Log cabin in the woods

We left Montreal yesterday early in leaden skies and drizzle but were shocked on our coffee stop on the road into Ontario to find that the temperature had slumped to 6C! We were glad that when we reached Duane and Carol Dillman's log cabin near Charleston Lake that they had a good wood burning stove well lit. So last night was a full session of Mexican Train. Today at least its bright but still chilly. (Brian won the Train)

Reached Montreal

Our journey north has ended when we reached Sue and Paul's Baei D'Urfe home this afternoon. Our final drive from Burlington took us through the islands in Lake Champlain which are very rural and are linked by causeways and lead up to the US Canada border. We got into Canada with no bother and there was not even a US border guard to bother us leaving the States. We worked out that we have journeyed to or through 11 States plus Washington DC, including visiting 3 big cities, which seems not bad. Apart from getting lost a few times the travel has been fine and often enjoyable. Brian thinks New York was the highlight, particularly the Empire State and the Village Vanguard closely followed by the Shaker Village in New Hampshire. Our visit was really enjoyable, everyone extremly helpful and friendly, we really felt we could talk to anyone. We saw the Vice President, a Senator, four Sherrifs from Florida and more fine art, buildings, monuments and countryside than we could have hoped for. We did see homeless people in NY particularly but you will probably see more guns in London than we have seen here - although the sight of gun stores on the highway (one called 'Awesome Ammo'!) is quite disturbing. All in all it has been a very positive and memorable experience - we will look forward to showing you the photos! Brian Yes the Shaker village was really wonderful, very peaceful and plain, but in a very delightful way. Wonderful bits of furniture, made to be useful, the right size for the job to be done at it and fantastic cupboards with draws of all sizes. One of the best things was a multi shelf revolving oven, in which the cooking sisters could bake 64 pies all at once! It was actually invented by one of the sisters and patented by the Shaker family. I also really liked the two art galleries we went into in New Haven at Yale University. Another high point has been the waffle making option at the motel breakfast places. All good and great to be at my sisters house now. Tess

New Hampshire to Vermont

Today we drove up to Burlington through endless trees along roads that had often been blasted out of rocky hills. The extent of the tree cover is quite amazing, there are an awful lot of trees in this part of the world as well as lakes. We passed through small settlements, but we are well away from the endless suburbs of sea side Connecticut. We stopped at one lakeshore place for a walk and looked at a local real estate free paper and the most expensive house we found was 9 million dollars. Some other of the places we drove through were much more low rent than that though. We drove across the longest covered bridge in the world and would have seen more such historic crossings but were turned back by the police because a tree had fallen on the electricity cable and there was a fire!No sooner had we turned around than a cable broke right above us and there was a shower of sparks and Paul put his foot down and we got out quick! We stopped for a coffee in Montpelier ('a small town with a big heart' and the State capital) next to a pavement table with two guys discussing politics, one of whom was the State Senator. We know this as a passer by said 'congrats Senator you're doing a great job' which immediately provoked a less favourable remark from the next passer by. Well you win some and you lose some, all in a days work for a Senator who left to get back to the State House with its impressive golden dome. Onto the Quality Inn, almost a lake view and its warm and humid. Brian and Tess

Motels and Diners

We are having the full on motel and diner experience on this trip north with Sue and Paul. Staying at the moment in the Super 8 motel and last night we walked over to the nearby Diner, all silver metal and curved glass. Waitress Norma (she wrote it on a hat and plonked it down in the centre of the table) must have been all of 4 foot 6 inches but with a voice that could cut through any diner hubbub. Strong accent as well so that when Tess (having ordered something called 'Steak Tips') was asked 'howda like yer tits cooked?' poor Norma had to stand by whilst the four of us collapsed in giggles. Weather grey and overcast, we had rain last night for the first time since our arrival on the 6th which seems a long time ago.

Movers and Shakers

We are on our way north from the New Hampshire coast (all 18 miles of it!) having spent yesterday in and around Portsmouth.Our first task was to return the hire car - we managed to make a 3 mile trip into a 20 mile up and down the Interstate.Only when we had finally dropped the car off and Brian was navigating for Paul did we discover we had working GPS on the tablet and all the times we got lost we had help to hand (Doh!). In the afternoon after lunch and a beer in a serious beer cellar (happy to give you small tasting shots to help you decide) we went up the Maine coast, nice lighthouse straight out of a Hopper painting then onto Ogunquit a smart resort where the charge of 12 dollars just to park had us turning around quick! Today we have driven up to Tilton via the Shaker village at Canterbury which was fascinating. Tess and the others been out shopping, have lost Paul but now found him. Out to a diner for a beer and to eat.

