Albany

We spent the morning of our second day in Albany, New York’s capital. A sad foggy morning that was. And obviously, like anywhere else, the bad weather in Albany meant that there would be no people on the streets, and that we would end up with worse-than-desirable pictures. So maybe it was a positive thing after all that very little in town actually caught our eye.

One item we always try to deposit in our photographic account when in a state capital is a picture of the Capitol building; and New York has a huge one.

Then there was an egg, monstrous both in the matter of size and aesthetics.

The more ordinary architecture and monuments followed.

A long day still awaited us, and we pushed on to Syracuse, planning to skirt around some of the finger lakes in the northern part of the state first. (As with most of the New York’s frequented resorts, the advertised scenery of the North Country and Adirondacks seemed totally overrated.)

Syracuse

A small town in the Upstate New York, Syracuse can boast very few attractions apart from the lovely campus of Syracuse State University. The university buildings actually have a much more antiquey stature and grandeur than most of the Ivy League schools we have seen so far. And the establishment is not much younger either.

While there were hardly any nerds students on campus, a bunch of lazybones them gathered around downtown shops and restaurants, just a couple of blocks away.

While the little guy snuffled, deeply immersed in his daytime nap, my wife and I shared a hot chicken burrito. Once finished, full and rested we all moved on to the next stop, the Museum of International Masks and Puppets. To our immense frustration, the museum was both in repair and closed.

Optimistic still, we prepared ourselves to another good stretch of road and left for Rochester.

Rochester

In such a far-famed place as Rochester I was surely hoping to replenish the camera memory with dozens of interesting shots. The university, High Falls, and closeness to Lake Ontario I believed would make together for an exciting excursion. Only Rochester turned out a far more middling site than I was rushing to find. Bad luck again.

Niagara Falls

However many vexatious gaps we were fated to have in our never-ceasing itinerary, we were nonetheless nearing the pearl of our journey, and we could not afford stubbing ourselves in the toe on that one. Niagara Falls had long been among the tops of my pretentious travel wish-list. And, after six or so years of sitting still, it was probably time to cross it out.

As one would find to be the case with all vehicle-accessible world-famous attractions, the place was overcrowded. What came as surprise was that most visitors were Indian. Well, that is, 90 percent were foreigners, and 90 percent out of those were Indians, which still makes the “most.” In fact, it appeared as if Niagara Falls were the second spot on Earth most densely congested by Indians; the first would be India of course. For a moment I even thought that what I was seeing was some sort of religious pilgrimage required for all Hindu people, similarly how Muslims flow to Mecca; but I guess that Taj Mahal should already serve the purpose pretty well.

Even late at night the crowds just would not thin out, and taking a decent photograph was next to impossible. Oh, and while the rain hardly affected the thick of tourists, it did affect my photography potential quite a lot. Protecting the lens from splatters of water I was at the same trying to sustain a long-enough exposure in order to get any kind of luminance in the pictures. To make matters worse, after dark I no longer had any reference points for auto-focus to catch on, and was forced to do adjustments by hand. To conclude my excuse for lousy photographs, please indulge in picturing me holding an umbrella in one hand, mounting a tripod with another hand, covering the camera lens and setting the focus with my second pair of hands, and finally pressing the shutter button with my remaining fifth hand. Enough said; here are the pics.

Buffalo

Although, if you are a traveler, the primary reason for going to Buffalo is probably to see Niagara Falls, the town is actually not half-bad. My only reservation is that the campus of Buffalo University is rather disappointing; I could barely find anything to photograph, let alone scenic corners.

As for the rest of Buffalo, those were, give or take, some of the nicest city blocks that we had seen in the Northeastern U.S.

Since we were heading home the same day and still had another place left, we compelled ourselves to get up early, see Buffalo, and shrug off a good chunk of our commute before our son was awake. (The intent was to also to save more time for evening relaxation and loosening up before we had to hit the bed and confront our duties the following morning.) And that is why the streets of Buffalo look so deserted on the pictures.

Ithaca

Our entire return was darkened by constant rain, and, unfortunately, it was in such conditions that we explored Taughannock Falls and Cornell University in Ithaca.

Cornell University is an Ivy League school and one of the best universities in the world. And, perhaps, accounting for the Cornell’s academic success (despite its remote and isolate location) is the extreme abundance of wineries in the adjacent lands. Practically every quarter of a mile we saw a new winery sign.

