Boston

Maybe its because I am in my sixth week on the road but I have to say that Boston really reminds me of Sydney. It has a nice harbour, Boston Common is a lot like Hyde Park, the streets are not all gridded up an there are plenty of cobblestones like in The Rocks. The other thing it really has going for it is a thriving bar culture. My head can attest to that right now.

I mentioned the Columbus Day parade. Well it turns out it is held on the Sunday prior to Columbus Day, basically the day I was in Salem, so I missed out. Boston however is a fun city. They do have that unique accent and a slightly "I don't give a damn" attitude, but what big city doesn't. I mentioned how I enjoy tormenting Americans in another post. I can honestly say the only thing I enjoy more is tormenting the British. Its something that the Americans and I agree on. Well what better place to do it but on Boston Harbour at a recreation of the famous Boston Tea Party.

They have a museum and replicas of two of the three ships from the famous event quite literally floating on Boston Harbour. As an aside I have to tell you something a little amusing. As I was walking to it I spied two giant Lego sheep floating on Boston Harbour as well. Apparently the children's museum which is nearby has a big Lego thing going on. It is one of the few times I have wished I had kids so I could have an excuse to go and play.

Anyway the tea party thing was a blast. You take part in a mock town meeting with character actors in full costume recreating the events leading up to dumping the tea into the harbour. From there you are lead out on to one of the two ships where you get a rundown on their size, crew, cargo, capabilities, etc. This is all done in costume and in the style of the period. The actors playing the parts all kept in character as they explained away a motorised vessel gliding by against the current, "its one of those witch ships from Salem", to that most American of statements, giving directions to the restrooms.

The museum itself only really has one item of significance, being one of the original chests that held the tea. The replica ships are very impressive and he staff incredibly knowledgeable. They even have "crates of tea" that you can throw overboard to complete the illusion. 

I have to say they got all of the facts they presented correct and even included some of the things that did not paint the American actions in a particularly favourable light. After the National Archives, The Smithsonian, Gettysburg and even the marker at Key West it was nice to see the entire story told. There was a British couple at the town meeting and the stellar actor gave a stirring summary of why this should be close to the heart of the everyday Brit as well. This was all done in character. 

From there I walked some of the "Freedom Trail" (yes that's really what they call it). It starts on Boston Common and takes in among other things Paul Revere's House, The Old North Church where the lanterns were hung to alert the minutemen that the British were coming and more importantly how they would come, Faneuil Hall the public meeting house where town meetings were held, the site of the earlier Boston Massacre and finishes with the Bunker Hill Monument which was the site of the first major battle of the American War of Independence. 

There is a poem known by almost every American titled "Paul Revere's Ride", written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow where much of the myth and legend about the start of the war has been taken. For many years its content was taught to school children as fact. Sadly Longfellow got quite a few things incorrect. In the poem the lanterns in the church are for Revere's benefit. They were not. He already knew their purpose (one lantern meant the British were coming by land and two meant they were coming across the river). Revere was actually the one who instructed they be lit. He never made it to Concord except in the poem. He didn't row himself across the river people rowed him across and in the most glaring omission Longfellow left out two other riders on the night William Dawes and Samuel Prescott. 

It is true that Revere was by far the most successful, but his chances of success were slim at best, hence the backup. Revere was remarkably well connected and a member of many organisations and known to a lot of influential people. His job was to wake up the heads of the various minutemen militias (known by that name because they could be ready to fight in a minute) and to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming, as the British wanted to arrest them and Revere knew they were in Lexington. Then he had to carry on the Concord where he was to warn the locals there as well. He was arrested before he got there. Dawes and Prescott who were now with him at his arrest managed to escape, with only Prescott making it to Concord and warning the town. 

Revere however was in British custody. He spun a story that there would be more than 100,000 militia men descending on Concord so the British had better watch out. He wasn't believed as the number was so exaggerated. However the British did hear fighting and fearing they may be trapped behind enemy lines let Revere go. At this point he went back to Lexington to again try and convince Adams and Hancock to leave. Hancock fancied himself a warrior (he wasn't) and was reluctant to go earlier because he didn't wish to appear cowardly. To make matters worse even though it was early in the morning they decided they would have dinner before they set off.

He had them in a carriage when Hancock remembered he had left incriminating documents in a chest in the house they had just left. Revere walked back to the house while the carriage continued on, secured the documents, skirted the British and rejoined the duo after burying the document laden chest. 

When the war was over and after the American victory he had his first substantial vacation. Where did he go? England of course. Here he witnessed first hand the operation of a copper foundry. He brought the technology back to America and became a successful businessman, dying aged 82 a millionaire. 