Kittery

We have arrived in Portsmouth, or more precisely we are across the river in Kittery which is in Maine not New Hampshire. We met up with Sue and Paul after a longish drive in Friday traffic. We spent the morning in Yale's two wonderful galleries. Excellent fish dinner last night - this place is full of outlet stores where you save money. I have a better way to save money - don't shop! And we have exchanged our view of the sea for a truck stop! Lovely weather again. Brian

At the Kelsey House 2

Yesterday for the first time since we arrived we did very little. We have been tramping city streets, riding subways or travelling every day so yesterday we took the hire car a bit along the coast as far as Mystic. This coastal area is one big,if extremely pretty, suburb of wooden houses mostly set among trees on fenceless plots. Think of The Ice Storm or numberless films and TV shows, cars purring by at the 25mph speed limit. The best places like this one sit on rocky headlands facing the sea, others line the endless quiet streets.There are a few beaches but not many and large areas of flat marshland. Offshore are hundreds of rocky outcrops some with large houses perched on them. Our hosts told us or one that was barged out and slid onto the prepared base. Fine and dandy in the glorious weather we have at present less good in a storm. Hurricane Sandy led to 20 houses nearby having their foundations eroded away. Today we will go into nearby New Haven to visit Yale Universities art galleries and then set off across New England up to Portsmouth, New Hampshire where we meet Tessa,s sister Sue and husband Paul who have driven down from Montreal. Weather continues to be marvellous, from our bed we can see that the Sound is so still it could have been painted. Brian and Tess

At the Kelsey House

Sat in bed looking out over a gorgeous dawn over Long Island Sound.If you have not done so check out this place on Google. We had a great fish supper at Lenny's last night surrounded by people tearing lobsters apart. Our trip driving up from Washington DC was great as far as just around the George Washington Bridge then to go north of NY we found our road, lost it, found it again and lost it and with heavy traffic on the Interstate we took about 3 hours to do the final 70 miles. But it was nice to arrive here, we are the only people staying.Washington was great, not a place you would want to live in as its corporate world incarnate but those monuments and the free museums are really something. Seeing the VP was a surprise as was seeing 4 Sherrifs on Harleys at the Lincoln monument all up from Orange County Florida - we thought they might be Hells Angels but of course they were not and told us they had brought the bikes up by trailer. Off along the coast today we passed along it on the train from Boston to NY so know its nice and the weather looks great. Brian andTess

Biking round Washington DC

While picking our bikes up from the bike hire place at the station we saw the Vice President, Joe Bidon, being collected from the train he commutes into work on. There were out-riders, gleaming cars with fluttering flags all that stuff! We took our bikes off for a day of site seeing, cycling round the big green space that has all the huge monuments in it, seeing the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King and the F.D. Roosevelt Monument. America certainly does a grand monument very well indeed, they were all very imposing and the Martin Luther King and F.D.R. monuments very wonderful indeed. We also saw the Capitol (very large) and the White House (surprisingly small in comparison)and many other grand buildings flanking the very wide and imposing avenues. After riding round and looking at the monuments we went to Museums and Art Galleries, all free and all we went to really terrific art galleries, mostly modern. We intend to spend this evening as we spent yesterday evening - a cheap meal at a nearby noodle place and then a very expensive drink (Tess is getting into cocktails) at the bar here at the hotel. We can't bring ourselves to spend the very large amount of money it would take to eat here, this is Washington's oldest hotel with a good reputation for its food, so apart from the breakfast we get anyway those of us not on expenses will have to pass. Still its interesting watching Caroline the barmaid mix those complex cocktails while we act like a pair of sophisticates who spend all their time in cocktail bars. It is a wonderful place for ear-wigging, I have heard people being interviewed, people talking very earnestly about the oil spillage in the gulf, things to do with energy and conservation, there are all sorts of people staying, eating or drinking here. Tomorrow we hire a car and drive north past Baltimore, Philly, and New York back up to New England. We have a B&B near New Haven which sounds good, check out the Kelsey House Bed and Breakfast on Google and see the picture of the old Victorian house standing right on the shoreline of Long Island Sound. Lets hope the journey (which is long) goes well. Brian and Tess

