Day 15 of the road trip.

• After breakfast, packed our bags and headed out from Plymouth. There was light rain. Our first destination was a house known as "The Breakers" at Newport, once owned by the Vanderbilt family.
• Magnificent house - something like 70 rooms, 23 bathrooms. This house was only used for the summer period of about 6-8 weeks by the Vanderbilt family. They had 20 servants inside and about 20 outside. Beautiful rooms - much of the decor and materials imported - French and Italian themes. There was also a playhouse for the children. The grandchildren used to ride their tricycles in the main room where parties were also held. The children also used trays to slide down the magnificent staircase - normal kids!
  
• Bought a few postcards and souvenirs.
  
• Left there and drove around the Ocean Road, beautiful views of the Atlantic and some absolutely magnificent houses - some of these are also open to the public.
  
• Rain kept falling, but we managed some photographs. Visited an old fort - Fort Adams.
  
• Left Newport and headed north - not via the Newport (Pell) Bridge or Jamestown Verrazano Bridge - too long and too high! Went back through Fall River and the outskirts of Providence - amazing system of roads to get us around Providence.
• Headed north west on 146 and before turning west on 90  just south of Worcester (near a town called Sutton) stopped in at Purgatory Chasm State Reservation.  Not raining at this time, so went for a walk down the chasm - rocky creek bed. There was a group of school children there too.
• Somewhere along the road we saw a Tim Horton's and had our chilli and bagel meal - still good, great in the cold weather we had today.  The rain has stopped (probably stopped for the Red Sox game tonight).
• Drove west on the 90 to Springfield and then south to our hotel at East Windsor. Nice room, king size bed.
• Went down to bar for a drink - had Long Trail, a Vermont dark ale. Very tasty and very very cold.
  
• Dinner - at the bar -  We shared the appetiser of 4 potato skins - almost half a potato in each, with cheese and bacon - nice. John's main course was meat loaf, baked whole potato, gravy and corn. He said it was very tasty.  Mine was a steak, with mashed potato, peas, and a gravy with onions and peppers (capsicum). Very tasty, steak well cooked (medium). We had a few of the beers, watched some TV and then back to our room.
  
• Long day of driving tomorrow through the Catskills.
  

Day 14 of the road trip.

• Had a well deserved sleep in. Went down to breakfast and had usual bagel, waffle, coffee and juice.
• Left motel late for us - about 10am - heading to Marlboro to look for a cross stitch shop I had found in the phone book.
• Before we left Plymouth went looking for a sewing shop, called Sewing Creative Treasures at 170 Water Street, Plymouth. I  purchased the lobster material I had been looking for since our trip through Maine. Purchased the white background with red lobsters, and black background with red lobsters, lighthouses, a panel with farm buildings etc and maps of Vermont & other nearby states; and a larger panel, blue colours, with a lighthouse on one side & a beach house on other; polar bear/Coca Cola material and maple leaf earrings (real maple leaves). 
• Short drive through the pretty country and arrived in Middleboro directed expertly by our gps system. The shop is called  Cranberry Cross Stitch at 88 East Grove Street, Middleboro, MA.
• Wonderful shop - full of cross stiches kits and patterns, and a dog behind the counter named Sammie, who protested by barking at our presence. We spent quite some time going through all the patterns etc - purchased "Witches Riding By"; a mini block with alphabet (America) & khaki (sage green) material;  "Charmed Bewitching Hour" (Halloween theme);; and "The Giving Sisters" (two witches over a cauldron - Halloween theme again);  and two or three packets of buttons with themes of flags, Halloween etc. The lovely owner threw in two free patterns and a biro.
  
• Amazingly, next door was a delightful patchwork shop full of women talking and laughing and doing their patchwork quilts.  Most of them were working on their quilts during class time. Another lengthier period of time and we came away with a pattern for "Quilter's Wash Day"; "Crack the Whip" (penquins skating); a book on Boston Common Quilt and a book on An Amish Quilt in a Day. Also purchased was a panel of Martha's Vineyard material, panel of dogs & cats, and another dog panel, some spider web material with dark background and gold threads; and American flags on a dark cream background - this lovely owner threw in a fat quarter of canberry pattern. Much talk and discussions - the women showing us their quilts in progress - the owner is going to send me the pattern for one done in class that looks like looking through window frames. One lady is planning a quilt to send to Steve Irwin's family in Queensland - it will take about a year to complete. One or two of these women had friends or relatives who had visited Australia.
  
• Left there and headed to Edaville Railroad for John to check out trains and for me to learn more about cranberries - but unfortunately it was closed until their Christmas show starts in November.
  
• We  left there heading back towards the Myles Standish State Park. We noticed off the road that there were men working in a flooded cranberry patch - not yet harvesting but stirring up the bottom and the cranberries floated to the surface. Very interesting.
  
• Came back to Plymouth and visited the the Cranberry shop down in Water Street - lots of lovely items, and some cranberry related - cranberry chocolate, and hand lotion etc. 
  
• late lunch at the Pilgrim Path Cafe - We both started with cup of turkey stew; John had French toast with blueberries, strawberries and banana and maple syrup. I had "breakfast" - two eggs blanched (poached), ham, home fried potato and toast - all good.
• We drove around Plymouth to see some of the sights we had missed - the Monument to the Forefathers; the old church etc. We managed to collect a parking ticket for parking in the middle of the street - we thought it was one-way and there was a sign on the right hand saying no parking, but not on the left. The lovely lady was very apologetic but we now have $20.00 photos of that old church.
  