Speculations aside, the campus of Cornell University was actually pretty spacious and well-maintained. Vast open lawns harmonized with austere old buildings, and the dreariness of the weather intensified that stern English look to an even greater extent.

Although not terribly heavy, the rain just would not give in, and shortly we opted for wrapping up our stroll and heading home.

While the car rushed our weary bodies back to Downingtown, our minds reflected on the natural and man-made amenities of the great state of New York. At times ordinary, at times odd, New York is nonetheless a state of great diversity and charming splendor.

Be it the seething life of southeast or peaceful mode of Upstate, New Yorkers are lucky to have the choice.

Below is the map of our travels through New York State.

We concluded it more practical to cover New York rather than New Jersey, for reasons of actually having enough time for such a large territory. However, a different realization was that it could easily take a few days to explore New York City alone; so, ultimately we just focused on the rest of the state and saved the City for later.

In what follows I describe our three-day trip through the state of New York, which comprised over 1,200 miles, almost two dozen destinations, and about 300 photographs. The volume of photographs has been reduced to a mere 80 since, but even such a number merits two individual posts. So I presented you herewith the first part.

Staten Island

We started our travel in a bright and colorful—that is, picture-wise—fashion, by visiting the Staten Island’s Snug Harbor botanical garden, across from Brooklyn. While the establishment lacked overall splendor and order, some of the “exhibits” turned out a rather appealing sight.

One small conservatory had a lively-colored piano stationed outside, and I amused my wife and son by playing a tune or two to the best of my abilities. We then continued our walk towards the oriental gardens and, having sweated a bit in the surprisingly humid air, returned to our car and got going.

Fort Wadsworth was an interesting next stop. For one thing, there was indeed a fort, or actually several installations making together a single fort ensemble. Another thing was the colossal bridge, connecting the Island with the mainland part of New York City.

Astoria

The single place that we saw in Astoria was exceptionally justified use of our time and money. That place was the charming Museum of Moving Image.

For a movie connoisseur or an admirer of particular film director’s work, this museum will surely be a pleasant discovery. With the great diversity of cinematographic artifacts, production trivia, and various items from shooting areas, the Museum of Moving Image could be a splendid addition to any tourist excursion planned around New York City.

The collection of exhibits is truly versatile: from clusters of animated lights that simulate silhouettes of walking people

to stands with original soundtrack vinyls

to posters advertising the best make-up brands of the era.

Certain exhibits make one realize how much design and elaboration precedes and accompanies the production of a successful movie. To illustrate the idea, here are various technical and artistic implementations from the The Silence of the Lambs movie; first two are capturing the floor plan of the prison where Lecter was kept, and the other two reflect the arrangement of the maniac’s dungeon basement, where his last victim was confined.

There were of course portraits of many legendary actors.

There were dozens of masks that had been worn in various popular movies (occasionally, with the factual connotation)

and even entire creatures that had been crafted for some of the best-known films.

However, the collection is not limited to the obvious classics (read: old movies). For instance, here is a neck-extending machine that was employed in the recent Black Swan movie (the head is supposed to be Portman’s).

On top of that, there were a great deal of playback gear, from the earliest film projectors

to kinescopes

to full-blown home entertainment centers :)

Certainly this variety was matched in the cinematographic equipment department. The models included anything from the early photo- and video-capturing devices

to sound recorders

to the more heavy-duty professional video cameras of the day.

Besides this exhibition, the museum offered a free movie viewing and a special display of Jim Henson’s creative work that encompasses most of the Muppet Show and Sesame Street toy characters. Unfortunately, the latter was a non-photographed session, so no pictures from there.

Roosevelt Island

For anyone wanting to capture a bit of high-rise majesty of Manhattan Island yet avoid the notorious traffic conditions of the City, grabbing a camera and setting one’s course to Roosevelt Island is a no-brainer. Quiet and blooming, Roosevelt Island offers over a mile of riverfront drive, much to the photographers’ delight.

After a few shots of the river-side Manhattan, we headed to Bronx, first swerving to Long Island and crossing the bay via Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.

West Point

Then we stroke a series of blunders. First, Wave Hill Cultural Center, Bronx, happened to be closed. Next, Bear Mountain State Park turned out to be a total disappointment. Finally, the West Point Military Academy did not permit visitors after 2 p.m. We did nonetheless take a few shots in and around West Point for completeness’ sake.