Salem

I didn't quite understand how big Halloween is in the American psyche. I thought it was just something that happened on 31st October every year when the kids went out trick or treating. How wrong was I? It's an October long celebration. There are pumpkins and straw men, witches and cobwebs, spiders and ghouls, Frankensteins and broomsticks everywhere you look. And the capital of all Halloween celebrations is Salem. 

It is massive! I wanted to stay here but every piece of accommodation is booked from the hostels through to the $500 a night bed and breakfasts. I couldn't even get a parking spot. I ended up paying $20 for a space about a mile out of town just so I could check it out. I really thought I wouldn't like it but I've got to say its actually pretty cool.

The entire thing started in 1692 when in a fit of mass hysteria (you know the type, when someone posts some ridiculous fact on facebook and you pass it on then find out later it was rubbish). That is essentially what happened here, or the 17th century version of it anyway. Twenty people were executed because they were practising witchcraft. The charge seems unlikely on a number of levels. The most obvious one being that they weren't actually practising witchcraft. It turns out if your were unpopular or had a particularly attractive parcel of land then you may very well become a target of accusation. 

Anyway not long after the entire sordid affair it was realised that a great folly had been undertaken and many of the accused families received compensation and had their convictions overturned. The place of burial for the accused and the oak tree they were strung up from were quietly forgotten and in the case of the tree cut down. Which conveniently brings me to my time in Salem. Well I visited the home of the hanging judge John Harthorne and went on a walking tour with a Wiccan (it seems my odyssey with religion is not over. I may have chosen not to visit the Mormon holy sites but I have now actively participated in a Wiccan ceremony).

The walking tour was kind of cool. We visited the memorial to those who were sentenced to death in the Salem Witch Trials. 

You get an idea of how many people are in Salem from the first pic. You can see some benches on the left hand side, the second and third photos show a close up with their names, how they died and the date.

You will notice a couple of things about the next two pics. Firstly you can see the cemetery being trashed by all the visitors but the thing that is interesting to me is the big oak tree in the middle. It is exactly that kind of tree than you would have been hanged from. The other thing that grabs my attention are the gifts being left on the gravestones. I have no idea who these people are (obviously they are significant) but the Puritans would have been horrified to have their gravestones desecrated by a Pagan ritual such as leaving money. The irony is delicious. 

So how did I end up in a Wiccan ritual? Well I thought a walking tour would be fun. I didn't really want the whole haunted house and ghost mumbo jumbo so when I saw that real witches were running tours I jumped at the chance. What grabbed my attention the most was how real witches came to be in Salem in the first place. 

Believe it or not it is a fairly recent phenomenon. It all started with TV show Bewitched. Those of you old enough will remember Elizabeth Montgomery in the lead role as Samantha Stevens. It came to Salem after a fire on the set and they had to improvise so they did some location shooting. It breathed life into Salem and helped turn it into a tourist mecca. People started coming and wanted to hear about witches. As there were no real witches about people donned some green face paint, pretended they were witches and started taking the mighty tourist dollar. The Wiccans didn't want their reputation trashed so they moved to Salem to do real witch stuff.

So 280 years after the witch trials Salem finally got itself some real witches. It was a fascinating way to learn about the place. I am not converting to any of them by the way. Amish, Quaker, Mormon, Puritan, Pagan or Wiccan. But you would have to agree that the area is rich in religious diversity and history. I have bedded down in Boston for the night. Tomorrow I think I will go to the Columbus Day Parade, I'm told its a big thing here in Boston. Make hay while the sun shines.

Vermont

Apparently my kind have a name. We are called Leaf Peepers. I am not sure if its sounds a little risque or just plain perverted. We are the people who come to the New England Region in the fall (autumn) and look at the changing colours of the leaves. I spent the night in a place called White River Junction having peeped many leaves by that time. I noticed a restaurant on the corner called "Tuckerbox". I had to check it out. It turned out to serve Turkish food, and very good Turkish food at that. The lavash, the baba ghanoush, the baklava (made with maple syrup instead of honey) were all excellent. 

The next morning I arose having sat next to an environmental lawyer from Connecticut at the bar in the restaurant the previous evening. She gave me a few excellent tips on what I should see. First and foremost was go check out Woodstock, which was about 16 miles away. I had driven through it the previous day but the rain didn't do it any favours. Check out these photos.

It has covered bridges which are impossibly quaint.

To get there you have to pass through a place called Quechee Gorge which was just us ugly as everything else around here.

So after that I took my leaf peeping backside to Hampton Beach for lunch. It was essentially closing down for the season so if you were looking to get cheap souvenirs or trinkets it was great. If you wanted to find a nice cafe to sit in while you stared out at the ocean it was not so good.

