RHODE ISLAND¬ – MASSACHUSETTS – MAINE – NEW YORK – PENNSYLVANIA

Greetings Family and Friends!

The past month was filled with quality time with family and writing has played 2^nd fiddle.  Last time I left off in Connecticut en route to Cape Cod, and this post covers more time in the northeastern USA, a place full of history and beauty.  The small towns and villages settled in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, with their charming homes in natural settings delight me. There was no time spent in New England when I wasn’t near a forest, river, pond or the Atlantic.

You can’t throw a rock without hitting a toll road around here.  If you’re ever driving your own vehicle in these parts, you might find it as helpful as I did to sign up for the “pay toll by license plate” system with each state you plan to drive through.  It saves a lot of time over stopping to pay with cash or by credit card. 

Rhode Island

My favorite road stop in Rhode Island is the tiny Founders Brook Park in Portsmouth.  This secluded green spot was the location in the 1600s of a medicinal herb garden belonging to Anne Hutchinson and one of her supporters.  Anne was called “Founder of Rhode Island” as well as “she-devil” and other disparaging names.  She was banished from Massachusetts for such heretical thoughts as believing the souls of men and women are equal.  Her story is a fascinating part of American history, and her biography American Jezebel which my cousin Jay recommended isup next on my Kindle queue.  

If you’re in Rhode Island, I hope you’ll check out some wineries, it’s such a pleasant way to spend a day.  They look and feel different than the Napa/Sonoma vineyards I’m used to.  Not just the ocean breezes and old stone walls surrounding the properties, but also the more casual farmland vibe.  The vines rows aren’t always perfectly symmetrical, and somehow these things lend a more old-world impression to Rhode Island wineries. 

Massachusetts

Cape Cod holds fond memories since the 1960s of family visits with my aunt Martha and Uncle Ed (or M+E as they are known in the family). M+E recently moved from their home in Cataumet (1 of the 9 villages in the town of Bourne) to more manageable living near Boston.  But I still felt drawn to the Cape and wanted to take a week to explore some of the National Seashore locations. 

I also revisited some trails along the Cataumet Greenway.  It’s part of the Bourne Conservation Trust, 95 acres of trails in gorgeous green woods and wetlands.  The first time I saw a cranberry bog was on a walk here with M+E.

Kate the Van and I stayed at the family-owned Shady Knoll RV Park in Brewster, which is about halfway down the Cape. The parking spots are carved out of the forest, with a lot of privacy in-between.  They had great shower facilities, an open air (covered) laundry area, a general store, and incredibly friendly and helpful staff. 

Brewster is also home to Nickerson State Park, an excellent place to hike, pond swim, fish, kayak, and camp.  If you’re a biking enthusiast, you might want to check out the Cape Cod Rail Trail.  It will take you along some beautiful villages and scenery on the Cape.

Some of the Cape Cod National Seashore places I visited: 

1.  The Nauset Lighthouse sits above a beautiful beach perfect for long walks. The dune Rosa Rugosa was in bloom. This wildflower just screams Cape Cod to me (quietly of course).   This is also the location of the 3 Sisters Lighthouses, which were moved from their original foundations to a lawn behind the current tower light.  Before there were different signal options for lighthouses, staggered clusters of 1, 2 or 3 small lighthouses along the Cape let sailors know where they were at night.  In my deranged mind I took one look at these small historic lighthouses and thought… “what a cute tiny house one of those would make”. 

2. Province Lands is at the very tip of the Cape past Province Town. It’s an incredibly long stretch of beach, a great place to sit and watch the ferries coming in from Boston, and see small aircraft landing at the airport over the dunes.   In addition to hiking trails, the 6-mile Province Land Bike Loop winds through a wide variety of terrain, starting from the visitor center. 

3. The Great Island Trail in Wellfleet is the longest trail in the Cape Cod National Seashore.  If you go, you’ll need to pay attention to the tides, because at times the trail is submerged.  Part of the trail is the site of the Samuel Smith Tavern a late 17th-century pub run by the then owner of Great Island. Whalers would find their way to it through the woods.  One wonders if they found their way back to their ships as easily after a night of drinking?  The site was excavated in 1969 and thousands of drinking artifacts, clay pipes, and harpoons were found. A 16th century Wampanoag Indian woman was reinterred here. Her remains had been discovered during a house excavation in 1953. The Wampanoag Tribe and Wellfleet Historical Society held a ceremony at the site when returning her to the land.   

Dover

After a marvelous sun-kissed time on the Cape, I headed southwest of Boston to visit my brother Mike, his wife Christine, and their two sons CJ and Mathew.  They live in Dover which is a pretty little town of about 6000 souls which was first settled in 1640.  One night both CJ and Matthew were home, and we enjoyed and delicious dinner prepared by Christine along with some lively conversation with the young gents.

