1997 East Coast Trip (part 9)

Salem, Massachusetts, this is the side of the Pirate Museum building.  How I would have enjoyed wandering around in there!

But when you're traveling with someone else,
you tend to ... compromise on what you're
going to see.

Here I am in Salem,
a store has a
standing advertisement!

This was a fun section of town to explore!

and of course, the infamous Plymouth Rock
where Pilgrims from the Mayflower rowed
out and set foot on land in 1621.

In Boston, we trekked the Freedom Trail and saw some of the old buildings along the way, like the Paul Revere house, I seem to remember something about Betsy Ross.  There are markers implanted in the sidewalks to denote the trail.  As I look back, I'm shocked at how I wasn't taking pictures as it is something I have always done.   I think that speaks to the relationship stresses I was feeling, perhaps subconsciously not wanting to remember this trip.

This is the Minute Man statue 

in Massachusetts.

"British regulars clashed with colonial militia and minute men on April 19, 1775 

at Lexington, Concord's North Bridge and on the long, bloody road back to Boston. 

The fighting that began that day soon grew into a war for independence 

that lasted more than eight years. Many years later, Ralph Waldo Emerson 

used the phrase "the shot heard round the world" to describe the significance of this event."

1997 East Coast Trip (part 8)

We ventured up into Maine, and spent some time looking at the beach and Atlantic Ocean.  Being raised in California, I only knew the Pacific, and this one is quite different.  Less energetic on a normal day (I am sure a storm makes it different!) and quite clear as well.  It was cold water, even in July! I think I could have spent an entire week in this part of the country!

I think I must have been most comfortable on this day, 

as I took more pictures here than in any other place!

Or maybe its feeling a kinship with nature

here - a place where I'm happy to be!

We had dinner in some fancy place that served lobster - or was it crab? 

The details are long gone, it seems.

1997 East Coast Trip (part 7)

Through Rhode Island and into New Hampshire where things were at a less frenetic speed, we shopped a couple of antique shops, then found a covered bridge.  Amazingly, by comparing pix online, I found the technical name/location of this bridge!

Hancock-Greenfield Bridge, 

Spanning Contoocook River, Forest Road 

(formerly Old County Road), 

Hancock, Hillsborough County, NH

1997 East Coast Trip (part 6)

I started wanting to record this trip because I realized that I had a picture of NY that included the Twin Towers.  Back in 1997 we referred to it as the World Trade Center, I remember we drove along that street as saw them along with the Wall Street building.  How fun would it have been to take a tour of that building???  The World Trade Center had been damaged by a truck which exploded in the parking garage on Feb 26, 1993, 4 years prior to our visit.  We never entertained thoughts that it would happen again.  (Sept 11 2001)

New York is a fascinating city, much different from California!
While it was fun to visit, it was too much to handle for me -
all the noise, the smells (I called it odors on my postcard!)
Everything seemed frantic to me, like they were all trying to
shove 30 hours of daytime into the 24 allotment!!

1997 East Coast Trip (part 5)

One of the things I wanted in New York was an infamous crazy taxi driver ride.   We hopped in a cab after Liberty Island to get to the Empire State Building and told our driver what we wanted, and he was happy to oblige!  We went careening and zooming through lights, horn honking a few times, swerving in and around traffic.  It was a whole lot of fun!  We wandered through the streets of New York because buying our ESB tickets there was a wait time.  We watched as peddlers sold watches and assorted items along the street; lots of little vendors selling food items such as "hot dogs with the worx".













Another silly little thing that people don't know about me ... I definitely wanted to go into some place "adult", just so I could say that I did!  And down the side street I noticed a purple sign.  I walked on down to the door, nervous as all get out, and opened it, never knowing what to expect!  There was a front desk, and I grabbed one of these purple advertisements.  Glancing around, I notice scantily clothed women dancing on tables.

Needless to say, I didn't hang around long - just long enough to say I'd "been there, done that!!!"

















When it was time, we got in line to take the elevator
up to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building.
It was a high speed elevator and took no time at all!
Whoosh and we're there, the doors open and you can
walk all around, looking out over the city.  It's a long
way up -- too high for my liking!  Looking to the
south, you can see Wall Street, the World Trade Center
Buildings (The Twin Towers) the Verrazano Bridge
and the Statue of Liberty!   There was also a snack
bar and souvenir counters.  This building has been
called "the cathedral of the skies" soaring more than
a quarter mile into the atmosphere above Manhattan.
From the ground, looking up, you can't see that much :P

1997 East Coast Trip (part 4)

Assuming the lines for the Statue of Liberty would be the longest, we headed there first, taking a boat out to Liberty Island.  From a distance, Lady Liberty is very very impressive and beautiful, appearing larger than life.  Being a West Coast-er and only seeing it on TV, I assumed she was bigger than she really is... but that doesn't change the significance of this statue.



