• Dinner was going to be Chinese but after being seated and reading the menu - ham and pineapple in most of the Chinese, Polynesian, Cantonese, Szechuan we left  - wasted the $1.00 parking we had paid - parking is paid up until 7pm at night.
• Next stop was TBone bar in the main street where we had eaten before. The steaks and beer went down well  Then home to watch the Red Sox play Colorado - Red Sox won 13-1.
  
• Tomorrow we have to pack up and leave after four lovely days in Plymouth. 

Day 13 of the road trip.

• Went to Boston by train, leaving the car at the Kingston Railway Station. An hour on the train for $US7.75 each. Not crowded; comfortable seats in the upstairs section of a double-decker carriage. Train was pushed by a diesel-electric locomotive (can't turn around or run around at the end of the Old Colony line), driven from the end of the lead carriage.
• Walked from South Station to the Boston Commons, where we got on a trolley tour of Boston. Got off at Quincy Markets / Faneuil Hall.
  
• Had lunch at the Quincy Markets - bread bowl of clam chowder.
• We then got back on the bus and went to Stop 4, where we walked along the Freedom Trail back to Quincy Markets.
• Had a canoli (dry) and a Boston cream pie (OK).
• Walked back to South Station and caught the 4:05pm train back to Kingston.
• Ate at Mamma Mia Restaurant. Both had a cup of Italian Wedding soup and the seafood in marinara sauce (really a passata sauce) over ziti - lots of seafood (haddock, shrimp, and clams). Drank a Coors Lite Draught, then Judy had a Trinchero Cab Sauv, and I had a Trinchero Merlot.

Day 12 of the road trip.

• Went to Cape Cod today. Drive down the slow way through all the small towns on the north coast of the cape, then to Provincetown, then to Race Point (park visitor centre), then back to Marconi Beach, Hyannis and Hyannis Port, and then back to Plymouth.
• Ate at Sam Diego's. Judy had a Rib & Wing entree and a cup of Hamburger soup. I had a 1/2 rack of BBQ pork ribs and sweet potato fries. Very good meal. Drank beer.

Day 11 of the road trip.

• From Augusta, Maine to  Plymouth, Massachusetts, going straight through the freeway and tunnel system in Boston. That was great fun, especially when we lost the GPS signal in the middle of one of the tunnels. Took a wrong exit but was able to correct it very quickly, thank goodness! That road system is incredible.
• Best Western Cold Spring Motel in Plymouth is great! We have decided to stay here and use it as a base for a few days.
• Did our washing.
• Ate in T-Bones, a bar-grill in the main street. I had a burger (huge meal again), and Judy had a bucket of prawns (shrimp). Drank a large tankard of Sam Adams Winter Ale each.
  

Day 10 of the road trip.

• From Waterville, Maine, to Bar Harbor and the Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine, and then back to Augusta.
• Bar Harbour is a beautiful, small waterside town with lots of eating places and touristy shops. The harbour is sheltered by lots of cliffed islands.
• Ate a lobster for lunch - hot boiled lobster + bread + drawn butter + green salad + side of coleslaw + chips for $US19.95. Judy had the same basic lunch, but she had soup and different sides.
• The drive around the island was very, very slow, but the views were great. Then the drive to Augusta was through yet more great autumn colour.
• Staying at the Best Western Senator Inn  & Spa.
  
• Ate in the motel restaurant. Comfortable booth in the 60s style. Judy had crab cakes, a cup of lobster stew, and the apple pot pie with cheddar rust. I had a bowl of seafood chowder, with the usual bread. We had a pint of Shipyard Ale each to wash it all down.

Day 9 of the road trip.

• Drove to Waterville in Maine. Not a tourist place, but a good place to stop for the night. Motel was next to a shopping centre, so we went over to get a few things. Met a guy running a wine tasting, one of which was an Australian shiraz (not one of the best).
• Ate in the motel restaurant.
  

Day 8 of the road trip.

• Met a friend for breakfast at Dunn's Deli.
• Drove to Lake George Village at the southern end of Lake George in the eastern Adirondacks.
• Went over a very high bridge with a bend in it across the St Lawrence River. Knees had just got back to normal when there was a second very high bridge, but at least it was straight this time! Now back in the USA.
• The Adirondacks are a hilly/mountainous are of forest - very pretty. Lake George would be a beautiful place on a sunny day - must be very crowded in the summer months.
  
• Ate in a bar/restaurant on the main street.
  
• Another place that is almost all closed up for the winter. Only 1 of the cruise boats was running.
  

Day 7 of the road trip.

• Drove from Gananoque to Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Arrived at about lunchtime. Went to the Byward Blue Inn, our sleeping place for the night. 6-storey 2-3 star hotel behind the Byward Market area, with free overnight parking underneath. Great location.
• Walked all afternoon - park overlooking the Ottawa River and the start/end of the Rideau Canal, Parliament Hill, shopping area, Confederation Park, Rideau Canal, Rideau Centre, and the Byward Markets area.
• Ate in a Chinese restaurant - Imperial Palais - very good food.
  

Day 6 of the road trip.

• Left Niagara and headed west to Toronto and then north-east along the shore of Lake Ontario. The traffic was horrendous - both in speed and "attitude". Speed limit = 100kph; my speed was up to  125kph just to keep out of the way of the trucks!! No GPS here, which made Judy's job much harder.
• Stopped for the night in Gananoque - Best Western again.
• Town is almost all closed up for the winter.
• Ate in a bar/restaurant on the main street.