Day Twenty Four

Last day. Needed to check out by twelve o'clock. Flight was at 6.50pm. Hotel said they'd store our luggage until we were properly leaving.

Packed everything, made sure it was all neatly done and all into four bags. Checked in online for the flight. Checked out hotel, left luggage and headed over to Manhattan on the ferry. Caught bus to Skylight Diner. Had a very late breakfast or early lunch. We didn't have much planned, just killing time. The one thing we needed to do was go to Abracadabra Superstore. Ann had researched that they sold stage make up that the Ermington Players use but much cheaper than you can get it in the UK.

We left the diner and used the subway to get there. Found shop. They no longer stock it. Bugger.

Next went for a walk along the Highline Park. It is the park up on the old elevated metro line that we quickly visited the other day. Walked along a short section. Saw this mural.

Pretty Cool

Got off the Highline, stopped for a quick drink and then headed back to the ferry port. Got ferry to hotel, picked up stuff and got ferry back to Manhattan. Got a cab. To JFK please.  Drive wasn't too bad. Arrived at JFK.

Walked into terminal. Saw biggest queue in the world to check baggage in. Got in line. Still had fair bit of time until flight left. Occasionally BA man would walk around asking for specific flights as they needed to beat the queue in order to make the flight. Thought he'll probably say ours in a minute. Queued for a while. Eventually said to another man 'Our flight is in forty minutes are we going to be called through'. Told him flight number. He said 'Oh that flight is already closed.'  He said they had been calling out our flight number for ages to make sure anybody who needed to could check luggage in. I said we have been queuing up for ages, not once have we heard our flight number. Had long argument with him. He was not interested. Bearing in mind it was still forty minutes until it left the terminal and we had been there queueing, not like we turned up late at that moment, I felt it was a bit unhelpful. 

Upshot was we had missed our flight. Feared the worst. Had to go to ticket desk to see if we could get on another flight. My language at this point my not have been the best of the Queen's English. Next two flights were full. Third one had space. He booked us on. Said very loudly to Ann 'Now we have to go and get in that bloody queue again, starting all the way at the back'. Man said 'Its ok, go and check in at the Club World desk, tell them I sent you. There were four people in that queue. Bit shorter.

A BA woman came over and asked if we were in the right queue. We explained, she said I just thought it would be quicker for you to use the First Class desk. Off we went. Checked our baggage at First Class. Shame we didn't get upgraded.

Next issue was when we would land at Heathrow. We had train booked at 9.35am. originally that would have given us three hours from landing to get to Reading. Unfortunately we were unlikely to get back.

Flight was fine, only about six hours.

Landed at 8.30am. Thought there may be a glimmer of hope of getting to Reading on time. Only glimmer as passport control is always very busy. Plane took ages to get to gate. Got off. Legged it to passport control. Empty. Got straight through. Ran to baggage conveyer. It was 8.55am. Forty minutes to train. Bus journey takes about 35mins. Still glimmer. Stood waiting at baggage conveyer for what seemed like an eternity before ours plopped out. By this time it was now 9.10am. Glimmer over. Got on bus that left Heathrow at 9.15am. Arrived Reading 9.55am. Twenty minutes after our First Class seats had left. No choice but to buy slum class on next train. Phoned mum to tell her the change of time and destination.

Good news was the discovery the Everton had beaten United.

Managed to fight scum off to get two decent unbooked seats next to each other. Sat on train. Went all the way to Plymouth. Got off. Found mum and car.

Got in.

Home finally.

Relieved.

Unpacked everything, try to file it all away neatly whilst trying to stay awake. Put new fridge magnets on the fridge.

Ann is now asleep. I have been up for 33 hours. Tired.

Last blog finished.

Bedtime.

Day Twenty Three

The last full day in the states. It has absolutely flown by. So much has happened today that this can only be a brief overview, otherwise I'll miss the flight. Got home very late, hence no blog until this morning. More on that later.

Headed across on the ferry to Manhattan about 10am. Got free bus to 50th Avenue. Arrived at the Rockefeller Plaza. Got in elevator. Arrived here.

Spectacular views across the city. Last time we went up the Empire State Building which has a higher viewing platform, but the difference this time was 1. Less crowded  2.  You get to see the Empire State Building in the skyline.

Central Park

Downtown

Hung around for nearly ninety minutes just taking it all in. Got asked to take a photo of a couple. Eventually left and went back down to earth.

Headed to the Evergreen Diner for lunch. Was ok, food was ok. We decided that the other meals we've had here were better.

