We had targeted Boston as our July 4th location so that we could experience the annual Boston Pops celebration there, looking forward to hearing the howitzers firing across the Charles River as the orchestra played The 1812 Overture. We booked a hotel close to the Esplanade so we would be in close walking proximity. Everything was set. Then Hurricane Arthur showed up. The celebration was moved forward a day to July 3. The performances were cut a bit short in order to get the fireworks in before an approaching drenching weather system hit. Fireworks were completed and all that was left was the overture and the howitzers....but, alas, it was not to be. Based on a Weather Service report, the order was issued that the Esplanade be cleared immediately at that point, and it was not a moment too soon. Within just minutes the clouds opened and everyone there was soaked. As it turns out we watched all this unfold from our hotel room, comfortable and dry, drinking our glasses of wine. We were discouraged from being on the Esplanade after being herded through the streets to get to the entrance, and discovering that we were behind many hundreds of others waiting to be cleared through security. We had seen the stage close up earlier in the day when things were being set up. We knew that we could see the fireworks from our hotel room, and a live broadcast was going to be available on a local television station. The hotel seemed like the better idea, so away we went. And glad that we did.
Boston has so much to see, where does one start? A very small sampling of the many sites we visited: USS Constitution, Bunker Hill, Fenway Park.
We drove to Plymouth and saw a replica of the Mayflower. Plymouth Rock is much smaller than one would expect. It's history is rather sad, including breaking apart when it was originally moved, and souvenir pieces being taken over the years. This is what is still left.
We drove a short ways up Cape Cod, stopping in Hyannis Port. There is a small JFK Museum there, and we visited it. We had hoped to be able to see the Kennedy compound, but it wasn't possible.
We visited Lexington and Concord where the "shot heard round the world" was fired on North Bridge. There is still a bridge there, albeit not the original one.
We added 3 more State Capitols to our list: Providence, RI; Concord, NH; and Augusta, ME.
Some major renovations are taking place on the Maine Capitol, as you can see from all the scaffolding. When we were in Maine, we had hoped to see a moose. The only one we saw was a stuffed one inside the Capitol.
Maine is a very friendly state--at least, that was our experience. It's a very patriotic state--US flags are seen flying everywhere. And it has a strong grassroots movement to increase 'Mainely Made' products. Perhaps it would be a good example for the rest of the nation.
Our week in Bar Harbor was a fun one. We saw a lot of iconic scenery.
When the tide was out, we enjoyed exploring the tide pools.
We went on a couple of boat excursions where we could see and touch local sea creatures.
The 7-year-old and 4-year-old that was with us proudly became Junior Rangers at Acadia National Park.
We enjoyed walking around the small town of Bar Harbor, and tried to have fresh seafood wherever we went, of course. The week went really quickly.
Maine was our northernmost and easternmost stop. We're now making our way back south and west. Upstate New York is next.
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