New England
Tuesday 5th April
We arrived at the Heathrow Ibis hotel yesterday evening ready for our flight to Halifax in Canada this morning. We had reserved extra leg room seats and this was an excellent decision as we had plenty of room to stretch out.
The flight was uneventful with no turbulence. We had some lovely views of the barren, snow covered lands of Labrador - utter wilderness. We landed on time and as the aeroplane had only been three-quarters full, it didn't take long for our luggage to arrive. We took a taxi to central Halifax, a fair distance out from the airport.
The centrally located Waverley Inn was a lovely old Victorian Mansion, beautifully furnished with antiques. It opened as a hotel in 1876 having been originally built as a private home for a wealthy merchant. A number of famous people have stayed there including Oscar Wilde. On arrival in Halifax he was asked by customs if he had anything to declare - his reply was "Only my genius"! By coincidence, John was actually reading an Oscar Wilde book whilst we were staying there.
After booking in we walked to the shipping agent's office to ask when the "Atlantic Star" had docked and Nicolle be released from Customs. The news was not good - the ship was late so a Wednesday pick-up, (our original given time) would not be possible. Thursday would be the possible release. We were none too pleased to have to spend an extra day in Halifax as a) it was very cold and b) we had visited most of the main sights when we were in the town four years ago.
Wednesday 6th April
After a very comfortable night's sleep in the historic Waverley Inn, we woke to a lovely sunny day. Unfortunately a strong north easterly wind lowered the temperature to below freezing so were rather reluctant to venture out to explore parts of the town we hadn't visited when we were here previously.
Eventually we set off to climb up to the impressive Citadel which towers above central Halifax. It was too early in the season for it to be open but we were able to go into the inner courtyard and climb up on to the walls. One of the old guns is still fired every day at noon.
We headed back into Halifax past the Clock Tower and through the Grand Parade. At one end of this tree-lined elongated square is St. Paul's Church, the oldest building in town and the first Protestant Church in Canada.
We walked along the attractive Harbour Walk as far as Pier 21. (We spent a day there visiting Canada's National Museum of Immigration during our previous visit to Canada in 2012.)
After a healthy lunch at an organic food cafe in the Farmers Market we headed back to the Waverley Inn for warmth and afternoon tea and cakes. We were still a bit jet lagged so another early night.
We arrived at the Heathrow Ibis hotel yesterday evening ready for our flight to Halifax in Canada this morning. We had reserved extra leg room seats and this was an excellent decision as we had plenty of room to stretch out.
The flight was uneventful with no turbulence. We had some lovely views of the barren, snow covered lands of Labrador - utter wilderness. We landed on time and as the aeroplane had only been three-quarters full, it didn't take long for our luggage to arrive. We took a taxi to central Halifax, a fair distance out from the airport.
The centrally located Waverley Inn was a lovely old Victorian Mansion, beautifully furnished with antiques. It opened as a hotel in 1876 having been originally built as a private home for a wealthy merchant. A number of famous people have stayed there including Oscar Wilde. On arrival in Halifax he was asked by customs if he had anything to declare - his reply was "Only my genius"! By coincidence, John was actually reading an Oscar Wilde book whilst we were staying there.
After booking in we walked to the shipping agent's office to ask when the "Atlantic Star" had docked and Nicolle be released from Customs. The news was not good - the ship was late so a Wednesday pick-up, (our original given time) would not be possible. Thursday would be the possible release. We were none too pleased to have to spend an extra day in Halifax as a) it was very cold and b) we had visited most of the main sights when we were in the town four years ago.
Wednesday 6th April
After a very comfortable night's sleep in the historic Waverley Inn, we woke to a lovely sunny day. Unfortunately a strong north easterly wind lowered the temperature to below freezing so were rather reluctant to venture out to explore parts of the town we hadn't visited when we were here previously.
Eventually we set off to climb up to the impressive Citadel which towers above central Halifax. It was too early in the season for it to be open but we were able to go into the inner courtyard and climb up on to the walls. One of the old guns is still fired every day at noon.
We headed back into Halifax past the Clock Tower and through the Grand Parade. At one end of this tree-lined elongated square is St. Paul's Church, the oldest building in town and the first Protestant Church in Canada.
We walked along the attractive Harbour Walk as far as Pier 21. (We spent a day there visiting Canada's National Museum of Immigration during our previous visit to Canada in 2012.)
