Boston Area 2015 - Day 5

May 26, 2015 Bedford, Providence

First stop for the day was the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park. There was plenty of metered street parking in the area, as well as a couple of parking decks. The meters let you pay via credit card, which was nice.

Seamen's Bethel

The video at the visitor center was very good. There were also some other displays at the visitor center. After exploring the visitor center, we headed down by the water. Interesting fact: scallops make New Bedford the number one fishing port in the country in terms of the dollar value of its catch.

 The Seamen’s Bethel is near the water. Seamen’s Bethel is referenced in Herman Melville’s book Moby-Dick. The building was constructed in 1832. Every year the Bethel hosts a 25 hour Moby-Dick reading marathon. We were told that if you last for the entire reading you receive a free copy of the book.

Scrimshaw at New Bedford Whaling Museum

Our next stop was the highly recommended New Bedford Whaling Museum.  It was $14 for adults, but there was a 10% discount for AAA members. The content of the museum was very in depth.  My favorite part was viewing the scrimshaw. Scrimshaw is scrollwork, engravings, and/or carvings done in bone or ivory. Personally, I did not greatly enjoy the museum. 

Next on the docket – Roger Williams National Memorial. Roger Williams’ left England with his wife because he disliked the religious turmoil. Williams fought for the idea that religion should not be subject to state regulations, but should be a matter of individual conscience. Williams’ was a minister in Salem, but his separatist beliefs forced him out of Massachusetts. He settled in Providence and ultimately created a colony. 

Rhode Island Capitol Building

Another capitol building is checked off our list – Providence, Rhode Island. The capitol is neoclassical in style. The current State House is the seventh in the state’s history and was constructed from 1895 to 1904.

Our last stop in Rhode Island was one of the stops for the somewhat new Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. There are many different locations to visit along the corridor. We visited the Pawtucket location. There was a nice video at the visitor center. The area of the visitor center was a little sketchy (lots of people lingering waiting for buses). Along the river was the original mill dating back to 1793!

Minute Man Statue

Heading north, we arrived at the Minute Man National Historical Park. The video at the visitor center is good. There is a lovely trail that connects many locations throughout the park. It was 90+ degrees outside so we opted to park at a few of the parking areas hand opt for a short walk rather than a couple of mile walk. Unfortunately, many of the buildings that we thought would be open were not – apparently we arrived a few weeks early. We did not make it inside of the North Bridge Visitor Center before it closed, but we were able to walk to the bridge and enjoy the beautiful flowers.

We stayed at the Best Western Plus Chelmsfords Inn, was okay...but I do not know what was so Plus about it, the room was probably not at nice as the standard Best Westerns that we stayed at earlier in the trip.

Boston Area 2015 - Day 4

May 25, 2015 Cape Cod

Cape Cod Light

The plan of attack for the day was to drive out to Cape Cod National Seashore. We started at the northerly most portion of the site – Province Lands Visitor Center. There is a nice overlook at the visitor center, as well as a decent 10 minute video. We also visited the beach, the National Park pass was really handy, normally it is $20 to enter – yikes that seems steep! The beach was not too busy, probably due to the entrance fee. While at the site, we also hiked the Beech Forest trail. There were some wildflowers blooming and it was a nice and short hike.

After leaving the park area, we checked out the town of Providence. It was really busy and parking prices were $15 and up – yikes! We drove around a bit, but did not option to stop and walk around.

Heading back to the south, we stopped to see the Highland Lighthouse (aka Cape Cod Light). Back in the day, this lighthouse was typically the first seen for ships entering the Boston area. The lighthouse, as currently modeled, was erected in 1857. The lighthouse was relocated in 1996 since it was getting closer and closer to the 100 foot cliff down to the water.

Three Sisters Lighthouses

We also stopped at the Nauset Light Beach, which was closed due to storm damage (I think it will be reopening in the coming weeks). There was one large lighthouse, moved to its current location in 1923, and then just down the road (or path if you wanted to walk) are the Three Sisters Lighthouses. The Three Sisters Lighthouses were constructed in 1892 and were originally used in place of the Nauset Light.

Our last visit in Cape Cod was the Salt Pond Visitor Center. We hiked the Nauset Marsh Trail while at the visitor center. The trail was just okay. 

