Sunday, 25 September.  Hot, then very wet for 45 minutes.

The traffic was horrible until Little Rock.  90% of the trucks then headed south to Texas.  Much better.

Again, I skipped all tourist stops.  An amazing number of bikers on the road.  Many on trailers.  Thinking there’s an event somewhere.  How they can safely drive with just glasses on in a driving rainstorm is a question.  Well, I guess the point is that they can’t do it safely, but drive anyway.

Oklahoma City is very impressive.  A great highway through town.

About 600 miles.  It’s not ironbutt territory, but for me it’s a lot.

Saturday, 24 September.  Hot again.  I’ve posted pictures from the prior two days.  Getting caught up.

Two days ago: Gettysburg was extremely detailed.  The movie, narrated by Morgan Freeman was a little too dramatic, but still excellent.  The Cyclorama, painted in the 1880s, was incredible.  Museum covered far more than just the battle.  The bus tour, conducted by a animated guide, was worthwhile.  The number of monuments, many with commentary, are intimidating.  I’d like to read each one.

Antietam was not nearly as well presented.  It fails in comparison.  Moreover, it’s described without fully showing the scope of the battle.  Bloodiest day in American history, yet they seem to describe three skirmishes.  Maybe it was just me.

Yesterday: The Skyline Drive is indeed beautiful.  One should take it slow and easy.  I was pressed for time, which is the absolute worst way to drive it.

Today: I just drove.  Gorgeous sunrise behind me.  There are a lot of things to stop for in Tennessee, but I ignored them.  Andrew Johnson’s home, Andrew Jackson’s home, Nashville, Shiloh, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, etc.  The road was less crazy than yesterday, though the trucks were just as bad.  I have never seen so many 18 wheelers wander outside their lines.  I feared that many drivers were dozing off.  I began to speed up as I went by to minimize the risk.  Massive jam on the eastbound.  Tennessee football attracts fans from a great distance.  Anyway, I drove until the heat started getting to me.  Tomorrow promises to be cooler, though maybe wetter too.  We’ll see.

People like to pose for pictures next to Lincoln. It’s just me, but I think that’s a little wrong.

The actual props in front of the painting is an excellent idea.

The man is dramatic.

Note the Maltese cross, symbol used by the 20th Maine Regiment, famous for their charge on Little Round Top.

Contribute money by state. California was well represented, considering distances.

Skyline Drive.

Friday, 23 September. Hot.

Skyline Drive was beautiful, but also slow. Not feeling too well. Turned off to the I81 for speed. Full-on focus for home. Touring will be limited.

I81 is horrible! Like the I5. Stupid drivers, heavy traffic. First time in a long time I was afraid for my safety. Quit at three. Wytheville. Woodrow Wilson’s wife’s birthplace. Start tomorrow at sunrise. Another hot day forecast.

My mother ended her six year sailing log with “Still cold and miserable.”  I may end mine with the same sentiment, except “hot”.

Thursday, 23 September. Warm, sunny.

Excellent. No pictures. Just go.  Plan to spent day(s) at Gettysburg. Eisenhower’s home is there too.

Wednesday, 21 September.  Warm, sunny.  The setting sun is beginning to bother me each afternoon.  Clouds would be good, as long as the moisture stays in the sky.

Shelburne Falls, MA, and its Bridge of Flowers was a great surprise.  I was actually just looking for a post office.  See the pictures.  It began as a trolley bridge then fell into disuse.  After a while, some townspeople thought it would be nice to cover the eyesore with flowers.  Works.

It took 3 hours to go 100 miles.  Got a bit lost finding a gas station, but mostly local roads are a big pain.  Massachusetts has a very irritating concept of speed limits.  50, then 45, then 55, then back to 45, etc.  Some cars seem to just go 45 all the time.  The evidence that they’re messed up was at the New York border.  From 40 to 55 with no change in roadway.

