Month: October 2018

Flight is later on today – really looking forward to that! Stayed local before heading off to the airport.

First stop Manchester-by-the-Sea again. And don’t be fooled – it was b****y cold, but beautiful.

Then try Salem – witch trials and all that. We had been warned it would be excessively busy and kitsch because of Halloween but it really wasn’t.

Nice enough place to mooch around, and then lunch was extremely good – probably one of the best of the whole holiday, mainly down to being fresh fish which is not deep fried – and a nice view.

Another observation from the US is that every price is quoted before tax, which seems to be at varying rates, so you never know what things are going to cost. Which means we ended up using notes, and built up a bank of nickels and dimes which we then had to work to get rid of. First world problem ….

Anyway, as we’re flying back via Canada found out at the check-in desk that we need an ETA even though we stay in the airport. Stressful to order one on an iPhone, but ultimately successful – despite similar questions requiring Great Britain, England, or UK as their answer which adds to the stress levels.

Oh, and when you use a toll road which we had to twice, there is no cash option so you get a $15 admin fee added each time.

Moan moan. But actually it’s been fantastic. May have mentioned foliage and scenery a few times, which is what we came for, and that has been extraordinary.

Couple of selfies to finish off.

Manchester:

Salem lunch:

Shuttle bus at the airport:

Had a great day out. We thought it would be best to get the train but our hosts assured us it would be easier to drive, which it was. And quite fun driving around Boston and especially in the rush hour coming home. And it only took about an hour.

Anyway, a good start was to book on a walking tour around the historic trail. Our guide was terrific.

She confirmed that she is indeed an actor, and effectively we were treated to a thoroughly entertaining and informative 1.5 hours. That gave us a sense of the history, which we didn’t really know, and where we were.

Few photos of famous Boston sites:

Samuel Adams’ (signed the Declaration of Independence) grave.

Site of the Boston massacre.

Old City Hall – really is gold leaf on the roof.

And because we were there, had to take a short trip out to Harvard.

… pretending to be an alumna!

Food was up to scratch. An amazing food hall which meant we had Japanese for lunch, then lobster soup, Mexican and Chinese for dinner. Passed over Greek, Italian, American fried etc.

And finally, for those of you who can recall the Boston sitcom, Cheers, here’s the bar.

It’s an even day of October, so it’s bound to be sunny – and it was. We’re staying in Gloucester on Cape Ann, which is nowhere near as famous as Cape Cod, but stunningly beautiful. And note as we go through the preponderance of English names.

View from our terrace

Gloucester

Rockport

Halibut State Park (no real England equivalent)

A decent spot for lunch.

Although even on a clear day you can’t see Wales – we did wave!

Manchester-by-the-Sea

Remember the film from last year which was allegedly set in Manchester but was actually filmed in Gloucester. Gorgeous beach……

Essex

Stunning – and looks as English a scene as you could possibly get.

Including a pre-dinner drink.

Unfortunately a bit downhill in the evening. Woodmans is advertised as the best clam shack in the world. In our view it isn’t even the best in Essex and its the only one!

Another longish trip to our last place. Not too many photos, so a few more musings:

– weather has been utterly variable. Rain, sun, rain, sun and so on. Gorgeous day yesterday, so guess what …

– forecasts have been excellently accurate. So much so that today was predicted to be sunny until about 10.30 and rain after that. So we planned accordingly :

Walk by the lake (actually a pond):

Then coffee on the terrace where we met our new (cute) friends:

Then headed off – how about an antidote to colour at Ogunquit:

That’s about it.

Most frequently sighted food chain? Dunking Donuts – and no, we haven’t been tempted.

Best Italian restaurant in Gloucester MA? Tonno’s – purely by chance and was superb.

After that amazing start to the day, we went to explore the Maine coast north of us. The weather seems to alternate by the day at the moment, so wall-to-wall sunshine, albeit a bit of an October chill.

Camden (including breakfast):

Camden State Park:

Similar to what we found last year, the parks are amazingly accessible – park and walk about 30 yards to get these views!

Then a short walk (actually it’s nearly a mile) to the lighthouse:

And had mentioned pumpkins before. If you look carefully you can make out the “buy 2, get 1 free” sign.

An Early Morning Feast

We had noted we hadn’t seen a sunrise, but this was the view from the terrace:

Then a walk by the nearby lake:

And all will become clear. Forecast for the middle of the day wasn’t great so we had an early walk. As well as the view from our terrace, this house is beautifully situated right next to some woods by the estuary, so made sense to enjoy them early.

Then a plan to go sightseeing along the coast, but stymied by:

1. Everything closing for the season, including Shaw’s lobster shack in New Harbor and the Seagull Cafe on the coast; and

2. The rain – which Maine is well known for.

Lighthouse in the rain:

Quick stop in Damariscotta (which at least was open). One thing about the US at this time of year is the pumpkins – they’re everywhere. This is one of the more tasteful displays:

Then to the sandwich, which was dinner.

World famous lobster shack in Wiscasset – visited by Lionel Ritchie and Paul Newman to name 2. Note the queue on a damp and cold Saturday afternoon for a lobster roll. $25 each, so the most expensive sandwich we’ve ever had, but one was ample for dinner for two – 1 – 1 1/2 lobsters in each one, and absolutely fantastic.

Final “arty” shot:

Haven’t come across a single Trump supporter – and many are vehemently anti. Perhaps not surprising when Vermont is Bernie. Sanders territory. Anyway, we liked this card:

A long(ish) drive today – about 3 hours – crossing the State line between New Hampshire and Maine. Stunning scenery under most circumstances, but pretty dull compared to what we’ve been used to.

Stopped for coffee in a tiny village – allegedly Maine’s prettiest – called Wiscasset. And would you believe it but we got chatting to the cafe owner’s mum who lived just round the corner from us in Golders Green in 1994. It’s a small world.

View from the house (in Boothbay):

And a beautiful walk in the woods just around the corner:

Then headed into Boothbay for a wander. It is clearly very popular in summer, but as Autumn comes and the evenings are getting decidedly chilly, everywhere is on the verge of closing down at the end of the season.

It had occurred to us that so far, we have been totally sunsetless (and sunriseless as well). Managed to put that right this evening:

Obviously the view being improved by a cocktail or two.

Its a Cosmopolitan by the way. Some dispute about the measures, but looked to me like 8 parts vodka, 2 parts cointreau and a splash of cranberry juice. And probably the bargain of the whole holiday at £3.50!

Then the obligatory clam chowder and lobster tail dinner.

Think leaves, think rain, put them together and here you go.

So it was a day for catching up on stuff and not doing much. So some random thoughts in no particular order:

Americans are relentlessly upbeat, and really do mean it when saying have a good day. Very tiring to a grumpy old Brit.

Gas is ridiculously cheap – always costs less than £20 to fill up.

Every house’s lawn is vivid green and incredibly manicured. Lawn mowing must be big business!

New England seems very liberal (in a civilised European way), and very environmentally conscious (apart from gas prices).

Food (apart from last night) is pretty grim. Bring on the Maine lobsters.

Speaking of which, Maine tomorrow.

I think today will end up being the most spectacular of the whole trip. Foliage fully in colour, beautiful day, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire are more spectacular than Vermont. Oh, and it is forecast to pour with rain for most of tomorrow and then get significantly colder by the weekend. So here goes – the place names are just to remind us where we were – everyone else should simply enjoy the colours and the scenery.

Cannon

Basin

Kancamagus Highway

Other

And finished with probably the best meal out we’ve ever had in the US – in Bethlehem!