Exciting Adventures and Fun Galore

Hershey World

One of the goals of our vacation was to complete the venture into each of the continental United States. We had lunch in Delaware (Wilmington) and drove through that narrow appendage of West Virginia to accomplish that goal for Marvin. Only one state remains for me - Michigan (and I have a little plan)!

The other goals, of course, were also accomplished: Have Fun and eat Chocolate in Hershey, PA. Even their light fixtures downtown are shaped like Hershey Kisses.

Hello, Martha!

Sharing good times, making great memories, meeting and talking with people with crazy accents lasted for seventeen days.

TJ and Me

Oh, yeah, we experienced our share of "trip trauma" which sprang from dysfunctional navigation both human and machine. "Don't give Jane the map," is fine advice, but I don't need a map in my hands to give suggestions to override Madame GPS. "May I also say, she can be wrong, too."

Our travels took place on the cusp of fall and thus the beginning of tourism slow down. That's good in many ways. Sometimes, the lack of services pushed us, stretched our ability to negotiate, navigate, and flex. Schedules and plans are fairly loose on our trips, but flexing more than usual revved up the stress level.

LOVE at the 1st Lighthouse

Greetings to POTUS #1

As we drove north and east, the opportunities for shaking off old routines abounded. Time schedules were altered.

Ferris wheel at Nat'l Harbor

We explored National Harbor (Washington D.C.) in the evening and doubled back for an early morning at Mt. Vernon. Both turned out to be great adventures. We dined dock-side, rode Metro trains, hailed cabs when no hop-on/hop-off returned to the Lincoln Memorial.


It's all in the attitude. Isn't it always.
Both of us employed "self-talk" and kept ourselves focused on the main thing - enjoying shared experiences, making fabulous memories from the Ferris wheel to Lobsters and Lighthouses as we began to enjoy the coastline of Maine up through Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

LAHB-STAH!

Oh, Yeah!

The further away from cities, the more our stress level reduced. America's northeastern beauty is found in New England. A tour book said it best, "Forget the sprawling cities. Spend your days immersed in the beauty of New England."

Maple Syrup - the real deal

Geo Washington commissioned
this lighthouse outside Portland ,Maine

Of all the states we toured on our adventure, Vermont was the most gorgeous as the leaves had reached almost peak beauty. We found an honest-to-goodness Maple Syrup farm and purchased samples.

US at Niagara Falls in Canada. "He Kissed Me in Canada."
 (Horseshoe Falls)

The smiles that come as we reflect on this adventure will fill our memory bank and prompt many conversations, "Do you remember when...?"

"SE- CUR- I- TEE"

While I'm grateful that security is taken seriously, it's a disappointment that our nation's capitol has become such a locked-down seat of government. DC is still a major tourist destination and throngs of people from all over the world long to visit. We saw and loved all the monuments, being awed at the National Mall, at one point expecting Jenny to come running  through the Reflecting Pool to greet Forrest Gump, as in the 1994 movie of the same name.

Senator Tom Cotton's office arranged our tour.

Replica of Lady Freedom
which stands atop the Capitol Dome

Our US Capitol tour, arranged by Tom Cotton's office, was a highlight. There, we saw everything including the gorgeous rotunda. An area just outside the rotunda is set aside to honor those who gave their lives on 9/11 to save the Capitol when the plane went town in a Pennsylvania field. Todd Beamer's name (Let's Roll!) is among those engraved on a bronze wall monument.

Capitol Rotunda where deceased dignitaries lie in state.
The story of our nation is painted around the dome area.

Marvin and tour guide Patrick, Intern in Sen. Cotton's office,
at the Rotunda, breathtakingly beautiful.

Everything about the U.S. Capitol is grand and glorious, a source of pride and a place of homage to the statesmen who created our government and founded our nation.

Inside National Archives - not my photo

     Our first taste of heightened security was the hour in line for the National Archives where the original Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution take center stage. Once viewed by so many and shown without knowledge of what could happen to the documents with time and age, they are protected. We saw these documents, some quite faded, but they are the GEN-U-WINE items! Now they are lowered into a sealed and protected vault each evening, secured in an underground bunker.


The walking, the hopping on and hopping off buses that are on limited fall operational season schedules, plus the lengthy wait for security checks, added hours to our planned tours. We chose our most important monuments, our must-see list, and "That's all I have to say about that."

At National Mall Washington Monument

We had intended to go to the top of the Washington Monument as it had just reopened. The lines for security and the tour wrapped the building and we had more to see, "miles to go before we slept."

Eternal Flame at Arlington Nat'l Cemetery

Our final morning in D.C. began with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery where be boarded a shuttle and visited the Kennedy Family's area and witnessed the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Recently, thanks to DNA identification, the soldier who had been buried in a tomb of memory for Vietnam deaths, the remains were identified and returned with honor to his family.

Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Vietnam Memorial Wall with Veterans

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Nevada Barr's novel pegs the setting in Acadia National Park

     

Rocky shoreline at Acadia NP

    Nevada Barr writes some of my favorite novels with National Park Ranger Anna Pigeon as heroine. The first I read called "Deep South" featured Natchez Trace and the last one I sat up late finishing was set in Acadia National Park, Maine, on "Boar Island."

     The actual location of Boar Island is southwest of Newfoundland, but is named as one of the deserted islands in the National Park in Nevada Barr's novel.

   Since reading Boar Island and knowing we were going to make the north and east trek this fall, I envisioned Acadia National Park as Barr had described it. The experience was all I hoped it would be.

