Johnny and Vickie were picking me up at 9 am on Saturday morning to head to West Virginia. They have been telling me about their travels south and out west for several years. I have been to Europe - took a bus tour of Central Europe in 1978 - have been to Spain, have been to London and Rome several times. But I hadn't really explored much of the United States until recently. I went to the Pacific Northwest with Danno when he was trying to hit every US state - I have been to Washington DC several times - we went back to Seattle and then on to Alaska which was the last state for Danno to hit - plus I married him and Amanda there on a glacier - I was back again to Seattle when Mairead moved there last summer.
After talking to Johnny and Vickie, I started looking into driving to Seattle this fall to see Mairead and then exploring the west coast before driving home. After all, I am retired - I may not have plenty of money, but I have plenty of time - I wouldn't have to stay at any place too fancy - all I need is a clean bed, clean shower and the internet. Then I was thinking I would drive to Florida where we pick up our 3 day cousins' cruise the end of every January - drive down one way, go on the cruise, come back another way after spending some time in Fort Myers with JB and Tina. But, of course, then Covid hit. It struck the East Coast the worst at first - now it is hitting southern and western states and is coming back in California. Some states have 2 week quarantine restrictions for visitors - plus I don't want to go anywhere with high Covid numbers - and I definitely don't want to go to states that don't encourage wearing masks or social distancing. So my plans for seeing the US are on hold.
But Johnny and Vickie were talking about going to West Virginia - Vickie was born and grew up in Virginia - she had relatives in West Virginia. They love PipeStem State Park where they rent a cabin and just chill. West Virginia was also on the list of states that Massachusetts did not require a 2 week quarantine for visitors or returning residents - although this did change the day we were leaving. J&V asked me if I wanted to go - so I am tagging along.
Of course, Johnny and Vickie couldn't head to West Virgina without stopping at an estate sale just down the street from me in Mashpee. We checked that out and were on our way - out route 495. We turned off around Milford and drove the back roads for a while - I love this - I hate straight highway driving - I'm nosy - I like to see how other people live. I'm not sure of all the places we drove through, but I recognized Sutton and Oxford - J&V had lived in Oxford for many years. That area is country-ish - the houses have more land - a lot of them have pools - there are farms - cornfields - smaller town centers. Something to look at!! I always say that every town and village - no matter how small or how large - has something of interest - some bit of history or architecture or beauty. I hadn't realized how many kettle ponds there were in this area - these were formed in the Ice Age when glaciers melted and left holes which later filled with water.
After a pit stop in Charlton at Dunkin Donuts, we headed for Interstate 84. We passed into Connecticut about noon. Johnny turned on the Connecticut Catholic Radio station - the music was older rock and kept us entertained. We eventually reached the Merritt Parkway and headed down to White Plains and Tarrytown. We crossed the new Governor Mario Cuomo Tappan Zee Bridge - this reminded me of the Zakim Bridge in Boston but on a much grander scale - it has 4 lanes in each direction and even has a lane for cyclists and pedestrians!! It was a nice day and there were all kinds of people walking over the bridge! The views up and down the Hudson River were spectacular. I'd love to walk across that bridge.
We got off Interstate 287 at Oakland in search of a pit stop - the bathroom at Dunkin Donuts was blocked off - Johnny said that it was a problem at times finding a bathroom when they are traveling because of Covid. So we went back onto 287 and tried Boonton where we stopped at MacDonald's. We settled back into the car and continued our journey. We passed Morristown where George Washington had one of his headquarters during the Revolutionary War. The radio was playing commercials for sports betting - I was surprised at this as we don't have this in Massachusetts, but I guess the US Supreme Court recently overturned the ban on sports betting.
We reached Lambertville, New Jersey. Johnny asked if I wanted to see David Rago's auction house. We pulled up in front of a plain looking building with a sign for Physical Therapy. Up the steps to the right was Rago's. I was expecting something more lavish. We just walked in - masks on - and looked around. An auction was in progress - but it was nothing like I expected. I thought it would be like auctions I have seen on TV - rows of people - a loud auctioneer - excitement. It was very low key - maybe because of Covid. There were maybe 10 people - socially distanced - David Rago's wife, Suzanne Perrault, was sitting on a platform running the auction. On the right hand side there were people handling phone and online bids. It was very quiet - not the least bit exciting. A large screen showed the piece that was being sold. Other large pieces were on the floor - there was pottery in locked display cases. We took a quick look around and then headed out.
We drove through downtown Lambertville which is a cute area full of colorful antique shops and restaurants - various types of architecture - it was packed with people - absolutely packed - some with masks - more without masks.
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Johnny is very knowledgeable about George Nakashima - an American woodworker, architect, and furniture maker. We drove by his home and workshop in New Hope - it was closed so we couldn't go in.   Examples of Nakashima's work We picked up route 202 - we passed farms, cornfields, even some cows! We saw lots of fields with baled hay. There was a chocolate shop with a load of motorcyclists parked outside. Normally we would yield to traffic in a rotary, but Johnny had to yield while he was in a rotary. American flags were still at half staff for 9/11. We passed an exit for Washington Crossing and the David Library of the American Revolution. I would like to come back here some time. This is where George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River on their way to Trenton, New Jersey. The library contains manuscripts from the Revolutionary War. |
We reached the Hampton Inn about 5 - it was in a new tech park surrounded by cornfields. The rooms were only $99 each. I had a room with 2 queen beds. Johnny checked in - we entered through a side entrance and never saw anyone. The hotel staff no longer makes the beds - no longer changes towels daily - no longer picks up. If you need clean towels, you leave a tag hanging on the door. The staff leaves a plastic bag with clean towels on your door. No more buffet breakfast - it is now packed to go.
Johnny and Vickie called to make reservations at a couple of places but we would have had to wait until 7 or 8 pm which was too late. So we took a ride in the car and found a chain restaurant - but I can't think of the name. It was not very crowded and tables were spread out. We were hungry by this time. After a good meal, we headed back to the hotel and crashed. Tomorrow we head to Gettysburg and then West Virginia.
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