We did not have plans as to where we were going to stay or eat. We checked out trip advisor and decided on the End Zone for dinner. The food was okay. Our first choice for food was closed for the holiday.

We stayed at the Best Western North Dartmouth, which was a very nice place. 

Boston Area 2015 - Day 3

May 24, 2015 Adams NHP, Boston Harbor Island NRA, Plymouth

Adams National Historical Park - Old House at Peace Field

We arrived at Adams National Historical Park just as they were opening up, which worked out well, since we were able to get on the first tour of the day. There is a parking garage behind the building, in which you can get the parking validated at the Visitor Center.  There is a trolley that takes you to the different sites available to visit – good thing, since the roads are very curvy and the sites were on the opposite sides of town, at least it seemed that way! There is a video (27 minutes) available for viewing at the visitor center, entitled Enduring Legacy, which was very good.  The tour has a $5/person cost, or you can use the annual National Park Pass and go for free (kids under 16 also free). The first stop on the tour is the Adams (John Adams and John Quincy Adams) birthplaces, the second stop is the Old House at Peace Field. Tours have a tendency to sell out, thus one of the reasons we wanted to arrive early. As expected the visit lasted about 3 hours.

Georges Island - Inside Fort Warren

Heading to the east, we headed to Hingham to hop on the 1 o’clock ferry to Georges Island. Georges Island is a part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.  There really is not a lot to do on Georges Island other than visit the historic Fort Warren, but with the time we had it seemed like a good fit – an hour and a half was ample time to check out the island. Georges Island provided a great strategic location for defending Boston’s seaport. The fort was constructed in 1833. The fort was used as a training camp and a Civil War prison before becoming a park. The ferry ride was $17/person round trip. There is a lot of parking available across from the dock, apparently it is free during the summer months, with a ticket from the kiosk, but it is was not yet open for the season. Regardless, parking was like $4 for the day. We grabbed lunch at the Panera Break before setting sail. I would have liked to have lunch at Walburgers (as in the TV show), but we did not have time before the departure time and when we returned we were not ready for more food.

Plymouth Rock

Seeing as I had not planned anything for the remainder of the day and we were going to be going to Cape Cod anyways we decided to check out Plymouth Rock. Really, the rock itself is quite laughable. I seriously have seen field rocks bigger than Plymouth Rock. History explained that the residents of Plymouth intended to preserve the rock in 1774, but the rock split into two, at which point one half of the rock got placed on display in the Town Square.  Visitors also desired to take a souvenir of the rock also. In 1834, the rock was moved to safety inside an iron fence at the Pilgrim Hall Museum. On the way to the museum, the rock fell and cracked. The remaining half of the rock was acquired by the Pilgrim Society in 1859. In 1867, a canopy structure was completed to house the rock at the waterfront. Yet again the rock was made smaller, since it would not fit under the canopy. In 1880, the rock halves were reunited and 1620 was inscribed on the top of the rock, 1620 being the year the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth. Plymouth Rock was moved to its’ currently location in 1921, at which time the rock yet again broke apart!

There was some free parking near the rock, but it was quite busy so we parked in a nearby lot which was not too pricy.  Near the rock is the Mayflower 2, a replica of the original. There is a fee to board the ship, but the ship is easily viewed from the harbor.

We walked around a bit had some ice cream at Ziggy’s Ice Cream. There are 50 flavors of hard scoop flavors! Talk about a tough decision on picked a flavor! Luckily, we were able to pick two flavors for a small. The cones were reasonably priced but, the sundae prices seemed really high – they must have been huge (we did not see anyone eating one). The small cone was pretty large. Mike really liked the waffle cone – definitely made fresh in the store.

We stayed at the Quality Inn in Hyannis for the night. It was okay. The hotel is under renovation, it previously was a Comfort Inn (according to reviews that I had found online).

The British Beer Company, in Hyannis, was our dinner choice. The food was good and the food was very reasonably priced.

Boston Area 2015 Day 1 & 2

May 22, 2015 Boston Bound

We got on the road by 5 PM and made it to Syracuse for the night. We stayed at the Best Western Inn at the State Fair. The hotel was pretty nice and clean; however, the mattress was not the best. Considering it was a holiday weekend, the traffic was not as bad as we had anticipated.