Got on subway and travelled down to the American Museum of Natural History. Last time we were here we got to the museum late on and it was about to close, so this time we made sure.  It is very big. Lots of interesting things. We spent a good couple of hours looking at everything, and even then we missed most of it out.

Moose watch - 2, shame they are stuffed

Got asked by another couple to take a photo of them. Asked Ann why people kept asking me? Came to the conclusion my undercover cop look makes me appear very trustworthy. Left museum and got some drinks. Went to Central Park and sat. We moved from time to time, but generally sat. Busy but fairly peaceful.

Lake

Thought about getting a rowing boat, but when we got to the boathouse there was a huge queue. Calculated it would take an hour at least to get on boat. Thought better of it.

Eventually it was time for the last activity of the day. Headed to the subway. Got very confused by the line closures. Eventually got the right train and arrived at our destination. Got off, picked up our tickets and went in. Got some food and sat in our seats.

If you haven't worked it out, we were at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to see the Yankees beat the Boston Red Socks 4 -1.  Evening was exciting, but the game of baseball is actually very dull. Had to stand for the Star Spangled Banner to sung before the game. Don't know why, I'm not American. Game finally finished despite the fact only two blokes actually hit the ball all evening.

Left, finally got subway train and it took forever to get back towards midtown Manhattan. Arrived at 12am. Waited for free ferry bus decided to walk back down the route. No bus. Got all the way back to the ferry port to find the last bus was 11.30pm and the last ferry was 12.10am. Oh dear. Asked man if there was a normal bus service. Not on a Sunday night he said. Told him I thought this was the city that never sleeps. Obviously it does on a Sunday. Had no alternative to get stung by a cab again. Got back to hotel in a bad mood.

Time was 1.30am.

Went to bed.

Day Twenty Two

Woke up late. Ann had wanted to get up early and go to a flea market. Why we wanted fleas I have no idea, but hey. Anyway, our very late night, 1.30am, put pay to any ideas of an early morning.

Eventually bothered to get ready and headed across the Hudson to Manhattan at about 11am. Was going to take the free bus up to our first stop, but as we got on it, the driver got off. Sat there for a while and thought I wonder how long it will be before he came back. Decided to get off and walk as it wasn't too far and not too hot. Walked about eight blocks in total. Just as we arrived at our destination, so did the bus.

Our destination was the Skyline Diner on the recommendation of Alice and George. Had a very good brunch.

www.skylightdinernyc.com

Next went to a subway station to get a 7 day Metrocard. Even though we are only here for three days, it will be cheaper than paying individually for rides. Tried to get one last night but hit a snag. When you pay by credit card on the machine, it asks you for your Zip Code. Now, being foreigners, we don't have one, which means you can't use the card on the machine. Or so I thought, but before leaving this morning I did some research. Turns out if you put 99999 in as your zip, it recognises your card as a foreign one and then the payment goes through. Tried it, worked perfectly. Felt very smug.

Caught train to the southern tip of Manhattan. We had prebooked our next activity for 2pm, arrived at bit early but were allowed in.

It has changed dramatically in two years. Again, as with the United 93 memorial, it is a tremendous piece of design and even though there were loads of visitors, there was plenty of space to find time to reflect on all those names around the edges.

Having spent some time at the memorial we moved on. Sat in a small cafe to have a drink and cool off. The headed down to see the Wall Street Bull. Couldn't believe it when we got there. There was a massive queue of people waiting to have their photo taken by it. Why? Yeah have a look at it, but to queue up for what must have been half an hour at least, seemed an incredible waste of time.

What a load of bull!

Onward to the Staten Island ferry. Again a massive queue. Got on ferry, rode it across to Staten Island and then back again. It is free and serves a purpose for New Yorkers, but it was just full of tourists going back and forth wanting to see the Statue of Liberty for free. Like us. Can't see why they don't charge non residents a fee.  Anyway, we got a great spot on the way back so we could get some good shots. Some Chinese bint asked us to move so she could have her picture taken with the view behind her. Ann told her to Foxtrot Oscar. Got some great shots of the downtown skyline.

Lady Liberty

The new World Trade Centre now dominates

Got off and walked back towards the Bull on our way. Sat in the oldest park in New York, the Bowling Green. It is very small. Watched a bride and groom have their pictures taken in front of the fountain. Then spotted lots of mice have a great time in the shrubbery.

Mickey Mouse

Next caught metro north to the Flatiron Building. There was some sort of filming going on. Turns out to be a Brazilian film.

Looks like a flat iron!

Wandered down towards the Highline Park. Last time we were here, we didn't get the chance to see it, so we thought we'd make the most of a beautiful evening. It is a park set in an elevated section of a disused metro line. So it is this narrow strip of greenery above ground level. Got there had a look. It was busy so didn't walk along it.

