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Right at this moment, I am squaring off with a pesky seagull who keeps attempting raids on the trail mix Paul and I are nibbling peacefully on a blanket in a shady spot on the grass overlooking the American side of Niagara Falls. Other than that one seagull, things are pretty perfect. And the fact that my underwear are still pretty wet after our earlier forays into the falls’ ferocious mist is a little bothersome too. But other than my drawers and the seagull, things are very very good.
But I’m getting ahead of ourselves.
The last time we blogged, Paul and I had just arrived at Paul’s mate from Australia, Erin’s house in Rhode Island where we were really looking forward to a little R & R as we spent some time catching up with Erin and her husband, Don. Erin mentioned that her new American in-laws keep commenting on how Australians are such friendly happy people, and she sure fits the bill. She must be rubbing off on the rest of the family because they were also pretty great and just a little crazy. We spent leisurely afternoons playing bocce on the lawn and evenings playing Cranium
until the Americans got tired of winning all the games all of the time. (USAers—4, Aussies—zip!). Time got away from us a bit as Paul and I got sucked into the fun. Maybe the tequila shots had a little something to do with our lack of motivation.
(I’ve just looked up to realize that Paul has wandered off taking photos and the seagull has brought in reinforcements.)
After a day or two of hedonism and laundry, we ventured out again. First we went to Cape Cod in Don’s convertible. I felt very posh as we soared down the highway with the sun our faces and wind in our hair. I took a photo of me feeling posh, but the poshness-feeling didn’t show up real well on print so you’ll have to imagine me all relaxed and glamorous.
After a treasure hunting excursion on the beach where I found not one but two weathered Spanish galleons one of which that had been nibbled on by a shark maybe as it wrestled it from the hands of Blackbeard himself, we made our way into the artsy gay friendly town of Provincetown at the far end of the cape. We
meandered down the little main street, window shopping at the leather and sex toy shops and admiring the beautifully sculpted and depilated gay men on bicycles. A stop for beers, corn dogs, and fish and chips in the sun capped off the day. It was great.
The next day, Paul and I ventured off alone to Newport, a city that I had heard we couldn’t miss from just about everyone. (Yes, it’s also the city that lost the America’s Cup for those of you who care.) While the whole town from the harbor to the hill top is cute with a great big capital C, the Cliff Walk was the highlight for us. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Newport was the place for the rich and famous to summer. Not wanting to be outdone by their fellow richies, each built elaborate mansions on a long cliff overlooking the ocean. (Mind you, these were just their summer homes). Nowadays, one of the biggest draws to Newport is a 4 mile trail that has been forged between the mansion’s expansive backyards and the cliff face. While some of scrambling along the rocks gets tiresome after 3 or so
miles, the views are breath taking. You can tour a few of the mansions. While we were too stingy to pay any of the entrance fees, I thoroughly enjoyed myself doing yoga on their beautifully manicured lawns over looking the sea.
Another day, Paul and I took the commuter train from Rhode Island into Boston where we learnt us some more history. It really is embarrassing how little I know about my own country’s beginnings, and a trip to Boston was all I needed to convince myself I need a refresher course. In Boston, Paul and I followed the self-guided walking tour through town called the Freedom Trail. You simply follow a red brick path that wanders through the heart of Boston and get to see all sorts of amazing historical sites such as Paul Revere’s house and where he did his midnight ride, the site of the Boston Tea Party and the meeting house in which it was planned, another meeting hall where the Declaration of Independence was first read, and perhaps Boston’s most famous place to gather, Cheers! (Paul caught up with Norm.) We also saw the duck boats and Old Ironsides and took a little water
shuttle where we got to admire Boston’s pretty waterfront and planes swooping into land at Logan airport.
That night, back in Rhode Island (gosh they make the states small up here), Erin and family revealed to us the glorious hidden secret of Woonsocket, family-style chicken. We’d love to tell you more about it, but words really wouldn’t do it justice, and from what I hear Woonsocket is the only place in the world where you’ll find such a treat. Better begin those travel plans. Many thanks to Erin, Don, Angela, and Michelle for introducing us to the chicken and being all around great hosts and fun people to get to know. Thanks too goes to Dr. Shaw, Angela and Michelle’s gracious boss who kept sending the girls home with the scrumptious cakes and cream puffs and especially the tiramisu.
The next morning we said our good-byes and headed back to Boston so that I could catch a glimpse of Fenway Park. What most of you probably don’t know is that I nearly went to school in Boston for my undergraduate degree years ago purely to be close to Fenway Park and get to go to Red Sox games.
That, and I really thought the idea of so many eligible boy smarties at Harvard and M.I.T. to be quite appealing. Anyhow, I finally saw Fenway, and it was magic. It was just coming to life as vendors arrived and fans lined up for tickets to the Sunday afternoon game. We seriously contemplated a change of plans as we took in a game, but the tickets were over $20 bucks each and it wasn’t like they were playing the Yankees or anything. Besides we’d never make it to South America if we acted on all of our good ideas.
Instead we headed for Salem with a detour to drive through Cambridge so that Paul and I both could honestly say, “We went to Harvard”.
Salem was a little disappointing. The only cool thing there was the monument to the nineteen people who were hanged or crushed there in the 1690s. I was flooded by memories of tenth grade English class with Goody Morris when we read, The Crucible. Sarah Goode, Rebecca Nurse, each one of the accused has their own stone bench in a little cemetery in the center of town. It was quite poignant and sad.