On the way I passed through or by Lebanon, Montcalm, Grantham, New London, Chichester, Epsom, Northwood, Portsmouth, York and of course Hampton Beach. You might be starting to see they were missing the old country when they named these towns.

Its off to Boston tomorrow. I have to decide if I am going to have one last leaf peep and do a circuit around the Kancamangus Highway or head to Salem and check out the witch stuff. Because I dropped Chicago and Detroit early from the itinerary and because Hurricane Joaquim dropped the cotton plantation and Colonial Williamsburg from the list of places being graced with my presence I need to decide if I want to potter around the New England region for three or four more days or maybe do a rat run to Philadelphia. I'll make that decision when I'm in Boston. Wish me luck.

So I Got In Trouble With The Police Last Night

Now I have your attention. Let me clear a few things up. I was not with Sting, Stewart Copeland or Andy Summers. Nor did I get arrested. What I did however was spend the night drinking with two cops from the Commonwealth of Virginia and one from Rotterdam in New York. These guys had hooked up to facilitate a prisoner transfer and as the hotel and the food was on the State's credit card it was party time. 

It was a total eye opener for me. During the course of the evening they dealt with a guy who got shot in the leg and a criminal informant (CI) advising one of them the location of two felons who they then organised a swat team to go and arrest. This was all in a days work and it was clearly just business as usual for them. I ran into them at breakfast the next morning just before they were about to head out and put their guy on a plane and escort him back to Virginia to face the charges of raping his step daughter and fleeing from justice. I had to put one of them to bed the night before when he fell off a bar stool and couldn't get up. Imagine thinking that he could out drink an Aussie, especially this Aussie. 

So crappy weather with lots of rain but I still jumped in the Chevy and headed for Vermont. I sallied forth through Saratoga, a picturesque part of New York then started east going through Glen Falls, Fort Ann, Whitehall, Fair Haven, Rutland, Killington, Bridgewater, Woodstock, Hartford and finally White River Junction. Many of these towns were impossibly quaint and I finally got to see two covered bridges. Basically no photos though because it rained the entire time. Next three days are meant to be bright and sunny. Tomorrow I will be in Exeter, New Hampshire

Albany

I am ashamed to say it but for many years I was good buddies with a guy from Albany. For over two years we were part of the same online gaming guild and used to raid together. He was a local cop. I'm sorry to say I can't even remember his name. I would have loved to look him up. I am in his city and I really love it, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I headed off from Seneca Falls and had a choice to make. Do I go to Palmyra, the holy of the holies, for the Mormon faith or do do I go and check out several of the finger lakes which are popular local attractions. They are surrounded by corn fields and grapes on the vine. Beautiful rust red barns abound and the gorgeous homes that make up this region make it look like a postcard.

I may have mentioned it earlier but I went past some real Amish. The area is rife with religious institutions and groups. The Shakers were here. They got the name for the fervour with which they practiced their devotion and were an offshoot of the Quakers. In something totally and unplanned by me was the fact that I was 29 miles away from where the Latter Day Saints (LDS) faith, also known as the Mormons, was founded. Joseph Smith, at the age of fourteen, was visited by God, Jesus Christ and an Angel. At this time he was told to ignore all other Christian sects and found his own religion. He started what was then known as The Church of Christ. It went on to become The Church of Latter Day Saints, then The Church of God, then The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints and finally The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In doing he restored the priesthood that had been lost sometime after the twelve apostles.  

The story is a bit like Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. There is now an official version of events but there are four basic accounts that differ in various ways and another nine that also have minor points of difference. The other significant thing that happened here is that Joseph Smith dug up some gold plates that had writing on them in a language that has never been seen before or since, reformed Egyptian.

When the angel Moroni directed him to the plate's location he also gave Joseph the power to translate the plates. The original story goes that the plates came with a special set of spectacles called an Urim and Thummim that allowed them to be translated. However only in the last year or so has the LDS released an essay stating that he didn't need the glasses and that he used a seer stone that he had found at the bottom of a well. He placed the stone in his hat which he then covered his face with. When he blocked out all extraneous light the translation would appear to him on the inside of his hat. Thus we now have the Book of Mormom. 

So I was left with the choice go and visit this Mormon holy site or check out some natural beauty. I think I made the correct choice. While new religions absolutely fascinate me I'm not sure I would have benefited from exposure to its origins.

So here I am in Albany, the capital of New York. It has a happening vibe to it. I really like the feel. It has great buildings, a university in the heart of the city and a thriving bar culture. I don't know what it's like in winter but right now it looks like a lot of fun.