Poughkeepsie

On the way to Albany we halted for a good hour at the campus of Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, to have a quick snack, take pictures, look up a hotel, and call one of our dear friends to wish her happy birthday.

It got uncomfortably dark when we finally reached Catskill State Park, only to realize that the expected scenic byways were in fact busy highway with no scenery whatsoever. An hour later we arrived at our hotel, got settled in, and called it a day.

Providence

For a capital and the largest city, Providence looked actually quite deserted. But then, again, we realize how many times such phenomena had already occurred for us at other sites, so this was hardly a surprise. Besides, we were lucky enough to catch a nasty morning drizzle; and I myself would have unlikely crawled out of my apartment on a rainy Sunday morning had I lived in the neighborhood.

Anyway, we started the exploration of Providence by wandering across the campus of Brown University, another Ivy League school. Some university buildings had a smooth antiquee look while others appeared much more modern or at least renovated.

We then moved on to the downtown section, hoping for the rapid improvement of weather conditions. Sadly, our hopes were not meant to come true, and we had to fall back on our less-than-luxurious sedan for most city navigation.

Apart from the worst roads we had seen in the U.S. (rivaling even the New York City metropolitan area), Providence was lovely. We saw some pleasant architecture.

And we saw some nice-looking floral decoration on the streets.

And sometimes there were both.

Altogether, a very pleasant sight.

Newport

Newport is pretty much all about the mansions. Since photography is prohibited inside, there was no point in spending the time and money on walking the estate tours. (All the more so because it was still raining and we wanted to be home as early as possible.) So, we had the insolence to take pictures of anything we considered pretty—facades, gardens, and other exterior—free of charge.

Can you just imagine having one of these homes all to yourself? The utilities bill must be a killer :)

Not much else to see in Providence, though. There is a port and a few other beauties of course, but that is not enough for true all-round urban experience. Unless you are an architect perhaps.

Rephrasing the facetious quote from Forrest Gump, “And that is all we have to say about Rhode Island.” Below is the usual map:

Kittery

Our reconnaissance of Maine began in Kittery, right after crossing the bridge from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We promptly reached Kittery Point and went on to Fort McClary, where we made our first stop.

York

The sun was beaming high in the sky, so without much delay we set off to our next destination, trying to use the fortunate weather to our advantage. The next stop then followed at Cape Neddick Lighthouse in York.

The place was sweet, and the breeze was lovely; and we were beginning to understand why Maine is a vacation state in summer. At such northern latitudes the temperatures are a lot milder, and the winds are a lot cooler than they are on the rest of the Atlantic coast. That can be summarized as the perfect summer weather.

Understandably, we did not see many swimmers :)

Perkins Cove

Simply because Maine is in such high regard among vacationers, the majority of the coastal amusements are nothing more than tourist traps, a bunch of trinket stores and pseudo trendy seafood restaurants. One such place was Perkins Cove: overcrowded, tight in parking space, and not very scenic.

The true low-budget hardcore tourists like us never spend too much time at such preposterous gatherings, so we got going.

Cape Elizabeth

I do not know why I become so fascinated by lighthouses when we make our travel plans. I guess there is something romantic or perhaps artistic about them. Or maybe they just make good pictures. Whatever the case, if there are some lighthouses on the way, we always stop at a few. Cape Elizabeth was a double win for that matter, since the lighthouses were arguably the place’s main attractions, and since two of those were built only a few hundred feet apart.

Rockland

You do not realize how many Americans love sailing, and the kind of money they spend on their yachts, until you stumble on a marina like the one we saw in Rockland.

It is hard to say whether people in Maine enjoy being at sea so much, or it just gives them a nice satisfactory feeling to be sipping down a cold Merlot at some port diner while watching their sixty-foot yawl gracefully rocking on the waves. Be it the latter, I do not blame them at all.

Camden

Before the night drew on and we were forced to stall till next morning, we managed to see yet one more place. Camden was also a port town with respectable-size marina that, according to some traveler’s note, could be photographed well from the second floor of Camden Public Library. Because this promise did not hold, I switched to outdoor photography and was only able to capture a few pretty boats and well-attended homes in the neighborhood.

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park might be the most visited national park in America, undoubtedly owing to Maine’s marvelous summer-time weather. Another reason for high traffic is the sheer size of the park. Although it is probably a nice vacation site to the elderly or anyone who does not want to bother with much walking or crawling through primitive jungles (like it has been the case in other parks), we did not find it all that fascinating. There is however a few dozen pretty open views around the place.

