Leaving the Midwest

After Battle Creek I was mainly making time,heading southwest, skirting around Chicago. I was heading towards St. Louis to visit the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The Gardens advertised having the largest Japanese Garden in the country. It was a very nice garden, definitely large, but maybe not the most inspiring one. There was also a smaller Chinese garden among the many others. Wish I had more time to inspect the Home Gardens section. The Victorian gardens were nice, but the greenhouse is not open. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/Mobot/index.html

From St. Louis it was Independence for the Truman Library and then to the Nelson Atkins in Kansas City. The Truman was much smaller than the Eisenhower, but I learned a few things there about the cold war. The exhibits on the Berlin Airlift complimented the one I’d seen at the Air Force Museum. I hadn’t known that B-29s were moved England to threaten the Soviet Union. The museum also dealt frankly with the patronage issues and how catering to certain votes may have influenced foreign policy decisions. There was a panel on Truman’s daughter’s disastrous singing career. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/Truman/index.html

The Nelson Atkins was a good place to retreat from the heat and humidity for the afternoon. The art museum’s Chinese Art exhibit was the most impressive one I’ve seen in terms of presentation. The museum was free except for an admissionfee for the special of Steichen photos from his Vanity Fair days. The photos were very impressive but the catalog in the bookstore only gave a hint of the impact of the exhibition prints. Photos of the Nelson Atkins:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/NelsonAtkins/index.html

From Kansas CityI made it to Junction City, which was pretty isolated. I had to ride through a lightning storm to get there. The only culinary option within walking distance from the Motel 6 was the A&W at the truck stop. The motel itself was actually pretty nice. Motel 6 accommodations vary greatly, although, like McDonalds, they don’t slip below a certain level. Some are pretty good bargains. I had a studio in Pueblo, my next stop, that was really nice.

From Junction City I made a rendevouz with an old college friend in Brush via the miracle of cell phones. Brush is on Route 94 and there is pretty much just a cafe there. I had gotten off the interstate after seeing a sign saying that side roads were the fastest way to Colordo Springs. They were in pretty goo condition and relatively empty. According to Mapquest I made 500 miles that day, which surprised me since I wasn’t trying that hard.

In Colorado Springs I made a quick side trip to Garden of the Gods on the advice of my friend’s wife. These were pretty interesting formations, but it was hard to stop to take pictures since there was so much traffic. I then headed to the Phantom Canyon Brewing Canyon downtown. Parking was a pain on a Saturday evening and I finally had to settle for a $6 lot, which was kind of expensive just to grab a beer. Fortunately, there was bar seating and the beer was good. I’d had an early dinner so I just ordered a hummus and vegetable plate. There was a white Belgian on the beer menu that I tried in addition to the Porter. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/ColoradoSprings/index.html

This still left me with time to get comfortably to Pueblo. From there I headed for Pagso Springs and Durango on my way to Mesa Verde. Went through some very good scenery, including Wolf Pass. Hit some some winds, but they weren’t too bad. Got to Mesa Verde and found that they were tearing up the first 10 miles of the roads. Not as bad as Chaco Canyon, but I had been expecting an easy ride into the park.

On to Detroit

Saying good-bye to Cleveland’s University Circle, which seemed like a nice place to hang around, I headed to Toledo to stage myself for Detroit. Just as I hit town my weather luck ran out and I hit a pretty heavy thunderstorm. The rain gear I’d picked up along the way was working pretty well. The Canadian Walmart boots aren’t really waterproof, but they don’t seem to get soaked and they stay warm. The storm slacked off, or I got out of it, as I reached the Maumee Brewing Co., located in the Oliver House, which apparently was a fancy hotel at one time and now contains more than one eating establishments or bars. The Maumee had some interesting decorations. See these photos, which also include some shots from the Cleveland Museum:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/Cleveland/index.html

In spite of the bad internet reviews, the beer and food were actually pretty good. The hazelnut porter actually worked pretty well and the IPA passed muster.