Its the Columbus Day long weekend here now so apparently I am heading in to peak tourist time when everyone who can goes away for the weekend and plays up one last time before the onset of winter. Who knows what that will bring.

Popping Over To Canada

When you are at Niagara Falls and gaze across the Niagara River you are looking at Canada. It looks particularly commercial with blazing signs for hotels and two different casinos. There are actually two waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls. Firstly there is the American Falls, which is solely on the US side of the border. Then there is the Horseshoe Falls which straddles the US and Canada. I was told the best view was to be had from the Canadian side so I thought, why not? I pointed the Chevy at the Canadian border and headed on over.

Now I have crossed out of America before by vehicle, when I left California for Tijuana, Mexico. That was twenty years ago but it was eerily similar. I lined up at the border with one car in front of me, had a two minute chat with a border guard and just like magic I'm in Canada. Five minutes tops, and that includes the waiting time. Same thing again when I crossed back to the US from Mexico it was wait in line, inch forward, watch the people in front get interrogated and their car searched, inch forward. So it was the same coming from Canada to the US. 50 minutes of waiting in line and its my turn. 

Ten minute interrogation, pop the trunk. Encourage them to go through my dirty laundry. Ask about how long will I be here? When am I flying home? Which airport am I leaving from? What job do I do? Lengthy explanation about what a Club Manager actually does. Yes it is hard to believe there is nothing like it in the United States. What would be the closest thing? Running an Indian casino. No I'm not from Texas. No its a rental car, that's where I picked it up from. Did you drive all this way? Yes. Are you on your own? Yes it's just me. How long did it take you? About four weeks. You can do it in two days. You probably could but I am on vacation and took the long way. Do you have anything to declare? No. What did you purchase in Canada? A T- shirt and some parking. At that point he hands me back my passport, wishes me a good day and I'm on the road again.

The view from the Canadian side is even better.

So I think I can say I have comprehensively "done" Niagara Falls. It is epic to see and the amount of water, its ferocity and the noise it makes, is astonishing.

I headed to Rochester for lunch but it left me a bit underwhelmed. It's kind of hard to top the natural beauty of the falls. I was going to head to Syracuse for the night but autumn is really starting to take hold now so I don't want to be on the roads after dark, especially not the interstates with the maniacs and their Chevy Silverados. 

I bedded down for the night at a place called Seneca Falls. I thought I would keep with the water theme. It turns out the town was the inspiration for Bedford Falls featured in the Frank Capra film "It's A Wonderful Life". It is a pretty little place. In honour of my location I ate at a real 1950's diner, had roast pork and the waitresses all looked and behaved in a much more authentic manner than the team in Miami. 

The plan is to head for Albany tomorrow, which is actually the capital of New York State. From there it will be through New Hampshire, Vermont, before ditching the car and spending a week in the big apple. I am already starting to dread the 22.5 hour flight home. I still have 17 days to savour before then.

Niagara Falls

It was kind of weird to wake up in a place that you don't know the name of. I programmed the GPS for the hotel I had booked in Buffalo. It told me it would take me exactly four hours to get there. As I had stayed in the middle of bum f**k nowhere it didn't come with breakfast so that was left to me. It turns out I was at Shamokin Dam. I headed off and in very short time I was sent on the back roads of Pennsylvania. The countryside was absolutely stunning. It was all red barns with white trim. The houses where all white weather board, trimmed hedges, shutters in heritage colours and shingled roofs. Sadly I didn't see any covered bridges but I am sure they were not far away.

I have been trying to steer away from the American chain restaurants that we have at home. Therefore no MacDonalds, no Subway, no Burger King etc. I have failed on a couple of occasions but that's another story.  So I have been slowly working my ways through the chains that aren't in Australia. So far its been TGIF, Five Guys and today it was Arby's. Even though I was not really wanting it I had a burger for breakfast and lunch. At this point I have a confession to make. I think I am starting to accept American coffee. Arbys had a coffee thing as part of their meal deal. It was bottomless. I had a second one.....to go. I will need treatment when I get home. I think maybe one of those IV drips with just pure caffeine for about a week. 

So with that as my sustenance I pushed on to Buffalo. I had originally planned to go and check out a Frank Lloyd Wright home that is considered one of his very best. Sadly it was shut on Tuesday. Who knew it was Tuesday? I decided I would go check out Niagara Falls before checking in to the hotel. I'm so pleased I did. It was absolutely spectacular. 

As you can see I rode the Maid of the Mist. It is a boat ride that takes you right up under the mist of both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. It was not raining but I can assure you that you will be absolutely soaked and the poncho I am rocking is an absolute necessity if you want to stay dry.