May 23, 2015 Boston

MA State House

After the free breakfast at the hotel, we were on our way to Boston. For lunch, we went to D’Angelo Sandwich Shop at the Natick Service Plaza along the turnpike. Decent sandwich, I would go there again. While at the service plaza, we got the E-ZPass to avoiding having not to stop and pay at every toll booth area. We ended up not going on a toll road again until our trip home, but it sure is nice not to have to stop to pay. MA does not charge monthly fees, or a transmitter fee, unlike most states. Next time, traveling via toll road we will have to remember to put more money in the account.

Continuing on we finally reached Boston!  We had reserved a parking space, via spothero. It was a dollar cheaper than the rate if we had paid when we left. We parked near Boston Commons for $12 (Pi Alley Garage). Once we oriented ourselves, we were able to locate Boston Commons, the oldest park in the country. Boston Commons is the starting point for the Black Heritage Trail and the Freedom Trail, as well as the location of the Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church and the Granary Burying Ground.

Bunker Hill

After snapping some photos of the place in or right around Boston Commons, we walked the Black Heritage Trail. The homes in the Beacon Hill are very pretty. The sidewalks are cobblestone and uneven, which makes it even more charming. Once finishing with that trail, we walked the Freedom Trail. The Freedom trail is easy to find – it is a red line along the sidewalks.  Along the way, there are many store fronts – we had cupcakes at Sweet Bakery. Mike had the Chocolate Covered Pretzel and I had the Not So Rocky Road (okay, so mine was a brownie, not a cupcake…).

There were many neat places along the Freedom Trail – Faneuil Hall, Old South Meting House, Old State House, Paul Revere House, Old North Church, Charlestown Navy Yard, Bunker Hill, and the USS Constitution.

Once completing the trail, we went to the Hard Rock Café to get Mike the zippo for his collection and then it was off to find food. We tried The Black Rose, which is an Irish Pub. There was live music, the food was just okay. I had a Rueben sandwich and French Onion Soup, Mike had Fish and Chips.

Deciding we had had enough Boston for one day we headed south to Rockland, where we stayed at the Comfort Inn for the night. It was okay.

Smokies 2015 - Day 3 and 4

 April 25, 2015

Well, well, well…the forecast all week said 90% chance of rain, but nope, it didn’t rain all day! We headed to Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, which is located about an hour and a half north of the Smokies. Tours of the home are offered pretty much every hour, but you must go to the visitor center and get a ticket 15 minutes before the tour starts. The tour lasts 30-45 minutes. The guide was very knowledgeable about Andrew Johnson and his family. Most of the family died at a young age due to TB.

 A room in the Andrew Johnson Homestead

There was a short video (10-15 minutes) giving a background of the 17^th president of the United States. Considering he did not have schooling, but was taught by his wife, he became a great speaker, which obviously helped him move up in the political sector.  The old tailor shop is enclosed within the visitor center and the early Andrew Johnson Home is located across the street from the visitor center. The Andrew Johnson Homestead is located two blocks up the street from the visitor center. The Andrew Johnson Nation Cemetery is located about a half-mile from the homestead.

Great Smoky Mountains -
Cosby Nature Trail

We then played putt-putt golf at Ripley’s Davy Crockett Mini-Golf.  This was one of the few locations that had its own parking lot. Since it was only a dollar more we played both courses. I actually won a free game on the last hole on the one course and nearly did it again on the other course!

It was getting to about 5pm and we had tried to visit a few of the businesses in the arts and crafts community, but apparently it was too early in the season for a lot of the places to be open. There are over 100 shops set up along the 8 mile loop road. We visited Fudgewrights and purchased some fudge, it was tasty.

April 26, 2015

After packing up early, we hiked the Cosby Nature Trail, which was a 1 mile loop. The trail started by the amphitheater. It was a lovely hike. There were many foot bridges to cross and we were able to spot two wildflowers that we had not yet seen – Wake Robin/Stinking Benjamin and Painted Trilliums.  The trail was an easy hike, with a few steeper portions.

