September 1997

The Basketville shop just outside Putney, VT claims to have the largest basket range in the world, if you cannot find the basket you are looking for here you will not find it anywhere. Unfortunately, Valerie took a fancy to the wicker furniture but she could not figure out how to fit it into the RV. Evening meal out to celebrate.

The observant reader would have noticed that today we have travelled back 370 years, which is how it felt to us during our visit to the Plymouth Plantation near Plymouth, MA.

The plantation contains a recreation of a 1679 village depicting how the Pilgrims of Plymouth lived which is done in a very life-like and professional manner. In numerous locations throughout the village characters dressed in traditional dress were participating in activities typical of the time. The pilgrims in the village know nothing beyond the year 1627, in fact, no matter how hard you try it is impossible to trick the actors out of their roles.

We first encountered two characters building a wooden house, who had very strong London accents and were talking about the ship just in from England.

About three miles along the coast is the Mayflower II which was built in England and sailed to Boston in 1957, it is a full-size reproduction of the ship that brought the 102 Pilgrims to America in 1620. The thing that makes the most impact is realising how small the ship was for the 150 passengers and crew who had to endure the eleven-week crossing.

Another two miles along the coast we came across the Ocean Spray Cranberry Museum. Cranberries, which were introduced to the Europeans by the Indians, are grown in sand-covered peat bogs which are harvested in September by flooding the field and then the berries are stripped from the 6-inch tall plants by rotating paddles so that they float to the top and are easily scooped up. It's a vast industry with most of the output being turned into drink, however, George preferred the cranberry bread pudding, which was on offer.

With vague memories of the Boston Tea Party, we were looking forward to exploring the city which unlike most American cities with straight roads intersecting at right angles, turned out to be a sprawling confusing mass of busy roads twisting in all directions - it must be the earlier British influence! There was hardly a sign anywhere and certainly none to help the first-time tourist, in other words, we got well and truly lost. It may not have been so bad if it was not for roadworks at every junction we wanted to take. More by luck than our judgment we found ourselves in the centre of the 3-mile Freedom Trial which is a pleasant walk covering 20 of Boston's most historic points of interest. Fortunately once on the trail, it is well marked by a red line which in no time led us into an Italian area which must have more Italian restaurants than any place outside Italy, the aroma was just too much so in no time we were both eating a delicious panini.

One of the first places we visited was the Copp's Hill burial ground where a notice recorded that the three annoyances of the day were wolves, rattlesnakes and mosquitoes. Later on, we learned that the growing animosity to unpopular British taxes brought military occupation to Boston in 1768, further fuelling Colonial resentment of Crown rule. In 1770 British soldiers fired on a belligerent mob, killing five citizens in what became described as the Boston Massacre. Three years later patriots loosely disguised as Indians dumped three shiploads of taxable tea into Boston Harbour. Furious, Parliament retaliated by closing the city's port. Violent protests finally led to an armed confrontation on nearby Lexington Green the morning after Paul Revere's famous midnight ride (The British are coming), sparking the American Revolution. Boston has managed to retain a lot of this history but today is probably more famous for Harvard University and more than 50 local universities and colleges as well as the 700 high-tech companies that have settled nearby.

So while Valerie watched the sailors climbing the rigging, George toured the USS Constitution which is the oldest fully commissioned warship in the world and is still a part of the US Navy. The ship has three sailing masts and 24 huge cannons which can fire 32-pound solid shots which explains why she was never defeated. Her wooden sides were so thick that British cannon shots could not penetrate, earning her the nickname - Old Ironsides. A modern-day tradition is that every July 4th the ship is turned around in the bay to even out the effects of the weather, which is an opportunity to have a party celebrating beating the British.

An interesting side piece of information gathered during the visit was that America's national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner adopted in 1931, was originally a poem written in 1814 to commemorate America's victory in Baltimore over the British.

We would have liked to have spent another day exploring Boston but it had been an exhausting couple of days so after some discussion and hesitation as to what direction we should move tomorrow, we decided that as we were unlikely to have another opportunity to visit the northeastern corner of the states, we would travel further north and visit at least parts of New Hampshire and possibly Maine. After replacing the sewer hose yet again, we departed at around 09.30 and by lunchtime, we arrived in North Woodstock some 170 miles to the north. We were fascinated to see shortly after crossing the state line into New Hampshire (Live Free or Die) a very large sign stating that there was a state liquor store at the next rest area! We of course stopped and found a liquor store that would have done justice to a large duty-free shop at an international airport. We find it difficult to understand the logic of selling alcohol at rest areas on busy interstate highways; even at 10.30, they were very busy.