The park is great for hiking and cycling, but may quickly annoy car passengers with repetitive scenery unless the driver is inventive about the routes (which is also a challenge because of all the one-ways).

Bangor

Having seen Bangor, we remained clueless how such a gray dull place could ever become so significant in Maine’s culture and tradition; how so many famous and prominent people could get to spend their years in this northern backwater town. But as it stands today, Bangor is probably the most used proper noun in all of Maine; at least it appeared so while looking at various brands and company names we read on the road signs and billboards.

For us the sole purpose of going to Bangor was to see the residence of Stephen King (the red house below), a person who I thought could certainly afford a nicer location. Besides, we had no intention of following the coastline all the way to Canada, so we needed loop back inland.

By taking pictures of King’s and King neighbor’s houses I believe we have captured the best of Bangor. To prove my point I also took a photo of a major street which we followed to Mount Hope Cemetery. That cemetery served as a setting for many scenes of the Pet Sematary movie, a screen adaptation of the horror master’s eponymous work.

Augusta

We saved the capital for the last, and rightly so, because state capitals are rarely an exciting find. But they are often quiet and underpopulated, and we figured that a moment of outdoor rest would not hurt. Another thing that all capitals have in common is a Capitol building, and that was in fact all that we were going to see in Augusta.

Considering how much restoration is being done to various historic and administrative buildings across the country, it is almost a rarity to find one not covered in scaffolding these days. And that was the high note that marked the end of our acquaintance with Maine.

The map of out travels through Maine is below.

Franconia

Because we were coming from the west, we immediately entered the White Mountain National Forest—area comprising a decent spot above Lake Winnipesaukee in the center of the state. Stopping and hiking at least one of the dozens of trails in the midst of river-pierced primitive woods of Hampshire was unavoidable. The picturesque Flume Gorge, sitting at the base of Mount Liberty, nearby the town of Franconia, seemed like a perfect candidate.

The formation of this massive gorge took an uncountable number of years, over which the erosion and constant pressure of water streams pouring down the cracks in the granite walls further indented the bottom and turned the structure into a narrow deep valley.

It was not terribly hot during our visit, but one can surely appreciate the coolness and freshness of Flume Gorge even (or especially) on a scorching summer midday.

But we had to be going, and the tired toddler falling asleep on my shoulder grew too heavy to be carried around for much longer.

Mount Washington

Easily number one destination of our New England journey, Mount Washington is also among the most popular U.S. tourist magnets. Known to have the worst and most variable weather in the world, as indicated by the highest wind speeds and snowfall levels recorded there, Mount Washington proved the point for us even in its calmest season.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, we noted the sky in its blue, irradiated with the light of the still-bright afternoon sun. We certainly wanted similar conditions during the entire way up, which would be ideal for pictures. But we were promptly reminded of the erratic character of the mountain as the guard informed us of the 30-feet visibility near the peak. With somewhat restrained ardor, we commenced the ascend to what was quickly becoming less and less exciting height.

We quickly sank into the fog, and the sun seemed to have ceased shining. Soon, the taller trees on the sides of the road were also gone, making the steering a lot more intense yet amusing. At times, the mist would thicken up so much, it looked as we could take off from the ground and float seamlessly through the sky.

A few minutes later, we crawled up above the first layer of clouds, and even though all of the vegetation has sized down to miniature proportions, we could see a lot clearer what was happening beside us.

In a couple of more minutes we were revving up in the clear, and could observe the boulder-covered slopes ahead our path and the cloud-girded peaks in the distance.

Finally, we had managed the entire eight-mile course, and could taste the cream of our effort.

Shortly, the sky became clouded, and the winds gathered strength.

It was all foggy again on the way down. I resolutely put the car in neutral, anticipating a carefree descend—counting on good old gravity and generous 12-degree inclines. Hardly a minute into the process, I could smell the singed brakes, and had to again engage the bottom gear for engine breaking. Before we could even finish the second third of the way, it suddenly started raining. Bad weather indeed.

Laconia

The rest of the afternoon was spent in an interstate race to Portsmouth, passing by the Weirs Beach area on the way. There was not much to see or do, and the mizzle still hung tight in the air, so we would only occasionally stop to have a little stroll, and then quickly return to our ride. We did however drive by a few pretty waterfronts, including the ones in the neighborhood of Laconia.