Smokies 2015 - Day 2

April 24, 2015

Great Smoky Mountains - Cades Cove Area

The day started with a stop at the Sugarlands Visitor Center to get the NP passport stamp and pick up the recent Smokies Guide.  The Smokies Guide had an interesting entry about the elk herd at the Smokies. Twenty-five elk were reintroduced into the park back in 2001. Last year, it was reported that at least 20 elk caves were born, but five were known to have been killed by black bears. Unfortunately, we never made it down to the area that elk are more likely to be seen (Cataloochee Valley).

We then headed out to Cades Cove – which is the best location to find some black bears. Unfortunately, on this trip we did not see any bears. While in Cades Cove, we went to the visitor center and the buildings surrounding the center. The buildings at Cades Cove date back to the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries and are scattered throughout the cove. A great photo opportunity is the water-powered grist mill, which runs daily 9-5. One of the two mills is located at Cades Cove. On our previous trip, we had visited the churches and homes, so we skipped them in hopes of seeing some stuff we did not get a chance to see on the last trip. We did hike a portion of a horse trail while in the Cove, it was very peaceful.

Great Smoky Mountains -
Elkmont Area

Returning towards the Sugarlands VC we made a few stops. We checked out the Elkmont area – which turned out to be rather impressive.  We hiked a portion of the Cucumber Trail, which was a spur of the Jakes Creek Trail. The lower parking lot was full when we arrived lunch time, but we were able to find a spot in the upper parking lot. At the upper parking lot, there are many old vacation homes that are falling in disrepair, it was quite interesting.   The Cucumber Trail supposedly had a diverse wildflower showing, but we did not really see anything that we had not seen already on other trails.

Great Smoky Mountains - Laurel Falls

We also stopped to see Meigs Falls, which was right along the side of the road at marker #6, and The Sinks, which was at marker #5. The Sinks, is basically a waterfall also, but I guess people sometimes go in the water there.  I must complain that we did not see many markers, mostly just determined that “congested areas” must mean it is something good to see.

Laurel Falls was a waterfall that we had visited on our last trip, but we decided to visit it again. We had to wait for a parking space to open up. The trail is paved, but quite steep. The waterfall is not overly large (80-feet high), but it is nice none the less. The trail is 2.6 miles round trip.

Stopping off at the Sugarlands VC again, we took the short hike to the Cataract Falls, again the falls are not overly large, but a short easy walk.

Heading down the Newfound Gap Road, we stopped at the quite walk at mile marker 3.2. I am so glad we stopped for a hike there. Quiet walks do not have a specific site or distance, but rather act as an escape into nature. The quite walk led us to a lovely spot along a river. Markers along this road were easy to find, thank goodness! I would recommend purchasing some of the guides they have. I had saved the guides from our previous visit and it did not appear that they had changed any.

Great Smoky Mountains - Quite Walk

Also along the Newfound Gap Road, we stopped at the Chimneys Picnic Area and walked the Cove Hardwood Nature Trail. There were some wildflowers along this trail that we had not seen on other trails. The hike was not overly challenging, nor was it overly long, but the best part was that it looped. A majority of the trails are not looped.

Smokies 2015 - Day 1

April 23, 2015

Yahoo - time for another adventure!  This trip took us down to the Great Smoky Mountains. We had visited the Smokies back in May 2008, so it was not an entirely new vacation destination for us. We left home bright and early and made it down to TN in time to do some evening hiking.  For this trip, we stayed outside of town at Bent Creek Golf Village. It was really nice not to be in the city, on our previous trip we had stayed at the KOA near Dollywood.

Timing our trip with the annual Wildflower Pilgrimage we, at least I, had hoped to see a ton of wildflowers.  We found some wildflowers along the trails that we hiked in the Greenbriar portion of the Great Smoky Mountains. Trails that we hiked included the Old Settlers Trail and the Porters Creek Trail. Both trails claimed to have wildflowers, which they did, but not to the extent that I had intended – yellow and large-flowered trilliums. The Old Settlers Trail deviated from the stream quite quickly and was an easy hike, granted we only hiked in for maybe a mile.

Porters Creek Trail followed the creek and had a few wildflowers. We probably hiked about a mile and a half on this trail. The full round trip hike would have been 7.4 miles. The trail was an easy hike.