Boston

We have been a bit busy since our last blog entry so this entry relates to a trip we had on 29th August 2011. So we will try to catch up with subsequent trips soon.

Along with other Aussie travellers and friends, Patsy and Len from Bendigo, Donna and I rent a car and head toward the New England area of the USA. We head south toward the Canadian/USA border crossing at the Ivy Lea Bridge near the Thousand Islands area on the St Lawrence River. As we pass through Rockport, just prior to the Bridge, we decide to stop and see if we could manage a quick Thousand Islands boat tour. There are actually 1,793 islands, which are meant to be worth the view. The Thousand Islands is the name of an archipelago of islands that straddle the Canada-US border in the Saint Lawrence River.

We are in luck. We purchase tickets for an hour tour and after a short wait we are aboard and cruising past the homes of the rich and powerful. It seems every island, no matter how small, has a dwelling of some description, some grandiose and of mammoth proportions, and some small and nondescript. We pass Boldt Castle, the opulent "love shack" built by George Boldt, managing director in 1900 of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Boldt built the castle for his wife. He even had the island carved into the shape of a heart, a bit OTT, but hey, money can always overcome the natural environment! Construction abruptly ceased in 1904 with the unfortunate and untimely death of his wife.

We headed across the US border and to Sackets Harbour located on the eastern side of Lake Ontario. Sackets Harbour was an important harbour for the US Navy during the 1812 War between the USA and Canada. The British forces tried unsuccessfully to capture the harbour on a couple of occasions but they were repulsed by American regulars and militia.

We then head east and through the Adirondack Mountains toward Lake Placid, home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Pretty country, lots of lakes and forest, and gradually rising to a peak at Whiteface Mountain, just outside Lake Placid, at 1,484m. We have a new appreciation for the courage of the Olympic ski jumpers as we stood at the take off point at the bottom of the ski ramp and looked down the mountain to the landing area. The jumpers actually start their take off 120 metres higher up the ski ramp. Believe me it was scarily high!

We couldn't actually get up Whiteface Mountain as Hurricane Irene had caused trees and power lines to be uprooted and block the road to the summit. From Lake Placid to the shores of Lake Champlain and Port Kent, we witnessed a lot of flood damage and wind damage, the result of Irene. We had planned to ferry across Lake Champlain at Port Kent however, we had arrived a bit more than an hour before the next ferry was due to run. The ticket seller suggested we head north to Plattsburgh and catch a ferry there as they are much more regular. As we were here to look around we took her advice and we were soon crossing the lake from New York State to Vermont, and on our way to Montpelier.

Montpelier, a quaint and quite attractive small city, is the Capital City of Vermont so we took the time to visit the State House in Montpelier. State Houses seem to have one thing in common they are all adorned with huge shiny gold domes. We took the time to take an interesting guided tour run by a group of volunteers. One thing we have found while visiting the USA, is that Americans are not only very patriotic about their country, but, they are also very parochial regarding their respective towns or cities.

From Montpelier we head toward the region of East Randolph to look at some covered bridges. Hopefully, the bridges are still intact after the recent flooding - a result of Hurricane Irene. We had been told that some bridges in the area had actually been destroyed by the flooding, What a shame, as we find these unique structures quite intriguing and works of art. I swear that if I stand in these structures quietly and close my eyes I can faintly hear the drumming of horses hooves and the rattle of buggy wheels, from a bygone era, on the timber decking. That night we made Concord, New Hampshire.

The following morning we back track north a bit, to visit the Canterbury Shaker Village. The village was formed in 1792 and by 1850 comprised 3,000 acres and housed 300 inhabitants in over 100 buildings. Shakers are an intriguing religious sect, dating from around 1770, established by Ann Lee. Lee developed radical religious convictions that advocated celibacy and the abandonment of marriage, as well as the importance of pursuing perfection in every facet of life.

Because of their desire to achieve perfection in every facet of life the Shakers were actually very innovative and embraced any new technology that came along and this was evident in the way they constructed their communities and the technology they embraced in providing for the community. A very interesting visit. From a peak of 6,000 members nation wide, today there is 3 surviving members of the sect, but none live in Canterbury. The reasons for the sects demise are many but include, people were attracted to cities and away from the farms; Shaker products could not compete with mass-produced products that became available at a much lower cost; and Shakers were celibate and could not have children, so adoption was a major source of new members. This continued until orphanages were established and the states began to limit adoption by religious groups.

