New England via DC 'the capital of the world'.

"Foliage Foraging"

A week 'foliage foraging' in the first week of October started with Washington which Jacky hadn't seen and which turned out to be a star. Neither of us are much into ruins and old history but Washington's museums and memorials (of which the Space and Aeronautical is the king!) are immediately and impressively relevant. The influence of everything that happens here radiates to all parts of the globe - whether for good or evil!


We landed at Dulles at 3pm and by 5pm were out on the trail.

The Washington Memorial (right) dominates the landscape. And before sunset we had also 'ticked off' the Jefferson Memorial (below). As the sun set, the atmospheric Second World War 'Atlantic Section' Memorial showed up well. But the sunset had a more dramatic surprise in store

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Probably the best photograph
of the whole trip was taken four hours after we arrived in Washington. The Lincoln Memorial in the last light. We wouldn't have noticed it if we hadn't been talking to a professional photographer
sporting a $4,000 camera and a view finder the size of a TV screen!!



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Apart from the attractiveness and significance of the Arlington Cemetry, all of the key points of DC were visible from its elevated position - even to our surprise through one gap in the trees (below) - The Pentagon.










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Two final shots of a delightful and impressive city. DC through the trees from Arlington - and Washington
Memorial at 5pm - far too late we were
told to have any chance of reaching the top without a ticket.

Three minutes later a group turned
up with a spare pair. A good finish to
a great two days in 'the world's capital'

DC to Boston - by Railroad!

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Taking the 6 hour Express from Washington to
Boston via Philadelphia (right) New York (below left)
and Long Island Sound (below centre) was a more
colourful experience of the US of A than flying even
though 'railroads' go through the rougher parts
of town!!

The last shot shows the front of the train (just!)
drawing to a stop at Boston South Station
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Boston and tea parties

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____ The Boston 'Tea Party' which started the rebellion against the English was in fact the dumping of a consignment of tea in Boston Harbour as a gesture of revolt against 'taxation without representation'. Today a museum and replica tea clipper stand on the site (left) ...........

__________________.........whereas today the upper crust hold their tea parties in Beacon ________________________Hill the old and elegant section of Boston pictured (right)

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Boston is not a city in which an Englishman feels particularly comfortable. The Declaration of Independance (which was announced from the balcony of the now dwarfed 'Old State House' the red building - below left) one is familiar with but reading reports of the actions of the English during the potato famine as seen by the Irish is an even more unpleasant experience

The modern State House (right) which we didn't find particularly pleasing on the eye was more memorable for its gold leaf covered dome!
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One of the more colourful ways of getting round Boston is by amphibious 'duck' _
Garth doesn't look over impressed with purple. So we tried puce!
_

________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Another form of transport! Jacky races across the hotel bedroom on her exercise bike.

And from the 'duck at
dusk' - Massachusetts Institute of Technology!

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New England 'Golden Pond'

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The main purpose of the trip was to see the New England fall colours or 'foliage foraging' / leaf peeping' In crystal clear weather in the first week of October we couldn't have done much better



The first encounter with 'fall
foliage' was at the location
of the film 'The Golden Pond'
near Holderness in central
New Hampshire.







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The 'runaway train'

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Leaving the Franconia Inn in halloween mood; close by a classic red clapper board New England barn - and one of the aeroplanes used to tow gliders at the gliding centre and "Franconia Airport" - a field outside the Inn

Arriving at the entrance to the climb to the summit of 6,200 feet Mt Washington. We did it the 'softy' route - by car. We would have climbed it of course! but did not have time!!

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We were aware of the existance of the steam railway on Mt Washington but the sight of a pot stove funnelled sloping boilered engine perched on the peak of the mountain against the backdrop of a crystal clear blue sky exceeded all expectations.
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________For the technically minded this
________is a cog railway. The shot of the
________track shows the central rack with
________which the cog wheel in the engine
________engages providing both a driving
________mechanism and a fail safe brake!!

The value of the fail safe brake mechanism is obvious from these shots of the train disappearing
'runaway style' to the foot of the mountain

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Below Jacky gets into the picture....and, after watching the previous train heading off down the mountain - this last shot of this steam engine sequence shows the 'environmentally friendly' next up hill train approaching the summit. ___________________________________________________________________

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New England Colours

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Studies in red! starting with the shirt!! looking out from the 6,200 ft peak of Mount Washington
in northern New Hampshire to another mountain in the range covered in 'fall foliage'. The church and red bush is in nearby Franconia .....
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More colour contrasts - yellow, orange and red leaves ...and the red shirt again!
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An example (below) of a covered bridge at Bath in Vermont. There are many of these in New England but nobody seems sure why they were built!
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New England Pumpkins and Plymouth

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Jacky with a couple
of mates! And what a
mess the Americans
can make of a fine
looking church
with a makrame of
telegraph wires
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Colour on the golf course - amazingly the last day of the season - at Mount Snow
Golf Centre. southern Vermont




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__Plymouth Mass,
__where the pilgrims
__landed. And where
__we stopped for the
__last time before
__heading for Boston
__Airport and home.






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__________________________END OF NEW ENGLAND_______________________
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Britanny Taking a 'hice'

__
___In July we drove down to western Britanny where Jacky had 'taken a hice'
___and invited the family.

___The French autoroutes as usual were a delight. En route three places registered.
___Brecey a beautiful rural village in Normandy, Rouen the old capital of
___France and Fougeres a fortified medieval town in southern Britanny

___First stop - the village of Brecey not far from Rouen

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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____Rouen The market
____on Sunday