I was getting tired of spending 45-90 minutes at a museum, so I had planned to spend the entire day at the Detroit Institute of the Arts. This would also function as a rest day. The museum was a pretty good size with secure parking behind it. It was also part of a museum cluster. I lucked out since they were also showing Fritz Lang’s newly restored Metropolis, which I had wanted to see before I left on this trip. After the fact I also learned that they had chamber music with lunch concerts the same day, but I was able to hear part of one of them from the upper galleries. The Diego Rivera murals were especially notable, although the collections were for the most part worthwhile. Photos are at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/DIA/index.html

There was a gap of an hour between the museum closing and the start of the movie, but they thoughtfully have a cafe open upstairs where you can buy light food and spirits while waiting. See the photos to see the area in which the cafe was located. Metropolis was worth the extra stay in Detroit. I had seen the original really short version in college. At first it started off more slowly than I remembered, but the second half had me on the edge of my seat. The fact that the movie is now shown at a speed probably faster than it was meant to be, works against it at first, but I think emphasizes the frenetic pace.

I found the Motel 6 in Dearborn without too much trouble-when the Nuvi is working right, it really works. After the snack at the Museum, I just had some fast food for dinner. I was staying in Dearborn to visit Greenfield Village.

The weather reports were again for 50-60% chance of thunderstorms, but except for sprinkles the weather held up pretty well. The last time I visited the Henry Ford Museum 30 years ago I started with the museum and finished with the village. This time I reversed the order and visited the village first. I skipped the option of a visit to a Ford plant completely since it looked like I wouldn’t have time for that. I must have missed a lot the last time, since I spent most of the day in the village, mainly around Main Street and the crafts area. I got to see a little dramatic performance about the Wright Brothers and Sister and tried some Hobo Bread. I enjoyed the pottery, glass blowing, and printing demonstrations, as well as the tin-smithing and explanation of weaving. I finally got to see a card programmed loom, and how a flying shuttle works. I had an incredible lunch at the period tavern which kept me stuffed for the rest of the day. I decided I’d better ride the carousel before I left, although I stayed in a static chair. To get back to the main gate I took a short ride on the real steam locomotive pulled train. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/Greenfield/index.html

After buying souvenirs, this left me with 45 minutes for the museum. Fortunately it hadn’t changed much since the last time I had been there. Notable was the exhibit on freedom, including the Rosa Parks bus. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/HenryfordMuseum/index.html

I left as the museum closed at headed to Battle Creek for the night. I remember when I was a kid that all the breakfast cereal companies seemed to be headquartered there, or at least used it for a mailing address. The Motel 6 there was kind of run down, but had the highest bandwidth I’ve ever seen on the road, and faster than my DSL at home.

On to Cape Breton

Monday, June 7 I decided to get on the ferry from Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia. It was dry relative to the previous day. Before leaving Charlottetown I stopped downtown to get a picture of the Provincial building and the water front. Maybe it looks better when the weather is better. The scenery was nice and the roads were better than before, so I made good time to the ferry port. In fact, I got there by 10:15, and the next ferry was at 1PM.Actually, that wasn’t a bad thing since the cafeteria was fairly comfortable and they had just installed wifi a couple of weeks before, with good bandwidth. I processed all my photos and uploaded them, and had a chance to research my next destination. Photos at:

The ferry ride was only about an hour and was kind of scenic when we left the harbor. The weather was improving and I was about to make ti to North Sydney without too much trouble. The roads were also better here, although I had to go through some surface streets, but it’s always fun to sightsee. The hotel wasn’t too bad, although the name “The Clansman” sounds kind of bad to American ears-just have to remember that the Scottish heritage is strong in certain areas.

The weather was even better the next day as I headed out to Louisbourg, which turned out to be a Canadian version of Colonial Williamsburg, but with a much more reasonable admission fee. You can’t drive in, just like Williamsburg, you need to take a bus. Louisbourg was a big public works project that put to work unemployed coal miners to recreate one fourth of t the immense (by colonial standards, not by continental standards) French fortress. The idiot Brits pulled down the fortress when they conquered it the second time. I guess they had no idea what a tourist attraction they had acquired. The reconstruction appears to be very thorough and there are staff dressed in period costume scattered around who can answer your questions. Some are soldiers standing lonely watches since the tourist season hasn’t kicked in, yet. Others are artisans who can explain crafts such as basket weaving. Overall, Louisbourg is a very worthwhile trip. For lunch I found a tourist tavern where I was seated with fellow Californians and Oregonians. Lunch was served in conformance with the era; no forks, only spoons. I liked the bread and the vegetables which were a combination of carrots and turnips. I have to make more use of turnips when I get home.

