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Airport Diner
Near my hotel, BostonDear All
Greetings, in this my final blog entry on my amazing two-week trip around New England. If it hasn't been made clear so far, I absolutely loved this trip! After a couple of mini-trips to the Isle of Man and Ireland earlier in the year, it was my first proper travelling trip in quite a while, and it thoroughly confirmed not only how much I just love travelling, but also how much I love the United States of America! I will certainly be back again in future years to explore more.
Last time I wrote, I believe I was settling in for my final evening in my cosy accommodation in West Springfield. I had a slightly more unsettled sleep on my second night there, after realising that the boiler in the basement flat came on and off for five minutes at a time, every five minutes. I didn't notice this the first night, and after noticing it on my second night, I couldn't not notice it any more, even with my earplugs in... I think I may think twice about booking basement flats in future...!
After packing my bags, I took a bus back into Springfield Bus
Station again, and caught a Greyhound bus back to Boston - my first and only Greyhound bus on this trip. The bus company seems to awaken some kind of starry-eyed mysticism in me after seeing Greyhound buses in many classic Hollywood films taking misfit types of people out of their awkward situations and whisking them away on to their dream lives, with a duffle bag in one hand, and a guitar in the other. In reality, Greyhound buses simply resemble the usual form of coach transport found throughout the world, although when catching them in America I still like to imagine myself as one of those misfits off to seek meaning in life. The lady in the Greyhound ticket office responded to my initial query with "Oh I just love your accent", and again, I just love people saying this - it put me in a very good mood that morning! This is to my mind one of the best things about America - being an Englishman, people just seem to love the English accent, and it helps strike up some amazing conversations which I probably wouldn't have otherwise.
The journey back took around two hours and was not
Plymouth Rock
Plymouth, Massachusetts particularly noteworthy. I arrived back in "Bworston" again, and my trip had come full circle. I always enjoy returning to my starting point after a period of travelling in a country, it helps me see how much I have learned and grown since my arrival. I felt as though I had gotten to know New England pretty well by the time I returned to South Street Bus Station back in Boston, and I certainly knew much more about its geography and history than when I first got there. After a couple of subway journeys, and a long walk of a mile with my backpacks, topped off by having to cross a dusty, busy three-lane highway, I checked into my final accommodation on my journey. This was a Hampton Inn hotel close to the airport for my flight home on the Saturday, which I booked due to its proximity to my return journey and its convenient and free airport shuttle. It was a lovely room, comfortable, huge and spacious, with its own fridge, and a microwave oven downstairs in the common area at the guests' disposal. Yay - no more Air BnB basements with creaking floorboards, banging pipes or noisy boilers
- a proper hotel room! Although it did come with a proper price tag - Boston is apparently the second most expensive place to stay in the USA, after Key West Florida, and is surprisingly even more expensive than New York in third place! I was sure going to enjoy every minute I spent in my hotel room, getting my money's worth from it!
After a short rest, but no cup of tea (US hotel rooms have plenty of coffee, but never any tea it seems!), I located a nearby diner, back across the three-lane highway again. This place was wonderful, and was another one of those quintessential American diners. It was built in a former railway carriage, and was complete with at-bar stools and bench-tables all the way down, with another waitress who tops up your coffee! I loved it, and I had a late American breakfast for lunch.
I also found out amazingly that the bus to my destination for the rest of the day actually left from right outside my hotel! I did not know this when I booked the accommodation, and it saved me a half-hour walk to a nearby transport interchange called Wonderland
Greyhound Bus
Springfield MA to Boston MA which I had originally planned. Although I was disappointed not to visit Wonderland, even though I'm sure it wouldn't have been too wondrous, I was so happy and amazed at this convenience. The bus arrived about ten minutes later than scheduled, and then got stuck in traffic, but it got me there in the end - the wonderful and lovely town of Salem, with its associated and very tragic history.
