Duxbury, Cape Cod and Boston and rainy weather!

Miramar Retreat Center, Duxbury, MA

On The Road Again...Monday 10/04/10... Started the day with 7:30 am Mass followed by breakfast. After breakfast we took a walk down to the Kingston Bay. Met with our friend and tour guide, Fr Tom and after lunch took a local tour of Duxbury. Very interesting. Some of the houses date back to the 1700's.  

Stations of the Cross

Labyrinth..interesting to walk

Saw where the homestead of Miles Standish was. Visited the oldest maintained cemetery in the U. S. where the graves of John Alden and his family are. There is also a marker saying this is where the first church was.

Site of Miles Standish's home

Site of first Church

Plymouth Rock

Mayflower II

Sleeping quarters for a family of four

Visited the Cape Cod Canal, this allows ships to get into Long Island Sound in a shorter and safer distance. We rode around Plymouth, visited Plymouth Rock and went on the Mayflower II. Interesting to talk to the role players. They would speak in character of those who traveled the ship in 1620. Tom knew a story about a passenger of the Mayflower by the name of John Billington and asked the role player. She responded, I can't talk about that. It was drizzly during the day but when on the Mayflower II it started to RAIN. Had a wonderful dinner at Isaacs restaurant. 65 miles.

Provincetown Memorial

116 steps and 60 ramps to the top,   252 feet tall

On the road again, Tuesday Oct 5, after Mass and breakfast.....a trip to Cape Cod. We went all the way to the tip, to Provincetown. We climbed the steps to the top of the Provincetown Monument. It is 252 feet high. As we walked the steps we read the marble slabs with the dates towns in New England were incorporated. We watched a very informative video of the Pilgrims coming to America. Again it is drizzle-y and at times RAIN! Made us so aware of the elements the Pilgrims had to endure on their journey across the Atlantic. They landed first at Provincetown but wanted a more favorable area to live in. Miles Standish led the exploratory party to find better place for a settlement. Hence, Miles Standish is greatly revered. There is a HUGE statue of him in Boston. We also stopped at Marconi Point. Where Marconi built his Trans-Atlantic towers and station so messages could be sent to England. Traveled 82 miles.

Provincetown Town Hall

On the road again, Wednesday Oct. 6 to Halifax. Father Tom says Mass on Wednesdays at Our Lady of the Lake so we went with him. After Mass we enjoyed visiting with some of the parishioners. By the way, we went to Halifax, MA. After lunch, Tom gave us a tour of Boston in the car. It was raining more than the other days. Again, aren't we grateful for all the modern conveniences, not the circumstances that the Pilgrims lived under. We saw Boston Commons, Paul Revere's home, the Old North Church, Paul Revere statue, St Stephens Church, Boston University, MIT, Boston escalade where the Boston Pops Orchestra plays, ands many more places. Dinner at Carmela's. 86 miles.

Going to Halifax, MA with Tom for Mass

Our Lady of the Lake, Halifax, MA

Paul Revere

Old North Church,  one by land, two by sea

Sun greets us as we leave Boston area

Before we say good bye to Tom.

Road Washington took the troops to Trenton

On the road again Thursday Oct. 7. Time for us to head toward Chesapeake, VA. We had a great breakfast with Tom before leaving. We were treated royally by all the staff at Miramar. Tom is a super tour guide but more memorable, a great friend for over 25 years. We had no problems driving around New York City. We visited the Washington Crossing State Park near Trenton, New Jersey. A wonderful video gave an in-depth enactment of the Ten Crucial Days during the Revolutionary War. We walked the trail Washington and his men walked. On to a Flying J Travel Center at Carney Point. We are boon docking again. Met a great couple, Dale and Pat from Texas and had supper with them at the restaurant. Great to exchange stories and learn new tips from them. 374 Miles today. 23.69 mpg.

Where Washington & troops crossed the Delaware

Ferry the troops used to cross

On the road again, Friday Oct. 8 heading to visit Phil's Aunt Bev. An interesting aspect of our travels is all the different countryside and fields. Delaware seemed flat but lots of trees. We could see huge fields of tomatoes, must be commercial fields. Also huge fields of plants that would be sold at nurseries. We passed Dover Air Force Base. Then saw soybean fields that looked sad. Then saw one field that was not yet harvested.....it was cotton. Interesting. Another Virginia crop is peanuts. Stopped at a Virginia Nature Center, learned about the animals and sea creatures of Chesapeake Bay. Then we crossed the Bay using the Chesapeake Bay Bridge - Tunnel. It is 20 miles and considered one of seven Engineering Greats in 1965. http://www.cbbt.com/facts.html. We were greeted with open arms and big hugs by Aunt Bev. Her son, Steve, and his wife joined us for the family's traditional spaghetti dinner. It's great to visit with family we have not seen for so long, Steve said 20 years for Phil and him. We saw Aunt Bev 4 years ago. 250 miles traveled today. 22.15 mph.

Traveling through Delaware, state with no sales tax.

Bridge across Chesapeake Bay