It was crisp and clear, but also windy an chilling to the bone, so as soon as I had my fill of the site I took my leave for the Marconi historical site at Table Head in Glace Bay. There isn’t too much there, but there is a visitor center which explains the significance of the transmissions from Table Head. All that is left, though, are the some of the foundations of the four large wooden aerial masts. At this point, the weather was turning bad again, so I had a little ride in the rain back to North Sydney, where I stayed for a second night. I didn’t feel like exploring so I had dinner at the hotel again, but this time the haddock dinner was far more impressive than the deep fried fisherman’s feast I had the night before. Also, this time they had same carrot and turnips I’d had at lunch instead of the ubiquitous canned vegetables. Photos of the day at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/Louisbourg/index.html

The next day I took off for the Cabot Trail, which was the original point of this whole trip. Thirty years before I had come to Nova Scotia and skipped Cape Breton, and I was here to rectify my mistake. The weather was mixed, but not too bad for motorcycling, and after the initial roads, the roads also became good motorcycling roads and I saw some other cyclists. At first I despaired of finding a place for breakfast, but I found a small little restaurant (see the photos) which saved me. I also stocked up there on scones, dried fruit, and “oat cakes”. The scenery was pretty good and in general I enjoyed myself. I curved back around to Baddeck and visited the Alexander Graham Bell historical site there. The visitors center mainly caters to children, but they do have a full scale recreation of the hydrofoil Bell sponsored which is worth the trip. I did wish there was more information on the development of the telephone, but in Bell’s life that was only a diversion since his main vocation was the teaching of the hearing or speech impaired. It’s also obvious that he was way too pre-occupied with tetrahedrons. His tetrahedral airplane was definitely wrong. Cape Breton photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/CapeBreton/index.html

After this it was a mad dash back to Pictou, where I had landed from the ferry. I had wanted to stay in New Glasgow, but the hotels were too expensive for me. This brought me to the Customs House, which had wonderful rooms with high ceilings and lots of woodwork. The shower didn’t work properly, and the coffee maker was lacking a carafe, but the hotel was worth the stay with its location near the waterfront.

After re-evaluating my schedule yet again, I decided to not return by the St. John ferry and instead took the land route, as I had 30 years before. My last meal in Canada was fish and chips, but the the portions were entirely too much for me.

Re-entering the USA at Calais was pretty trouble free, and I returned to the Motel 6 at Bangor, which is probably the best Motel 6 I have stayed at so far. They have heating/cooling systems that you can program for temperature.

From Bangor I headed for Binghamton. The scenery in Maine is pretty good, even from the interstates. Actually, since you are sometimes elevated, you perhaps can see more from them. From Binghamton I headed to Cleveland to see the art museum. Unfortunately I got there with only an hour to see the whole thing. They were also having a festival in the University Circle, which was over by the time I got out of the museum. They were in the middle of a major reconstruction, so maybe I didn’t miss too much. Still, I did enjoy myself.

Last days In the U.S.

After Aberdeen I visited an old college friend in Philadelphia. On the way I stopped at the REI in Conshohocken to replace my rain pants which had failed me the day before in the thunderstorm I experienced after visiting the National USMC Museum. My friend showed me around Doylston, which looks like an interesting little town with several museums and a mellow night life. I disappointed my friend by not hanging around, just as I had with my cousins. I crossed into New Jersey to stay in a Red Roof, where I had bungled my reservations, but they had plenty of rooms. Tricky area since they have expressways that don’t have real exits, but are as fast as freeways.