Highline Park

Heard some music playing in the distance. Went to investigate.

There was a concert being held next to the Hudson River. Tried to see what was going on. Eventually asked a security guard who was playing. He said The Killers. Ann sounded impressed until I reminded her that neither of us could name a Killers song. She then realised she had no idea of what the Killers sang. The man then told me I looked like an uncover policeman. He said he was good at spotting them. Quite odd really. Decided we didn't want to pay to watch the Killers so instead caught the metro to our last stop of the day, The Westway Diner.

westwaydinernyc.com

We saw this on an episode of Smash, so looked it up. Had free wifi. Googled the Killers on my phone to see what it was all about. Turns out they had played in the UK today. Thought that was odd. Spent more time trying to find out what was happening in the park. Eventually found out the band playing is called 'The Kills'. Blokes accent made it sound like the Kill...as. Had more good food. Six NYPD officers came in and ate. Told Ann they had come in to make contact with me to see how my undercover work was going.

Eventually we caught the free bus back to the ferry. Got on board. Driver went mental and flew across the water. He made a sharp turn at one point, so we were up at a forty five degree angle. Pretty awesome.

Ann is now asleep. Our legs hurt a lot.

Looking forward to an even more awesome day tomorrow.

States visited - 16

Day Twenty

Having wandered aimlessy around Boston looking for somewhere to have breakfast we finally ended up having brunch at the Black Seed Cafe.

Walked for around the city for a bit, mainly to look at 500, Boylston Street. Most of you won't have a clue why we went there, but to us in made perfect sense as it is where Crane, Poole and Schmidt have their office in the TV programme Boston Legal.

Denny Crane

Saw a boat on the lake in a park which had a eight foot swan on the back. Odd.

We then wandered back to the hotel to desweat.

Next we headed down to the river to visit the New England Aquarium. It had fish in it. Who knew?! Not only that but it had other things too, like penguins and seals. Stared at them for a while, mainly thinking I bet they get bored just swimming round in circles.

Then all of a sudden Ann decides to stick her hand in the tank.

Saving the best until last we saw the seals. Listen to the woman in the background of this video.

She says 'It looks just like a seal'. That's because it is a seal, love.

Once we had stared at them for a while we left and went and waited for our next activity. We were going on a duck tour. Not any old duck tour but the original and best duck tour. Tour was starting at 4.25pm. Guy told us to turn up at about 4.05pm ready. We did as we were told and then proceeded to stand around for half an hour. Quite why we had to bother turning up so far in advance is beyond me. Anyway it gave us time to weigh up the other people who were going to be with us. One woman was feeding her kid sugar ready for the journey where he would have to sit still for an hour. Clever stuff. He had a duck whistle which they were selling at the ticket booth. Told Ann that if he kept blowing it he may find it inserted somewhere.

Eventually we were allowed to board the duck. It is a World War Two amphibious vehicle. It drove us around whilst telling us about Boston. Then it did this.

Tour was ok, but quite hot. Stuck to the seat. When it was finished we headed back to the hotel to desweat again.

Went out for dinner at the same place as yesterday. It was good again. There was bloke in there who had had one too many sherbets. Was quite annoying.

Ann then did some night photography.

Atmospheric

Tomorrow we will have been here three weeks. Can't quite work out where the time has gone.

Think I may have heard thunder just now. Would be the norm.

States visited - 13

Day Nineteen

Woke up fairly late. Headed over to Charlie's Place again. Had breakfast. Went back to motel to pack up and check out. Drove a short way south to Salem. For some reason Ann wanted to learn about witches. Parked up. Found the trolley tour and got on.

Had a one hour trip around Salem. Would have learnt more except we couldn't understand the guy who was our guide. He spoke quickly and with some odd accent. Stuck to the wooden seat as it was hot.

Bloke

When the tour was over we wandered around a bit and then stopped for ice cream. Lots of French people around. Not quite sure why. Went back to car and drove the short distance to Boston. Found the hotel fairly easily.

Omni Parker House

Checked in, dumped our stuff and then got back into the car to take it to the rental drop off.  Needed to get fuel first, so hatched a simple plan. Drive to the drop off point, use sat nav to find nearest gas station to it, get gas then drive back to drop off. So simple.

First part worked a treat. Drove to drop off point. Took about 5 minutes. Set sat nav to find nearest fuel stop. Took us a couple of mins to get there. No gas station. OK, lets go to the next nearest one. Takes us a couple more minutes. Get there. No gas station. Can start to see pattern. This time choose one which has a proper fuel name. Get there. Gas station. Fill with gas. Set sat nav to take us back to drop off. Get stuck in rush hour traffic. Finally get to drop off. All in all it takes us ninety minutes. Want to punch Boston in the face.

