New England Part II: Sept. 20 - October 13, 2018

Boston area:  We spent a week at Littleton, Mass, which is on the outskirts of Boston.  We used it as a hub to see the many wonderful things in the area.

First stop:  Lowell, Mass:  

One of the great surprises was visiting the wonderful town of Lowell.  The entire town is a National Historical Park, filled with fascinating exhibits and museums about the textile industry that built the town in the mid-1800's.  It was all hydo-powered, with turbines going into the mills from a series of canals throughout the city.  

Many thanks to Tess, who told us about Lowell and strongly encouraged us to go there!

Inside was a working textile mill, much as it would have been in the 1800's,
except that it was much less noisy and lint-filled and wasn't filled with workers.
 They only turned on one row of machines when visitors were there.
Many of the workers were young girls from farms. 
They had a special boarding house for them.

The turbines were at the bottom of the building, drawing water from the canal.

We took a great NPS boat/walking tour telling about the canals/locks
that fed water from the Merrimack River to the mills.

Dam on the Merrimack River

Much of the stonework on the canals is from the 1800's.

Lock with a huge gate inside.

Second Stop:  Freedom Trail in Boston

We spent two days walking the Freedom Trail, which winds through downtown Boston connecting the major historic sites of the city.  It is only 2 1/2 miles long, so it is not difficult to walk, although there are hills and you go across a large bridge over the Charles River.  It takes a long time if you stop to tour all the many historic sites that are now surrounded by modern Boston.  We took two days to do it, which was great.  The first day we took the subway to Boston Common and did about half the trail.  The next day, we went to the end at the Charlestown Navy Yard, and did the rest of the tour, working backward to where we had left off.  

Here is a NPS map, so you can see the route:  Map of Freedom Trail.

There are over 14 major places on the tour.  I will only tell about a few we found most interesting.

Following the trail was easy. You just had to follow the red brick trail in the sidewalk. 
Whenever you would make a turn, there was one of these medallions to alert you. 
You did have to pay attention, though.

Alan next to Kings Chapel and burying ground
First Anglican church in Boston, built in 1749.
Like all the old sites, it is hard to get a picture
because it is surrounded by modern buildings.

Old State House, built in 1713
Site of Boston Massacre
Newly-signed Declaration of Independence
read from the balcony to cheering crowds.

The North End was filled with incredible Italian restaurants. 
We had to stop to enjoy one.
Alan ate every bit, using his bread to sop up the last of the sauce!

Tour here was interesting.  Even though Revere had many businesses,
 the house was not particularly large.

This is actually the back of the house, where you go in to tour.

Old North Church, hemmed in by modern buildings and construction
Freedom Trail markings disappeared due to construction,
so area was difficult to navigate. Lots of confused tourists
wandering around, including us.  We did have a good map.

 The most interesting thing we saw in Boston was the U.S.S. Constitution.  It had interpreters on board who told about its history and the battle in the War of 1812 when it got dubbed "Old Ironsides."  It is not an ironclad, like later ships in the Civil War.  It was just built of such strong live oak wood that cannonballs seemed to bounce off the sides.
In case you want more info:  Wiki link on USS Constitution

U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides) at the Charlestown Navy Yard
This is the actual boat, not a replica. 
It is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, launched in 1797. 

Rhoda on gangplank (? Is that what it is called when you go on a boat?)

Side, showing cannon placements

Cannons from the inside

Third stop:  Lexington and Concord, Mass.:

Concord:  The town of Concord was the home of many writers who had incredible impact:  Emerson, Thoreau, Bronson Alcott, Louisa Mae Alcott, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.  I had studied most in my classes as an English major or read their books, so it was most fascinating to me.  I had a wonderful course on Emerson and Thoreau with Jack Higgs as part of my master's program at ETSU.  

Thoreau quote at his cabin site

We walked around Walden Pond on a chilly, rainy day.   It was magical.
Walden Pond is quite large.  Around here, it would be called a lake.
While we were there, someone came up, stripped to a swimming suit,
and dove into the pond for a swim.

 Pillars outlining the dimensions of Thoreau's cabin at the actual site.

The desk where he wrote his voluminous journals, the source of Walden

Be sure to go to this museum.  It is excellent.

Emerson's home

Emerson's study, the site of so many of the long discussions
that formed the basis for the second wave of Transcendentalism
and the Unitarian movement
Wiki on Transcendentalism

Wayside, the home of Bronson Alcott and his daughter Louisa Mae Alcott,
who wrote Little Women. It was later owned by Nathaniel Hawthorne,
who wrote The Scarlet Letter.  See link if interested: NPS info on Wayside

Minute Man National Historic Park:  Lexington and Concord:

There are two visitor centers, one in Lexington and one in Concord.  Be sure to visit both.  The one in Lexington has an outstanding A/V presentation about the historic events leading up to and including, "The shot heard round the world," the first shots of the American Revolution. Having just been to Boston, it was fascinating to hear about the details of Paul Revere's ride, and how it mustered the populace to arms. FYI:  Revere wasn't alone.  There were two others, only one of whom actually made it to Concord--a guy they picked up along the way who decided to accompany them.  (They split up to escape the British.) The visitor center in Concord has a short walk to the reconstructed bridge where the event occurred.  We had a great NPS guide who did a presentation at the bridge.  I can't say enough about how wonderful the National Park Service is.  Everywhere we went, we encountered people who were committed to preserving and publicizing the historic places and events of our country.