I made poor progress the next day since my Garmin GPS tried to route me over the George Washington Bridge near New York, but there was some sort of traffic jam which brought everything to a big halt. I copied some other motorists and snuck off an offramp. I took surface streets to find the next bridge since I afraid of what might happen with the freeways around there. It was sort of interesting cruising through all the neighborhoods. Weather was looking bad inland so I stuck to I-95 since it seemed to skirt the rain. This was lucky since it took me to the Nautilus Museum, part of the Submarine Force Museum and Library, in Groton Connecticut. This was a lot of fun, since I remember all the news about the Nautilus when I was growing up. You do get to board the Nautilus and see some of it, but not the engineering sections. Lots more room than in a WWII Fleetboat or a U-boat. I spent a lot of time there so I decided to cut it short since the weather was looking bad, near Warwick RI. I tried a chain steak house nearby, but was chicken and ordered only some tasteless trout. Nautilus photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/Nautilus/index.html

The next day I drove through Providence the next morning looking for a Fedex, but there was no parking so I gave up. I did get a tour of downtown Providence, though. Looking for Fedex and Apple Stores has led to some good sightseeing.

I had visited Boston before, so I bypassed it for the last REI, in Reading, before the border, to pick up items I had forgotten to get in Pennsylvania. I picked up among other items a dry bag, which I should have started using. After I stopped in Salem to see the Peabody Essex Museum, which I had skipped during my previous visit. After seeing all the military museums, I decided to do something cultural. The last time I was there I saw the House of the 7 Gables and there was a lot of witch kitsch. There are still a lot of the black magic shops, but The Park Service now has a historical district marked out and a nice visitor center near the Peabody Essex. The museum has transplanted an entire furnished Chinese house which you can enter, but you can’t take any pictures. There were also special exhibits of the photos Richard Avedon took of the Kennedys and an interesting exhibition on the relationship the Mayans had with water. They also had one of the best Korean art galleries I’ve seen, plus Chinese and Japanese ones. Another place at which I could have lingered. Some photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/PEM/index.html

I made some miles after Salem and got to Bangor and the last Motel 6 before the border. I decided to go into town since there wasn’t much around the motel and tried the Sea Dog brewpub. Internet reviews were negative, but the food wasn’t that bad and the stout was okay. The pale ale was a little off in taste and gave me not quite a headache the next day.

The next day my weather luck ran out and it was raining. I crossed the border near Houlton without any trouble, although the lady there told me my travel plans were way too ambitious. I also found that my rain gear was grossly inadequate. Luckily I had replaced my rain pants already, but I found that the Goretex jacket and boots which had worked reliably in Alaska and the Yukon, had degraded in the past two years. They both soaked through. This was a major hypothermia problem. I warmed up a little at the first Welcome to Canada visitor center, where the nice lady gave me a map and directions to the malls in the next city, Fredericton.

It took me a little while to get oriented, but I found a Columbia jacket made out of Omni fabric at the Sears. It seemed to have taped seams so I bought it. On my second trip to the Walmart I found some very hight top work boots which had Thinsulate insulation. They weren’t waterproof, but they had “waterproof” leather, so I figured they had to be better than what I had. Also picked up some heavy socks since the boots were pretty roomy. Good thing I did. This got me squared away. My destination was Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island. According to my calculations this should have been an easy ride but the bad weather unplanned shopping trip delayed my arrival time until late at night. This was very similar to my late night dash to Valdez when I went to Alaska. The ride over the Confederation Bridge at night under very windy conditions was downright terrifying. At least the rain had let up after Moncton.

I finally reached Charlottetown, only to find that the GPS location was wrong. I knew that my GPS coudn’t find the street, so I had loaded in my best guess. Fortunately, a couple of Canadians got me to the right place. I gave up on dinner that night, but I had snacked on sandwiches along the way and I was able to make a cup of Via since I got a kitchen.

I was pretty dead after that ride, so I wasn’t able to get going till about almost noon, plus the weather was still bad, but not real wet yet. After getting lost again, I headed for the North shore. I first checked out Brackely Beach and then headed to Green Gables. This is now part of Park Canada, but it’s kind of on the same order as visiting Sherlock Holmes’s sitting room. Green Gables was owned by relatives of Lucy Maud Montgomery, but it has been furnished as the fictional Green Gables of the famous book. You can also walk through the real Haunted Woods and Lovers’ Lane. The former leads you to the site of the house in which Ms. Montgomery grew up and the site bookstore. There are also farm exhibits in a barn, and a coffee shop with employees in period dress. Anne of Green Gables is a major icon in Japan, and sure enough there was a group of Japanese house wives. Photos of Prince Edward Island at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/PEI/index.html

As I tried to repeat the Blue Heron Drive the weather started to get worse, although it had started to drizzle at Green Gables. I missed the Montgomery Museum which is run by some of her descendants. It was a little after Cavendish, I think. Cavendish is a real tourist trap, but it was empty since it was a couple of weeks before the season starts. I had driven to Charlottetown along Blue Heron, but I couldn’t see it in the dark. In the rain during the day I couldn’t see much, either. I did see some beautiful churches and some Japanese touring bicyclists who looked thoroughly miserable.