Our 2-night stay with a moose and bigfoot

coffee on the balcony

  Our hotel featured an ocean view from a private balcony. We did not get accommodations in Bar Harbor at any of the $400 per night, ridiculously priced hotels. Instead, our two night stay found us about three miles from the park entrance at Acadia Ocean View Motel. It was a delightful experience and the quaint (not oldy, moldy), hotel offered exactly what we needed.

Jordan's for breakfast

        Everything about Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor is beautiful, charming, yet rugged and rocky. The fresh seafood is marvelous and we enjoyed it at two different restaurants right on the coastline. Cruise ships sailed into port and anchored out from the sand bar (thus the name Bar Harbor), bringing passengers in by excursion boats and transferring them to tour buses. Shops cater to tourists with souvenirs, tshirts and sweatshirts, in all price ranges. The shops, however, close around 6 PM and the fall season is somewhat limited due to weather.
       Jordan's Restaurant opens for breakfast with a steady stream of customers sitting at tables and in booths. They serve plenty of coffee and options containing my new favorite: Wild Maine Blueberries. They may be used in pie, pancakes, muffins, or as ice cream topping, Oh, yes - so delicious - I enjoyed a muffin with my scrambled eggs. (I thought of the book If You Give a Moose a Muffin) Everyone gets ready to leave the Bar Harbor tourist scene after Columbus Day, October 14.

Thunder Bay

     At Acadia National Park is where our story of The Bubbles takes place. At Acadia is where Thunder Bay draws oooohs and aaaaahs. Here is where we drove (not hiked) to the top of Cadillac Mountain, highest point on the eastern coastline of the Americas. At the crest is where the sun hits the mountaintop first.

Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay

  I'd planned to be on Cadillac Mountain for sunrise, but the fall weather which blustered in with 30 degree temps kept me in my warm bed. At 6 AM, however, I stumbled to the window, peeped through the curtain, and saw the red glow of sunrise. That sighting counts.

Cadillac Mountain - highest and most northern point on Eastern seacoast

The Sea Beckons Me and I Must Go

Old Mystic, CT

Permission to come aboard

     Crashing and roaring water create seascapes and landscapes of incredible beauty. These sights add many beautiful scenes to my memory bank.

Boats and more boats

Historic Mystic Seaport - artwork at the museum

        Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, is a lovely spot, even if we did not eat pizza there. Julia Roberts’ and "Mystic Pizza," the movie, are novelties but the historic seaport showcases life in such a town during the 1800's.  Hundreds of ships of varying sizes are anchored at Mystic Seaport and the historic center is a living history museum. Though actors were not on point at this time of year, the museum was open for browsing and touring the ships with the tall masts.

Beautiful seaport

OK, what's with the horse? The one on the cart!!! hahaha

Shoppers in downtown Newport

    Newport, Rhode Island is more than scenic beauty. It’s where the rich people came to play in the Gilded Age. These moguls built mansions like the the Vanderbilt's Biltmore in Asheville, NC, and much grander mansions all along what is now called Cliff Walk. Summering at Newport is open to all, now, and would be a great girls trip for the shopping and oggling all the gorgeous homes. Lookers and shoppers crowd the streets of Newport at the Breakers area with lookers and shoppers.

Jane on grounds at The Breakers

Cornelius Rockefeller, railroad mogul, summered at his 70 room mansion there that he called The Breakers.
   

Jane, alone on the Cliffs

on the Cliff Walk

We walked the estate and then drove to another stop where The Cliff Walk starts. What a treat. Bravery and good shoes allowed me to venture upon the cliffs for a spectacular view.

The sea meets rocky shore

We left our mark!

We were fascinated with the landscape and the Cliff Walk where the sea crashes the shoreline.

Surprising was a beach area we came upon as we left the Breakers area and Newport.

Hey, Boss! It's Downtown Philly. Wha'd ya expect?

Colonial Williamsburg set the standard for me. During various stages of my life, I’ve enjoyed three visits to the historic triangle of Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg, colonial capital of the Virginia colony, cemented the concept with its historic district and the living-history museum. Each building has been intricately restored and the entire historic district immerses the visitor in the colonial America experience. I walked where George Washington walked (for real, on the real hardwoods) and talked with Thomas Paine and others, attending programs of reenactment featuring “nation builders.”

Philadelphia-Old State House

Dwarfed by skyscrapers

How I wish that same essence could be present in Philadelphia and Boston. The Old State House and the Liberty Bell visitor’s center are dwarfed by skyscrapers and sandwiched between busy, noisy streets, underground and elevated parking garages. Surface parking is rare for large vehicles. The spaces have been drawn so closely together that if the SUV wedged into a spot, the doors could not open. We found a slot, most fortunately, where a lady was pulling out and grabbed it, paid the price, and walked to the core of Philadelphia’s historic offerings.

            Betsy Ross’ house is away from the main attraction which is The Liberty Bell.

The Real Deal

 Airport level security delays everything at all museums, artifact sites, and tours. Our fall tour reduced the time to get through the procedure leaving us to wonder what that process could be like in the summer vacation months.

            The Liberty Bell is awe-inspiring. Seeing the Old State House and Washington Park which surrounds it was terrific. I could not get over, however, seeing it diminished by the city-scape, the noise, and the raucous rumblings of downtown Philly. In fact, a valet at one of the surface parking lots commented, “Hey, Boss, this is downtown Philly, what’d you expect?”

Declaration of Independence read here first

We created own tour in Boston

Paul Revere and Old North Church

            I hesitate to say that we never found a parking spot in Boston, but it’s true. Marvin and I did not go on a walking tour, but we created our own Tour Bus trip with me offering the narration, Marvin pulled to the curb, I hopped out (Hop On-Hop Off) to get a photo and back in to continue our tour. It was a challenge, but we saw the sights and headed for points north.

Nation's first city park