Salem is a small and separate town about 20 miles north of Boston, although it does form a part of the city's huge commuter belt. Despite my later-than-scheduled arrival, I was amazingly able to fit in the two places which I was hoping to visit in town. I just arrived at the Witch House in time to have a good look around before it closed at 4.45pm, and then subsequently just arrived in the nearby Witch Dungeon Museum for their last performance of the day at 5pm. As the bus journey there became more delayed, I held no hopes that I would be able to visit either, but it was like the doors simply opened for me - it felt amazing that everything just fell into place there.
Airport Diner
Near my hotel, Boston As many people I am sure are aware, Salem has a very sad and tragic story of witch-hunting and hysteria, where both men and women were accused of and executed for so-called witchcraft. Many, if not all, of them were innocent, and it tells of the darker side of human nature and how frenzied it can become. I only need to think about these last two years, and can see the ease into which humans can fall into mass hysteria, moving far beyond rational thinking and into the realms of abuse of power and groupthink. What an absolutely dire situation it must have been for the poor residents of Salem and surrounds. The book and excellent film with Winona Ryder and Daniel Day-Lewis "The Crucible" are loosely based on the events there, the latter of which I have since watched upon my return home and learned more from.
The Witch House was authentic, built between 1620 and 1642, and was once the home of Jonathan Corwin, one of the local magistrates who was called on to investigate local witchcraft claims. The house was a great source of information on the notorious Salem Witch Trials, as well as what life
was like for the early 17th century New England settlers. Following my visit to the Witch House, the nearby Witch Dungeon Museum started out with an amazing 15-minute re-enactment of a witch trial, based on actual historical transcripts for dialogue, with Mary Warren accusing Elizabeth Proctor of witchcraft, seemingly to save her own skin from being accused, which is what most of the trials seemed to be about. I was (rather awkwardly) the only person in the audience, in a theatre with well over a hundred seats! I felt a little bad having these actresses stay longer than they had expected, probably hoping that they were going to go home a bit earlier that day... Ah well, it was also quite amazing to have my own individual performance - though the clapping part at the end was particularly awkward! It was fascinating to watch, and made the whole hysteria of the events all the more real. After the performance, one of the actresses gave me a personal tour of the dungeon area below, where I learned that not only were 20 people executed, but over 150 were arrested and spent time in the most appalling conditions in jail, including a
four-year-old girl who was apparently never quite the same afterwards, and at least five people who died whilst imprisoned there. The hysteria even led to two dogs being executed, whilst one of the executed men, Giles Corey, was actually pressed to death rather than hanged. This was because he refused to plead either way. Apparently pleading guilty would lead to exile from the community, while pleading not-guilty and then being found guilty would lead to hanging. How utterly unjust! Giles Corey pleaded neither way, in an apparent attack on the whole hysteria of the situation, but also to be able to allow his family to keep his property - both exile and hanging would have meant the accused's property would have been confiscated by the authorities. Many see his actions as a self-sacrifice for his family, I also see it as extraordinarily being able to stand up for truth and justice. What an absolutely mad mad situation, showing the sheer dark side of collective human nature. It was a sobering visit, as well as fascinating.
Next I headed to the Witch Trials Memorial, which is a simple garden in the middle of town with 20 stones set around the
perimeter in memory of the victims. Some of the stones had flowers recently placed there, presumably by visiting descendants of the victims or others.
The town of Salem is pretty much completely devoted to witchcraft, and every shop has some kind of witch-theme - the local shopping centre on pedestrianised Essex Street is called "Witch City Mall". Perhaps I'm being too opinionated here, but I didn't feel that this was right for the memory of the poor victims of the atrocities to be marred by kitsch and tackiness, cashing in on the witch-related tourist dollar. The place is apparently alive around Halloween, and I'm quite glad I wasn't there then. There was at least a somewhat more tasteful witch-themed statue of Samantha Stephens from the fantastic old-school TV show "Bewitched" in one of the central squares, which I thought was nice. The town is also famous for being home to America's oldest museum in continuous operation, the Peabody Essex Museum founded in 1799, which was unfortunately closed by the dusk-approaching time I passed by. I left town just as a huge group of middle school students from New York State had arrived and were filling the streets and shops
with their noise - I got talking to one of the teachers running the trip, and I imagined he was certainly looking forward to the return journey home. I took the same bus back into Boston again, and again couldn't believe my fortuitous hotel choosing as the bus dropped me off right in front of reception. I settled into a lovely CVS microwave meal again for dinner, this time with a glass of wine - wonderful!
