NEW ENGLAND
22nd May 2016
“Travel. As much as you can. As far as you can. As long as you can.
Life’s not meant to be lived in one place.” Andrew [Anon]
I last travelled to New England 20 years ago, when I undertook
a wonderful road trip with two friends to Vermont and New Hampshire in the fall
[autumn]. I had always wanted to see the
autumn leaves on the East Coast of the U.S.A, and a first for me was seeing
the weather-protecting covered bridges.
I was lucky enough to be invited back very recently, this time to
experience Rhode Island and Maine. This
was a trip of ‘firsts’ for me. As
always, I don’t give too much away – just enough to inspire the intrepid
traveller.
I flew from London’s Heathrow Airport to Newark, New
Jersey. I was a tad nervous as it’s been
many years since I had visited the U.S. and had always experienced surliness
from U.S. immigration officials. I need
not have worried. The journey over was as
smooth as it could be. I flew Virgin
Atlantic, who had upgrades on offer at check-in. I upgraded to premium economy just because I
could and it was well worth the extra money.
I have never experienced such a smooth transition through immigration
and customs, with NO surliness and checked bags available almost immediately
for collection at the carousel. I had
booked the Hampton Inn, Spring Street, for an overnight stay and the courtesy
bus turned up right on time. The airport
staff are very organised, and helpful, on-hand for any questions.
After a good night’s sleep, I headed out to Hartford,
Connecticut where my buddy collected me, whilst waiting for another friend to
jet-in from within the U.S.A. However,
my flight from Newark to Hartford was delayed for one hour. President Obama just happened to fly into
Newark as we were about to depart, so we had to wait for the helicopters to
pick him and his entourage up. Obama was
flying to Rutgars University, to give a speech.
We had to stay on the aircraft but were allowed to go to the aircraft
steps to view Airforce One – this was a real first for me and it was amazing to
see the blue-coned aircraft parked out on the runway. The United Express flight attendant was a bit
inappropriate, however, as one Jewish man kept getting up to view the aircraft
and take photos. She jokingly asked him ‘why
are you so interested, are you a terrorist?’
It was meant to be a joke but it didn’t go down too well considering the
climate we are in right now. If a
passenger had made such a joke he/she would have been arrested!
Our first excursion was to Newport, Rhode Island, which was
a couple of hours drive away. Hartford,
itself, has a long and interesting history but I will leave that for you to
explore yourself.
The New England coast is one of the prettiest in the world,
and so unspoilt, despite mass tourism during the U.S. summer months: New England, old charm, unique. Newport, Rhode Island, is famous for its
Newport mansions where the rich and famous had fabulous mansions [‘cottages’],
for summer vacations, along the cliff walk which is gorgeous [during ‘the ‘Gilded
Age’]. ‘The Breakers’ is the most famous
mansion [built for the Vanderbilts], but unfortunately it was closed for ‘CBS
News’ when we were there, so we couldn’t explore. Never did quite figure out what CBS News was
doing there. However, walking around the
mansions, in their magnificent locale was satisfying in itself. When open, one can take a paying tour around
the mansions.
We found a wonderful lunch-stop: The White Horse Inn (circa 1673) – the oldest
tavern in America – recommended by the local dentist!: great food, great atmosphere and not at all
expensive. Photo below.
Our second excursion took us for a 2 night stay at Bar
Harbor, Maine. This was a much longer
drive but so worth the trip. We stayed
at the wonderful Bar Harbor Manor Hotel [photo below], which has become one of my most favourite
hotels ever. I couldn’t stop taking photographs. It is centrally located, and has a quaint
smoking area outside the rooms but within the complex. It’s a very short walk down to the water’s
edge, and we experienced a magnificent sunset over the harbour one evening.
Bar Harbor is home to Cadillac Mountain, the highest
point within 25 miles of the Eastern coastline.
It apparently is the first area that one can view the sunrise in
America. Cadillac Mountain is set within
Acadia National Park, on Mount Desert Island, which has one of the most unique
rock formations I have ever seen.
Cruise
ships dock in the harbour from May through October, with most arriving in
September. Bar Harbor is rich in history. By 1880 it was already a tourist destination
and the summer vacation home to many wealthy, famous Americans like the
Rockefellers.
We dined [and lunched, we liked so much!] at The Thirsty
Whale bar and restaurant, where I experienced my first clam chowder –
delicious! We revisited the Acadia
National Park, which has many beautiful sights such as Sand Beach [where the
movie ‘The Cider House Rules’ with Michael Caine, was partially filmed’. A walk around the park takes about an hour,
but a slow hike takes around 3 hours. Below is Sand Beach which is part of the national park.
One evening, I was privileged to be invited to a lobster
dinner party at a close relative’s home of one of my buddies. This was an amazing experience, with our
hosts who were warm and friendly, and took us on a brief tour of North East
Harbor, a truly beautiful spot. New
England homes are so quaint and beautiful and I have often thoughts of
converting my bleak apartment to New England style but it wouldn’t look so
great in grey London! One needs the special
light that the New England coast offers to make it look really good.
This was another first, as I have never had Maine lobster
before and a kind dinner companion helped me figure out how to eat it! It was really delicious, although rich and
filling, and followed by homemade blueberry/raspberry pie with ice cream which
was also lovely. I rolled out into the
car afterwards I was so full!
My buddy and I walked off our large meal by taking a walk
along the Bar Harbor coastline [and stopped for a bit of shopping on the way].
I am so enamoured by New England, that one day I hope to
return, perhaps next year. I have
visited Boston twice before, but next time I want to fly into Boston and go to
Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Salem.
Why? You will have google these
places to see the attractions. I grew up
reading books that included references to these places and our recent
itinerary, so this whole trip was a dream come true.
As the travel quote at the top of the page says: ‘Life is not meant to be lived in one place’!
Thanks to my buddies and their
relatives for a ‘top trip’, and to the people of Maine! I travelled in May, so it was a bit cool and
windy in Connecticut but by the time we got to Maine, the clothes layers were
shed as it warmed up.
The flight back from Hartford to Newark was trouble-free,
and only took about 10 minutes to get through security. I was a bit worried about the connection to
JFK International Airport, but managed to get booked on a direct bus shuttle
transfer to JFK for 31 dollars, without having to change buses. It was a bit ‘up close and personal’ and
extremely hot, but only took 45 minutes so was very smooth and quick.
After spending some time airside at the bar, the trip back
to London also went smoothly. Now I am
home, and am reminiscing with great memories and fabulous photos. Happy Travels!
No comments:
Post a Comment