After a healthy lunch at an organic food cafe in the Farmers Market we headed back to the Waverley Inn for warmth and afternoon tea and cakes. We were still a bit jet lagged so another early night.
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Thursday 7th April
Having been early to bed we were up for an early breakfast and at the shipping office for it's opening at 8.30, only to be told that no clearance documents had been forwarded through from Customs last night so it was still not certain when Nicolle would be released!! - was she being punished? Customs didn't start work until 10am (and the docks closed at noon). All we, and three other couples also collecting their vehicles, could do was wait.
The clock clicked round to 10am. It was then all systems go and after the requisitory port fees were duly paid, it was a short walk to the Customs to collect the port documents followed by a taxi to the docks.
All was in order, Nicolle was neat and tidy so we were quickly on our way back to the hotel to collect our bags. The Waverley Inn had a large motorhome friendly car park so picking up our luggage was easy. The afternoon was spent filling up with water and diesel, buying food and unsuccessfully trying to purchase a gas cylinder which would fit our adapter.
By now it was raining heavily and blowing a gale so we parked for the night on Walmart car park in Bedford.
Friday 8th April
After a very restless night due to the howling wind and heavy rain we set off in search of a gas cylinder for Nicolle. We were recommended the name of a firm that could adapt our European hose fitting so we could then buy a Canadian cylinder - eventually this was done so just before lunch we set off and headed for the road south, except that we first had to head north round the Bay of Fundy.
It took us a little over three hours to cover the journey to Moncton at the head of the bay and here we asked to park for the night on a Walmart car park. The journey from Halifax was firstly through forest then past marshland and moorland.
Saturday 9th April
After a lovely quiet night, we set off early this morning. The highway carried little traffic so we made steady progress until we came to a Police car blocking the road and diverting all traffic off because of an accident. The long diversion took us down a poorly maintained road for at least 20km before we could rejoin the main highway two junctions further on. At least we saw more of the scenery - forest interspersed with cleared areas of farmland.
By lunchtime we were at the border crossing into the USA - few formalities - a quick check of the interior of the van followed by a finger print and eye check plus a payment of 6 dollars per person. We were now legally allowed to stay in the country for a maximum of 90 days.
We drove for a couple of hours more through the beautiful forests speckled with many lakes until we reached Bangor where we asked to stay on the Walmart car park. We discovered that the time was one hour behind that in Eastern Canada ie GMT minus 5hrs.
Sunday 10th April
After a very cold night, -6 deg C, we awoke to bright sunlight with temperature now at zero!
We continued our journey south through Maine - still forested but in general the landscape was more gentle. The almost empty freeway made driving easy until we turned off onto Route 1 at Augusta. From there we took the side road to Portland and the coast.
Our lunch stop was at Old Orchard Beach with its iconic pier - closed. Our next stop was at Cape Neddick to view the Nubble Light Station situated on Savage Rock.
Overnight on a Walmart car park at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Having been early to bed we were up for an early breakfast and at the shipping office for it's opening at 8.30, only to be told that no clearance documents had been forwarded through from Customs last night so it was still not certain when Nicolle would be released!! - was she being punished? Customs didn't start work until 10am (and the docks closed at noon). All we, and three other couples also collecting their vehicles, could do was wait.
The clock clicked round to 10am. It was then all systems go and after the requisitory port fees were duly paid, it was a short walk to the Customs to collect the port documents followed by a taxi to the docks.
All was in order, Nicolle was neat and tidy so we were quickly on our way back to the hotel to collect our bags. The Waverley Inn had a large motorhome friendly car park so picking up our luggage was easy. The afternoon was spent filling up with water and diesel, buying food and unsuccessfully trying to purchase a gas cylinder which would fit our adapter.
By now it was raining heavily and blowing a gale so we parked for the night on Walmart car park in Bedford.
Friday 8th April
After a very restless night due to the howling wind and heavy rain we set off in search of a gas cylinder for Nicolle. We were recommended the name of a firm that could adapt our European hose fitting so we could then buy a Canadian cylinder - eventually this was done so just before lunch we set off and headed for the road south, except that we first had to head north round the Bay of Fundy.
It took us a little over three hours to cover the journey to Moncton at the head of the bay and here we asked to park for the night on a Walmart car park. The journey from Halifax was firstly through forest then past marshland and moorland.
