Saturday, October 16, 2010

Travels with Gary #8 - Home Again

My cup was full. It wouldn't hold one more quaint town, steeple topped church, or charming cottage. Newfane, Vermont and Deerfield, Massachusetts were wasted on me. I was completely satisfied with our journey, but overwhelmed and ready to go home.

My mood was not improved when Gary joked about a possible strip search at the airport because the hotel clerk who tried to print out our boarding passes, checked "Yes" by mistake when asked if we were carrying knives. I convinced him to allow a little extra time just in case we had problems with the airline attendant or the TSA.

The fastest route into Boston appeared to be Interstate 90 which turned out to be the Mass Pike (Massachusetts Turnpike). Trains of cars and trucks whizzed past us going 85 mph in a 65 mph zone. The road surface was in poor condition and the narrow lanes were cramped. When we stopped at the last service plaza before Boston to get gas and use the restrooms, we were met with a line of pumps that could accommodate at least 20 cars at a time. The fast food and mega convenience store inside was crammed with every kind of tourist kitsch imaginable. Our white knuckle drive through the multi billion dollar tunnel under Boston required sharp eyes and quick reflexes to exit at the appropriate spot. What a striking contrast to our leisurely drive through some of the most peaceful and beautiful landscapes in America.

As it turned out, there were no problems at the airport and our flight home was uneventful. Over the past few days we have had to adjust our internal clocks to Pacific time. One morning we were both up by 3 AM.

Our trip to New England was perfect in every way. Yes, it is just as charming and beautiful as it appears in the photographs and I hope everyone has an opportunity to experience the loveliness some time in their life.
Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

2 comments:

  1. What a lovely journey - thankyou so much for sharing it. I feel as if I travelled with you, saw these lovely villages. And I know one day I must go to Vermont and New England. In autumn, maybe, though I really prefer to be "far from the madding crowd". The Emerson quote is one of my favourites. For a long time I had it on my refigerator.

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  2. It's so cool you got to take the journey you'd been thinking of for so long, not to mention finding your roots there. Your photos are stunning, and I could almost feel myself slipping out of a rainy Boston eve into a local pub, walking down brick-lined streets in Portland, or hearing the wind at Cadillac Mountain.

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