We drove along the Kancamagus Highway which traverses the forest between Lincoln and Conway into the white mountain region, which is claimed to be one of the region's best-known and least spoiled scenic drives. It was certainly an attractive and almost traffic-free ride however everywhere we found signs that the fall was approaching which was not helped by the mainly cloudy and damp weather. The white mountain region of New Hampshire has numerous mountains including Mount Washington which at 6,288 feet is the highest point in the northeastern states and famous for the world's highest wind speed of 231 miles per hour being recorded by the peaks observatory in 1934. It's said that the mountain has the worst weather in the world with fog 315 days a year, snow which can fall throughout the year as well as very heavy rain.

New Hampshire with a population of 1.1 million is one of the smaller states that appears to have numerous small villages but very few large towns. What is very noticeable is that throughout the northeastern states most of the places are named after English towns, so frequently one sees road signs pointing to say Brighton and Cambridge - it makes one feel more at home.

As we have been landlocked for a while we were feeling the need to visit the coast. Despite the extensive coastline we were disappointed to find that there were hardly any campgrounds close to the beach but we were lucky to get a sea view from the last available site at the Flying Point campground. The campground is near Freeport which is the acknowledged "Birthplace of Maine." Colonial legislators signed the paper that granted Maine separation from Massachusetts and finally statehood in 1820. However, the town is best known as the home of L.L. Bean which is a sporting goods store open daily 24 hours, 365 days a year. Like so many places we have visited in the US this one claims to be the largest in this case sporting goods shop in the world and we can believe it.

The Maine (tags Vacationland) coastline is very ragged with inlets, rivers, islands and strips of land extending for tens of miles into the Atlantic, so the local economy and lifestyle are heavily geared toward the sea. To us, Maine is famous for its lobsters so after visiting several attractive fishing villages we treated ourselves to a lobster each which was delicious, apparently because the water does not get warmer than about 57F.

Intending to explore some of its old buildings we drove into Bath which is named after its English counterpart, however almost immediately we found the Maine Maritime Museum which is a 10-acre site located on a 19th-century shipyard where traditional wooden sailing ships were constructed at the turn of the century. The shipyard was famous for building large wooden schooners including the world's largest, the 331-foot Wyoming in 1910. Even though steam power had replaced the more traditional fully rigged sailing ships by this time, there was still a profitable market for schooners due to their ability to sail directly into the wind plying their trade along the coast transporting coal, wood and ore etc.

Moving 210 miles south on our way to an SKP rally in West Virginia we stopped overnight in Stafford, CT in an almost empty campground. It seems in the northeast that the camping season is very short with some campgrounds only open for 60 days and many only open for about 90 days. The terrain continues to be mainly low hills covered in a variety of trees.

The direct route further south would take us through New York however driving the RV down Broadway did not appeal so we camped at Platteskill which is about 50 miles from New York's downtown district, planning to take a guided tour which started from the campground the following morning.

By 07.00 as the soft autumn sunshine was just appearing through the trees we were already on our way to tour the Big Apple along with 38 fellow campers. The 50-mile journey to catch the boat to the Statue of Liberty went quickly as Dennis, our ex-New York cop tour guide was amusing and full of useful information about the city he had lived in all his life.

Dennis believes that dramatic improvements have been made to the City during the past four years resulting in far less crime, graffiti and vagabonds on the streets and according to the latest information New York is now safer than many other US cities. It amused(?) us somewhat when he said that any passenger carrying a gun should see him before visiting the sights.

While we waited with about a thousand others at Battery (of cannons) Park for the first boat of the day to the statue, we were entertained by singers and acrobats. No doubt like many others, we assumed that the Statue of Liberty was in New York, however, the statue is on an island within the state of New Jersey whose border adjoins New York's along the centre of the wide Hudson River.

The statue was presented to the United States by France in 1884 in commemoration of the two countries' alliance during the American Revolution. Measuring 151 feet high and standing on a pedestal 156 feet high, it is the tallest statue of modern times.

