Tuesday 18 October 2011

New York here we come!!

Spent last night in Kent - more beautiful autumn trees. The leaves are now beginning to fall and are covering the ground. Got up and drove 183.4 miles (295 kms) towards New York and we are currently camped at a KOA in Newburgh (wonder if that is where Lobster Newburgh comes from hmmm) where we'll stay for 3 days. We'll get the train in each morning - will take approximately 90 minutes but we will get up early  - can always sleep on the train :) They also have the internet on the train so I can catch up with a few things. As we came into this park I thought I saw a rat or a mouse run across the road and another near our van but it turns out they were chipmunks....very cute. Also lots of squirrels around. They are much smaller than I thought. The camp is full of trees and they are all shedding their leaves and the ground is a carpet of colour. Luvverly!!

Bugs #920  O.L.D. $3.00
Entrance to the KOA park

Monday 17 October 2011

♫♫♫In The Navy..da..da..dada da.♫♫♫

Had a bit of a sleep in  this morning and then went to the Submarine Museum in New London. Real bargain as it's free. It was very interesting, showing the history of subs and all that go with them. We also got to go on the Nautilus which was the first nuclear submarine. I always said I couldn't get into a sub because they were so cramped and I get claustrophobia but I did good and quite enjoyed it. There is no way I could sleep in one under the sea. They have a room the size of a small bathroom and 8 men sleep in there on shelves which have  about a 12" (30 cms)  gap between them.
USS Nautilus
8 Beds - shelves?
We left New London and then drove on to Yale University in New Haven. Much nicer environment than Harvard and a lot less stressful to drive around. Got a park right off and after a quick look around we had a brilliant lunch at a Thai restaurant - 2 spring rolls and this (see below) for $7.95 and it tasted wonderful. The weather today is a superb sunny day - a bit crisp but warmth in the sun. Reminds me of an Adelaide autumn day
This is what happens in New Haven if you overrun your parking meter. Clamped on all wheels.

On the road again heading for Kent to see more autumn leaf splendour and we got a bit off the track and found a beautiful little village and followed some windy country paths. Once again - beautiful.

Miles 140.3 (226 kms)  BUGS # 904   O.L.D. #   $3.00     (OLD stands for Old Lady Dollars - I want to see how much I can save by being old.

Sunday 16 October 2011

Boston - Attempt # 2

15 October - After deliberating on  other ways of getting in to Boston besides driving there was nothing really logical we could  do. Added to the fact that we couldn't stay at the Motel another night we decided to drive in but park the car on the perimeter and catch a train in. Much more amenable :) We walked around Boston Common (it was one of those "coats off then coats on" days - warm one minute - chilly the next)  and then went on to the Cheers Pub where we had lunch and a beer for Lee and a "beer" for me.

Cheers - Where everybody  knows your name
After Cheers we went on The Freedom Trail walk. Got another Senior Discount - $2 off the walk price. The walk was led by a lovely lady in costume of the time. She was very knowledgeable and the whole walk was really interesting. We saw Paul Revere's grave and Samuel Adam's. The guide debunked a lot of "old wives tales" including Paul Revere riding around yelling the "British are coming". There were actually about 40 different riders and if they yelled out the British were coming they probably would have been shot.

 The walk finished at the Quincy Market - Have I got your attention Vic????? lol There will be lots of photos on Facebook as per your request. Quincy Market had an enormous variety of foods and was full to the brim being a Sunday.

At the end of our walk we saw what we thought was a car crash and couldn't understand why there were so many gawkers and police on site. Then we found out it was a movie set and they were shooting a movie apparently starring Jeff Bridges. Will watch out for that one.
Smash! Bang!
lol This brings back sad memories
We also watched a protest march - once again lots of policemen. I'm not really sure what it was about - there seemed to be several issues being displayed on the signs.
Protest
Once again we had trouble getting a motel and eventually we gave up and parked the van in the carpark of a 24 hour Walmart in Plymouth Massachusetts No shower but at least we could use the toilet and buy anything we fancied at any hour  of the night. The double bonus was that we were also next to a Starbucks!! Miles 91.8 (147 kms) Bugs #870

16 October - Spent the morning trying to locate a T Mobile shop to get my phone recharged - money was on it but it was telling me it wasn't grrrr. Anyway - now fixed. Visited the replica of the Mayflower and was amazed how small it was - apparently some other old  ships were even smaller than the Mayflower. Must have been a scary voyage. On to see Plymouth Rock which is...a rock lol.
Mayflower Replica
Plymouth Rock
Travelled on to Rhode Island and went over some incredible bridges. I used a Google image because it was too big to photograph.
Pell Bridge
We saw some enormous - like in bloody huge!! -houses including this one, called Rosecliff,  where they filmed The Great Gatsby.
Rosecliffe
We are now just outside New London Connecticut in a motel - finally found one yay!!!

Miles 179.6 (289 kms) Bugs #890