straight at the steepest part – Jacobs’s Ladder, which is on a gradient of 37 degrees.

We went through clouds and emerged into sunshine at the top. Skiers will recognize that feeling, but also a bit like in a plane when you look out and the clouds look like rolls of cotton wool. The facilities at the top were all a bit shabby and municipal. The state has built probably the ugliest building in the world so it is quite lucky that for 300 days of the year Mount Washington is normally covered in fog.

We had a picnic at the top, but there was not much to it so an hour later we got the train back down. The seats are angled differently on the way back to stop everyone feeling weird and the guide who had been effusive on the way up about the sights, was this time solely focused on the brakes – which was reassuring!

Mount Washington is the highest peak in New Hampshire, but just one of the Presidential Range. There is also a Monroe, Jefferson, Eisenhower and then some random ones that are not presidents like Clay. Bit confusing.

The landscape was very different to Maine. Very chocolate-box stuff – exactly as you imagine New England to be. We drove to Bretton Woods after the railway and that, surrounded by perfect green lawns was almost too sickly to the eye! The hotel at Bretton Woods where the economic conference was held in 1944 was huge. A bit like the lodges in the parks, this huge white monstrosity with a bright red roof dominated the valley, but we could not find anyone that wanted to serve us a cup of tea or any photos of the conference so we left.

On Wednesday, we drove a bit further into the White Mountains and went to Franconia Notch state park. Road geeks will be interested to know that the only single lane interstate in the country runs for a short way in this park – the I-93.

Just when we think we have seen it all, America throws us another weird geographical feature that is stunning. The notch is the valley and the river Pemigewasset has carved out through granite rocks smooth bowls and curves in one part of the park. Rather like Henry Moore sculptures they are gentle and smooth. The Basin is aptly named as you just wanted to jump in and bathe in it, it looked so welcoming! We then walked up the path to some water falls which in spring would be gushing as all this area is covered in deep snow, but at this time of year is glorious with red maple trees. Nearby are ski resorts to give you an idea of gradient.

The next stop in the park was The Flume. Discovered by a settler’s old granny who went out fishing one day, came back and said she had seen huge cliffs, I think the family wondered what she was on about, but sure enough she was right. The Flume is a gorge in the forest. The granite cliffs on either side must have be a hundred feet tall and we followed a path up one side as the river gushed through it – the Flume part of the name. At the top there were superb views of the valley and really good photos of what it would have looked like before glaciers rounded it all off and took height off these mountains. Now the valley is a gentle u type shape, rather than a v – if you get my drift!

Loving this part of New Hampshire, we nonetheless pressed on that night to our campsite in Vermont, just outside of Woodstock. After our lovely time with Gerry and Donna we continued having lovely slightly lazy mornings and then action-packed afternoons. I have finally finished Middlemarch which has as many of you know been a bit of a labour of love. Of course, it was totally brilliant.

Our first exploration was on the Thompson Twins. We cycled to Quechee which was a few miles from our site. Lovely river, giant pond, really warm weather and the colours of the trees still breathtaking. We climbed down to the gorge there – and ignoring the suicide notices – not a place for vertigo sufferers we got down to the beach part of the river bed. Again the water had cut such interesting patterns into the rocks and some of the river bed was on a completely tilted plateau. More glacial action too – with boulders, and trees clinging on to rocks all along the edges. Very unspoilt and humbling.

That trip turned out to be just a practice for the next day when we really went for it and did about 33 km on the bikes. We set off to Woodstock and saw another New England feature – apart from the brilliant trees, the white houses, the green lawns and the curvy roads – this time we went through a covered bridge. These are a big deal in New England. Wooden bridges over the river, that are like barns. They date anywhere from the mid 1800’s to 2003 if there has been a fire and one has been restored! Not at all suitable for Reg it was fun to go through on the bikes instead.

Woodstock was charming and as lovely as Woodstock is at home. Similar in that on the edge of town there is a large mansion (maybe not as big as Blenheim Palace) but the home of three men over the last 100 years who are so important to conservation in this part of Vermont and the US generally that the Park Service are entrusted with the property and it is now open to the public.

Very briefly the men are Marsh – who was born in this part of Vermont. He was horrified that the settlers had basically cut down nearly all the forest by the mid 1800’s. Indeed, it was weird that when we were looking at these mountains covered in trees, they are in fact not the virgin forest that you think. Far from being the untouched scene we thought, it is actually the second round after man had interfered and cleared all the original trees.

Second guy was Billings – he being the one behind the Great Northern Railroad and who the town in Montana is named after. He again was appalled at the lack of conservation and started a sustainable farm on the land surrounding the house which still operates today. This mood was further enhanced when his grand-daughter married Laurance Rockefeller – the son of John Junior who had been instrumental in so many of the national parks we have been to – like Acadia and Grand Teton.

