Salisbury Beach, MA - Sept. 17 - 25, 2007

On September 17th we drove south through Maine crossing New Hampshire and entered Massachusetts heading for our new home at Salisbury Beach.  We selected the very attractive Beach Rose RV Park for its well-deserved high ratings, and its proximity to the beach and the commuter train to Boston.  We highly recommend this friendly and well-maintained park.  The only drawback was the acorns that fell like little bombs on our roof and, with the help of energetic squirrels and birds, awoke us each morning at dawn.

The weather was so warm and sunny we had difficulty tearing ourselves away from long walks and bike rides along the beach to visit all the historical sites in the area.  But we overcame our leisurely lifestyle and caught the train into Boston for a tour of the city.  We decided to take the Old Town Trolley Tour to get around, but concluded we could have easily walked the Freedom Trail and taken the subway to other sites such as MTI and Harvard in Cambridge.

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5 miles red-brick path leading to 16 historical sites, including the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, Old North Church, Boston Commons, the USS Constitution, and the Bunker Hill Memorial.  We had lunch in the Faneuil Hall Marketplace at Durgin-Park Restaurant, the second oldest restaurant in the US, and then hit the Trail.  It was great fun visiting the sites of mythic and historic events of which we were taught in elementary school - the Boston Tea Party, Liberty Tree, the Boston Massacre and the midnight ride of Paul Revere. 

Susan decided to climb the 294 steps to the top of the Bunker Hill obelisk located on Breeds Hill, the sight of the first major battle of the American Revolution (it is a long story about the "hill" confusion, but we won't go into it here).  Bill wisely stayed at ground level.  It took four days for Susan's legs to recover.  The old girl just isn't the athlete she once was.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation had just completed the landscaping work related to the 'Big Dig' that relocated the I-93 freeway into a tunnel under the city of Boston.  The project claims the title of the largest most expensive, and probably the most controversial, single transportation project in the USA - ever.  We were able to enjoy the results of the nearly $15 billion project without the six years construction nightmare Bostonians endured.  This was our first trip to Boston so we couldn't do a 'before and after' comparison, but we could imagine how the new urban linear park improves upon the former noisy freeway.  We were also quite jazzed about driving through the "Dig", carefully watching for the infamous falling tiles, of course.

On Saturday we drove to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in south Boston.  Our exploration of the museum brought back memories of the national fear generated by the Cuban Missile Crisis and potential nuclear holocaust, the nation's evolution during the civil rights movement and our anguish in the wake of the President's assassination.  There were also the images of the happy family and social events reflecting the charm of Camelot.

The following day we headed south to meet Cheryl and Bill (see New Brunswick and Maine entries) for lunch in Plymouth, home of Plymouth Rock and a replica of the Mayflower.  We were amazed at how small the Mayflower was and tried to imagine the miserable 66-day crossing from Plymouth, England the 102 pilgrims plus crew endured.  To quote comedian Eddie Izzard, "The pilgrims sailed from Plymouth and arrived in Plymouth. Curious."

We strolled around town to view the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock and the old burial ground.  We all agreed that the Grecian structure enclosing 'Plymouth Rock' appeared out of place and bordered on bizarre. 

On the way back to Salisbury Beach we stopped in Quincy to visit Adams Historical Park but - in spite of being at its advertised location - we were unable to find it.  So after wandering around for a bit we decided to cruise over to Lexington and Concord, site of 'the shot heard round the world'.  By this time it was getting rather late, but from what we saw these villages are beautiful and appeared to be worth a visit.

Once again we were leaving a location with the feeling that we had barely scratched the surface of what the area has to offer.  We will no doubt return to New England and spend an entire season to feel we have done more than just pass through.  But for now we are off to Vermont to do some leaf peeping.