After the dusk—although the afternoon did not look much different from twilight to begin with—the rain was finally winding down, and the weather seemed to be improving for the day to come.

Portsmouth

Before I found out about Mount Washington, Portsmouth was the only point in New Hampshire that I had heard of. And it is usually conversed about as belonging to the same ballpark as other well-known American centers, such as Chicago or Philadelphia. “If it is so important, it must be at least quite nice, if not great,” or so we thought. We had in fact set our expectations too high, as we found out the morning we got to finally see Portsmouth.

The city is rather dull and monotonous with its look-alike brick-building blocks. With very few attractions and practically no distinctive features, Portsmouth’s seeming importance is—as the name suggests—very likely due to the marine function.

Just as the entire coastline offers the same industrial view, the city streets all have an undistinguishable brick flavor to them.

Despite the well-established American tradition, the best sights of Portsmouth are to be sought outside the downtown area.

We made our farewells to Portsmouth and hastily sailed away for Maine. But New Hampshire would not let us go easily, and we had to dodge around before we could find a suitable detour that would get us to Kittery, our next stop that day.

Below is the map of our travels in New Hampshire.

Windsor

The morning was a bit gray and murky, so we leisurely packed our things and headed towards the American Precision Museum in Windsor. Located in a strange kind of place, and surrounded by a small water cascade, a tiny forest, a power substation, and a dirt road, the museum is nonetheless well within the city limits.

The artless entrance and importunate cashier aside, the museum was very much worth the visit. The exhibits feature all sorts of mechanical and engineering machinery, including measuring devices, drilling and milling machines, typewriters, screwmakers, and so on.

As we circled around the exhibition hall, we could see the more and more elaborate design and a definite shift towards more durable materials and electricity-powered engines.

In fact, some of the models are not only unique because of their respectable age, but because they were among—or even the—first in the product line, as indicated by the serial number.

Non-industrial items were also quite interesting.

Upon visitors’ requests, someone from the technical personnel gladly demonstrates how some of the machines work. A few of the locally manufactured items are scattered across the improvised workbench.

Various posters and engravings aptly convey the industrial process, urge, and ideals of the eras past.

Jenne Farm

Perhaps August was not the best time of year to be on the photo-hunt for the natural beauty of New England: the foliage has already paled off but has not yet put its fall finery; and the weather is still hot but already rainy. And though constrained by a number of circumstances to choose August, we still tried to see the best of New England’s flavors and capture them on camera.

In quest for northern scenery, we decided to track down Jenne Farm, one of the most photographed farms in the U.S., properly hidden among the forests of central Vermont.

As I mentioned, the weather could be better for the pictures; but still, Jenne Farm was a lovely place to be.

Woodstock

To continue the rural theme, we went north to make a near stop by Billings Farm, at the outskirts of Woodstock. The place gained popularity because most of the animals at the farm can be patted and photographed. It was probably interesting for our little one to see the sheep and horses, while it was more entertaining for me and my wife to find out how the milk cows are kept and taken care of.

In fact, the milk-breed cows look a bit like camels.

Stowe

Away from the farms, we proceeded north to the highest mountains of Vermont. Because only a few mountain peaks are accessible by ground vehicles, most people do not bother driving up those winding hilly roads to appreciate the scenery that this part of the state is famous for. Coincidentally, the staff of ski resorts that would otherwise be idling in the summer time are living off of devoted height-lovers who agree to pay generous ticket fees for an opportunity to enjoy a cable ride to, and from, the mountain tops. And even though I consider us neither devoted height-lovers nor wealthy travelers, we did do the gondola skyride in Stowe.

Unfortunately, the thick fog and overcast afternoon sky could not possibly result in bright pictures with clear distant overviews. Still we tried to capture the best angles we could.

What made the process of photo-taking even more difficult were the tiny openings in the predominantly plexiglass windows of the cabin, all speckled with scratches from ski gear.

With the much soothing sense of fulfilled duty, we set our course to Burlington, where we were going to finish off the long day.

Burlington

If there is one word that best describes the look of Burlington, it is probably “nice”; if there is one word that best describes the people of Burlington, it is definitely “weird.” A town of hipsters, roller-skaters, musicians, and vagabonds, Burlington is nonetheless fun to observe.

As for the city folks, however odd they are, we did get the unexplainable “home” feeling while being among them. I guess that is because my wife and I grew in somewhat wild surroundings as well.

The wickedness of the place further shows in some peculiar art.