The house and land has been gifted to the state and the town of Woodstock has similarly taken conservation – this time in structures to a high level. Famously there are no overhead power cables around the green, and houses surrounding this patch of lawn were from all decades since the 1860’s I would guess. American property porn for Homes and Gardens readers! It is also a backdrop in Forest Gump.

We could have stopped at that – it had been a good cycle along the old river road to get to Woodstock. We had enjoyed a lovely sandwich. We had found out about Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller at their museum. Normal people at this stage would cycle back and say great day. But not us; no, we decided to climb a mountain on the Thompsons to go to a cheese tasting at Sugar Hill Farm. The clue was in the name really!

Oh, my word I am not sure that they wanted the sweaty Brits in their tasting room – so we had to buy some to justify the effort. The second hair crime of the week was Matt having corn rows from his cycle helmet. You could not tell if he still had the helmet on or off it looked so odd! We will not be entering the Tour de France anytime soon I tell you after that ride. It was way too hot and steep for us!

The cheese did survive though you will be pleased to know and it was quite something. Vermont is very proud of its local produce – jams, pickles, cheeses and maple syrup of course. Fascinating to learn how they tap it from the trees, boil it down and then the varieties of taste and colour that occur. I had never appreciated maple syrup when it is served out so glibly in iHop and Dennys!

We spent this last weekend winding our way back through the south of Vermont. I have to say that the ‘Green Mountain State’ has won my heart. On Saturday, we stopped off at the birthplace of Calvin Coolidge, the 30th US President on the recommendation of our neighbours at the campsite. They were lovely and from Ohio.

Coolidge was born and raised in Plymouth Notch in Vermont. A tiny hamlet in the most glorious setting. What is unusual is that he is born and buried here, but due to the death of the 29th President, Warren Harding in San Francisco from a stroke on 2 August 1923, Coolidge was sworn in as president at his father’s house as he was visiting his Dad that summer on holiday.

We had an excellent guide who made it all come to life for us and Coolidge had a pretty hard time of it. His mother died when he was twelve, his sister died of an appendicitis when she was fifteen, his father died when he was in office and to cap it all his son died during his time in office, aged only sixteen years old. He came back to Plymouth Notch as president for about ten days to bury Calvin Junior and briefly the village was transformed into a summer White House (you can see all the cables, office paraphernalia that came along with him, as well as huts for the secret service to sleep in). It was a very worthwhile stop.

Yesterday we drove highway 7 south. A scenic drive to behold – exactly what Reg was meant for. It took ages but we went from Vermont into Massachusetts, into Connecticut, the green, hilly bits of New York and we are now in Pennsylvania at a place on the Delaware River.

As we drove yesterday we left the chocolate box New England behind. We both have really enjoyed it. After the drama of the West – huge mountains, big skies, vast lakes, redwoods and cliffs, I think we were both a bit concerned that New England would not give us that special tingly feeing when something is so beautiful you cannot articulate it (as you can tell by our attempts in this blog!) but actually Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire were just perfect and certainly exceeded our expectations. Highly recommended to you all.

Anyway, off to kayak the Delaware River…
A

*(those that know will get that reference!)

 

Dragging ourselves away from the heights of Bradbury Mountain (all 560 feet of it!) we set off the next morning, Sunday, for the drive up to Maine.  We had rented a cottage on the shore near Acadia National Park with Donna and Gerry who were coming over to see us and then take a road trip around New England.

We drove up along US highway 1, a road we have previously driven down in Florida. The road runs all the way along the eastern coastline from Key West, where we took our photo under the Mile 0 marker, up to the border with Canada in Maine.  Along the Maine coast it is much more rugged and fortunately, unlike poor Key West, not being pummelled by hurricane Irma.  We drove along through pretty towns populated with well-maintained wooden houses, we think the weather keeps people from dumping all their crap on their front lawns as in the states down the Mississippi.  i.e. it rains and snows (a lot) meaning possessions will quickly decay unlike in the sunnier states where people can use their outdoors as additional storage space.

Our rental cottage is called ‘Glory Be’ and was on a peninsula called Newbury Neck with a single road down it with sea views from the driver’s window all the way down.  The cottage was in a glorious location with a deck that overlooked part of Acadia National Park with an inlet of the Atlantic between us.  The cottage was obviously once the family vacation home and while it had all mod cons, they hadn’t whittled down their possessions a great deal since deciding to let it, e.g. there was an overabundance of old wooden spoons and an eclectic collection of books; paperback novels (think Jeffrey Archer); literary novels (Vikram Seth); plays (Harvard Complete Shakespeare); and lots of technical books on sailing and boating.  Nonetheless we couldn’t have chosen a better place for its views and comfort, we all spent a large amount of time on the deck watching the water and also went kayaking and bicycling up and down the road.