Gettysburg

There is an old joke that an American friend of mine used to tell. It goes something like this:

              Question: Why do people call me Abraham Lincoln?
              Answer: Because my four scores were seven years ago.

Even in Australia we have heard of the Gettysburg Address. It is the speech given by then President Abraham Lincoln that begins "four score and seven years ago...." He gave it at the dedication of the National Soldier's Cemetery in the town of Gettysburg. It was just four months after a three day battle that raged through the town and it's surrounds. It was decisive in the Union's ultimate victory in the American Civil War.

He was the closing speaker for the opening act, Edward Everett. Everett was considered a skilled orator and was highly prized for his speaking ability. He went on for two hours and it was reported that many people wandered off. When he did conclude his remarks, those who stayed greeted him with a rapturous standing ovation (let's face I know I would have applauded just because he'd finished). Lincoln then got up and gave his two minute speech which we know to this day.

At the time Lincoln's speech wasn't reported in a particularly favourable manner. The consensus seemed to be that it was too short and did the war dead a disservice due to its brevity. Clearly not many people remember Everett so I think we can safely say that Lincoln had the last laugh. Even though the speech is inscribed on his memorial in Washington there are actually five known copies of the speech, none of which match. They also don't correlate with the newspaper reports of the time, so the speech's exact content is still a matter for debate.

Its tone however is undeniable. When it was given America still had over a eighteen months to go before the end of it's Civil War. It speaks of how the nation was founded and what its abiding principles should be "......government of the people, by the people, for the people...." The definition of democratic government has never been, before or since, so eloquently and succinctly spoken.

This was a pretty amazing place. I only know the bare minimum about this part of American History. They have essentially left all the areas where the battle took place intact. In fact they are tearing down some more recent additions such as a motel and restaurant so it can be returned to how it looked in July 1863. The battle sites themselves are littered with monuments, more than 270 I believe. The different regiments were allowed, at their own expense, to erect a monument to their men on a site significant to them. Because the south were the losers and because their economies were decimated the monuments nearly all pay tribute to the Union efforts.

This is the monument for North Carolina. The reason I chose this particular monument to photograph is twofold. Firstly the sculptor has incredible detail in his faces and secondly it is the same guy who did Mount Rushmore. Eventually the eleven states from the south who took part, of which North Carolina was one,  put a monument up.

There are still bullets marks on buildings, shells lodged in walls and even the odd canon hole. It is a beautiful little town that still has less than 8,000 people living there. I took a guided tour around the site and the guide while being an over bearing pompous git certainly knew his stuff. I could deal with his condescension and pedantry but when he finished by linking the current conflicts America is engaged in with the fight to free blacks enslaved by their own countrymen it took all myself control not to tear his arrogant, know it all arse a new opening.

There is an amazing museum attached to the site that is full to the brim with various weaponry and other artefacts. They seem to have recovered every item of significance from the battle, from the chairs that they say at to the dinner service they used and in an attempt to tell the entire story. I was suffering so much from information overload as to be completely overwhelmed. It did have one truly spectacular item. Amongst all the supposedly controversial confederate flags, the muskets and the Springfield's there is a painting titled the Gettysburg Cyclorama. Four were painted and only two known to have survived. One is on display. It is 13 metres tall and 115 metres long and is viewed in the round. It would be called "mixed media" today as where the painting ends there is a diorama that picks up with three dimensional representations of what you are seeing. It really draws you in to it's content.

This place gets 2,000,000 visitors a year. On the battlefield, there are over 400 original canon arrayed at the pertinent places, you can really see how the events unfolded. This is where our conceited, obnoxious guide came into his own. He could tell you where each battalion was positioned, how long they fought for and how they were equipped. He knew the casualties, the commanding officers, those who obeyed orders and those who didn't. He was incredibly well informed and a fountain of useful information. He was about as warm as super model's stare and maybe if we all chipped in we could buy him a new personality. Still I know a lot more now than I did a day ago.

Ike Eisenhower had his retirement home next to the battlefield. He was the supreme commander of the allied forces in World War II and went on to become US President in 1952. I was going to go in and take a look but Gettysburg just chewed through my time. I headed in to Harrisburg where I intended to bed down for the night. It looked absolutely squalid so I pushed on towards Buffalo and stopped when it got dark. So here I am somewhere in Pennsylvania. I passed someone driving a horse and buggy so I am guessing the Amish aren't too far away. I have been driving along some stunning scenery following the Susquehanna River. Autumn is about to take hold and the leaves on the trees are about to change. In a week or two it will be truly spectacular. Tomorrow I will see Niagara Falls but its off the beaten track for now.