Leave car. Had driven a total of 3077 miles.

Walk back to hotel. Relax for a bit before heading out for dinner. Go to the Hub Pub just around the corner.

www.thehubpub.com

Not too bad. Find a shop to stock up on supplies as stuff in the room is expensive. Water is $7 for a bottle!

Back now and deciding what to do tomorrow.

States visited - 13

Day Eighteen

Got up early and went for a jog at 6.50am along the coast. Was already very warm. Think it was the heat that affected my performance not all the ice cream and pancakes.

Got back and sat in front of the air conditioner. Eventually cooled down and had a shower. Went out at 8.30am to make sure we made our appointment at 9am.

Got on a boat, had some buttered toast for breakfast and sat trying to work out why my legs felt like lead. Travelled for an hour and a half out to sea, about 18 miles into the North Atlantic. When we got there it immediately paid dividends.

Saw lots of whales. They were very big. Majestic as well. We spent a good hour watching them feed.

Whale Tail

Then travelled all the way back to port. When back on land we headed to the Fisherman's Memorial. It is a statue dedicated to all those from Gloucester who have been lost at sea over the last 300 years.
It includes these six names.

Crew of the Andrea Gail 

You may recognise them from the film 'The Perfect Storm'. One of the reasons we chose to come here. We then travelled a few minutes up the coast for another reason, a house on Tregony Bow.

The Webb House

I had been in this house some 14 years ago when my aunt and uncle rented it when my cousin got married. Recognised it instantly when we got to it. We headed into Rockport to have a late lunch, but could find nowhere to park, which I seem to remember being a problem last time too. Instead we headed back to Gloucester and went to Charlie's Place again. Still very good.

Next went back to the Inn to relax. Fell asleep. We went out again late in the evening to pick up some food and went back to our room to eat. A bit tired now.

Last day with the car tomorrow. In twenty four hours it will be gone. Will miss it. Has been a good friend.

Moose watch - low

Whale watch - high

States visited - 13

Day Seventeen

Got up fairly early this morning as we had a fair bit of driving to do. Had breakfast in the hotel. Wasn't great. Left at 9.15am and headed south.

Drove for three hours east to the coast of Maine. Stopped here for a few minutes to see something that I have wanted to see for years.

I ran clear to the ocean

Carried on travelling south. Stopped for supplies. Sat eating lunch by river.

Carried on driving as we had another three and a half hours to go. Crossed the border back into New Hampshire and then into Massachusetts. Arrived in Gloucester and checked into the Gloucester Inn by the Sea.

www.gloucesterinnbythesea.com

It is very nice. The view of the ocean is stunning.

Got straight into the swimming pool and relaxed after spending so long in the car. Was ace.

Headed out for dinner at Charlie's Place. Was brilliant. Ann had a lobster roll and I could tell by the look on her face that it was up there with the greatest food she's ever had.

We then went for a night time drive around Gloucester. Got lost. Trouble is there are a lot of one way streets, most of which aren't signposted very well. Tried my best to drive up the wrong way everywhere.

Eventually made it back. Now typing this and contemplating getting up very early to have a run because, frankly, it would be rude not to run at sunrise in this beautiful place.

Sorry it's so short, but not much happened today. There will be more to report tomorrow as we are heading out for a 9am start. Hopefully tomorrow's pictures will be awesome.

States visited - 13

Day Sixteen

Today was all about the fridge magnet. Nothing else, just the magnet.

Had breakfast about 9am but didn't check out until 11am. Had a relaxing morning, Ann skyping and me sitting.

Headed north, travelled through New Hampshire. Happened across a couple more bridges.

Another one!

Stopped for fuel. In the garage were the fattest Harley Davidson riders I have ever seen. Hells Angelly Bellies. One woman could have sat on five bikes and still spilled over.

Crossed the border into Maine.

Stopped to eat lunch by a small lake. It was very nice.

Lunch View

Scared off some ducks.

Duck Off

Carried on with the journey and it wasn't long before we arrived at our destination. Now to the fridge magnet. We have it on our fridge and Ann has no idea how she got it but she has had it maybe eighteen years or so. We always comment on it and why we have it on the fridge, so when we were planning the trip and knew we were going to Maine we thought why not. So as we pulled up in the car park, there it was, the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel.

Got a magnet that looks like this

We checked in and thought about a trip on the chairlift up the mountain but decided against it. There really isn't much to do here in the summer as it is a ski resort, but we came purely because of the magnet, so next time we see it we can say 'Been there'.