One additional feature of the house was a concrete tennis court which had cracks, some an inch wide, running through it so it would be hazardous to play without constantly checking you weren’t going to fall over and plant your face on the ground.  One benefit was we could park Reg on the tarmac outside the court (it would have been fun to put him on the court but I doubt the owners would appreciate it!).

Donna and Gerry arrived a couple of hours after us and it was great to see them, plus the two litres of gin they brought with them.  Little time was wasted cracking open the bottle of Hendriks and a thorough catching up ensued, interspersed with a stir fry.

Monday was a chilled day when we went off grocery shopping, including a trip to the funky Blue Hills Wine Shop, and D&G hired a two-person kayak and bikes.  We all cycled up to the local lobster shack for dinner, where we found to great dismay they were a bring your own restaurant and we didn’t fancy the return 40-minute trip to bring back booze.  We stayed for the soft-shell lobster, which are when the lobsters have recently shed their previous shells and are still growing into their new ones.  The claw meat from one resembled a very small hand (no names but someone sprung to mind!) and we also had the Mac ‘n Lobster. This is only prepared when granny (who recently passed on the shack to her grandson) can be bothered to cook it and bring it across the road to be served.  While the food was OK, it would have been vastly improved with a nice bottle of Sancerre.  The location was beautiful however as the shack has a pier that runs out into the little harbour at the top of Newbury Neck and we could watch activity on the water as the sun dropped below the horizon.  This, of course, meant we had to cycle back in the dark with only two sets of lights and Gerry’s head torch.  We all returned safely, possibly another outcome of not having any drinks with us over dinner!

The next day dawned beautifully again and we decided to go kayaking.  Horrified to find that B1 was still suffering from the puncture picked up on a boat ramp in California so he was out of commission.  Gerry kindly abdicated his position in the rented kayak and Donna and I set off with Alex as our solo wingman out onto the ocean, which was incredibly still with barely a wave to lap over the exposed rocks at low tide.  We paddled south past beautiful houses along the shore only getting slightly wet from the water on the paddles.

After the kayaking and breakfast, we drove into Acadia National Park which is on Mount Desert Island, so called for the ‘bald’ mountains spotted by an early French explorer.  While the mountain tops are empty of trees their lower slopes and the valleys surrounding them are covered in forests as far as the eye can see.  Acadia was created from the donations of rich Americans (this time the Rockefellers) to the state of land they had bought for their summer vacation homes.  It is one of the most beautiful places we’ve been, completely different again with its rocky shoreline, barrier islands, the only fjord in the lower 48 states, and forests.  We also had marvellous weather which made the water sparkle and the time of year meant the deciduous trees, including a lot of maples, were changing their colour for autumn (fall for our American readership).  We climbed up the Gorham trail for magnificent views of the park and the Atlantic oceans inlets and the islands guarding its harbours.

Wednesday, Alex fixed B1 kayak using duck tape instead of the puncture repair kit provided with the kayaks that has proved inadequate.  The repair worked splendidly and I didn’t gently sink as we kayaked along the shoreline.  I don’t believe there is anything Alex doesn’t believe can’t be mended with superglue or duck tape, I’m worried for any future health issues that she’ll administer the same to fix me.  The rest of the day was simply relaxing and chilling with an odd G&T thrown in for the fun of it.

We got up early on Thursday to take the Sea Princess cruise to Little Cranberry Island.  Little and Great Cranberry were named for the wild cranberries that grew on them until they cleared the marshland to remove the mosquitoes.  While the mosquitoes returned quickly after the clearance, the cranberries never have but the name has remained ever since.  The cruise departs from Southeast Harbour and after passing several islands it progresses up Somes Sound, which was incredibly beautiful in the sunshine.

After the cruise, we walked up to the Asticou Inn for lunch and had the local dessert of Popovers, which are similar to individual Yorkshire puddings but sweet and served with whipped butter and jam.  You can have them with chocolate sauce, which basically makes them enormous profiteroles.

Friday was our last full day together and after another relaxed day on the deck we went to dinner at the Brooklin Inn, further along the coast, where Alex, Gerry and I shared two bottles of Pinot Nera (which is Italian Pinot Noir) and poor Donna had to drive us home as the nominated driver. 

Saturday was sad for us all as we had to say goodbye to our friends, who were continuing on a road trip hoping to see Stephen King in Bangor where he lives before a trip to Salem.  It was wonderful having Donna and Gerry to spend a week with us, and whisper it out of his earshot, spend a week in a full bed with a large bathroom away from Reg.  We bid fond farewells and we set off back onto Mount Desert Island to do a little more of the park, camping at the tip by Bass Harbour from where on Sunday we cycled to Mount Acadia and walked up the mountain.

The top rewards you with some of the best views we’ve seen throughout our trip, with Somes Sound below and all the way out to sea.  The day was sunny and clear up until the harbour entrance where a sea mist was just beginning to come in. 

Overall a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable week with friends and a nice holiday within a holiday before we set off for the N

ew England fall.

M