On the East Coast

We left New York and traveled through Vermont and New Hampshire and ended up in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.  Old Orchard Beach is a very busy place since it is so close to the Boston area.  We spent 3 days there visiting the beach and Portland, Maine. 

The lighthouse is the Cape Elizabeth Light, the oldest lighthouse in Maine.  The ship is one of the tall ships that were due to come into Portland the day we left for Banger/Bar Harbor.  It was in port the day we visited Portland and this in the only shot I was able to get of it.
Next we moved to a FamCamp at Great Pond, Maine about 180 miles north of Old Orchard Beach.  We were deep in the woods back a very rough road...no cell, no internet, no Direct TV.  We were suppose to stay 3 days, but when rain was forecast for the 3rd day, we left early.  While there we visited Bar Harbor.  I didn't get pictures since it was very overcast with some fog.  We did enjoy our day there running in and out of shops.

Monday we moved to Hanscon AFB FamCamp just outside of Lexington, MA.  Yesterday we made a trip into Boston via subway system and took a trolley tour of Boston.  The only thing I have to say about Boston is NEVER AGAIN!  We told a couple of people here in the Lexington area that we went to Boston and they said , "sorry"!  I thought we would get to see the historical sites....they are there, but getting to them via trolley is not easy....also with some many sky scrapers you can't see most of them until you are on top of them.  Learning experience.  I have decided I don't want to see Philadelphia.  Nerveless, here are the pictures I was able to get.

 This is the USS Constitution,  Old Ironsides.  It is in dry dock, so we didn't get a chance to go on board.

Bunker Hill...  The battle of Bunker Hill was fought here in June 17, 1775.  The colonists lost the battle, but at a big loss to the British.  The colonists were far out numbered but took half the number of casualties

The Old State House, built in 1713, and one of the oldest public buildings in the US.  On March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre occurred in the front of the building, and on July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed from the balcony on the other end of the building.

The round circle is where the Boston Massacre occurred.

Of course,  we had to stop for lunch....at Cheers, where everyone knows your name...but they didn't!

Today we visited Lexington and took another trolley tour of the historic Battle Road.  The famous midnight ride of Paul Revere, the first shots of the Revelution on the Lexington Battle Green and  The shot heard around the world at the North Bridge.  As a history buff, Ed and I enjoyed this tour very much.

Lexington Green and the spot where the first shots were fired.

The Minute Man statue in Lexington and the Buckman Tavern in the background where the Lexington militia gathered the night before the battle.

The North Bridge, not far from Concord where the colonists turned the British back...The Shot heard around the world. 

Tomorrow we move south to the Plymouth, MA area.





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Taking a ride down the Erie Canal

^{We decided to take a drive to Locksport, NY to ride through the locks on the Erie Canal.  When we got there about 10:15am, we were told that the next trip was full and we would have to wait until 3pm.  Ed didn't want to wait that long and we were checking out the gift shop and getting ready to leave when the Boat's owner and captain told the clerk that we could get space on the next cruise at 11am with a big group of bicyclist who were on a "Cycle the Erie Canal" ride (400 miles in 8 days).  We bought our tickets and headed out to wait while we watched the very large number of cyclist come into the area.  We got to talking with a few of them and were told that they number about 600, all ages, mostly 50+ from all over the US. They were the reason the 12:30 cruise was booked.}

The End.


The Erie Canal is a canal in New York that originally ran about 363 miles (584 km) from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie. Built to create a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, the canal helped New York eclipse Philadelphia as the largest city and port^[1][2] on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The canal is now part of the New York State Canal System.
First proposed in 1807, its construction began in 1817. The canal contains 36 locks and a total elevation differential of about 565 feet (172 m). It opened on October 26, 1825.^[2]
In a time when bulk goods were limited to pack animals (an eighth-ton [250 pounds (113 kg)] maximum^[3]), and there were no steamships or railways, water was the most cost-effective way to ship bulk goods. The canal was the first transportation system between the eastern seaboard (New York City) and the western interior (Great Lakes) of the United States that did not require portage. It was faster than carts pulled by draft animals, and cut transport costs by about 95%.^{[citation needed]} The canal fostered a population surge in western New York, opened regions farther west to settlement, and helped New York City become the chief port in the United States. It was enlarged between 1834 and 1862. In 1918, the western part of the canal was enlarged to become part of the New York State Barge Canal, which ran parallel to the eastern half and extended to the Hudson.
Today, the Erie Canal is the cross-state east-west route of the New York State Canal System (formerly known as the New York State Barge Canal). In 2000, the United States Congress designated the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor^[4] to recognize the national significance of the canal system as the most successful and influential human-built waterway and one of the most important works of civil engineering and construction in North America.^[4] Mainly used by recreational watercraft since the retirement of the last large commercial ship (rather than boat), the Day Peckinpaugh in 1994, the canal has recently seen a recovery in commercial traffic.^[5]

Niagara Falls

After visiting family and getting some work done on the RV, we finally left Ohio and headed east.  Our first stop is at Niagara Falls, NY.  Lots of history and of course the fantastic falls.  Yesterday we took  the Maid of the Mist American Adventure Tour.  We saw Whirlpool State Park, the American, Horseshoe and Bridal Veil Falls, Lower Rapids, Goat Island, Prospect Point and Terrapin Point.  Here are the pictures.  All I can say is WOW.

Our first view of the falls and the long lines to get on board the Maid of the Mist.

Up close to Horseshoe Falls at Prospect Point.

This is Terrapin Point.  You take an elevator down and stand right next to the falls.  The next several pictures were taken here.

I didn't take any pictures while on the Maid of the Mist boat as we went right up to Horseshoe Falls...I was too busy getting very wet.

Life is Good.