To cap it all, the town has a cozy dock area on the bank of Lake Champlain.

Montpelier

Having spent the night at some cheap motel on the outskirts of Montpelier, we stuck to our plan and went for the improvised tour of Vermont’s capital first thing in the morning. As with most other state capitals, Montpelier was small, nicely built, and fairly quiet.

After the mandatory seeing of the Capitol, we continued on with our exploration of Montpelier and its half a dozen small streets.

Graniteville

We really wanted to see the Rock of Ages granite quarry the day before, but were not able to wait for the guided tour without having to sacrifice one of the other items in our itinerary. After some consideration, we decided to drop Middlebury and instead go to the quarry the following morning.

Rock of Ages quarry has one of the world’s largest supplies of granite, which has only been partly excavated so far. The granite-processing factory is only minutes away from the quarry and is also an interesting place to see.

How the factory manages to track down the thousands of monthly orders in this mess remained a mystery to me. Nonetheless, the Rock of Ages’ customer base is enormous, and a great deal of tombstones, pedestals, and other memorials seen throughout the country have been, and are being, manufactured there.

Several most typical samples of the production are presented outside.

As per cynical estimation of how many people die on a daily basis and thus stimulate the tombstone production, the size of the quarry might not be so impressive; yet trying to envision the amount of effort required to extract as much stone as appears missing from the huge granite deposit will surely put everything into place.

In the old days the miners used dynamite to blow up large sheets of granite and utilize whatever whole pieces got left. That created a lot of waste.

With the advent of the biochemical research, special substances have been formulated to allow for very precise and safe microexplosions in place of outdated  risky techniques. So, to break off a manageable chunk (usually, around 25 tons), the workers drill small grooves around the perimeter of the stone and fill them with the pre-dozed mix. Once complete, the chemical reaction is initiated, which forces the entire plate to snap off a foot in the air and land back in the same spot.

The loose granite block is then mounted by a special hanger and placed onto a truck. There is a special person who controls all of the operation of the quarry, and another one who operates the crane.

For safety reasons, the miners spent about half of their time not working, which of course makes the whole business less financially sound. However, because of hard labor and risks associated with the job, most workers are very well paid.

Since granite is much firmer than, say, marble (3 and 7 on the scale of strength, accordingly), the granite dust is a lot more dangerous and causes terminal illnesses over time. On site, the granite dust is neutralized with water, which is why there are tangles of pipes reaching to every drilling spot, and greenish-colored basins accumulated at bottomlands.

Before we left the Vermont border behind, we had a few more moments to look around and reflect on the pristine beauty of mountain forests and splendor of undisturbed lakes we had absorbed over the last two days.

The hill-rambling fogs and low-hanging clouds add mysterious and almost austere colors to the palette of Vermont.

It seems that people there know how to live in harmony with nature.

Below is the usual map of our navigation through the state.

The historic charm of Northeast with its red-brick facades, elegant ironwork, and cobbled walkways are not clustered in one large historic district, as in Philadelphia or New York, but rather dominate most of Boston. We could not help but notice how whole the entire city presented itself, and how recognizable and unique it was at every turn. So, let me finally demonstrate what I have so utterly praised.

We began the exploration of Boston by finding the parking garage that I had previously selected online for its convenient location to start off our on-foot excursion.  As we ascended up to the ground level, we found ourselves inside the Prudential Center Mall, practically adjoining the Prudential Tower, where I was able to glance at the city blocks in all directions, and—despite the stained glasses—take a few aerial shots.

Out of the tower and then back through the mall, we exited on the street and proceeded to Copley Square, passing by the New Old South Church and Hancock Tower on the way.

From the square we turned North and entered the famous Newbury Street, one of the major shopping destinations in New England.

Notice how even in the shopping district there are still plenty of fine temples and other architectural masterpieces.

We then headed East, towards the ever-crowded Boston Common, a large recreational area located in the very heart of the city. With several decent-size ponds and hundreds of leafy trees and ornamental bushes, the Common is by far the most popular afternoon destination in Boston on a hot summer day.

Flocks of tourists, teenagers, and occasional gapers are attracted by the most diverse characters collected here as for an exhibition.

To avoid scaring off the peaceful passes-by, a bit to the side there is a shallow pond designated specifically for the noisy ones.

Looping back West out of the park, we walked up the Beacon Hill, to Chestnut Street, and around the narrow Louisburg Square . The respectable neighborhood, enclosed in files of somewhat austere-looking red-brick twins, certainly serves as homes for the wealthier townspeople.