Arrived Washington

We have just arrived at our Washington DC hotel - the highly eccentric Tabard Inn, a collection of old houses with highly individual rooms, old sofas and fireplaces etc, named after the Chaucer one. Our trip here on Greyhound was great, even better for only costing $17 dollars each. Our final day in New York was as wonderful as the others, the weather even better, bright blue sky and cooling breeze and we spent the morning at MoMA - a knockout collection and building, then walked down Firth Avenue a bit to look at the Public Library and the Rockefeller Centre before catching a bus down to the Village - where Washington Square, the main outdoor area, was heaving with humanity in every shape and activity. We wandered about before treating ourselves to the full burger experience, the first in the week we have been here. Finally in the early evening we visited Grand Central Station, which was even more spectacular than its reputation suggests and all so clean and polished, a huge hall all strangely hushed for a busy train station. Brian New York was so much more interesting than I had imagined, loads of people-watching to be done - beautiful people at the museums and art galleries, scruffy , scabby, sad people on the streets, always someone asleep on the grids just out side the subway station we used and a small group, usually three, sleeping in a quiet corner of the Starbucks we went to to get on line and have an early morning hot beverage. This morning as we had a wait at the bus station for our Greyhound bus to Washington I gave my subway ticket (three days remaining) to an old guy with numerous plastic bags and a cold coffee in front of him and he took it so graciously I felt he had done me a good deed! On a sartorial note ladies, New York women wear ballet flats or trainers only people of uncertain gender seem to wear very high heels and most of those don't seem to be in control of forward motion. Mostly New Yorkers seem fairly ordinary, verging on scruffy in their dress with one or two notable exceptions. Lots of lace or net dresses and skirts and lots of see through or gauzy stuff with solid under garments under. Lots of dresses with dropped hems at the back, lots of very tightly fitting things. People seemed very friendly though, trip on a pavement and someone asks if you are OK, a woman is always Miss no matter her age. If you stand still and look even slightly bemused, someone will ask if you need help or direction and even the guys at Central Park showing off their street dance were full of bonhomie and seemed to be delighted to be photographed and did not seem to want money. Today the bus journey was fab, quiet, comfortable almost no holdups and got to Washington right on time, the only scary thing was the on board 'rest room' the scariest chemical toilet with the most huge, yawning view down to the sea of blue stuff beneath. We also had a charming driver named Todd, who welcomed us all aboard. Now a beer and then a little look round the near bits of Washington. Tess

Walking dogs in boots

Let's get that one over, walking around the Village yesterday evening we saw a dog being walked in a fetching two-pairs of green boots - we had had a thunderstorm so the ground was wet. We found the street where Dylan and Susi Rotolo had the Freewheelin' cover done so had a photo done there. We ate in a great Italian full of very loud New Yorkers, the Brooklyn Italian waiter rattled off the specials none of which we understood but theTotellonie was the best Brian has ever had and Tess had to be almost carried out after her chicken and pasta dish. We spent the early part of the day in the swanky Upper East Side going to galleries, to the Met for some hours - they have room fulls of paintings by all the big names, simply stunning' then to the Whitney for a very good salad and a room full of Hoppers. Today is back to sunny but yesterday it was humid with rainstorms. We ended yesterday at Times Square - think of Piccadilly Circus but more so - we did not stay long! Now off to Moma. Hope all well in the old country Brian and Tess

New York is fun!

We ended a busy day in Greenwich village for the evening, sat outside eating German and watching the world go by, girls in very high heels and some of those girls are boys! Then to the Village Vanguard, still going after 75 years of jazz. Down into an amazingly small and damp smelling basement that officially holds 123 people, we were there for doors open so got our tiny table all of 5 feet from the stage to see guitarist Bill Frisell with a trio incluging Eyvan Kang on viola,Frisell looked like a cheerful geography teacher and Kang. in a suit and tie like a Japanese businessman! A great show,folk,blues rock and pop based explorations - even a great development of the Beatles 'In my life'. Back past the crowds and fetish shops on the D train to find TV news crews crowding the street, we learnt from a live broadcast as we arrived that there had been an attack on two gay guys, one person caught and two being sought. Bad news but getting a lot of coverage. Over to Tess. up early and off early to Starbucks for shot chocolate and their yifi and then back to our little wedge shaped apartment for breakfast (we are still waking early due to the the me difference). Yesterday we took the subway to South Ferry and took the Sat ten. Island ferry to StatenIsland, ferry good indeed and free too. It also allowed me to do an animal rescue of a little green finch that was stuck the wrong side of the case at the Start ten Island terminal. After our lovely trip,twice past the Statue of Liberty & two looks at the incredible, hazy sky line we walked through the financial district and visited Trinity Church, founded in 16 something by a man from Birmingham who had a wife from Herefordshire! Having burnt down a coupe of times, the church is in the Gothic style now and very lovely with the most delightful Church yard full of old graves, flowers, birds and lively small children, surrounded by massive sky scrapers. In the grave yards I have noticed that all the children's stones (many) note not only the age in years but months and days. On to Central Park and by circle hire. Quite a scrum, with people touting carriage rides, cycle rickshaws and bike hire. A bit like being at a historic place in Eygypt, every one wants your business. We narrowly escape a cheap,but ropey bike hire and find a better establishment with modern bikes and off we go. Its a lovely, sunny day and Central Park is huge and surprisingly hilly. We share the road with mad lycra'wd fitness bikers shouting 'on yr right' people walking, running, pushing babies or wheel chairs, loads of people. on the grass lying about or playing, a lovely place. to spend some time.