Emerson's Concord Hymn:  Concord Hymn text  You probably studied it in school.

Maine:  We went to three places in Maine.  Along the way, we enjoyed driving the beautiful, scenic U.S. Hwy. 1 that follows the coast all the way to the Canadian border.  We went as far as Lubec, the easternmost point in the U.S.  Along the way, you have incredible views of the coast, bays, and small New England towns.  Views of Penobscot Bay near Camden were extra special.  My only complaint:  There were very few turnouts where you could pull in with a trailer to enjoy the view.  Maine needs to take a lesson from Michigan, which has wonderful waysides along all the shores of the Great Lakes.

First stop in Maine:  Camden Hills State Park

I had stayed at Camden Hills tent camping when I did New England/Canada for a month many years ago.  It was a special memory of a beautiful place for me, one that I wanted to share with Alan.

View of coast of Penobscot Bay on the Shoreline Trail

If you go to Camden Hills, be sure to take this trail to the top of Mt. Megunticook. 
It has wonderful views from the top that I remembered from when I was there before.
We tried it, but because of heavy rain, slick rocks on the trail,
 and my bum knee/hip, we decided to not finish it.  

On our first night in Maine, we had our first lobster dinner.
It was the best of many others that we enjoyed.

Acadia National Park:  We spent a week there, seeing wonderful things every day. Because of the crowds, they have an excellent bus system that takes you to all the major places.  If you go, be sure to use it, especially to see the sights along the Park Loop Road, which was crazy crowded, even when we were there in late September. However, just like everywhere we go, as soon as you got 1/2 mile from the trailhead, the people "disappeared." All the shuttle buses have bicycle racks, and it is a prime place for bicyclists.  Here is a great map of Acadia, which covers all of Mount Desert Island.  I like the map because you can click on the different sights/sites and see more information. Again, I will just do highlights.  

Map of Acadia National Park

View from the top of Cadillac Mountain

One of the MUST SEE things at Acadia is the Carriage Trails. 
In fact, they are the reason that Acadia is there. 
They were built by the mega rich people who lived on the island,
who had banned autos.  The history of them is too much for me
to tell about here, but here is a link, if you are interested
Carriage Roads and Bridges. 
Now, they are wonderful for hiking and bicycle riding.

Alan and I on one of the bridges 

This is Waterfall Bridge, designed so you could see the waterfall
through the arch as you hiked a trail at the bottom.

Jordan Pond.  It is nice, but may not be worth dealing with the massive
crowds here.  The visitor center does have great popovers, though. 
We stopped there the last day.

Tillie in the parking lot at Jordan Pond.
The leaves were starting to turn before we left.

We did a walking tour of Bar Harbor, which also should be
visited using the shuttle.  Parking is crazy difficult.

Bar Island Path, a fun short hike, only accessible at low tide

We took a commercial sightseeing cruise out of Southwest Harbor.
We didn't see wildlife, but it was still fun/interesting

The cruise went to the island of Islesford, an active lobster fisherman's village.

We were given a demonstration on lobster fishing.
Here is a huge stack of the lobster traps. We saw them lots of places.

Our campsite was in a commercial campground where the owners
had free-range chickens.  They showed up at our campsite periodically,
causing Shelby to go nuts.  (She wasn't allowed outside, so they were safe.)
Our campsite near Boston had many chipmunks
that drove her crazy.  They would run under the camper,
so she would race from side to side, looking out the windows.

This is what happens when you eat too much lobster.

Last stop:  Lubec Maine:  The easternmost town in the U.S.

Lubec is definitely down on its luck.  This is the visitor center.
In town, lots of businesses were closed.
Due to climate change and overfishing,
the fishing industry has been destroyed.

Campobello Island, the Roosevelt summer home:  This was another place I had visited that I wanted to share with Alan.  

The island is actually across the bridge in Canada,
so it is an international park.  We had to bring our passports and go
through a border crossing to visit it.  The US border guy was really surly.  

This is the Roosevelt summer "cottage."  It is where the family spent
many happy summers, both when FDR was little and when they
were raising their family. FDR contracted polio here. 
When I visited it the first time, I saw the many window seat loungers. 
It gave me the inspiration for the window seat in the house we now have.

Maple tree and Canadian flag at visitor center

 Quoddy Head State Park:  The easternmost point of the U.S

Beautiful shoreline trail here, too
Almost no sand beaches in Maine, just black rocks

Fascinating large natural bog at the park

The bog was filled with pitcher plants, and other carnivorous plants.

Quoddy Head lighthouse

Marker showing this is the farthest east point in U.S.
Met a man here who had been on a quest to go to each of the four corners
This was his last, and he was most excited.
It reminded me of my quest to visit all 50 states,
and how excited I was when we entered North Dakota, the last one for me.

Nice campground on a beautiful windswept point

Because this is near the Bay of Fundy, the tides were quite dramatic.
This is low tide

The campground was well named.  We saw beautiful sunsets.

After over a month on the road, we were ready to head back to the warmer climate of Tennessee.  It was getting cold in Maine.

We decided to take Interstate 95 rather than the scenic route.  However, to get to 95 we had to drive some country roads.  The fall colors were lovely.

We got back home on October 13, without incident.  The only problem was driving through the remnants of Hurricane Michael as we drove through Virginia.  Luckily, it was just heavy rain all day, with ensuing backups due to accidents.