Saturday 9th April
After a lovely quiet night, we set off early this morning. The highway carried little traffic so we made steady progress until we came to a Police car blocking the road and diverting all traffic off because of an accident. The long diversion took us down a poorly maintained road for at least 20km before we could rejoin the main highway two junctions further on. At least we saw more of the scenery - forest interspersed with cleared areas of farmland.
By lunchtime we were at the border crossing into the USA - few formalities - a quick check of the interior of the van followed by a finger print and eye check plus a payment of 6 dollars per person. We were now legally allowed to stay in the country for a maximum of 90 days.
We drove for a couple of hours more through the beautiful forests speckled with many lakes until we reached Bangor where we asked to stay on the Walmart car park. We discovered that the time was one hour behind that in Eastern Canada ie GMT minus 5hrs.
Sunday 10th April
After a very cold night, -6 deg C, we awoke to bright sunlight with temperature now at zero!
We continued our journey south through Maine - still forested but in general the landscape was more gentle. The almost empty freeway made driving easy until we turned off onto Route 1 at Augusta. From there we took the side road to Portland and the coast.
Our lunch stop was at Old Orchard Beach with its iconic pier - closed. Our next stop was at Cape Neddick to view the Nubble Light Station situated on Savage Rock.
Overnight on a Walmart car park at Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
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Monday 11th April
Today we headed on south to Boston. We had been pre-warned about the traffic on the approaches to the city but other biggest problem was avoiding the toll-bridges which were electronic only, no toll booths and no provision for paying in cash. Many of the roads were underground so it was difficult to know where you would "pop" out! It was totally impossible to park anywhere apart from in an underground parking lot, inaccessible to us because of height restrictions. We hovered down a side street, next to a sign warning we would be towed away if we stopped! John stayed in the van with the engine running whilst I went to take a few photos of the Boston Tea Party ships and the skyscraper skyline across the Fort Point Channel, before leaving the city. When we get back to Boston on our return journey, campgrounds will be open and we will be able to leave Nicolle on a campsite whilst we travel in on public transport.
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Our next stop was at Plymouth, the first permanent settlement established by the English Pilgrims in 1620. The Mayflower II, a replica of the original Mayflower was currently in dry dock in Mystic, but the Plymouth Rock under its mausoleum was still there to see. Reputedly this was where the Pilgrim Fathers originally landed. Along the waterfront were a number of statues commemorating the landing.
No campgrounds open yet, Walmart wouldn't let us park there overnight and every car park we found had signs clearly forbidding overnight parking! Tourist Information Centre advised that we could use the Park and Ride car park. A quiet night until the first commuters arrived at 6.30am.
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Tuesday 12th April
Woke up to sunshine but it didn't last long. We had enough milk for morning coffee but not for breakfast. Drove back to Walmart to buy food for the day. Why is everything so big here? We tried to buy a carton of breakfast orange juice but they were all too big to fit in our fridge. Some were as big as our fridge! The apples were the size of pumpkins.
By the time we had finished breakfast it was pouring with rain and the weather forecast wasn't promising at all.
As what we had planned to do today was all outside, we decided to have a relaxing day and hope for better weather tomorrow. The Park and Ride car park is beginning to feel like home! At least we are legal when parked here.
Wednesday 13th April
A beautiful sunny day so we headed to Plimouth Plantation. This is a living museum depicting the life of the early colonists in 1627. The museum is divided into two main sections - the first part is the Wampanoag Homestead showing how the indigenous people lived along the coast. The main part is a re-created English village as built by the first settlers. The site is brought to life by role players wearing costumes of the time, cooking, farming and living as early settlers. An interesting and inspiring morning.
After a typical thanksgiving lunch in the museum's cafe, we headed south crossing the Cape Cod Canal onto Cape Cod itself. We explored the pretty town of Sandwich with its historic clapboard houses before driving along the Old Kings Road which linked the early settlements.
The night was spent in a quiet corner of the ferry terminal car park in Falmouth.
Woke up to sunshine but it didn't last long. We had enough milk for morning coffee but not for breakfast. Drove back to Walmart to buy food for the day. Why is everything so big here? We tried to buy a carton of breakfast orange juice but they were all too big to fit in our fridge. Some were as big as our fridge! The apples were the size of pumpkins.
By the time we had finished breakfast it was pouring with rain and the weather forecast wasn't promising at all.
As what we had planned to do today was all outside, we decided to have a relaxing day and hope for better weather tomorrow. The Park and Ride car park is beginning to feel like home! At least we are legal when parked here.