Been watching Harry Potter film marathon that is on TV. Ordered room service for tea. May have got too much.

Hey Presto

The amazing thing was the curly fries were exactly like the ones you get at Dawlish Warren. Lovely they were. We sat and ate looking out the window overlooking the mountains.

Have seen an advert for the Fiat 500 which involves lots of them driving into the sea. Carried the on screen instruction - 'Fictional -Do not attempt at home' - Really?
Now it is thundering like normal.

Moose watch - Low

States visited - 12

Day Fifteen

No-one ever thought it would happen, but today, alas, it did. It is a sad day, but one that, hopefully, will be forgotten soon enough. But we'll get to that tragic event later.

Set out for an hour drive this morning across to Mount Washington, the highest point in New England. You have three ways to get to the top. You can take the rack and pinion railway, hike or drive up yourself. We had discussed it the night before and made a decision. The railway costs $64 each and takes an hour each way. Quite expensive. Hiking. Nope. Driving is an eight mile route and would cost the two of us $35. We decided we would drive.

We arrived at the toll booth, paid our fee and read the instructions on how best not to die on the way up or down.  Set the car into L as per instructions which gives it a lower gear ratio than the Drive setting. And off we went. First mile or two passed fairly quickly. Tarmac road, quite wide. Gradually the road got steeper, narrower, foggier and changed to gravel. The edge of the road tended to be the edge of the hill and there wasn't any barrier. Tried to drive up the middle. Passing cars got interesting. Ann's grip of the seat increased with each mile. We stopped at one point to allow the engine to cool, as it got fairly warm. Then finally reached the top after about half an hour.

Fully worth the drive though.

Top

Stunning!

Saw the place where the strongest wind ever recorded on Earth blew. The building that the observers were in is still there and it is chained down.

Gusty

Expensive Train

We stayed up the top a while before deciding to head back down. Offered Ann the chance to drive back down. She declined. Meanwhile the cloud had closed in so it was slightly worse coming back down.

The accompanying CD we got told us on the way down that the record for driving up is under seven minutes. Obviously done by a professional in a proper car and with no traffic coming down.

Once we reached the bottom we headed to the nearest town and parked up at Moose Meadow Mini Golf.

Got our putter and ball each and off we went.

Final Score

Knightley - 53
Roffe - 51

As I said earlier, a complete tragedy. Moving on swiftly.

Bought lunch in Subway. Drove back towards Mt Washington and parked next to a river to eat. I clambered down some rocks to take a picture or two.

Summit in the clouds

We then headed back. Went to a town about twenty miles from our hotel. Thought about going on the Hobo Railroad but it was just closing when we got there. Decided instead to play the Hobo mini golf course next door. Just about to get out to play when a combination of flying ants and imminant rain changed our mind. Took ages deciding what to do next as it was too early to eat and there is nothing to do in the rain. Eventually decided to go to a supermarket get loads of food and head back and spend an evening in our room.

Have done just that and a thoroughly good evening it has been.

Bed soon ready for another change of location tomorrow.

Moose Watch today was low.

States visited - Eleven

Day Fourteen

We didn't have far to travel today so we didn't rush this morning. Had breakfast in the inn. Homemade waffles with maple syrup. Decent.

Packed up and hit the road. There was another covered bridge nearby so we went to see it. Started on the journey. Decided to turn off the main road on to a gravel track. Ann asked me if I knew where we were going. I said 'No, just thought it would be different'. In actual fact I was lying. Knowing how much she wanted to see more covered bridges I found a place on our way which had four of them.

Eventually we got to them. Ann took lots of photos.

A house bridge

Stopped for fuel and supplies then headed due east. Went through a very heavy rain shower

Crossed the border into New Hampshire. Saw signs for Moose. Didn't see any. Would like chocolate if we get the choice. Saw another bridge. It was much bigger.

Stopped for lunch at Polly's Pancake Parlour.

pollyspancakeparlor

Food was awesome. On the table next to us was a dad with his two sons. The younger one who was about twenty spent the entire time moaning at his dad about everything. Ann and I listened in. It seems he was unhappy with his life. He kept using the phrase 'Self Fulfilling Prophecy' in his argument. It was almost like he'd heard it recently and felt the need to say it all the time. We couldn't help laughing. Eventually the scrawny little git left. We both thought he will end up on the news one day having gunned down some people.

Left and travelled the last couple of miles to the new hotel.

http://sugarhillinn.com/

Have a room in a lodge, separate from the main place. Very nice.

Would have gone out and done something but it rained all afternoon. Sat in our room instead.