Before reaching the banks of Charles River, we squeezed ourselves through the tiny Acorn Street (supposedly, one of the most photographed streets in America), and onto Mount Vernon Street.

We had a quick bite by the appeasing river front and made our to the pedestrian overpass that took us on the other side of Storrow Drive.

Revere Street then took us through a chain of empty alleys, until we decided to turn North to find ourselves on Cambridge Street.

We soon took a left on Staniford Street that would take us all the way to Charlestown Bridge and to other side of the river.

After getting off the bridge we strolled along the docks and hurried past the USS Constitution ship as the intense sun rays started bothering us in that shadeless harbor.

We crossed under the Tobin Memorial Bridge and had a long roundabout walk back to Charlestown Bridge via Bunker Hill Memorial Park and City Square. Although the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston is cozy and great for walking, it was not so catchy and did not make good pictures.

Having crossed Charlestown Bridge back, we went on to roam about in the Eastern part of town. Elbowing through the crowded Italian district, with its hundreds of restaurants and cafes and a couple of pretty chapels, we merged Richmond Street and followed it to Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, yet another excellent recreational area with pleasant vegetation and various street entertainers.

From the park down we first took Surface Road and then diverged West onto Broad Street, pass by the Post Office Square and Norman Leventhal Park.

A block or two later, we proceeded South, thus approaching the business district, which manifested itself by the high-risers dominating the skyline.

By the time we were coming down to the Chinatown area, the taller building yielded to the more graceful historic houses, and were again moving Northeast, following Washington Street.

We cut through a couple of tiny squares and a few remarkable memorials, and hiked towards the City Hall to see the cute golden kettle hung by a Starbucks Cafe.

Tired from the five-hour walk, we hurried down Tremont Street, stopping for a short while by the Common to feed our little fidget; and then made for the parking garage in a quick pace going westward on Boylston Street.

All stops included, it took us roughly six hours to cover a good chunk of downtown Boston. Below is the scan of the map that I had compiled before our trip trying to pick the best sights of Boston we would be able to get to. If anyone would like a large copy of that map, please let me know.

Winsor Dam

In contrast to the busy East of Massachusetts, Winsor Dam was a marvelous discovery of natural beauty and tranquility. Miles of marvelous scenery are laid out along the banks of the Quabbin Reservoir. We were very surprised to see but a few people, especially so considering plenty of parking spots and no admittance charge.

We let our little one run around some in the afternoon sun before we headed to our next destination.

Northampton

Other than being a host city for the supposedly charming Smith college, nothing could I find online that would inevitably make us stop in Northampton. But the looks of the old campus and convenient location of the place, just minutes off Interstate 91, seemed like enough reasons to hang out there for an hour or two.

Monday evening, at least a week before the fall classes begin, much to our amazement we discovered that most campus buildings were unlocked; so, we worked our way in and were warmly greeted by the wide wooden stairs, decorative chimney-furnished classrooms, and high-ceiling corridors with paintings on the walls. Such amazing interiors! Yet not a soul was to be found inside.

While our son was whirling around at his own joy, I ran to the farther nooks of the campus and took a few more shots.

Salem

We were crossing Massachusetts again on the way back from the far North corner of the country. Our major goal was Boston, but I figured that it would be unwise to ignore the rest of the Massachusetts coast, which is how Salem came into picture.

Salem is known for the witch trials of the late 17th century. Most of Salem’s attractions are linked with the witch practices and various black magic attributes, as well as the notorious Gallows Hill—the historic site where several executions have occurred. Other than the “dark-side glamour,” Salem has little exciting to offer in the aesthetic sense. It is still a neat place, though.

Cambridge

It must a bless to host two world’s arguably most prestigious schools—one technical and one non-technical—in the same city. Better yet, all of it is only minutes away from the downtown Boston, which is a marvel in itself. I am talking about Harvard and MIT, of course, which are both located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The town happened to be a lot bigger than I had imagined, and wandering on the streets was as enjoyable as checking out the campuses of the two scholarly smithies.

Surprisingly, most Harvard building were not (or did not look) as old as their Smith College or Yale University counterparts.

MIT buildings also appeared fairly recent, but it was founded a lot later than Harvard.