Oh no - it seems that by now, I had reached my final full day on this amazing American adventure...! Not to worry though, many ideas were borne during this journey of future US visits, so while this one was coming to an end, I was excited to return home with plans for further adventures in this amazing country. I also thoroughly enjoyed my final full day, taking a day trip to nearby (albeit still around 40 miles away) Plymouth, site of the famed Plymouth Landing in 1620, of which I had learned so much already in various places along this journey. Plymouth Rock is believed to be the stone upon which the first American settlers stepped foot, marking the site of the
first permanent English settlement in America. This is thus a very important place for the country, with the story of the first Pilgrim Settlers being very much placed in the very fabric and consciousness of the American psyche. As well as its importance, the town is also just beautiful to visit, magnified even more so by my second sunny and warm day on this journey - perfect weather to be beside the sea with! Tourist numbers were still low, although the following day would mark the official opening of the tourist season in these parts, meaning that the town's main attraction, the Plimoth Patuxet Museum, an open-air recreation of the first pilgrim village, would be open only on the day of my return to the UK. Whilst I unfortunately missed out on visiting this museum, there were still plenty of places to see in the lovely seaside town, it was a valuable place to have put on my New England itinerary.
Getting to Plymouth was actually a bit of an adventure in itself. I took the free airport shuttle from my hotel to the airport, then the Silver Line metro bus to South Station, followed by a Plymouth and
Brockton bus service to the Plymouth Park and Ride centre just outside of Plymouth, and finally the Mayflower Link bus into the centre of town. I seriously learned how to do public transport during my time on this trip - it wasn't easy, but with a bit of forward planning, it was certainly possible, and a very enjoyable way to my mind as always to see a country from the comfortable seat of a bus gazing out of the window at the world passing by, as well as getting an insight into some interesting people as fellow bus passengers. The final bus driver pointed out to me all the sites of interest as we drove through town to the central bus stop, and pretty much acted as an introductory tour guide for me. The sun had also just come out after a grim and foggy morning, and as mentioned, it turned out to be a beautiful, warm and sunny day!
My first stop for the day was the Pilgrim Hall Museum, which in fact was open during my visit, and told the fascinating story of the 1620 Mayflower voyage from England to New England, and also housed some of
Witch Trial Re-Enactment
The Witch Dungeon Museum, Salem the very objects from the Mayflower voyage itself. I then took a walk to the eateries in the harbour area of town, seafood being very much on the menu, and then a walk along the beautiful shoreline in front of town. From here, it was onto the town's star attraction, the Plymouth Rock! This is said to have been the first part of American terra firma that the pilgrims set foot on, as their smaller rowing boat off the Mayflower arrived to land on the seashore around there. However, as I had found out in Cape Cod, this is technically not true, as they had first stopped in Provincetown at the northern tip of the cape, and finding that the area did not have good enough soil for growing crops or fresh water, they made it across Cape Cod Bay and settled there in Plymouth. The Rock is today housed in a grand monument, and this comparatively small structure is surprisingly a US National Park, unsurprisingly the country's smallest, and also thus guarded by a US National Park Ranger. Many find the rock a disappointment, and others question its authenticity - I was happy nevertheless to see this amazing piece
of US history, and the honour and esteem in which it is held by the nation.
The walk to the rock took me past the usual summer docking place for the Mayflower II, which in-season is possible to visit, but out-of-season, as mentioned in a previous blog entry, was at the time undergoing its annual maintenance back in lovely Mystic. I was glad to be able to say, when local Plymouth people mentioned to me that it was unfortunate the Mayflower II wasn't there for me to visit, that I had already seen it myself back in Mystic - a number of them were interested to find out how the ship was doing, and I was happy to tell them she was doing fine! I also took in two statues commemorating important men at the time of the Landing of 1620: William Bradford, Mayflower passenger and first governor of the Plymouth Colony, thus first leader of the nascent American nation; and Massasoit, local American Indian Wampanoag tribe leader who helped the early settlers avoid starvation during their first years in America.