Rejoining the coach we then saw Wall Street which was originally a wall built by the Dutch to keep out Indians, the British made it a street in l699. A huge Chinese quarter, Soho with its 19th century wrought iron constructed buildings and then it was on to explore the Empire State building.

The building was completed in 1931, soaring 1,454 feet with 2 million square feet of office space. One of the numerous elevators rushed us up 80 floors in forty seconds and then we took a second elevator to the observation deck. The building is made of Indiana limestone and granite trimmed with sparkling stainless steel. The marble in the lobby was imported from Belgium, France, Germany and Italy. The top 30 floors of the building are lit year-round from dusk to midnight. The colour of the lights changes with the season and includes red, white and blue for national holidays and red and green for the Christmas season. We were fortunate to have a clear day so the view was fantastic, the yellow cabs looking just like dinky toys.

After watching part of a wedding in the wonderful gothic St. Patricks Cathedral where some of the Kennedy family have been married, it was on to Central Park, the Rockerfella Centre and our final stop found both of us singing on Broadway and tasting a hot Konishi. The city was an exciting place to visit, somewhat like London except for the skyscrapers, however, we wondered what it must be like during the working week when millions of workers pour into the downtown and financial districts.

Stopped for the night in Kutztown PA, 160 miles further south, and watched the TV premier of Fools Rush In - only 6 out of 10.

While in Boston a few weeks ago we met Keith and Pricilla Pippin both are also SKPs on route to the rally and like ourselves wanted to visit Washington DC, so we arranged to meet up with them and explore the city together. We later learnt that Keith was not only decorated with a purple heart as a helicopter gunner but is one of only about 100 people in the world who has run the 146 miles from Death Valley to the 9,000-foot Whitney Peak in 48 hours and this was during mid-summer! What is more remarkable is that he did this at the age of 56. We spent three days exploring Washington DC with them, leaving the car on the outskirts of town and taking the fast, modern Metro into the central district.

Capital of the Nation, Washington DC is notched out of the state of Maryland at the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers. It is home to a multitude of federal offices and national organisations including the White House, Pentagon and Capital Hill as well as numerous monuments and museums. It is built to the grand design of Pierre L'Enfant, a French soldier and engineer, who forged a visionary city of monuments, broad avenues and spacious circles. We both found the capital to be impressive with its wide almost traffic-free straight roads linking most of the major buildings in a way that one could see many of the attractions from numerous vantage points. A good example is the Lincoln Memorial which is in direct line with the Capitol and the Washington Monument. Between the memorial and the monument lie two reflecting pools with a combined length of 2,292 feet which add an extra dimension. Lincoln's stately marble structure, designed by Henry Bacon, stands just before the approach to Arlington Memorial Bridge. The 36 columns, one for each state in existence at the time of Lincoln's death, symbolise the Union. Dominating the interior is the colossal seated statue of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French. Carved into the internal wall next to the statue are the Gettysburg and the Second Inaugural Address. We found Lincoln's statue managed to project the impression of a powerful, wise and compassionate man.

Along with thousands of others, we toured the White House which has been the home of every president except George Washington. It was designed by James Hoban and the North Wing was completed in 1800, however, most of it was burnt by the British in 1814. When the mansion was reconstructed, its fire-blackened surfaces were painted white; thus originated the name "White House." We saw the East, Green, Blue and Red rooms, the State Dining Room on the State floor and the Vermeil Room and Library on the ground floor. Not surprisingly we were unable to visit the West Wing, where the President's Oval Office is located, which was constructed in 1902. It's an impressive almost beautiful building standing in reasonable size grounds, with light and airy rooms which remain furnished as determined by several notable First Ladies including Jackie Kennedy.

Keith and George persuaded the girls that we should visit the National Air and Space Museum, which is devoted to the history and development of air and space technology and is one of the world's most popular museums. As always George found the space age displays enjoyable, however, Cape Canaveral has much more to offer and we were disappointed that there was very little information about the recent exploration of Mars. It was then off to the National Museum of American History which depicts the scientific, cultural, technological and political development of the United States. The collection encompasses a bewildering array of exhibits about every facet of American life. Venerated objects like the "star-spangled Banner" inspired the writing of the national anthem to share the halls with such notable items as George Washington's tent and an Edison light bulb.