Drove down the Taconic State Parkway, which parallels the Hudson River on the east side.  Doesn’t allow trucks or trailers, so it’s nicer (though slower) than the Thruway on the west side. I was planning to visit West Point, but time was running out and I didn’t want to rush it.  Realized that Hyde Park was on the way, so I decided to visit a house of one president rather than a campus with thousands of cadets.  A rally of Model A Fords was there.  The Library/Museum had a special exhibit detailing the White House’s 36 hours following the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Very interesting.  I could have stayed all day.

A quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, shown below, stopped me short.  See its caption.  My Grand Adventure has had many thoughtful twists and turns.  This one might be the oddest.

Not too many stops, but I traveled 320 miles and almost reached my day’s goal.  Tomorrow is a designed short day, then I decide which latitude to travel at.  Depends on temperature.  I’m hopefully going to take I40 and try to get on a few old stretches of Route 66.

Bridge of Flowers. It is really beautiful. The town had some interesting shops. Wanted to stay longer.

Odd roadside sculpture.

Odder roadside store.

Nice memorial to a senator/governor in an otherwise empty park.

I don’t understand the quote.

Model A Fords. This is just a few. There might have been more than 30 of them.

“Yesterday” was December 8th, 1942. On the evening of December 7th, 1942, “I had an hour’s visit with nine honor juniors of Colgate University. I found them an extremely nice group of young boys.” My father was one of them.

Tuesday, 20 September.  Warm to hot, clear skies.

A lot of touring; not much mileage.  Local roads out west mean 70 MPH and no towns.  Here it’s 45 MPH and lots of towns.

Old Orchard Beach is your typical resort town that caters to the blue collar crowd.  Lots of it is closed for the season.  (If I saw a “Closed for the season” sign in San Diego, I’d assume that the store was permanently closed.)  They had just had a biker weekend, so the bars had “No group colors” signs.  I don’t think my Honda Gold Wing jacket applied.  It was interesting to walk around only because it seemed to be a throwback era.  If I’d been there in season I’d have kept driving.

Saco, ME, is one of those towns that clearly is led by long term inspired management.  Well laid out, nice government offices, historical markers, and a museum.  And what a museum!  I toured just one of three floors.  It’s not just local history.  An excellent place that doesn’t shy away from the darker histories.  The radical locals (with a KKK chapter) were mostly focused on keeping out the French-Canadians and Roman Catholics.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Rode behind a truck carrying manure for about 15 miles on a country road.  Ah, the sweet smell of nature!

The State House in Concord isn’t nearly as pretty as Vermont’s, but the interior is much more museum-like.  The lobby has a display of battle flags from over a hundred New Hampshire military units, ranging from revolutionary times to WWII.  Many portraits with detailed histories.  The gift store has an impressive collection of campaign memorabilia: the welcomer proudly pointed out that every candidate must visit the State House to register for the primary.

Gilsum, NH, is my paternal grandmother’s hometown.  Never been there before.  I visited both her grave (with the graves of more distant relatives) and the town.  It’s literally a one stop sign town (a “T” intersection).  The general store predates my grandmother. While standing outside that store I recalled To Kill a Mockingbird, alluding to being able to understand people better when you stand on their porch.  I never met my grandmother, but at that moment I felt a connection.  Maudlin I know, but there it is.

I only drove a little over 200 miles, but I saw an awfully lot of America.

Old Orchard Beach, complete with cheap looking amusement park, pier, and candy store.

Saco, ME.

Origin of “grandfather’s clock”?

A contract to become an indentured servant. Note the “Shall not commit Fornication, nor contract Matrimony”!

I was taking a picture of the marker when I noticed the library sign. Scary! I do not know what it’s referencing.

Concord State House.

The stare of authority.

The State House gift store.

My grandmother. To get the lettering to stand out, I sprayed it with white foam from a can of windshield cleaner, then wiped off the excess.

I was intrigued by the heading first, then the languages.

Monday, 19 September.  Drizzle.