Martha and Ed live a short drive away and I got to visit them in their new place.  It was also a treat to see my cousin Jay and his wife Lisa, who are such lively and fun people.  I wish I could teleport to the east coast and get to see my family here more often. 

Mike and I took some afternoon walks, one at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and The Gardens at Elm Bank. The parking lot was filled with families who were there for a soccer game.  I’d visited this park a few years ago and toured its beautiful gardens, but this time Mike and I walked along the cool green forest outside those more manicured areas. 

We also spent some time poolside at Mike’s athletic/social club. It’s nestled in a bucolic setting, and the golf course always makes me think about Katherine Hepburn golfing in some of her films. It’s a great place for families to meet, play, dine, and enjoy healthy activities. 

MAINE

My next stop was to visit my cousin Nancy in Cumberland Maine, where she lives with her husband George and their son Harry.  Cumberland Foreside is a picturesque hamlet just north of Portland situated on a lovely bay.  Maine is known as “Vacationland”, but Nancy was working hard. All the more so because she was getting ready to leave on vacation and needed to wrap up some deals.  Still, in the 9 days I got to spend with her we enjoyed some fun times together. We kayaked on a gorgeous day with calm waters, and walked around the fantastic Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, where they have an amazing “troll” installation. 

Harry and I walked the family dog Archie in some wooded open spaces, and with Nancy, Archie and I walked around the Littlejohn Island Preserve (part of the Royal River Conservation Trust).

I also took some solo walks in the nearby conservation lands and spotted some Pink Lady Slipper Orchids.  This made me happy because when I had visited New England in the past, my stepfather (born and raised in Massachusetts) would always ask if I’d seen one of these plants…but I never had until now.   I wished he was still alive so I could have shared the photo with him, he would have gotten a kick out of it!  

I spotted some horseshoe crabs. Somehow I don’t feel like I’ve been to Maine unless I see one of these living prehistoric creatures.  Another quintessential Maine experience is eating lobster…and Nancy served us up a wonderful lobster dinner followed by her delicious homemade blueberry crumble.  George was kind and patient enough to mentor me on how to properly break apart a lobster, since I’ve always cheated and only eaten lobster rolls in the past. 

Returning to Dover for a few days I enjoyed a 2^nd visit with Martha and Ed.  Nancy had suggested I visit the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln Massachusetts where my grandparents Helen and Thatcher lived.  It’s not far from Dover and I’d wanted to drive by their former home and the post office across the street.  It’s sweet journey of the mind to make vivid memories of cherished summers past.

NEW YORK

After Massachusetts my plan was to head westwardtowards northern Montana and Idaho for visits with my brothers Chris and Rob, and my former in-laws (the McCandless clan) in Southern Idaho.

I’d intended to first visit Glimmerglass State Park in Cooperstown after Dover, but a cracked windshield needed to repair, and Mike and family were more than hospitable for a few extra days so I could stay and get that work done.  I was grateful for the extra time with them and might just get up to Cooperstown next time I’m back east. 

Once Kate was ready to roll, I drove west through the dense forests of The Berkshires into New York State.  That first night I stayed in Oneonta, New York in a farmland valley.  The next day I went for a hike in the 1,137-acre Chenango Valley State Park.

Onward to Bath, New York I stayed in a private RV park called Camper’s Haven.  It’s a pastoral place with a pond and paddle boats, and lots of activities for the long-term guests and their children to enjoy. The young owners were wonderful hosts.  I parked in an open meadow near their swimming pool. 

PENNSYLVANIA

I loved the sign I saw entering Pennsylvania which read: “PURSUE YOUR HAPPINESS”. 

You bet your bippy I will Pennsylvania 🙂

I settled in for a week in the 500,000+ acre Allegheny National Forest near the New York border.  Allegheny is story of old growth, new growth, conflict, conservation, and forest management.  It is also a stunning camping location with a huge reservoir, and remote enough that I said goodbye to cell reception for the duration of my stay. 

The RV parking section was almost empty, and I only saw a few other campers. There were plenty of day use folks coming in to use the boat launch, and on the hiking trails.  Warning signs were posted about black bears, but I never saw any in my wanderings.  It was a reminder that a can of bear spray in the backpack is not a bad idea. I need to get on that.  It can work on mountain lions and 2 legged predators too.

After Allegheny I continued west through small Pennsylvania towns and main streets of a few blocks populated with post offices, libraries, shops, and restaurants.  You drive through forests, then farmland, and into towns in little valleys with church steeples popping up. Factories and light industrial bits on the edges before you reconnect to a two-lane highway. There were quite a few I windmill farms on the hills in-between towns, something I’ve seen all over the country.    

Thanks so much for stopping by. Next post I’ll catch up through family visits in Montana and Idaho.  Meanwhile….

May the forest be with you 😉

arica