Boston, Massachusetts, USA

We flew out of Boston today after a great week there staying with our American cousin Dick. Dick is a keen traveller with a deep and inspirational interest in the natural world, and a history buff. He's certainly living in the right place for the latter; Boston occupies a significant place in American history and continues to make a big contribution to the life and development of the USA.

Boston is a very pleasant city to visit, having retained its historical features and being on a convenient scale for walking and sightseeing downtown and elsewhere.

Massachusetts is one of the US states collectively referred to as New England. Normally at this time of year all of the trees of New England have shed their leaves, but this year has been exceptional in the lateness of the fall. That was fortunate for us as we got to see the area in its full autumn glory. There were even trees where the leaf drop had barely begun.

We spent an afternoon at the Minute Man National Historic Park, about 30 km north of Boston within the towns of Lexington, Lincoln and Concord. Along this trail on 19 April 1775, the first fatal skirmishes occurred between British soldiers and American "minute men" militia. http://www.nps.gov/archive/mima/brvc/index.htm The American War of Independence had begun.

The first shots were fired on Lexington Green, now a pleasant city park surrounded by beautiful houses and an attractive archetypal New England church.

A more deadly battle ensued further north in the field surrounding North Bridge at Concord. American militia minute men (so named because they could be ready for action in a matter of minutes) succeeded in halting the British soldiers, harassing them all the way back to Boston. There was a considerable number of deaths on both sides, the first of the eight-year war to follow.

Trouble had been brewing since well before the Boston Tea Party two years previously. The colonists resented the taxes imposed on the colonies in the absence of political representation, and the taxation of tea imports became symbolic of their grievances. In December 1773 under cover of darkness, a band of colonists crept aboard the HMS Beaver, HMS Dartmouth and HMS Eleanor, and hurled about 90,000 lbs of tea overboard into Boston Harbour. Relationships between the colonists and their English masters continued to deteriorate, culminating in the events at Lexington Green and North Bridge two years later.

Our time in Boston coincided with American Thanksgiving Day and we enjoyed a very interesting day and Thanksgiving lunch with Dick's friendly family. We also made a day trip to Cape Cod south of Boston where we were surprised to learn that this narrow curved peninsula is actually the product of ancient glacial activity. The Cape is a popular summer holiday destination but with winter approaching, many businesses have closed for the season. It was very quiet when we strolled around Provincetown at the tip of the Cape after lunch at the Crown and Anchor.

Cape Cod played an important part in the development of radio communications. From his station overlooking the wind-swept beach at South Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Guglielmo Marconi oversaw in January 1903 the first two-way trans-Atlantic wireless communication, a 48-word message of goodwill from President Roosevelt to King Edward V11.

We have visited Boston previously, but only for one day about five years ago. Then, Dick met us at the airport and took us on a lightning tour around Boston. One of the highlights of that day was a visit to the Natural History Museum at Harvard University where we saw a stunning display of glass flowers made by two German glass blowers in the late 1800s under contract to Harvard, for botanical teaching purposes. At the time the University had difficulty obtaining fresh botanical specimens from across the world, and the stunning artistry of the two German glass blowers provided the solution. The full story, along with some great photos, is told at: http://www.journalofantiques.com/Feb04/featurefeb04.htm and http://www.rps.psu.edu/sep99/glass.html It is hard to believe that these exhibits are glass, not real plants. A must-see in Boston.

Bar Harbour, Maine, USA

We spent a few hours in beautiful Bar Harbour and the nearby Acadia National Park on our journey south through Maine. Bar Harbour, like other parts of Maine, appears to be quite affluent, and must be very crowded in the summer holiday season. But the weather was not kind to us today, raining continually during our time there. After a lunch of haddock and chips in a pub overlooking the harbour we returned to the highway to be greeted by a heavy snowstorm that continued for many kilometres before eventually blowing itself out. We mis-judged how long it would take to get to Boston, arriving well after dark following a fast and furious session on the Boston freeways.

Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada

We headed north from Halifax off the main highway, choosing instead quieter district roads that took us through small snow-covered towns and along the coastline of the Bay of Fundy. In the early afternoon we found ourselves in the small fishing port of Parrsboro that we learned copes with a tidal range of over 50 feet! At high tide the small harbour can take ocean going ships; at low tide the harbour has no water at all. Zilch. It was a cold picnic lunch at the Parrsboro pier; just us and several hundred sea birds. We then rejoined the main trans-Canada highway, leaving Nova Scotia behind us, and several hours later just after dark reached our planned destination of Saint John.

Saint John, the capital city of Canada's New Brunswick province, had its heyday in the late 1800s in the era of sail. At that time Canada had one of the largest merchant marines in the world, and Saint John was prosperous and busy, building wooden ocean going ships for Canada and other nations. Then in 1877, the business core of the city was destroyed in a disastrous fire that spread rapidly from one wooden building to the next. Saint John responded by rebuilding its business heart in masonry, and many of these fine buildings remain today. The advent of the iron ship severely dented the city's fortunes, but Saint John remains a strategically important port in the Bay of Fundy on Canada's east coast. It is also home to Canada's cherished Moosehead beer brewery.