Rested in Place.  Visited L.L. Bean.  Very cool store.  Friendly.  Lots of non-store features, such as a huge fish tank.  Not as big as a Bass Brothers store, but more pleasant.  They sell furniture!

Cold River Distillery.  Barrel aged vodka.  Maine Beer Company.  Monster pretzels.  McDonalds like no other.

Joshua Chamberlain.  Maine’s George Washington.  “Soldier, Statesman, Scholar”.  Museum closed on Mondays.

Travel resumes tomorrow.  Don’t know if it’ll be focused on history or nature.

Bean got it’s start by making boots.

This is a McDonalds. Really. Freeport has some rigid rules.

A bench I found. Touching.

An important figure during Gettysburg.

Sunday, 18 September.  Cloudy, no rain.  Staying with cousin.

Maine Maritime Museum.  Massive.  Extremely well documented displays. It’s mostly about the local shipbuilding history, but that was a huge part of Maine’s history.  Highly recommended.  Nice lobster exhibit.

Had the absolutely best lobster meat I’ve ever had.  Can never be improved, only equaled.  Picked out of the sea 15 minutes before cooking.  Microwaved for seven minutes.  It’s what omnivores do.

Rest of the day reminiscing with cousin.

Maine Maritime Museum. The metal sculpture describes the actual dimensions of the schooner Wyoming, largest wooden schooner ever built.

The second of three very high tech destroyers being built in Bath. $2.5 Billion for this ship.

Before and after pictures. Microwaved. PETA, avert your eyes.

Saturday, 17 September.  Nice weather.

Very long day on highways.  Threat of rain tomorrow, so I hustled down further than planned.  Staying at a cousin’s “mansion” on the water near Portland.

Saw a tidal bore in Moncton, CA.  Incredible.  Agains the laws of nature to see a wavefront coming up the river.  Turbulent water followed.

Worlds largest axe.  The things towns do for notoriety.

580 miles!!  Never more than 10% above the speed limit.

Tidal bore. The river flows left to right. The bore goes upriver. About 5 MPH. Video is better. Look on youtube.

Some leaves are changing color.

Woodstock, Canada.

Friday, 16 September.  Warmer.

Drove through Charlottetown.  The first discussions to create a Canadian Confederation were here 1864, which is a common informational point throughout the town.  A lot of late night partying was involved by all accounts.  (PEI in fact didn’t join the Confederation for six years.  Railroad debt pushed them into it.)  The State House is under renovation.  It’s not a very impressive building, having used imported stones rather the island’s sandstone.  Nearby church is much more handsome (No picture! go figure).  Lots of parks.  Cows Ice Cream shop.  Nice shops, but not too many of them.  The population is only 32,000, which is a quarter of the island’s total.  Real estate is cheap, from a California perspective.

Drive to the ferry was okay.  Once again my $#^%* GPS tried to get me to drive down a gravel road.  Ferry boat (“Confederation”) is huge.  It had pictures of an earlier, much smaller ferry that I believe I was on circa 1963? Motorcycles get on first, off first.  In Truro tonight.  Had perhaps the worst smoked ribs of my life.  Well done, glued to the bone, and spicy hot. Not a good memory of Truro.  But they had a Coors sponsored celebration last night. Best One Horse Town.  Won by number of votes cast.  Hotel host theorizes that the townspeople have nothing else to do but click on a web site.

For days I’ve been struggling with some kind of itinerary to visit Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and maybe Newfoundland.  Concerns are that hotels are expensive, rain is forecast, and I should probably get new tires.  But I’m here, so why not push myself?  The decider arrived last night when I woke up with “Just go home” repeating itself in my head.  So home I’m headed.  Prince Edward Island was always my final destination, so this is not defeat.  “This far and no farther.”

1976. Only other US vehicle I saw on the island. I’ve disliked VW buses for a long time, mostly for their lawn mower engines. But this one had some modifications. Had some pep.

Twenty minutes to offload! A calvary of motorcycles. Thought of the scene from Jaws.

Nice view on departure.