New England Trip, Part I: September 5 - September 19

I will start out with Shelby, since most people seem to care most about how she dealt with the trip:

Shelby on drugs

We got kitty tranquilizers from the vet, but they made her dopey. So we decided to just give up and let her cry until she got used to riding in the truck.  For a while, I rode in back with her, and that helped.  Finally, she got over being so scared and found a couple of places she liked to sit in the truck.

She slept on the floor of the back seat on our jackets.

We put a towel on the console of the truck. 
She liked sitting next to Alan and looking outside.

Alan liked for the leash to be long enough so she could sort of sit in his lap.  That worked fine until she started coughing up a hairball between his legs!  Then the leash got shortened!

In the trailer, she was great.  We have given up trying to take her outside on the leash since she persists in finding a way to get out of the halter.  She escaped into the woods while we were in the Smokies a few months ago, and Alan had a hard time getting her back. 

She sits on the counter and looks out the window.

She loves her white fuzzy bed that matches her white fuzzy fur.

First stop:  Plattekill, New York, near the Hudson River:

West Point:  We took a bus tour of West Point.  It was most interesting.  The guide not only showed us the facility, but he also was very knowledgeable about West Point and its participation in the Revolutionary War.  Note:  Because it is a military installation, the only way to tour it is by bus.

This is an actual section of the chain that was stretched
across the Hudson River to stop British ships from coming past that point.

View of Hudson River
Chain went from one side to the island on the right.

If you are interested in finding out more about West Point and its role in the Revolutionary War, here is a link:West Point and the American Revolution

Hyde Park:  The home of Franklin D. Roosevelt

I had read No Ordinary Times, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, in anticipation of coming here.  It is a wonderful, albeit long, book chronicling Franklin and Eleanor's experiences in the years starting right before WW II, up to FDR's death.  I recommend it.  I had no idea how influential Eleanor was until I read it.

This was actually FDR's mother's home, but it was also FDR's family's home.

The pulley system "elevator" that FDR used to go up and down stairs.
He pulled it himself, refusing to have a regular elevator put in.

The tiny office at Hyde Park where he worked. 
This is where he and Churchill discussed the letter from Einstein,
recommending the development of the atomic bomb.

On the property is also the wonderful FDR Library and museum.  We spent an afternoon there.  It is an outstanding facility, with great easy to understand exhibits and audio/visual presentations about FDR and the challenges of his administration.

This was built during his lifetime, but it is a very
"modern" museum in its present exhibits.

This is the office he used at the library. 
See his version of a wheel chair on right.

Val-Kill:  The home of Eleanor Roosevelt.  Because Eleanor wanted some distance from her mother-in-law, she built a house and business nearby.  

Not a particularly interesting house, inside or out. 
Very plain, especially compared to Hyde Park.
Her tastes were so simple that her glassware came from Woolworths.

The cottage where Val-Kill artisans worked.
The swimming pool outside was used by the Roosevelt family a lot.
There wasn't one at Hyde Park. 
There are lots of pictures of FDR at this pool.

If you aren't familiar with Val-Kill industries, the women-owned businesses that Eleanor and three friends started, see link here.Val-Kill Industries.

Because it was nearby, we also went to a Vanderbilt Mansion that was on the Hudson River, also.  Quite a contrast to Eleanor's house!

This was built by Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt. 
Frederick was one of Cornelius' eight grandchildren.
The grandchildren  inherited vast wealth
and built 40 mansions and country estates throughout the country
--Biltmore, being just one.

Second stop:  Hartford, Connecticut:

Our campground was at a marina next to the Conn. River

It was starting to get chilly, so we had our first campfire.
We had many more over the next month.

We had a great tour of Mark Twain's house.

Every room had intricate designs in inlaid wood
or wallpaper designed by Tiffany.

The wild patterns were all over the exterior, also.

Third stop:  A week on Cape Cod:  We started our seafood orgy while we were there.  The restaurants are wonderful.

There are many lighthouses, so I will just put in one picture. 
This is Nauset Light, with lighthouse keeper's house

Had a great time in the little town of Chatham.
This fish market was next to the docks where the fishing boats
were bringing in their catch.

Seals were hanging out next to the dock,
 begging for handouts from the fishermen.

Several boats came in and unloaded their catch. 
I don't know what kind of fish these were.

Note:  Rolla says that the fish are probably dogfish.  He sent this interesting article about dogfish and Cape Cod fisheries:  Can-dogfish-save-Cape-Cod-fisheries?

View of Chatham Harbor

 The highlight of our trip was a whale-watching trip out of Provincetown, at the very tip of Cape Cod.  The weather was perfect, with no waves on the ocean.  There were huge schools of smaller fish just hanging out in numerous places, and the whales would come in to eat them.  Over the course of the afternoon, we saw 11 different whales, some numerous times.  Two highlights:  watching a mother whale nursing a baby whale, and having a whale swim right next to the boat, under just a couple of feet of water.  You have no idea how enormous they are until it is right below you, and it is as long as the boat!

This is the company we went with.

It was almost impossible to get a picture because they were up and down too fast. 
Notice the white flipper under the water. 
That is often what you would see first.

Here is a picture from Nat Geo, so you can see what they look like. The heads are really interesting looking.   picture of humpback whale

4th Stop:  Plymouth, Mass.

We ended up staying an extra day in the campground in Plymouth because the remnants of Hurricane Florence came through.  We were cozy in trailer, and enjoyed touristing the next day.  

We toured Plimoth Plantation, a re-creation of the colony as it would have looked in 1647.  Each house was different.  It is like Williamsburg, with an actor inside telling the story of an actual person from history.

View of the village.  It was a rainy day, so not many people there.

The actors were very knowledgeable.  You could ask them questions.

Just to say we did, we went to see Plymouth Rock.  It is singularly underwhelming.  Don't bother.

Part II, Sept. 20 - October 13 will come soon.  This is probably about all you can take in one sitting anyway!!