That night I rode into town for dinner. This was a major trial since it poured buckets and visibility was very poor. I think I flooded the seafood restaurant the hotel had recommended.

Colonial Williamsburg to Aberdeen

From a Motel 6 near the Richmond airport I took a detour to Colonial Williamsburg. I booked online and got a ticket for 2 days as part of some special deal, but I was only going for the day. The ticket did include the tour of the Governor’s Palace, which was worth checking it out. It had fairly large gardens. Parking was easy and they had a self-service like the airport that made redeeming my online ticket pretty easy. I used the shuttle to get into the historical section since there would be plenty of walking after the shuttle and it was pretty darn warm.

In general, the place is like an anime convention in the old days before the little kids took over. Plenty of people cosplaying in period costumes an dramatic performances between 3 and 5 in the afernoon. One problem is that there is a serious lack of water fountains except in a few places, so take plenty of water. You can buy very expensive water from some vending machines. The shops in general were fun to visit, but I missed the blacksmith. The gunsmith and the weaver were good, among others. Food is available and I chose the tavern opposite the armory. The beers served were very good as well as the peanut butter pie. I was going to go to Fredericksburg so I skipped the evening entertainment, but I did go to the DeWitt/Rockefeller museum after an iced coffee at the William and Mary bookstore. The museum is a little trick since you enter via an underground gallery from the old hospital building. Reminds me of that museum in Rome. The museum is definitely worth a visit if you’re going to visit Colonial Williamsburg. In general, as expensive as Disneyland, but with no rides. Kind of more like Epcot Center in terms of value. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/Williamsburg/index.html
http://ikemi.info/graphics2/WilliamsburgMuseum/index.html

My next stop was the new Marine Corps Museum at Triangle, next to Quantico. It’s more extensive than it seems when you first enter it. The timeline was pretty fascinating for me, but I was disappointed that the displays on the early history of the Corps are not yet ready. Extensive use of dioramas is made with the big set pieces being the landing on Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reserevoir, and a firebase in Vietnam. The Iwo Jima exhibit is immersive with a briefing and a door that simulates the dropping of the front gate on a landing craft. You also get a live docent telling you to move and get in there.

There is dining on-site at either Tun’s Tavern or the Mess Hall. I chose the later since I wanted to catch the Udvar-Hazy in the afternoon. Tun’s Tavern looked like more fun. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/USMC/index.html

After much traffic and a drenching thunder storm I finally got to the Udvar-Hazy location of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum around 4PM. Fortunately they had summer hours so they were open till 6:30PM. The last time I was there the space section wasn’t open, yet, so I got to review that, plus I was told that a some new planes were hanging from the ceiling so i went up on the elevated walkways. I think there were some more planes on the floor, and of course the newer jets, so it was worth checking this museum out again. Photos at:

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/UdvarHazy/index.html

I was running late and headed to Glen Burnie in MD to meet my cousins and faced more rush hour traffic. Coming through the Southwest and Midwest I’d forgotten about that, but after Richmond or so I was learning all about it again.

After being treated to dinner I spent the evening in Aberdeen and the next day I revisited the museum at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The last time I was there you didn’t even notice that you were driving onto a military base. This time I was photographed and temporarily issued an orange vest since I was on a motorcycle. Unfortunately, it looks like the expansion plans for the museum were never funded and some of the armor on display was in even worse condition than the last time I was there, although a few items had been restored. Some vehicles were missing, as well as all the V-2 and other German missile artifacts.The experimental pipe tank was also gone. On the other hand, the small arms displays indoors were very good. There were a couple of dioramas of a an armorer in action and a German assault crew in action viewed through a plastic panel over a cut-away assault gun.

http://ikemi.info/graphics2/Aberdeen/index.html