Manhattanites

Up on the Empire State building after 7pm and the sun is lighting up a gorgeous spectacle, its breathtaking and well worth the 22 dollars. We can see the almost completed One World Centre rising up to replace the twin towers, to the north the buildings around Times Square with one neon screen just visible. There is just the slightest warm breeze even tho we are 80 stories up but the is a ROAR from the city like a huge machine. We can look down on our apartment which is just a block away lying just where Broadway crosses 6th Avenue. Luckily we have an inner facing apartment so just get the general roaring noise and a distant rumble but the place is really nice-just as well given the eye-watering cost. We are up early' , still not fully adjusted to the time so its ane earlym orning hot chocolate at the foot of Empire State and Love is being played so all is more than well! Brian and Tess

train to New York

We can certainly recommend Amtrak trains - we are speeding through New England  on our way to NY. Endless forests and rocky and boggy ground, we have been travelling for the best part of 2 hours and we have yet to see a cultivated field. Just reached thr coast at Mystic -site of the famous pizza parlour with Meg Ryan having her fake orgasm. Looking forward to reaching NY this afternoon.

Brian and Tess

Downsides

There must be some downsides we have found so far, so.....
1. weak coffee, although you can get offered expresso and water but not always
and the rest is just too weak
2. wine costs a fortune in estaurants, we paid 28 bucks for a bog standard Spanish last nightr
3. lack of vegetables - allthis eating out with few dishes heavy on the veg is getting to us

we can't think of anything else, so the balance remains pretty positive!

Brian and Tess

Boston

Our second and final full day in Boston. We finished the Freedom Trail (more British infamy I am sorry to tell 'note the chipped gravestones due to their use as target practice by British soldiers'). We also spent some hours at ghe magnificent Museum of Fine Art where we selectively viewed lnly a small proprtion of the galleries.

After a nice meal this evening yet again surrounded by Harvard University folk we are agreed that Boston is a very easy place to like -almost Canadian in its laidbackness and general pleasantness.

Tomorrow we leave by train for New York and wonder how different it will be....

Brian and Tess

The other Cambridge

lovely place, streets of victorian wood framed houses- think of those Hopper paintings - in streets of blossom filled trees. We were off to the subway with the commuters and spent some hours following the 'Freedom Trail' of sites associated with the Revolution -hearing school groups being told of the perfidious British. Its a wonder they let us in!

Fantastic weather, blue skies and warm, hosts Blue and John have a wonderful art and book filled house, we might just move here!

Hope all well in your Cambridge

Brian and Tess

arrived

We have arrived safely, a rather long day travelling. We are now in a wonderful old wooden house in the other Cambridge- the former home of the cartoonist Al Capp of Lil Abner fame. True to repitation everyone is very friendly and you can't sit on the subway without getting a warm welcome and advice on what to see.
More tomorrow

Brian and Tess

Our Itinerary

Here is where we will be and when:

Monday 6th May - fly from Heathrow to Boston, staying at Blues B&B in Cambridge, MA

Tuesday, Wednesday, 7/8th May - sightseeing in and around Boston

Thursday 9th May - leave Boston and travel Amtrak to New York, staying at 888 Apartments on 6th Avenue, Manhattan

Friday 10th - Sunday 12th: Sightseeing in New York

Monday 13th: leave New York, Greyhound bus to Washington DC, staying Tabard Inn

Tuesday 14th: sightseeing in Washington DC

Wednesday 15th: drive hire car from Washington DC to near New Haven, Connecticut, staying Kelsey House B&B

Thursday 16th: exploring southern New England

Friday 17th: Drive north to meet Sue and Paul, staying Ramada Inn, Kittery, Maine

Saturday 18th - Monday 20th: exploring northern New England with Sue and Paul, staying Kittery, Tilton, New Hampshire and Shelburne, near Burlington in Vermont

Tuesday 21st: Drive from Vermont to Montreal

Wednesday 22nd - Sunday 26th: staying with Sue and Paul in Baie D'Urfe

Monday 27th: overnight flight Montreal to Heathrow

Tuesday 28th: Arrive Heathrow am.

Fingers crossed!

Brian