From the Plymouth Rock, I then headed up nearby Leyden Street, also simply known as "The Street"
back in 1620, and now named after the Dutch city of Leiden, where the pilgrims had initially tried to find religious freedom in Holland after leaving religiously stifling England. This was the first American street! I can't imagine how much the prices of the ten or so houses along it go for today, imagine living on America's first ever street!
There was a lovely walk following a riverside path from here alongside Town River, the first fresh drinking water source for the pilgrims, and up the valley onto the Plimoth Grist Mill, again only opening the following day, but still beautiful to see from the outside. I then headed up to nearby Burial Hill, with centuries-old gravestones and commanding views to be had over the town below and the beautiful ocean beyond, before heading back into town again to await my return journey home.
I first confirmed at the local tourist information office where the Mayflower Link bus would stop to pick me up, and met another lady there who just loved my accent. In particular, she just loved the way I said "the Plymouth and Brockton bus back to Boston", and mimicked my way of saying it
beautifully - I could see how an American would find this particular phrase quite posh and funny when said with an English accent.
The same bus driver who took me there, picked me up again, and this time explained how his ancestors were some of the first settlers in America, originating from Yorkshire where I am from - we called ourselves distant cousins! The other five passengers on the bus were complete loons I have to say, and instead of the "Mayflower Link", I nicknamed it in my head the "Loony Link" - when they weren't talking to each other or the bus driver, they were happily chatting away to themselves. I think the bus driver appreciated having a more sane person on board in myself - at least, I think I'm quite sane...!
So this time in reverse, my return journey to my hotel was: Mayflower Link to the Plymouth Park and Ride centre, with a handy McDonalds attached to spend time in during my wait there, Plymouth and Brockton bus journey back to Boston's South Station, three different subway lines to a place called Orient Heights, and this time a mile-and-a-half walk along a busy highway
Bridget Bishop Stone
Witch Trials Memorial, Salem back to my hotel. When I booked this accommodation, the distances to nearby subway stations seemed much closer on a map, and while I figured the airport shuttle would be a useful means of connecting me to public transport whilst staying there, I didn't figure that it'd be a bit trickier returning there after having been shuttled out! The highway walk did involve some awesome views of central Boston and its skyscrapers as the sun was setting though, this was beautiful! I snuggled up for another warm and cosy night back at the Hampton Inn, my final night on this trip.
And so came my final day on this amazing trip. My flight wasn't until the evening, so I had a bit of time to explore more. I had initially planned on this day to return to Boston city centre, to take in some places I hadn't seen on my first visit, namely the Paul Revere House, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (try saying that one three times quickly!), and the Boston Red Sox baseball stadium at Fenway Park. Having learned on my final evening that there was no place to store luggage at Boston Airport though, and again
John Proctor Stone
Witch Trials Memorial, Salem being really quite surprised at the lack of left luggage facilities in the area, although again I imagine this is due to security concerns, my plans changed. I was now planning to have a much longer lie-in in the morning, with a late check-out agreed at reception for 1pm (what a treat!), and then explore a bit of the local area around the hotel, before taking the airport shuttle mid-afternoon for my British Airways flight back home in the evening.
