Let's Play Two!

When someone mentions New York, it is easy to immediately think about the Big Apple and all that can be found in the state’s biggest population center. But when I drove into what is often referred to as upstate New York and traveled through mostly rural areas, I saw a part of the Empire State I had never seen before - rolling hills, wooded mountains, mesmerizing lakes, clear rivers, and those ever-changing leaves that become so prominent this time of the year.

At this point in the trip, I had begun to recognize that I only had a few days remaining before I had reached the end. But the great thing about this trip was that I had made every day a great one with lots of sites to visit - and today was going to start with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Walking through the hallowed halls, I was slightly surprised to see so many mentions of guys who have been prevented from being a Hall of Famer - Pete Rose, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and others. While they haven’t yet been voted in and may never get voted in, they still have a presence throughout the museum. So, they will always have that!

Having spent the morning checking out this really cool place, I continued driving through the incredible scenery as I ventured to Syracuse for lunch. I didn’t stick around to check out much in Syracuse or make stops along the way at sites I thought would make for great pics. But I did make good time pulling into Buffalo.

The interesting part of arriving in Buffalo is that I had put on my list of photo stops the Peace Bridge. I drove to where the map in my rental car showed me to go to the Peace Bridge while not recognizing that I was actually entering an area that was considered outside of New York while not actually being in Canada. I got out of the car to get a few pics of the bridge, hopped back in and saw the “Welcome to New York” sign that started my confusion.

I quickly noticed that there was a border entry station in front of me and that I was going to need to be prepared to show some documentation. I had fortunately brought my recently-secured passport just in case I did have a chance to go to Canada, so I was able to show them everything I might need. There were a couple of minutes of tension for me as I waited on the guard to go through everything and ask questions as to what I was doing.

By the time it was over (a few minutes), it was determined that there was nothing all that unusual about someone driving to that spot and taking a photo and then coming back. So, I was let through and I went on to the hotel.

The staff was exceptionally nice when I arrived at my resting place for the next two nights, and one of them actually went outside to move her car so I could have a parking spot at the front. I was really impressed with their hospitality.

That night, I took the train northward to have dinner at the Anchor Bar, which is the original home of buffalo wings. I thought they were great and the bar itself was really cool. I definitely recommend!

Back to the room, I was ready to tackle the next day at one of America’s greatest natural sites - Niagara Falls.

The Day I Officially Became a Leafer

After spending most of the day before traveling the northeastern coast, it was hard to believe that I had an even better day planned for seeing nature at its finest as I prepared to drive away from the coast and into the heart of the New Hampshire/Vermont areas - but that is exactly how it turned out.

I took an extremely scenic route from Bangor to Conway, NH, and it was an array of rolling hills and trees with their multi-colored leaves all along the way. Once I made it to Conway, it was just a matter of time before I reached the Kancamagus Scenic Highway. There were so many stops with creeks, scenic views, and everywhere I was able to see the early “changing of the leaves” that this area of the country has gained so much fame for. I definitely picked a great time to be traveling through this part of the U.S.

Among the many stops I made on this highway were the Albany Covered Bridge, Lower Falls Scenic Area, Rocky Gorge Scenic Area, Sabbaday Falls Picnic Area, and Sugar Hill Scenic Overlook. I was definitely not disappointed!

I was encouraged by a friend back home to check out the Flume Gorge, so I headed there in the early afternoon. It was the highlight of the day with more amazing views, waterfalls, large rock formations and even another covered bridge. Having put in a great walk for the day, I hopped back into the car and headed toward the next state - Vermont.

As previously mentioned, I managed to check out numerous Ivy League schools on this trip and my last stop in New Hampshire included Hanover, the home of Dartmouth College. I saw rowers in action on the Connecticut River, which serves as the border between the two states. Driving through Vermont was relatively brief but beautiful as I traveled through the Green Mountains and checked out the Shires of Vermont.

Before I knew it, I was back in New York but in the upstate part that is generally used to describe most of the state outside of the New York City area. I had just enough daylight to capture a few sites in the state’s capital, Albany, before heading to nearby Schenectady and the casino that was hosting me that evening.

By the end of this day, I was feeling the effects of having driven around or walked for most of this day. And since my lunch had been a really early one, I was tired and hungry when I arrived at my room for the night. I had a great steak dinner in the casino and then went straight back to my room - I knew I had another busy day coming up but I at least knew the drive time would be significantly less as I continued west to Buffalo.

King of the World (or at least Maine)

Growing up as an inspired young writer, Stephen King was always the one whose work I was most drawn to. So, when I was planning ahead for this trip and I knew the easternmost part of my travels would be Maine, I knew I was going to have to make sure I attempted to get to King’s home.

Before I was able to make that happen, however, that day started exiting Boston (or Chelsea, to be more exact). My first stop was going to be Salem, which is home to the House of Seven Gables and the famed Salem Witch House. I was told by a bartender while in Boston that there were many myths about the witch trials and where they actually happened, but his words sounded more like a conspiracy theory and the truth is the trials happened in a nearby city (Danvers) that at the time had been known as Salem Village. So, maybe he was partly right.

Having read that the tours were overrated, I chose to just get pics of the house exteriors. The rush hour traffic I had to go through to get into and out of Salem was worse than I had prepared for, so time was already my foe on this day. As quickly as I was able on this early Monday morning, I drove to Kittery, Maine, with the intention of doing a little shopping. Little did I know that most of the shops were either closed for the day or hadn’t opened yet. So, it was off to Portsmouth (I’m not much of a shopper anyway), and a fantastic view of the Atlantic Ocean.

I finally took some time to walk around and allow all of my senses (minus taste, since lunch was scheduled for later) to take in all that Great Island Common had to offer on what turned out to be a really nice late September day. This was where I was able to view my first lighthouses of the day, but not my last.

Traveling up the coast in Maine offered up some incredible views and as I discovered, delicious lobster rolls. I checked out the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse and the Marshall Point Lighthouse (yeah, the one from “Forrest Gump”) before leaving the coast and heading inland to Bangor.

After checking out a couple of sites referenced in past King books (Paul Bunyan Statue, WKIT sign), I drove to the day’s primary destination. A fence that wasn’t particularly imposing surrounded the property, which was significantly smaller than one might have expected. A few items that aligned with what might expect from King were a part of the fence design, but his home otherwise gave off the appearance of any other home. I had been forewarned that King wasn’t particularly social with tourists seeking out his residence and that while pics were allowed, it would be wise to keep it at that.

Having taken my pics (the Paul Bunyan statue is really cool) in Bangor, I had a nice dinner that night before preparing for the next day of the trip - off to New Hampshire, Vermont and back into the Empire State as I continued to head south and west en route to the next stop.