Headed out for dinner at about 7pm. Ann had found a place that was open from 4pm to 8pm for dinner only on a Friday and Saturday. We drove 20 minutes to get there. Found it. It was closed. Went to Subway instead. Had the longest queue in the world. Eventually got food. Drove back to eat it.

Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow as we are doing outdoors stuff.

Can't believe we have been here two weeks already!

States visited - 11

Day Thirteen

Got up fairly late. Did yesterday's blog as stupid internet was now working.  Headed on into Waitsfield for a late breakfast. Ate at the Big Picture Cafe.

http://www.bigpicturetheater.info/

Drove few miles north to Watersbury to see the famous Vermont landmark which is the Ben and Jerry's factory.  Paid $4 for the factory tour. Chatted to the guide before it started about how UK flavours are different from USA ones. Also how the UK has embraced the ice cream in cinemas whereas the US only want popcorn when watching a film.

Flavours

Went on tour. Not really what you could call a tour. Watched a film for a few minutes. Looked through a window at the machines. Ate some free ice cream. More of a film/look/eat than a tour. Bought stuff from shop. Went to look at the graveyard of old flavours.

Feel the chill

RIP

Ate ice cream.

Drove back to Waitsfield to do our laundry. Went to Launderette, put stuff in wash and went away to look at other shops. Ann went in a book shop. She got asked if she needed any help. She said she was looking for James Fenimore Cooper. Assistant asked her if that was the name of a book. Now bearing in mind he lived where we were yesterday, his dad being the Cooper in Cooperstown, which is only about 100 miles away and he wrote Last of the Mohicans, you would imagine someone if a bookshop round here would know he's an author.

Went back to launderette, put stuff in dryer. Sat in the car waiting. Would have gone away but as we walked out a hobo started hanging around the place and we thought he might nick our clothes, so we stayed put.

We kept a beady eye on him until our stuff was ready then we went back to the B and B to dump everything. Thunderstorm started. This one was very close and very loud. Skyped Paul to show him.

Went out for dinner at 6.30pm back to the Big Picture Cafe. Waitress tried to steal my credit card. Then we went into its cinema to watch The Dark Knight Rises. Ann asked me what I thought of the film as we left. My answer was 'Meeehhh'. She concurred.

States visited - 10

Day Twelve

The halfway point of the trip.

Went to the adjoining restaurant for breakfast. Had to give them vouchers to show we were guests of the hotel so we could get our complimentary food. Was burnt.

Packed up and headed into the local town to find a chemist as we needed to get some medicine for Ann as she has developed a bad cough. Whilst there she took pictures of the baseball mania.

Star spangled batter

Made our way further north mostly on smaller roads. Saw lots of interesting things. Saw some Amish people in horse drawn buggies.

Went very close by to Lake George, which will for some of you bring back memories of 14 years ago.

Crossed the border into Vermont. Had lunch at a place called Middlebury.

Ann got very excited when we saw this.

The first covered bridge we have seen in Vermont.


Arrived at the Inn at the Round Barn in Waitsfield.

http://www.theroundbarn.com

Unloaded. Got told that they leave the front door unlocked as nobody is worried about people stealing stuff. Think that is because there is no-one around.

Relaxed for a while before heading out for dinner at Ake's Den.

When we got back we headed to the small games room here for a few games of pool.

Went back to room to do blog. Internet that was working perfectly earlier had now stopped working. Got very annoyed. Went to bed.

Day Eleven

Had a great night's sleep. Must be the quietest hotel ever.

Packed up and got on the road. Saw a place named after cow tunes.

Udderly Fabulous

We stopped briefly for fuel and supplies but just tried to get the miles done. Crossed over into New York state. Ann got very excited when we saw this.

Greyhound

Now racked up 2000 miles on the road. Arrived in Cooperstown, New York. Checked in to the the Lake Front Hotel.

http://www.lakefrontmotelandrestaurant.com/

Went for a walk around the town and ate a late lunch at the Doubleday Cafe. Watched some Jubilympics whilst we ate.

Thought about going in the National Baseball Museum but thought it probably would be pointless as we wouldn't know anybody or anything in it. Every single shop seems to be about baseball. Couldn't work out why. There were men walking about in full baseball gear. Thought that was strange. Googled it later and found out that baseball was apparently invented here hence the museum. Apparently it also isn't true but it is too late now.

Next we headed to the lake in order to go on a cruise. You get one free ticket as part of the accommodation so we bought a second and got on the boat. For a short time there was a bit of commentary about the history of the place and then it shut up and let us enjoy the the trip. Did you know Cooperstown was named after someone called Cooper?