We stayed overnight in Saint John and spent half a day the following morning walking around the harbour and business centre. Then it was time to hit the road again and head east towards the USA. We crossed the border into Maine, USA, at St Stephen/Calais where it was a pleasure filling the car with American fuel that cost only a little more than half of the Canadian price. Travelling in Canada is certainly considerably more expensive than the USA.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

We followed the scenic route along the south coast from Sydney, Cape Breton, to Halifax, the principal city of Nova Scotia. The weather was wild early, particularly as we crossed the Canso Causeway linking Cape Breton Island to the mainland. Ocean water from the waves breaking on the causeway crashed onto the road, and thousands of seabirds were swooping and diving to gorge on the fish that had schooled near the causeway to shelter from the storm. Conditions improved later and we stopped mid afternoon for haddock and chips at a campground cafe at Spry Bay. It was a fortunate choice; the owners took pride in cooking everything very fresh, starting with peeling the potatoes for the fries. It took quite a while, but the end result was delicious.

Today we visited popular Peggy's Cove, a tiny picturesque fishing village about 35km south-west of Halifax. A small number of families continue to fish out of here for mackerel and lobster, and tens of thousands of tourists visit every year to admire the village's idyllic setting. But not today. The weather was wet, windy and cold, and we were one of only about five cars in the lighthouse car park mid morning. But we still enjoyed the place, and some seafood in the cafe overlooking the village and Atlantic Ocean.

In the afternoon we visited the excellent, atmospheric Maratime Museum of the Atlantic, in downtown Halifax. Being on the far east coast of Canada, Halifax is a strategically important port and has played an important role in Canada's history, and military history generally.

Halifax has had more than its share of trials and tribulations, most notably the great Halifax explosion of December 1917. The Mont Blanc, a ship packed with thousands of kilograms of explosives and about to join a convoy to Europe, collided with another in Halifax Harbour and caught fire. It then drifted to the pier at the bottom of Richmond Street in the city centre. The fire and smoke attracted hundreds of onlookers down to the waterfront and pier. The Mont Blanc then exploded. Nearly two thousand people were killed, many more thousands were injured, and a large area of the city was totally destroyed.

Five years previously, Halifax had played an important role in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster. It was the city closest to the point where the Titanic had sunk (a few hundred kilometres away), and had the type of boats and marine skills necessary to undertake recovery of victims' bodies from the ocean. Halifax mariners recovered hundreds of bodies, 150 of which are buried in Halifax cemetries.

More recently, in September 1998, Swiss Air Flight 111, en route from New York to Geneva, caught fire and crashed into the Atlantic only 8km out from Peggy's Cove, minutes from a planned emergency landing at Halifax International Airport. All 229 people on board were killed.

This all sounds very dark, and it is, but Halifax today is very much a happy, modern place surrounded by great maratime scenery. An excellent place to spend a few days, or better, weeks. But our time in Halifax had run out, and it was time for us to be on the road again.

Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada

From Quebec we drove 1,200 km south-east to Nova Scotia on Canada's Atlantic coast, making an overnight stop on the way at Fredericton in New Brunswick province. Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Labrador are collectively known as the Maritimes. It was a long and interesting drive, first following the vast Saint Lawrence River estuary, then veering south east and passing by some very cold and snowy towns and countryside.

 

Our first destination in Nova Scotia was Cape Breton where we arrived just on dark. At this time of year the sun sets at 4.30pm and it is dark by 4.45. We stayed overnight in the small town of Baddeck, setting out next morning for the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. This park has many hiking trails and features panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean, home to whales and many species of fish and sea birds. We hiked the Skyline Trail that loops around a rugged headland and back through heather grassland and a forest of fir and juniper. It was very cold and snowing for most of the hike, but we were dressed warmly and kept moving, so it was a comfortable and interesting walk.

 

Nova Scotia, as the name suggests, has a strong Scottish heritage, and many of the place names here were given by the Scottish settlers. The highlands national park has a replica Scottish crofter's hut, commemorating the time in the early 1800s when this area was settled by Scottish tenant farmers (crofters) who had been expelled from their homes on the Isle of Sky. They came across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Breton where they built houses and fished, farmed and hunted in the area. Sugar maple grows very well here, so the settlers also collected maple sap to make maple syrup.

 

Cape Breton has an active music scene, heavily influenced by its Celtic roots. Cape Breton fiddlers in particular are well known on the world music scene. Here are a couple of hot Cape Breton fiddlers:

• Natalie Macmaster
• Howie MacDonald
  

The Cape Breton Highlands is also bear and moose country. We saw no bears during our hike but we were excited to stumble into the midst of a family of moose. I saw the big bull first, about 20 metres away. I didn't want to take any chances so I shot it immediately. I would have liked to get closer to get a better photo but I was concerned it might run off, which is exactly what it did. But a few metres further on there were several moose cows who stood still long enough for me to get a better shot. The signboards in the park provide warnings about charging moose, so although these looked placid enough, we considered briefly how we would protect ourselves if one or more of the moose did decide to launch an attack. All we had with us was a small Beijing umbrella, and I doubted that that would provide much protection. But then I noticed that the brolly sported a Scottish tartan pattern, and I wondered for a moment whether the moose in these parts might accord that some respect. But there was no need to wonder further; the moose trotted gently away from the trail and into the woods, allowing us to move forward. Perhaps it was the tartan - we'll never know.