The only other neat part of town was the little harbor where they’ve preserved some of the old houses including the custom house where one of my favorite American authors, Nathaniel Hawthorne used to work. You can also visit the house he lived in which inspired “The House of Seven Gables” (I’m guessing because it had seven gables). We didn’t visit—they wanted $12 bucks a piece. The rest of town was crap with tacky souvenir shops and witch villages and wax museums. We thought we might spot a witch or two, but I don’t think a real witch could stomach the mockery of the place.
Our next stop that day, Concord, was chock full of pleasant surprises. The highlight for me was getting to imagine myself back in time when the Alcotts, Hawthorne, Emerson, and Thoreau were all living in the town talking about philosophy, expounding on transcendentalism, and writing some of my all time favorite books. I was ecstatic to take a tour of the house that both Louisa May Alcott and Nathaniel Hawthorne lived in at various times (Bronson Alcott and Nathaniel Hawthorne kept buying it off one another when they were either called away for work
or going bankrupt.) Inside you can see the desk where Hawthorne stood and wrote and the stairway and rooms that Louisa and her sisters played in that inspired a lot of Little Women (which she incidentally wrote after her family moved into the much smaller house next door when her father went bankrupt and the family needed the money). All in all 12 different published writers lived in that one little house and many many more visited for tea or lemonade on the sun porch. It was pretty special.
In Concord, we also visited the stunning Sleepy Hollow cemetery where all of these famous writers and philosophers are buried together on a wooded hillside, and we contemplated taking a swim in Thoreau’s Walden pond which is now a state park and favorite swimming hole. For any American literature fans, I highly recommend a visit to Concord. And, yes, I do realize how nerdy I just painted myself.
That night we spent the night in a state park campground in the Berkshires. What was really odd is that we found out that Hawthorne also had a house just up the road a few miles from where we camped. A
little creepy how we ended up visiting three places where Hawthorne once lived completely due to happenstance . . . or maybe there was something a little more mystical than wax museums going on in Salem after all. . . .
The next morning was Memorial Day where we got sidetracked by a patriotic parade down the beautiful old Main Street of Lee, MA. Paul was giddy as he snapped photos of fire trucks, marching bands, and kids waving American flags. I was pretty excited to take advantage of the kids’ diverted attention and rustle up all the candy that they were missing.
Niagara Falls was next on our list. We drove all day, found our campsite, and quickly crossed into Canada for the best view of the falls before the sun went down. Its also a great place to be at night because they blast huge colored rays of light onto the cascades which help them to blend in nicely will all the flashing lights of casinos, amusement parks, chain restaurants, hotels, arcades, and yes, more wax museums. I guiltily have to admit that the falls did look kind of pretty all lit up with the lovely
colors. And lucky us, we were treated with a Memorial Day fireworks display above the falls to boot. Feeling the seizures coming on from all the bright flashing lights, we called it a day and looked forward to taking in the fun of the somewhat more serene American side the next day.
The highlight of Niagara Falls for us was the Maid of the Mist tour which is a little boat that brings tourists like us to the foot of the falls. I was hot and decided to brave the trip without the free hooded, floor-length ponchos they provided. Not sure that this was the best decision though. I’m convinced the captain of the boat was smirking as he repeatedly pointed the side of the boat with the only stupid tourist without the rain coat into the waves and heavy mist. It made for some fun photos though. Trouble is that after this boat ride and our subsequent walk along the plank walkways (one of which was called the Hurricane Deck) at the bottom of the Bridal Veil falls, my poor camera was so water-logged and full of condensation that every photo it took for the rest of the
day had a nice hazy 1970s romance feel to it. Thankfully, it’s alright now or this blog might have taken a very bad turn.
Two other interesting things about Niagara:
1) There is this really fun Daredevil Museum where you can read the stories and see some of the actual barrels used by crazy lunatics to ride down the falls. Some people have done it more than once. One guy tried it on a jet ski. Another in a kayak (from Ocoee, TN—go figure). The two most interesting stories are that the first person to go down Niagara Falls in a barrel was a retired school teacher who decided at 63 she needed a little excitement in her life.
The other crazy tale is of a little 7-year-old boy who was in a boating accident above the falls. This little guy went over the falls with nothing but a life jacket and his swim trunks and miraculously survived with only minor injuries. The captain from one of the Maid of Mist boats spotted him courageously swimming in the rapids beneath the falls and fished him out.
2) There are a whole lot of Indian restaurants in
Niagara Falls. In fact, I’d say that half of all eating establishments have Indian menus. Paul asked the proprietor of one why this was, and she happily answered because there are a lot of Indian tourists who visit the falls. And it is very true that Indians seem to visit the area in disproportionate numbers. When Paul asked the woman why so many seem to come here, she logically answered “because the falls are very beautiful”. Makes all the sense in the world. If anyone has any other ideas or information about this we’d love to know.
Now we’re sitting in Panera in Indiana and we’re about to post our next installment. (Don’t worry I took a break; I haven’t been writing for the past three states.) Before we do, though, we just wanted to say how much we love Panera. Where else can you go to eat healthy, yummy food and get free wifi internet? We’ve decided to make them the official sponsors of the U.S. leg of our transAmerican adventure. Now we just need to let them know about it. As much as we’ve been eating here, we could use a discount!
Next stop Chicago and
then off to big sky country. We’re ready to put our National Park Pass into action as we visit Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, Yellowstone, and Glacier before some down time in Washington with the folks. Feel free to post your comments or send us emails. We haven’t been real good at responding, but it makes us feel loved.
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Mom
non-member comment
Thanks for blogging........
Dad and I want to thank both of you for the wonderful blogging and great pictures. We really appreciate you taking the time to do this. Anxiously awaiting your next one. Be safe! Love Mom.