It was 355 steps up into the statue: 162 regular, the rest circular.  It took hours to take a few steps then stand and wait with the lines.  All the way up and able to look out the crown.  Amazing to see the City of New York from this view!  After coming back down the 355 steps on the other side of the statue, my legs felt like rubber!


The Statue of Liberty stands
151 feet (46 metres) in height,
and 305 feet (93 metres) from the ground to the torch.
It was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

1997 East Coast Trip (part 3)

July 6th:  lots of driving, passing through Connecticut, we stopped in a quite a few antique shops - If we bought anything, it had to be small, we were traveling light!











Somewhere in a town a McDonald's building is painted with a jungle theme.  I made no notes as to where this was, and couldn't find anything on line.  Of course, back in 1997, the internet wasn't the fount of information is is today!

The next day was our
New York City day -
and promised to be exciting!

After stopping for the night,
we headed into the city in
the early morning hours.

Driving in the city was
horrendous, I recall circling
the same blocks several times
searching for parking.





Conclusion?
Just park in a lot,
and do the rest walking!

1997 East Coast Trip (part 2)

We ended up in Pennsylvania, got to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and Ben Franklin's Grave.


The note I wrote to myself on the postcard:  "Love the brick here- buildings, walkways, roads."


 







I remember thinking that with all the
green table cloths, it seemed more
like a dining room than anything else!





"The Liberty Bell originally hung in the tower
of Independence Hall in 1753.  Today, the
Liberty Bell's universal appeal is demonstrated
by the more than a million people from all
over the world who visit it annually."
(blurbs on postcards make it easy to have
short notes re: the subjects)

1997 East Coast Trip (part 1)

I was looking through my photo albums for some Throwback Thursday photos - because showing kid pix of my siblings, my own kids or my nephews is fun :)  But I happened across some photos and post cards of a whirlwind trip to the East Coast.   Fourth of July, 1997, and I flew out of SF to Washington Dulles at 10pm.  I arrived at 6am, rented a car and drove into downtown.  There's a huge parade and lots of activity on The Mall, so I parked the car at a Metro Station and hopped on a train that would take me downtown.

Here I am, 38 years old, and never been to the East Coast, had no idea what to expect, or what I'd find.  I figured playing tourist along The Mall would be the most expedient thing to do.  There was a parade, and loads and loads of people.  News media reported the next day over a million people were in attendance.  But after a night of dozing on a plane, I was exhausted.  I sat down on the grass to watch the parade ... and promptly fell asleep.  As I look back on it now, I'm surprised when I woke up that I still had my purse and all my property! Of all the days on the trip, this one stands out the most as I was alone, and able to go in any direction that I wanted to. I didn't waste the day waiting in a hotel for my husband to arrive.  I wandered around, saw the Viet Nam Memorial wall, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument.  It was rough going with so many people. I remember thinking I should take loads of pictures, but mostly my pics would just be of crowds, so I elected to get more postcards than photos.   I addressed them and sent them to myself with every place we visited!

Out of the 6 day trip, not much stands out.  See, I flew by myself, my husband flew in that night.  We took separate flights as he was in Gunnison, CO for a music thing he'd been involved with for years, something we'd always attended together, and unexpectedly he didn't want me along this year.  Things had been rocky for us since his father had died in January.  I think this East Coast trip was a "make it or break it" kind of trip, and I don't think I was that anxious to be here.

The next morning, we hopped in the car and started driving north toward Pennsylvania.  I remember getting into a fight about mid-day.  We'd been driving a long while, and he said something snappy about what a great trip this is!  And I muttered "yeah, maybe for you."  He asked what my beef was... I said it's hard to enjoy a trip when I'm doing the driving.  Every highway on the East Coast looks just the like ones in California.  This was definitely his kind of trip, whirlwind driving with very little stops.  Sure, he could say he's "been there" ... but he was only passing through.  I'm pretty sure I sucked it down and kept driving - because then I could stop and see things I wanted to see!