At 490 feet the observation room of the Washington Monument provides commanding views of the city and in particular the Lincoln's Memorial to the west, Capital Hill to the east, the White House to the north and the Jefferson Memorial to the south. It is a simple slightly tapered marble monument standing on a knoll surrounded by 50 American flags.

Having spent about two weeks visiting big cities we were keen to return to the countryside and fortunately our journey to Lewisburg to attend the SKP fall rally, took us first through Virginia with its rolling tree-covered hillsides and then into the more mountainous terrain of West Virginia. We stopped for one night at the Endless Caverns campground in New Market which was deserted but we could not summon up the energy to find out if the caverns were endless. We arrived in Lewisburg, WV the day before the rally started so we boondocked overnight in the Walmart car park with about 40 other SKPs in a variety of RVs which almost became a rally in its own right.

The rally turned out to be a marvellous occasion for renewing acquaintances with many of the friends we have made during the past 18 months. It is quite remarkable considering the size of the USA how we keep meeting up with the same people in a variety of different locations. Even though 974 RV's attended the rally it turned out by chance that we were camped next to two couples we had travelled to Mexico with, which provided a good reason to celebrate with a drink or two.

Later on, we found Bill & Bev who had we had visited in Michigan, they had arrived a week earlier as they had volunteered to help set up the rally. During the week we were made life members of the LEO Club which were founded by Leo Kotte who has an identical rig and travelled with us to Mexico. As we have reported several times before Americans love to eat out and in particular SKPs seem to eat most of the time, so at about 5.00 PM the cry goes up Lets Eat Out, hence the LEO Club.

Each day we were faced with a bewildering choice of seminars, crafts or BOF's activities. Amongst others, Valerie went to seminars on woman's health and RV maintenance for women and at one of the craft, sessions made a windowsill angel. In the meanwhile, George learnt about the latest developments in cellular phones, better video techniques, membership campgrounds, safety while travelling, ham radio and tips when visiting Mexico and Quartzite. Before the evening entertainment everybody gathers for the free door prizes where for about 50 minutes membership numbers are continuously drawn out of the barrel for a bewildering range of prizes including cruises to Hawaii, we won a bottle of black tank treatment!

There was so much to do that the five days flew by and all too soon it was time to say farewell to so many friends, however, we can look forward to meeting up with some of them early next summer as we plan to travel to Alaska together.

It was time to start the 2,500-mile drive to Los Angles to meet Doug and Ivy. As several problems needed to be fixed on the car and have had a bad experience with official dealerships not having parts in stock, we had asked for the parts to be pre-ordered by Suzuki dealers in Beckley about 50 miles west from the rally. Initially, things looked good as we were able to park the RV in Walmart which was opposite the dealer where the car was being repaired. However, by mid-afternoon, we were told that they did not have one of the parts and they could not obtain it until Monday in the meanwhile the car could not be driven. We now know how Tony Austin must have felt on many occasions with the poor service from American maintenance shops.

As it turned out we found an attractive campground overlooking Victoria Lake which is shaped like a long fishbone with numerous spines. The campground had organised a lunchtime pig roast and all campers were invited to join in. Incredible quantities of food were spread over long tables which we enjoyed in the pleasant fall sunshine.

It rained all day Sunday without a single break in the clouds, which if nothing else provided an opportunity to deal with our mail from the UK which had been forwarded to the SKP rally. Valerie's mood matched the weather as she pondered what to do if the parts for the car do not arrive on Monday, therefore, making getting to LA on time more difficult.

As it turned out the parts did not arrive and the latest promise when George checked with the service department was Tuesday, which would make it four days since the car was taken in for a two-hour repair! We have concluded that the average US auto service centre is worse than those back home, which has little to shout about. Spent most of Monday shopping and washing the RV.

By 11.00 we parked the RV outside the service centre where to our relief we found that the parts had arrived and the car was being completed. However, our relief was short-lived since upon checking George found that several items were missing from the car including the camera, which we would not have left in the car if we had realised the repair would take more than a few hours. As expected the service centre did not want to know even when George saw the manager and asked them to call the police. At the end of the day, we were just pleased to get the car road-worthy and travelling west, 175 miles later we camped for the night at a nice campground at Slick Rock, Kentucky. >>>