Wednesday 13th April
A beautiful sunny day so we headed to Plimouth Plantation. This is a living museum depicting the life of the early colonists in 1627. The museum is divided into two main sections - the first part is the Wampanoag Homestead showing how the indigenous people lived along the coast. The main part is a re-created English village as built by the first settlers. The site is brought to life by role players wearing costumes of the time, cooking, farming and living as early settlers. An interesting and inspiring morning.
After a typical thanksgiving lunch in the museum's cafe, we headed south crossing the Cape Cod Canal onto Cape Cod itself. We explored the pretty town of Sandwich with its historic clapboard houses before driving along the Old Kings Road which linked the early settlements.
The night was spent in a quiet corner of the ferry terminal car park in Falmouth.
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Thursday 14th April
Leaving Nicolle in the ferry terminal car park, we took the free shuttle bus into Wood's Hole to catch the boat over to Martha's Vineyard. After a smooth 45min crossing during which we accessed the free on-board wifi, we reached Vineyard Haven the main settlement of the island. It is a bustling seaport and the centre of the island's commerce.
As it was too early in the season for a "round the island" sightseeing bus we opted to buy a day ticket so we could use the local buses.
The first place we visited was Edgartown. This lovely village was a living memorial to the great age of whaling. It is defined by its stately white clapboard houses and as it was established in 1642 it was the first settlement on the island. The town underwent a building boom between 1830 to 1845 - the golden era of whaling. Topping some of the roofs are widow's walks, small circular lookout towers where the sea captain's wives watched for the return (or otherwise) of their husbands. Amongst the interesting houses we saw was the one owned by Captain Valentine Pease. He was the master of The Acushnet, the whaler on which Herman Melville sailed in 1841. Captain Pease is reputed to have been the inspiration for Captain Ahab in Moby Dick.
Our second stop was at Oak Bluffs, a seaside town established as a religious retreat in 1835. The area known as Camp Ground grew into a summer city of wood frame tents which over time developed into cottages between 1867 to 1872. Today there are some 300 of these ornately carved, brightly painted "gingerbread" cottages all closely packed together with many situated around the Tabernacle. This was the site of a preacher's stand originally under a huge sail cloth tent.
Our return to the mainland was once again a smooth crossing. Overnight in the ferry terminal car park.
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Friday 15th April
Our first stop today was at the Cape Cod Canal to view the impressive railway transporter bridge. This bridge was first raised in 1935 and is still in use today although infrequently.
As we left Cape Cod we passed numerous cranberry beds - they are harvested in the Autumn.
We crossed into Rhode Island, the smallest state in the union, to visit Newport, where extravagant mansions that once belonged to America's most prominent families were built. Many of these houses are now owned by the Newport Preservation Society and are open to the public. We chose to visit "The Breakers", an Italian Renaissance-style palace overlooking the ocean and originally owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the railway magnate. A drive along Bellevue Avenue passes many more of these opulent homes.
Ocean Drive is a scenic road along the coast and was a fitting end to an interesting day.
Overnight at Walmart, Wickford.
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Saturday 16th April
Set off this morning and after a few miles traffic on the freeway ground to a halt. We then crawled for several miles before reaching a police road block. Another accident! The freeway was closed. We were turned round and sent back the way we had come. An hour later we were back where we had stayed last night! Set off out of town on another road.
Our first stop was at the historic fishing village of Stonington. We parked by the harbour side and walked down Water Street and Main Street, admiring the many stunning examples of colonial and Federal clapboard houses. On the way out of town we passed the splendid Italianate mansion owned by Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer, the explorer who was the first American to sight Antarctica.
We spent the rest of the day at Mystic Seaport, home to the Museum of America and the Sea. This was founded in 1929 on land which was formerly occupied by shipyards. One part of the museum is dedicated to the restoration of vessels of historical importance. Mayflower II is currently undergoing deck replacement while the steamboat Sabina is being fully restored. More than sixty buildings housing old style workshops, houses, a store, a chapel, an inn and a school reflect life in a seafaring village. There are also galleries with regular displays - the current one depicting the "Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers". We both also enjoyed the Figureheads exhibition. Moored alongside the museum were a number of ships which you could go aboard. One of them, the Gerda III, was particularly interesting. A former Danish lighthouse supply vessel, it had been used to smuggle more than 700 Jews to safety in Sweden during World War II.
Overnight at Walmart, Groton.
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