Leaving the Shaker village at Canterbury we decided to have a bit of a change of pace and travel a few miles further north to visit the New Hampshire NASCAR racing track. The site was enormous as you might expect and the stands looked liked the MCG on steroids, although not so many levels. There was a a fleet of maybe 50 Toyota Tundra vehicles there that made it look like a Toyota used car lot. The Tundra is a 5.7 litre V8 4X4 dual cab truck (ute to us Aussies) that look like a Hi-lux on double strength steroids!

That night saw us in Salem, the witch capital of the USA. The next morning we explored the history of what became collectively known as the Salem Witch Trials. The trials, between February 1692 and May 1693, were undertaken over a number of counties in colonial Massachusetts. Over 150 were arrested, 29 were convicted, 14 women and 5 men were executed by hanging, one was crushed to death by stones after refusing to plead guilty and at least five more of the accused died in prison.

From Salem we journeyed to Plymouth Plantation, a reconstructed early 17th century English village and Wampanoag First Nations village. A step back to the time of the Pilgrim Fathers first landing in North America. A few miles down the road we boarded a replica of the Mayflower, one of the ships used by the Pilgrim Fathers to sail to the New World. A quick look at the "assumed" Plymouth Rock and we were off to our lodgings for the night at Concord, Massachusetts, 19 miles out of Boston.

The next day we headed for Boston City on the T Red Line, the Boston public transport line from Alewife near Concord. In Boston we took a guided tour over a portion of the Freedom Trail, a well marked red brick walking trail around Boston city highlighting the major historical land marks. Starting at the Boston Common the guide, dressed in period costume, guided us around the inner city highlights of the Freedom Trail. Such notable locations as, the Boston Common, the State House - with shiny golden dome, Granary Burial Ground where patriot notables such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere among many others are interred. Also included in the tour were the Old South Meeting House - starting point for the Boston Tea Party, the Old State House, the Boston Massacre site and Faneuil Hall. Donna and I then purchased tickets for the Hop-on Hop-off Trolley Bus tour and caught up with some of the more far flung historical sites. Such as Paul Revere's House, the North Church where the lanterns were hung that started Paul Revere's historic ride, Bunker Hill Battle Site and other notable Bostonian sites such as baseballs Fenway Park, the hotel from the TV show Cheers and TD Garden where the Boston Bruins play - ice hockey's current Stanley Cup Champions.

Boston was both unbelievably educational from a historic point of view and a disappointment that many sites so important to the American culture and history have been altered, lost or have skyscrapers built adjacent, to the point the whole historical significance and affect seems lost in the modern day race for economic growth through endless consumerism and development. A problem not unique to the USA - what to preserve and what not to?

The next day it was more Revolutionary War history with a visit to the North Bridge and to walk the Battle Road Trail not far from our B&B in Concord. In many places this significant location is very much intact and reasonably unspoilt, the benefit of being located in a rural area I guess. North Bridge, Concord, was where the patriot militia were first ordered to fire at the British Army. The first shots in the Revolutionary War were fired in a brief skirmish at Lexington Common at dawn on the same day when the British fired on a small contingent of patriot militia that withdrew without firing a shot. The patriot militia were aware of the British march toward Concord from Boston because of the ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes and accordingly the militia were massing and were waiting at the North Bridge. The battle then continued from there as the out numbered British regulars withdrew toward Boston. As the patriot militia increased in size the fighting became quite fierce until the British regulars eventually met with reinforcements from Boston at Lexington. The British then tactically withdrew to Boston under constant fire. The patriots continued blockading Boston afterward and this led to the Battle of Bunker Hill. The American Revolution had begun.

The visit to North Bridge and the guided Battle Road Walk were excellent particularly the Battle Road walk that covered the most significant conflicts and historical locations of that day - such as the capture site of Paul Revere. That night was the last night we were with Patsy and Len so a farewell dinner was had at the historic Concord Inn. You could almost hear the marching feet of the British regulars on the road outside.

The next day Donna and I left Concord and headed pretty much straight west toward Ilion, New York. The idea was to travel a different road home and also visit the Remington Arms Factory Museum in Ilion. We had checked to make sure it was open Sundays but hadn't counted on the Labour Day long weekend. Yep, you guessed it, it was closed on that Sunday. Ah well, maybe another time. On the road from Ilion to Ogdensburg, another Canada-US border crossing, we passed a massive wind farm. The wind turbines seemed to stretch out as far as the eye could see. It seems the USA is as committed to renewable energy as Canada.

We had heard of the Amish communities that live in northern New York State and into Ontario but we had not seen any Amish people on any of our journeys. This was to change as we passed two Amish horse drawn buggy's travelling along the main road. It is amazing to think in this day and age these people have the courage of their convictions to maintain their way of life. Good on them. Who knows, in years to come when fossil fuels are just a memory we might all be asking the Amish to show us how to live in a fossil fuel depleted world?