Boston

Ah, Boston. All I will say at this time is that Boston is fantastic. In fact, it is so fantastic that I have decided to post all fifty or so pictures of Boston in a separate post. So, please do read about it to have a better idea of Massachusetts.

Plymouth

Unfortunately, we were running short on time and were not able to see Provincetown and witness the beauty of Cape Cod. After all, it would have been a rather long drift to the East before we could arrive in Providence, Rhode Island, where we were headed. Thereby, Plymouth became our mandatory “good-bye” stop in Massachusetts.

Despite all its renown, we discovered Plymouth to be just another shore resort with tons of shops, restaurants, and tourists not necessarily looking for most creative ways to spend their cash. In historical sense, however, Plymouth should absolutely not be underestimated as it was the original site of Mayflower’s moorage. And because those English outcasts, commonly known as Pilgrims, did not bother going on pilgrimage elsewhere in the years to come, their settlement rapidly grew in size and population. Ever since 1620 America has remained (pretty much to this day) a magnet for the fortune-seekers and daydreamers.

The Mayflower replica, unpredictably named Mayflower II, was the final piece of Massachusetts we caught on camera before hurrying back to our and leaving for a hotel somewhere in Rhode Island where we were to spend the night.

Below is the route of our travels through Massachusetts:

Milford

Our first New England state was Connecticut, and our first stop was Milford, about an hour past the border. I do not have much to say about this town, except for the first impression it gave us of Connecticut: quiet, clean, and pretty. One biggest distinction of Milford (and, perhaps, Connecticut) from other corners of the country was how polite the people were and how courteously drivers behaved on the road. Otherwise, a neat little place with unpretentious urban architecture and moderate outdoor ornamentation.

New Haven

New Haven was both geographically and culturally our next destination in Connecticut. A student town, New Haven is the host to one of the world’s most prestigious schools, Yale University. As an Ivy League school, Yale takes some pride in maintaining the historic look and feel of their campus. Many buildings feature arched doorways, multi-layered friezes, raised lintels, massive columns and pilasters, and a great deal of Latin inscriptions.

Other buildings are simpler but still very aesthetically sound.

As we had foreseen, a lot of walls and interiors were in repair—workers pushing hard for the first-day-of-school deadline—hence many houses that could otherwise be showcased here are not. Besides, strolling right past roaring construction equipment and buzzing service vehicles was not exactly very photography-friendly. At the same time, where we did find some peace, the buildings were not exactly very impressive.

Hartford

Hartford is the capital of Connecticut and one of its largest cities, so we thought we would stop by and make a few shots of the Capitol and random pretty sights in the vicinity. The light drizzle wound down entirely as I was parking the car, and the sky cleared up a bit for us to enjoy a brief saunter. We went down the sidewalk and into the park overlooked by the Capitol building, quietly proceeding towards downtown.

Maybe it was a matter or luck, but that Monday morning Hartford appeared very calm, clean, and underpopulated —no garbage, no barrens, no pedestrians, and no drivers. Symbolism aside, even the choice of monuments was rather peculiar.

Yet the well-attended vegetation and visual order of things reminded us that the place was very much alive.

Mystic

Mystic was the last town of our New England trip, and, quite frankly, one that we wanted to skip. From the little research I had done online, culturally Mystic did not stand out against other countless beach resorts of Northeast; and its mere popularity was no trump to us. Besides, we were rushing home to enjoy the tiny bit of rest before the quickly sneaking up workweek. Above all, the weather became wet enough to make us weigh carefully every decision to proceed outside.

We did, however, spent some time in Mystic, grabbing a bite in one of the boardwalk coffee shops. While nibbling on the sandwich, we had the luck of watching the local engineering oddity—a monstrous draw bridge—in action.

Otherwise, I doubt whether we missed anything in Mystic that was worth capturing on camera.

On the way out we stopped by a still lagoon and for one last time admired the maritime beauty of New England.

Here is the map of our route through Connecticut:

Since we were short on time, I had to be creative with the route to avoid much side- and backtracking. For that very reason it was decided that Connecticut and Massachusetts had to be crossed twice, first on the West side—while going North to Vermont—and then on the East—on the way back down from Maine and New Hampshire, incidentally passing through Rhode Island as well. As a result, some of the maps in the following posts will not show contiguous routes; so, as a heads-up for the readers, no teleport was in use.

As a final word, here are a few stats of our trip: 6 states, 7 days, 1000 pictures, 2000 miles, and, unfortunately, tons of junk food. And this is the map of our wanderings: