Monday, Sept. 30 - Hitting the Books - Autumn Colors

Today was research day.  After breakfast we headed to the New London Library, and spent a few hours in their genealogy room.  We both found ancestors who lived in this area in the mid- to late-1700s. 

This afternoon we drove to the Old Hebron Cemetery to locate a few more ancestors.  The drive was beautiful, as the pictures show.  We followed a two-lane highway through several small towns filled with well-kept colonial style houses, each with an autumn wreath on the front door.  Every small town had a central green, now the location for a pick-up soccer game and weekly farmers' market.

Fall colors are starting to show.  Heading north to find more.

Horse Pond     @  41.46177,-72.248877

Horse Pond   @ 41.461241,-72.248788

Horse Pond   @ 41.46177,-72.248877

Sunday, Sept. 29 - Norwich, Connecticut

Today we went to search for our ancestors in Norwich, Connecticut.  Both sides of our families (Lanes & Smiths) came from this area, so it was the perfect place to start.  We went first to the Founders Cemetery. This spot was dedicated to the founders of Norwich as their final resting place.  The cemetery is marked with a granite memorial, since there are no grave markers.

Leffingwell House - One of  Nancy's ancestors

Nancy can trace her roots back to Thomas Leffingwell, a lieutenant during the Revolutionary War.  He owned an inn in Norwich which is now a museum.  We met Richard, the archivist, and he gave us a tour of the building.  We were also able to visit the Old Burying Ground, a cemetery where Thomas and his family are buried.  We also found another branch of the family, the Huntingtons.

Christopher Huntington - another branch of her family

Back in Groton, we went to the Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park.  On this site Benedict Arnold and the British forces defeated the American troops.  This was the last victory for the British in the Revolutionary War.  The monument there is in memory of the soldiers who fought in that battle.  More Information below.

The Monument looks just like Bunker Hill and the Washington Monuments

Looking back towards New London on the right and Groton on the left

Yes - that is a house perched on the rock, with a pier to tie up a boat.

More the you wanted to know ~
Arnold, a general in the Continental Army, decided to change sides in 1779, and opened secret negotiations with the British. In July 1780, he was offered, continued to pursue and was awarded command of West Point. Arnold's scheme was to surrender the fort to the British and turn over the arms and ammunition.  After he plans were discovered he fled to England and returned in command of a British unit to capture New London and Groton in 1781, He defeated the troops at Ft. Griswold, killed and wounded many troops after the officer surrendered in what was later called the Fort Griswold massacre.  His troops were ordered to burn both towns to the ground.   Last week they burned his effigy in New London, then brought his leg over to Groton.  The leg was wounded while he was fighting for the Colonies.  Memories go way back here.

Saturday, Sept 28 Long road to Mystic

Today was a travel day, with some rubber-necking and sightseeing. We drove from Hyannis, Mass, to Mystic, Conn.   We decided to drive some back roads, but they were well kept, tree lined, divided four lane alleys that usually kept your eyes forward.  The real sights were to drive around the small towns. They brought the flavor of the area. 

3 lanes of traffic lined with trees for mile and miles

 After breakfast we left Hyannis, driving west on highway 6a.  Our first stop was in Sandwich at the Glass Museum.  We saw a demonstration of hand-blowing glass, walked through several rooms displaying examples of Sandwich glass, and learned about the history of the area.


It was a beautiful day for a drive, so we headed for Newport, Rhode Island.  We toured the town, full of 70-room "beach cottages" built by millionaires in the late 1800's. After crossing Pell Bridge, we breezed through Rhode Island (it's only 37 miles wide!) and ended our day in Mystic, Connecticut.

The tourist town of Mystic is so vibrant!  We ate at Mystic Pizza - yes, that's where the Julia Roberts movie was filmed - and enjoyed a delicious dinner.  The weather has been beautiful, with very cool nights.  We're looking forward to being able to see the leaves turning color when we head north.

Sept 27 Cape Cod

I'll fill in a few blanks tomorrow.  The wi-fi is really slow, except in the bar.  Talk about a con, but the beer tastes good.

Plymouth Harbor

Mayflower II

Pavilion were Plymouth Rock is located.

Plymouth Rock - In times past they use to have a hammer and chisel close to the rock.

Wet feet in the Atlantic - WOW - one more check on the bucket list

Look how tall Nancy is.

A great dinner in a very eclectic place

Sept 26 Museum of Fine Arts - Boston

After breakfast in Quincy Market, we burrowed down to the subway for a trip up the Green line  E route to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  Nancy and I parted ways and followed of different interests.  The collection of paintings  featured the renown artists of their day showing many colonist and revolutionary's.  The gallery's  were large and the museum provided thousands of square feet on three floors to exhibit a wide variety of art.  I wandered around looking at: photographic prints, fine art, per-Columbian artifacts, the work of silver smiths, native American pieces and many other exhibits.  Nancy went for the jewelry, furniture, European artist and the gift shop.  The Museum was joy for the eyes, inspiration for the soul and history for the mind.

Nancy on the 2nd floor landing.  I am standing next to a 30 glass sculpture.

We topped our last night in Boston at Legal Seafood with two delicious meals and shared a mouth watering chocolate lava cake with a side of ice cream surrounding a macaroon.  A walk down to the  wharf to look over the harbor and see the city lights of  downtown.

Sept 25 - Around and Across Boston Harbor

Our 1st stop - The USS Constitution  - Oldest commissioned war ship in the world. Never lost a battle or was boarded by enemy troops.  Bunker Hill Monument in the background.

I don't think our Oregon boater's card will give us the chance to take the helm of this ship.

The sides of the ship are 21 - 28" thick  with live oak sandwiched between white oak.

Gun deck - most of those cross beams are about 5' 10". Sleeping quarters about 5' 8". Average sailor 5' 4".  Marines 6' 1". OUCH!

 

Monument at Bunker Hill - 294 steps and all four of us took the stairs to the top.  Tired, but we made it.

Boston Harbor from the top of the Bunker Hill Monument.  USS Constitution in lower right.

Our last dinner in Boston with Bruce and Sharon- Great traveling partners.

Tuesday, Sept. 24 More adventures around Boston

We chose  the Old Town Trolley Tour, a two-day hop-on, hop-off bus tour of  Boston historic sites.  After another great breakfast at Quincy Market, we boarded the bus to meet Bruce and Sharon at the Cheers stop. They are driving into the city and using the subway.   Our first stop was Trinity Church in Copley Square, situated across the square from the Boston Public Library - the first public library in the United States.  Our tour of Trinity Church was excellent.  John La Farge's murals and stained glass were exquisite!

We skipped several tour stops and arrived at Fenway Park right in front of the Carl Yastrzemski (Yaz) statue.  His number 8 was retired by the Red Sox.  After our fitted baseball hats were in the bag and big league stadiums in our dreams, we took the one-hour tour of baseball history.  It was so interesting to hear about the Park's history and to get a "behind the scenes" look at the nooks and crannies the public does not normally get to see.  We started in the lower seats on the right field line, climbed the stadium up behind home plate to the top of the Green Monster, back to the press box and over to the right field foul line.  Of course our guide gave out little bits of history and trivia like hard candy at a parade to eager middle-aged kids.  Don't pinch me, I am living the dream.

Across the street from Fenway, it was time for some brews and a snack at the Beer Works Brewery (they brew all of the beers they serve).  No Bud or Coors served.  They had some really good beers and we had one that puckered our taste buds with 82  IBU's (supremely bitter).




We had a long gallop over to Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church.  They are just a few blocks apart.  Paul had a pew for his family of 8 children with wife 1(she died) and 8 children with wife 2.  She probably suggested that he take a long ride that night for a little rest.

Inside the old North Church - Front

Looking towards the back

Paul Revere's House - needed a lot of room for all of the children

 The dinner hour was near, so the troop made our way to Hanover Street in the Little Italy area of Boston.  We found so many restaurants that it was hard to choose.  The standard line in Boston is that they are all good.  With appetites at the ready, the girls decided to eat dinner at Ristorante Saraceno, a family-operated restaurant since 1931.  Yummmmm and the best Chianti I had ever imbibed.  Dinner was delicious - but we found that we had room for dessert.  Six shops up the street was Mike's Pastry, which David recommended, for their signature pastry - cannolis (heavenly).  What a sweet end to a great day in Boston!

Monday, Sept 23 - Following the Freedon Trail

We started the day with a brief walk to the food court at Quincy Market.  There are 60+ vendors lining both sides of a relatively narrow building.  You start at Starbucks, walk past choices of ethnic cuisine from A to Z, and finish with an ice cream counter.

Our friends, Bruce and Sharon, from Portland, OR have joined us till Thursday.  After a quick planning session and lunch at Ned Devine's Irish Pub, we started the day's trek following the Freedom Trail.  The trail is a red line or red bricks on Boston sidewalks and streets that guide you to key revolutionary and colonial-era sites. 

 Today we visited Faneuil Hall, the Boston Massacre site, Old State House, site of the first public school in America, King's Chapel and Burying Ground, Park Street Church, Old City Hall and the statue of Benjamin Franklin, Boston Common and the Public Garden, Cheers bar, Granary Burying Ground, Holocaust Memorial, and the "new" State House.


 Dinner was at the Union Oyster House, which claims to be the oldest continually running restaurant in the country. Such fun, and great seafood!

Captions to come tomorrow. It is night night time.

The Old State House - Just a few yard to the left is were the Boston Massacre happened

Our hotel - blue lights in windows

The original GW

The girls looking for Norm

A nice story "Make Way for Ducklings" was written about an island in the Frog Pond in Boston Commons.

Massachusetts State House from Boston Commons

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Old grave yard in Boston

Holocaust Memorial -  each concentration camp is represented by a column of glass panels

Concentration Camp numbers of each victim on all of the glass panels in the above picture