After leaving Cape Cod, we kept to the coast avoiding the traffic of Boston. We headed back towards Newport and followed Route 138 from Rhode Island to Connecticut and ended up at a little waterfront town called Mystic River. Greg thought it may have been the setting for yet another movie, "Mystic River", but after checking with the lady in the Army Navy Surplus Store we discovered that town was in Boston. We watched as the drawbridge over the Mystic River opened to allow boats to navigate the waterway and had a delicious lunch enjoying the views of this pretty town.


We continued south on Interstate 95 towards New London. Ever the eagle eye, Kerrie spotted a sign to a Naval Submarine Base and Museum so a slight detour was taken. This detour turned out to be the highlight of the day featuring the first ever US nuclear submarine, Nautilus named after the Jules Verne novel 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea. Apart from not being able to take a handbag into the museum, security was low only having to sign a visitor book.



We toured through the museum playing with the periscope and checking out the mock-up control room. We then toured through the actual Nautilus following a self guided route. You certainly couldn't be a submariner if you were claustrophobic! A piece if trivia - The Nautilus was the first submarine to have a staircase to move from one level to another instead of a vertical ladder.


After our tour we continued on our way for a quick look at New London before heading to Shelton, Connecticut for our overnight stay.
Friday had us on the road reasonably early as we headed to Hamilton, New Jersey to state with our friend Howard Michaels. We travelled along the Merritt Parkway for most of the morning. Construction of the parkway commenced in 1934. The road had to traverse natural ridges and river valleys so a total of 72 bridges were built. Each bridge is unique with distinctive architectural styles from Art Deco to Art Moderne. Most of the bridges are concrete but some had decorative fascias of beautiful timber. The concrete bridges were decorated with sculptured plants and animals on the abutments and made for an interesting drive.



























It wasn't long before we were in New Jersey, crossing over the Tappan Zee Bridge and really hitting the built up area. There was a lot of construction happening along the route but luckily, it was the middle of the day so the traffic was flowing smoothly. One thing we noticed along the way was the unique way public parking lots were organised.


Howard Michaels' home in Hamilton New Jersey was our destination for the next 3 nights. We have known Howard since 1976 when he arrived at Warren Central School in western NSW to teach art. Warren was a small country town (still is really) and was quite a culture shock for Howard who was born and bred in New Jersey. We became friends and have managed to keep in touch over the years. We have visited Howard in USA 6 times, he visited us in Australia in 2010 and we also met up with him in Istanbul in 2011. Needless to say we were keen to meet up with him again to spend a bit of time exploring his home area.