This last day was relaxing, and I think much more enjoyable than if I'd spent it rushing around last-minute sights in Boston city centre and worrying about making it back to my hotel and then onto the airport in time for check-in. The night before an evening long-haul flight, I do prefer to take it easy, as I know after waking up that morning, it will be a while before I'll be in a proper bed again. After a delicious lie-in and checking out at 1pm, I left my bags at reception and went for a lovely nearby walk. Not much was in the near vicinity of the hotel except industrial estates and busy roads, but I did find
Giles Corey Stone
Witch Trials Memorial, Salem around a mile-and-a-half away on Google maps a lovely-looking place called the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation, part of the original marshlands making up much of the natural coastal area around Massachusetts Bay before European settlement. The reservation was quite a miracle of a place to my mind. It is surrounded by said industrial estates and busy roads like my hotel, and also directly beneath the flight path into Boston Logan International Airport, with huge and very low planes passing over every few minutes, yet despite all of this, was a surprising haven of tranquility and birdsong. The sky was very moody, turning into heavy rain and hail fortunately just as I was arriving back at the hotel, but making for excellent photography at the reserve - marshlands, planes passing over, dark and brooding sky, clapper-board houses in the near-distance covering neighbouring hillsides, and Boston city centre skyscrapers out in the far distance. There was also all manner of birdsong all around, it was just beautiful! I decided to take a close-up photo of one of the planes as it was coming in to land overhead, and amazingly it just so happened to turn out to be my very own British
Airways one which was to carry me home later that day - what are the chances of that happening!
After a blissful time in the reserve, it was time to head back to my hotel. I stopped off at a Wendy's on the way back for a late lunch, for my final meal in America, an amazing and deliciously tasty chicken burger and crispy fries combo with a root beer, I think my favourite of American drinks. It was a classic American meal to bid farewell to my time in the country, and I was reminded again of just how large and tasty American food is. I also stopped by at a nearby supermarket to stock up on a couple of bottles of Paul Newman's sauces, which I discovered and came to love during my time on this trip. Upon finding out that they are difficult to come by back home, I bought a bottle each of his Ranch sauce and Creamy Caesar sauce to take home with me - mmmm, my taste buds will continue to tingle for some time now with the taste of America!
After arriving back at the hotel just as the heavens indeed
opened with hailstones, I picked up my bags at the hotel reception, and took the airport shuttle back to Boston Logan again. Check-in this time was an absolute breeze, since the UK had by this time already removed all international travel restrictions (while America, even as I write this at the end of May, still has the ridiculous requirement to test before entry - catch up please America, the rest of the developed world is way ahead of you now!). Compared with my outward journey, my return airport journey was a breeze - short queue, half-full flight, and no checks, forms, tests, vaccine passports to speak of - again, well done UK for being one of the first to go all out on no international travel restrictions, I have noted that many other countries have since followed suit.
The flight back was a mere five-and-a-half hours, Boston being America's closest international connection to the UK, and I had a whole double seat right at the back to myself - bliss! I took some good photos leaving Boston at dusk, and later what I think are some really quite amazing photos arriving back over London at sunrise. The flight went
Witch City Mall
Essex Street, Salem quickly - I watched "E.T.", and then lay down horizontally for the rest of the flight. After landing at Heathrow, and compared to my door-to-door average of an hour from Gatwick to my home, Heathrow is usually around two hours, but with so many bus and train routes undergoing engineering works again this weekend of my return, it was a whopping three hours this time! After two tube lines followed by an Overground train, I then learned of the weekend closure of my final 10-minute train line back to East Croydon station, and ended up treating myself instead to an Uber rather than the painful all-stopping "Rail Replacement Bus Service" that was laid on instead. I shall continue to search for flights out of Gatwick in future...!
Well, it just leaves me to say now at the end of this amazing journey, thank you America! You were absolutely amazing!! I thoroughly enjoyed every single day of my two weeks with you, each one filled with such varied experiences, wonderful places to see, and very friendly people to meet. Thank you for being just you - so big, bold and beautiful! I imagine we will be seeing much more of
each other in the many more years to come!
And thank you all for reading!! I shall sign out here until the next time. I have an upcoming five-and-a-half week summer adventure around Scandinavia planned, starting towards the end of July - Norway, Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Iceland - I'm so excited!! And I look forward to picking up the travel blog pen (keyboard) again soon!
Until then, all the best for now!
Alex
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Sad isn’t it
They should have protected it sooner. I guess it was Coon in the past years to chip a piece off and take it so there isn’t much left. It was a disappointment to see.