Leaving the Dock

We came to the conclusion it looked a lot like a loch in Scotland. Got annoyed by children on board, especially by one woman who said to her son 'See the Captain told you off for running'. Now normally that wouldn't be something to moan about but seeing as the safety announcement said at the start no running, when the kid started running about you would have thought the mother would have stopped the kid instead of doing bugger all. Thought about tripping him up or throwing him overboard.

Lake Otsego

Got back to land. Sat in room for a while before heading out into town. Saw a brass band playing in a park. Bought some ice cream and headed back.

Now watching a film called Rudy. Isn't too bad. Saw an advert for this.

https://www.xhose.com/

Looks awesome. Ann thinks it looks creepy.

States visited - 9

Day Ten

Didn't sleep much. Wasn't helped by a television being on very loud at 5am somewhere in the hotel and staying on until 7.30am.

Left hotel and drove 20 miles north east. Arrived at a meadow.

It really is in the middle of nowhere. Just a field which will now remain infamous for the rest of time. Total respect to those on board United 93 who showed true courage and selflessness in order to prevent hundreds more deaths. It is a very fitting tribute, beautifully designed and we were glad we made the effort to get there in order to pay our respects.

Next we started to head east. We stopped for lunch in a small diner called The Little Dipper in Chambersburg. Another great meal and even cheaper than last night.

We carried on our journey and eventually reached Gettysburg, the site of the most famous battle in the American Civil War. I wasn't really sure what to expect. I had no idea how big the site was or how you would get to see it. We went into the visitor centre to weigh up the options. You could get a coach tour, have a guide travel with you or just guide yourself around. We decided to buy an audio guide which was a third of the price of the other choices.

Met someone famous.

Abe the Babe

Went back to the car and put the cd in. It told us what to do and we followed.

It took you on a chronological tour, starting with what happened on day one through to day three. It guided you around the various battlefields and mapped out the movements of the troops.

Climbed up a tall tower to get a better look.

High Tower

It lasted over two hours and was fascinating. Now realise how the car in the Dukes of Hazzard was a history lesson. General Lee being the defeated commander.

Devil's Den

Having finished the tour of the battlefields, you end up in the Soldiers' National Cemetery. Went and saw the monument that now stands where one of the most famous speeches of all time took place, the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln. Only 272 words long but is considered a masterpiece.

Having been thoroughly impressed with the tour we headed towards our hotel for the night in Pine Grove. Listened to more radio. Heard a song called 'Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off'.

Thoroughly tired now. Tomorrow is a slightly less busy day.

States visited - 8

Day Nine

Got up, had breakfast, watched first few games of Murray v Federer. Then had to leave. Tried to find it on the radio to no avail.

Headed back a few miles to the entrance of Shenandoah National Park.

Fans of Top Gear may remember this episode.

Top Gear

In it, they start a road trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway which is a very long road in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is meant to be one of the best driving roads in the world, but they get very bored as they can only go 35mph in their sports cars.

Well in Shenandoah NP is the Skyline Drive, a road which is set in the last section of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It follows the crest of the mountains for 105 miles, all at 35mph. Now the speed for us is not an issue as we aren't test driving cars, but we are looking forward to what should be some great scenery. We pay our $15 park entrance fee and set off on our merry way entering at the very southern point of the park.

We stop at the first couple of viewpoints but soon realise that we can't stop at them all otherwise we will never reach the other end. As we drive it starts to become apparent that it actually isn't a good driving road at all. There are trees pretty much along both sides of the road for miles at a time so you can't see any further than the first tree. Occasionally there is an overlook where you can stop, but most overlook the same view, just from a slightly different angle. And doing only 35mph means you just see slow moving trees.

A View of Trees

We carried on driving as we had little choice but to keep going as there are only two points along the 105 miles where you can exit. We made the decision that we would exit on the second one. It is still roughly 75 miles from where we had entered the park, so we tried to push on as best we could mindful of the speed limit and the rangers and radar monitoring it. We did briefly touch 60mph at one very boring part. We decided to stop at one point to use the facilities and look in the normal tacky kind of shop. Ann got some Red Velvet Cake Fudge. We also saw this.

What is it? No idea!!

Saw some American Civil War information about somebody who did something.

Info

Eventually we managed to leave, having spent three hours in the park. Got onto a quicker road. Stopped in Front Royal to get lunch. Decided to do something different and went into a supermarket. Mooched about for a while and then got some stuff to make a packed lunch. Set off to find somewhere to eat it. Ended up near a cemetry. Was quite quiet except for all the coffin. Boom Boom.

Carried on north, out of Virginia, briefly into West Virginia and then Maryland. Ann tuned the radio into some bluegrass music. We sang any old lyrics in a drawl with an occasional yodel thrown in. Was hilarious. Then suddenly we had a moment of joy as we realised we were approaching a place where we had been two years ago. Sure enough there it was, Hancock. The place we had eaten lunch on our first driving day last time when we went from Washington to Niagara. High fived as we drove past. Soon entered Pennsylvania.

Carried on upwards until we reached our destination, Somerset. Checked in to the hotel. Found out Murray had won gold. Watched some TV before going out to dinner. Walked down the road to a diner a few hundred yards away. Ate the best meal of our trip so far. Was awesome and probably the cheapest we have had too. Whilst sat eating we saw five coaches going past carrying a marching band of some sort. Then two HGVs went by carrying their stuff. Boy, they must be a big band. The waitresses got a bit worried as they thought the coaches were turning into the carpark. We then decided to have dessert. Enquired what the burnt sugar pie was. Waitress tried to describe it being some sort of cake and then said I'll show you. She bought over the cake. We looked and said ok, we'll have a slice to share. To our amazement, she took the clingfilm off and gave us the entire cake. It turned out to be just one portion.

Photo doesn't do it justice.

 We start eating, but having stuffed ourselves already it proves tricky. Ann gave up after a few mouthfuls. She tried to claim she had at least a third of it, but she is lying. Ann suggests that we take it away. I say don't talk such nonsense. Attack it with vigour. Eventually, some hours later, emerge victorious.

Man v Cake: Man won!

 Very impressed with myself and the diner. It is called the Summit Diner. Feel like I have climbed a mountain and need oxygen.

Summit Diner

Roll back to hotel.

Have noticed this plate in the car park.

He lives again and drives a Kia

Ann is back to her old ways of falling asleep. I may try to do some sort of exercise in the morning to offset the cake.

States visited - Eight

Day Eight

If you ever had the inclination to read our blog from two years ago you may remember that I was not a fan of American Bed and Breakfasts. It seemed that in all of them the breakfast part was very different to good old Blighty.  It was at a set time, you had to sit with the other guests and you got absolutely no say in what food arrived in front of you. Needless to say when we were planning this trip, I made one and only one request - that we didn't stay anywhere which was a B and B.

When we arrived at the Granville (G..G..G..G...Granville, f..f..f..f..fetch yer cloth) Queen Inn yesterday I became very suspicious. It was a house not a hotel. They did say breakfast was anytime between 7.30 and 9am which was a good start, but something didn't feel right.

So this morning when we went down for breakfast we got to choose where to sit. Another promising sign, but suspicions were still there.  Then suddenly bang there it was. No asking what would you like. Just stuff put in front of you. Sat there and stared at the stuff I didn't want.  The woman came back ten minutes later and asked why I hadn't started eating. Told her I didn't want any of it. Ann gave me evils. Woman said 'Oh'. Eventually she brought something I wanted. Ate it.

Checked out. Credit card still worked. Then as we were about to pull out of the driveway, a sudden procession came the other way.

Must be Tractorfest 2012

Then it became Horseandcartfest 2012

Our journey today was alot like yesterday, a fair bit of it was on smaller roads, so more entertainment. First off, noticed if yesterday was Forrest Gump Friday, today was Strimmer Saturday.

Next we saw Sharon Baptistchurch's husband, Warwick Baptistchurch, and their daughter, Eureka Baptistchurch.

Also had a tour of England as we went through Suffolk, Norfolk, Windsor, Sunbury, Keswick and the Isle of Wight. We saw a Uhaul van nearly flipover having clipped the side of the road, it looked odds on like it was going over.

We stopped for lunch in Charlottesville. Looked around at different places. Eventually ate at a Quiznos Sub Store. It was very nice.

Cracked on with the last part of our journey.

Had a sudden thought. Whatever happened to Karl Howman from Brush Strokes?

Arrived in Staunton, Virginia. Couldn't find the hotel. It wasn't where there satnav said. Looked around a bit, eventually found it.

Checked in. Watched some Jubilympics. Saw Mo Farrah win gold. Saw football be crap. Skyped.

Went out for dinner. Went to Kathy's.

http://www.kathys-restaurant.com/

Had pancakes. They were yum. Ann had what was meant to be eggs and ham with other stuff. Turned out to be half a pig. It beat her in the end. Worked out why everyone in there was about thirty stone.

Diner

Went for a drive to see downtown Staunton. Saw it, then got lost. Luckily had satnav with us, so it rescued us.

Got back to find Last of the Summer Wine on TV.  Ay up, Nora.

Looking forward to tomorrow's drive. Should be spectacular.

State visited - Five