A friend was kind enough to let me drop by on my way through southern Michigan, and we grabbed some smoothies, then I had to skip town and drive to Cleveland, where I caught my first EVER commercial plane ride. What I learned about flying - safety announcements sound sillier in person then in movies, you should pack your short legs if you picked the cheapest flight you could find, and pay extra for a window seat if you are flying for the first time.
My family picked me up in Boston, and the next morning we took a tour of the Freedom Trail through the company Lessons on Liberty, with our tour led by Mr. Michael Szkolka.. I definitely recommend that company over some of the larger ones because the tour had the goal of learning history rather than stirring up patriotic feelings. That afternoon, on our way to a campground on Cape Cod, we stopped at Plymouth Rock. Ok, that rock is just crazy. They have it in its own little rock monument building, and it is just so cheesy! I mean, guys, it's a rock. I really wanted to pull an Errol Flynn on it, but you couldn't even touch it! I guess in earlier days, the townspeople kept a hammer and chisel handy for souvenir seekers who dropped by.
The men of the U.S. Life Saving Service were incredible. That is what we learned the next day at Old Harbor Station, which should be a stop on anyone's trip to Cape Cod. Their motto was that you had to go out, but you didn't have to come back. The tour guide told us a story of a rescue the men accomplished where the 6 of them pulled 1200 lbs of equipment through the sand, into the teeth of a storm (the weather was too bad to take the horses out), over 2 miles to rescue a boat. They set up all their equipment, when the boat lurched another half mile, so they packed their stuff up, moved everything to the new site, rescued the sailors, and had everyone back in I don't remember how much time but it was really amazing. We think it was 3 hours.
While at the beach, we "swam", saw seal heads, and whale spouts, and read The Scarlet Pimpernel (not all of it, but D did finish reading the book to us on the trip). Also, went hiking in a spot that was spectacular and amazing and beautiful. Reminded (again) that I can't read hiking maps.
D (my sister) decided that since we were driving through Rhode Island and it was so small, we should do something memorable there. So in true family fashion, we ate food. Introducing --- The Classic Cafe. Yeah, I'll remember RI fondly.
New York played host for a small period of time. Summary - it has a large skyline, I would like to go back, and the froyo of Jersey City wasn't great. Got to see my friend from the Island on our way through Pennsylvania, which was much better than the sidetrip to Hershey, PA, although we did get a small bag of free candy there. And finally, we ended the trip at our grandparent's house and went to a barn dance.
I'd say it was a successful week. Also, I won't tell you who it was in The Scarlet Pimpernel! You'll just have to get your own sister to read it to you! Oh, and I started the book The Zookeepers Wife on the trip and I am excited to finish reading it.
S.PS. (sad postscript) - My friends Nina, Vasil, and Miro left the island to go back home to Bulgaria, but I have tentative plans to visit them next summer in their country!
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| My beautiful family |
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| Our beautiful hiking spot and lake |
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| The Classic Cafe |
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| Post Card in the Big Apple! |
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| Ground Zero Memorial |
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| Ha,ha! Our Jersey City campsite. That is turf. You can see the Statue of Liberty from the parking lot. There was a construction site for a parking garage next door. Good times with family! $83 |
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| Very confused on the subway. Well, not really. Well, kinda. "Don't worry, sir. We do this every day." |