 

It was still snowing when we returned to the trail head and we knew that once we were in the warm car we wouldn't want to get out again. So we had a quick picnic lunch on the bonnet of the car (the picnic must go on!) before heading south along the wind-swept coast and out of the park, arriving a couple of hours later in Sydney, Cape Breton's largest town.

Quebec, Canada

From Lincoln we continued to head north, passing for a short time into Vermont before crossing into Canada at the Stansted border station. An hour or two further on we stopped for a late lunch on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River in the town of Trois Rivieres, Quebec Province. It was now very cold, and probably a major turning point in the excellent weather we have enjoyed to date in our American adventure. There were few people out walking, and we didn't tarry too long on the park bench overlooking the wide river and the passing freighters moving along it. We were trembling with cold when we returned to the car but that changed quickly as soon as we got underway again.

We arrived in Quebec city just before dark, checking into the Auberge du Littoral a few kilometres from Quebec old city. The next day we had a long walk around the latter and spent a few hours in the excellent Musee de l'Amerique francaise which deals with the history of French-speaking people in North America, the past rivalries and wars between England and France and their impact on Quebec, and indigenous settlement in the Quebec province.

We were surprised at how little English is spoken here. French is very much the principal language, and we heard no English apart from our own conversations. But the locals are very helpful and friendly and it was a fascinating couple of days in Quebec, albeit cold. A maximum of 2C, and minimum of -6C, is forecast for tomorrow. Time to bring out the thick coat I bought at the Beijing silk market.

Lincoln, New Hampshire, USA

We flew out of San Francisco on Friday night, arriving the following morning on the east coast in Boston where we picked up a car and immediately headed north to escape the path of Hurricane Noel due in the area within the next few hours. We stopped at the picturesque small town of Lincoln, New Hampshire where we stayed for the next two nights. In the high season this is a popular and busy skiing and hiking place, but it was quiet during our time here. I spent a day doing more work on this Blog and getting it ready to post to the net; this is my first blog, so I had to learn the steps by trial and error. Lee Tuan went walking amongst the autumn foliage.

Golden Gate Bridge & the "Victorians", San Francisco, California, USA

We made an early start today, strolling down to Fisherman's Wharf to catch a fishing boat that during the day takes tourists out on sight-seeing tours of the San Francisco Bay. We sailed past the city waterfront districts, under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz, the former Federal island prison that was once "home" to the likes of Al "Scarface" Capone.

San Francisco has preserved many hundreds of its tasteful Victorian-style terrace houses, the result being many beautiful city streetscapes. In the afternoon we visited a few of these, including one known as "postcard row" that has a great city backdrop.

Late in the afternoon we caught a bus to the south side of the Golden Gate Bridge and did what hundreds of others were doing; walk across it. This is the only way to truly appreciate the scale of the bridge and the engineering effort that must have gone into building it. The walk also provided many dramatic visual perspectives of the structure and surrounding bay. The two enormous cables from which the bridge hangs are each composed of 27,600 individual steel strands and each cable has a diameter of about 1 metre!

Sadly the Bridge has a darker side too, being the final jumping-off point for several people a year for whom life, even in San Francisco, has become too much to bear. Signs at several places along the bridge walkway display a telephone counselling help-line. But jumping off the Golden Gate was a long way from our to-do list, and shortly before sunset we caught the bus back to our motel to collect our luggage, then enjoy an excellent $8.99 buffet dinner at the nearby Star of India restaurant before heading on to the airport, our next jumping-off point.

San Francisco, California, USA

After rousing from our Napa slumber, and a very enjoyable day in the Valley, we covered the remaining kilometres to San Francisco, and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to arrive at Fishermans Wharf at about 7pm. We booked into a motel a few blocks from the Wharf, and would you believe it, barely an hour later an earthquake struck!!! 6.8 on the Richter Scale. We knew that San Francisco was on seismically unstable ground, but we had no idea how often the city experienced temors like this. The whole building shook vigorously, and fittings in the room were rattling for about 15 seconds. We put our shoes back on in case we might have to leave in a hurry, but everything was soon still again, so we carried on with our coffees and milky way bars and turned on the TV to see if the quake was being reported. It sure was; one station devoted the next few hours to the event. Apparently this was the strongest tremor in 20 years. How lucky were we? We're in SF barely an hour and we get to experience one of their quakes.

This morning we dropped off the Pontiac we had hired in early October in Los Angeles and that had carried us safely 7,000 km across California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. Then we walked to Fishermans Wharf for lunch, trying the clam chowder and Dungeness crab the place is famous for, then uphill and downhill to Chinatown and Nob Hill. San Francisco is very hilly, with street grades amongst the steepest in the world. But it is a very attractive place with balmy air and a pleasant maratime atmosphere that has attracted people (and sea lions) from across the world to come and live here. Walking around it's not hard to see why.