Retired and Trippin

At 8:00 we departed Rockland, MA. It was sunny and 64 degrees. Carl was leading today and he let the GPS lead us through downtown Boston. Hwy 3 took us near downtown, where we caught I-93 north and on the north side of Boston we took Hwy 1 north to Salisbury Beach in Salisbury, MA. We enjoyed wandering around the beach. Tops went down on the convertibles when we left the beach and they stayed down until later in the day further north in Maine when it rained. Our route continued north using Hwy 1 and I-95 into New Hampshire and Maine. As we were driving north on I-95 Chris attempted to take a photo of the welcome to Maine sign but she must have pulled the trigger a tad too late. We stopped in Ogunquit, ME, where the ladies did a little shopping and we ate lunch at the Rose Cove Ogunquit. We finished off the day continuing north on I-95 to Bangor, ME. We drove 262 miles today. The high temperature was a mild 83 but we experienced some rain towards the end of the day's travels. To see...

Departure time from Mystic, CT was 8:00 under sunny skies with a temperature of 70, though it quickly increased to the 80's. We traveled from Connecticut through Rhode Island to Massachusetts. Our route was 1 east to Westerly, RI; 1, 1A east and north, 138 east to Portsmouth, RI; 138 north, 24 northeast, I-195 east, 25 east, 6 east and 3 north to Plymouth, MA; 3 north to Rockland, MA where we spent the night. The highlight of the day was Plymouth, MA, where we ate lunch, did some walking and shopping, checked out views of Plymouth Harbor, viewed Plymouth Rock and a replica of the Mayflower. We landed in Rockland, MA at 2:15 and it was 82 degrees. Our travels today covered 146 miles and the high temperature was 87. After stopping Chris and I went to a laundromat to clean some clothes and Carl and Marge went to dinner with Marge's half brother and his wife. To view all photos taken today click on this link:  Day 6 Photos

Our day started in Pennsylvania, went through New Jersey and New York, and ended in Connecticut. At 8:00 we left our lodging in White Haven, PA traveling east on I-80 into New Jersey. At exit 12 we dipped south on 521 to Hope, NJ and caught scenic 519 north to New York and I-84 just south of Port Jervis. From here I entered Mystic, CT into Google maps and followed the directions provided. I don't remember for sure the route but looking at the map after the fact I believe it was I-84 east, 17 southeast, 6 east, 202 southeast, 9 south, I-287 east and I-95 east. I may be missing a step or two. We came very close to the north edge of New York City. Along 202 there was a scenic stop that overlooked the Hudson River. Traffic was crazy and varied from way too fast to slower than the speed limit. I was glad when we reached our destination of Mystic, CT. We had a very late lunch at Mystic Pizza and the pizza was really good. The movie "Mystic Pizza" was playing without sound on th...

Our travels continued today at 8:00 under partly cloudy skies with a cool but humid temperature of 66. We would be in Pennsylvania all day. From Uniontown, PA we traveled northeast on 119 to Connellsville; 711 east to Normalville; 653 to New Lexington; (photo by Denah) 281 to Somerset; 31 east to Bedford; 30 east to Fort Loudon; 75 north to Doylesburg; 274 northeast to Duncannon; 147 north to Millersburg, where he had lunch at Max's Grille and Sports Bar two blocks from the Susquehanna River; It rained while we were eating and after we left it sprinkled a couple times. 209 northeast to Jim Thorpe, where we visited Jim Thorpe's grave and memorial. 903 north; I-80 west to White Haven, where we stopped for the day. Our scenic travels today covered 311 miles with a high temperature of 85. It was 77 when we stopped at 6:00. To see all the photos taken today click on this link:  Day 4 Pics

Another day on the highways. Our route today was 32 east from Seaman, OH; scenic 41 north; 50 east to Belpre, OH; 7 north and east to Hannibal, OH; crossed the Ohio River to New Martinsville, WV; 2 north along the Ohio River to Moundsville, WV; 250 east; 891 east to Pennsylvania; 21 east to Uniontown, PA. Hwy 41 between Peebles, OH and Bainbridge, OH is designated as scenic on the map. It lived up to that advertisement. Driving east on Hwy 50 Chris snapped a few pics from the passenger seat. She got some good ones. This stretch of Hwy 50 was enjoyable also. Near Chillicothe, OH we spotted a crop duster plying his trade. By the time we reached Chillicothe, OH the temperature had climbed to 70 so we put the top down and kept it that way the rest of the day. Hwy 7 north and east of Belpre, OH runs along the Ohio River, which made for a pretty drive. We stopped at the Willow Island Locks and Dam to check things out but a nice gentleman who works there told us we weren't supposed to be ...

The weather did not look promising when I looked out our hotel window this morning. It was cloudy and foggy, looked as though it could rain at any time. But it didn't! We departed our hotel in Salem, IN at 8:20. It was cloudy and 71 degrees. It was another Highway 50 (eastbound) day until we neared Cincinnati, OH. As we approached Vincennes, IN and the Wabash River (which is the boundary between Illinois and Indiana) we took 33 south to the Lincoln Trail State Memorial. There was a sculpture commemorating Abe Lincoln's first entrance into Illinois. At that time, Abe was a destitute 21 year old frontiersman. I walked to the middle of the bridge over the Wabash River and snapped a couple photos of the river and a round building on the grounds of the George Rogers Clark National Historic Park. This park is believed to be the original site of Fort Sackville. In doing some research (Google) I learned that George Rogers Clark was a historic Revolutionary War commander who led a small...

Today we departed on our annual summer trip with Carl and Marge and this year we were accompanied by good friends, Gary and Denah.  We met at the 75th Street QT in Shawnee shortly after 8:00.  Carl & Marge Chris & Charlie Gary & Denah At 8:20 we were on our way. It was cloudy and 73 degrees. We drove I-35 south, 69 Hwy south, I-435 east, I-470 east and Hwy 50 east to Tipton, MO, where we had our first break. As we were stopped I spotted Sasquatch diagonally across the intersection. I ran over to capture an image of the creature but all I got was his backside as he ran away. Denah warned me that it was raining in and around Jefferson City so I put the top up. Sure enough it was sprinkling before we left Tipton and we ran into rain a short distance east of California, MO. In Union, MO we enjoyed lunch at the Junie Moon Cafe on Hwy 50. We continued east on Hwy 50 and Interstate highways into St. Louis as our GPS led us to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. It is a...