Last day - and home again!

Saturday, June 28th was my last day in the USA, and we went to the seaside - otherwise known as Long Branch, on the Jersey Shore. We had lunch at McLoone's overlooking the beach.

I was quite surprised we couldn't drive along the 'prom' as you can in many British seaside towns, as high seawalls block your view of the beach and sea, and access is via wooden steps over the walls.

Another surprise was that the shops were more upscale than the tourist souvenir shops you see everywhere in our seaside resorts, but we did find a chocolate shop!

On a drive around the area, another surprise was finding this stone plaque in a fairly inconspicuous place in the middle of a residential area. Evidently President Garfield was taken to Long Branch in the hope that the fresh air and quiet might aid his recovery after he was shot in Washington DC in July, 1881. However, the assassin's bullet had lodged in his spine and he died just over two months later.

On our drive back from Long Branch, we stopped at Mount Mitchill, a scenic overlook with a view of Raritan Bay and the New York skyline.

On 9/11, local residents gathered here to witness the destruction of the World Trade Center towers and four years later, a memorial was erected to the memory of the 147 residents of the County who died. It shows an eagle clutching a piece of a steel beam from one of the towers, and there is also a time-line walkway as a reminder of the day’s events.

By mid-afternoon on Sunday, June 29th, I was back at Newark Airport. My month long trip was over.


One last look at NYC from the airport...

And six hours later, we're flying over the UK coastline (this is Anglesey, off the north coast of Wales).




It was an amazing month, packed with so many different sights and experiences, and of course enjoying the time I spent with my NJ cousins, and my American and Canadian friends. Thank you all for your hospitality, and all the fun we had. Not forgetting my 'online' friends either, as it was such a delight to meet with my FB and 'writer' friends. Last, but not least, thanks to all who have followed this account of my trip, and left comments for me, both here and on Facebook. 

Goodbye, Rhode Island and hello, New Jersey (again)

I was sad to leave Rhode Island on Thursday, June 19th, especially saying goodbye to my friends there who had taken me to so many different places in such a short time. My train from Kingston left at 2.40pm and arrived at Newark Penn Station four hours later, giving me a good view of Manhattan as we approached NYC.

My cousin and her husband met me and we went back to their house in Scotch Plains, NJ - and watched the fireflies dancing around all evening. No photo, unfortunately, as they flashed too quickly for my camera to cope with!

Next day, my cousin Helen drove me to Morristown, to George and Martha's Restaurant...

... where I met up with Jennifer Wilck, one of the members of our writers' blog, Heroines with Hearts. I've 'known' Jennifer for about four years, and we had plenty to talk about over coffee and then lunch.

In the afternoon, we went to Washington's headquarters. He and the Continental Army stayed at Morristown from December 1779 to June 1780, surviving what was then the coldest winter on record.

When we arrived there, we discovered the next tour was not for another fifty minutes, so instead Jen drove me round some of the older houses in Morristown.

This one was especially interesting - the home of Thomas Nast, the political cartoonist who created the Democrat donkey and Republican elephant.


 

That evening, my two cousins and I enjoyed a meal at a local diner. I was getting quite used to American burgers by this time!

 

Day 26 - A Church and a Cruise

On Wednesday, June 25th, we went into Newport again. On the way, we passed 'Oak Glen', the Portsmouth home of Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic').

Our first stop in Newport was at Trinity Church, founded in 1698, and built in the early 18th century. Its ''wedding cake' steeple was, and still is, an important navigation aid for sailors.

The church still has its original box pews, originally paid for by the parishioners for their families. During the 'Gilded Age' (the later 19th century) the Vanderbilts and Astors attended the church when they were visiting their summer 'cottages'. Their servants occupied the narrow wooden pews in the gallery.

Pew 81 is now known as the 'Distinguished Persons' Pew' as it is said that George Washington attended services at the church in 1781. Other notables who have occupied the pew in more recent years include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew, Princess Margaret, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 3 American Presidents - and of course, me!

After what we thought was a 'snack lunch' (which turned out to be a huge chicken wrap - so huge I forgot to take a photo of it!), we headed for the harbour.

Here's our 'cruise' ship - MV Gansett

And here are some of the sights we saw on our cruise around Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay.

Fort Adam

Hammersmith Farm, home of the Auchinloss family. Hugh Auchinloss was Jackie Kennedy's stepfather, and this was her childhood home. It later became known as the 'Summer White House' as JFK spent his summers here during his presidency.

Not a real lighthouse, but a playhouse, built for the Kennedy children.

This one is real - Castle Hill Lighthouse, built in 1890 on the site of an earlier watchtower.

The House on the Rock, built in 1905, and restored by the current owners.

The yacht 'Columbia' which was the America's Cup winner in 1958.

A distant (and hazy) view of Newport Bridge.

Yachts in Newport Harbor

And to end the day, a large burger at Fieldstone's in Portsmouth!

 

Day 25: More Friends - and a Mansion

On Tuesday, June 24th, we went into Newport, this time to the 'Pineapple on the Bay', an outdoor restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Goat Island, with a good view of the Newport Bridge.

Here we met two friends from Providence, Rhode Island, Pamela Burt Quigley and Elaine Lauble Kehoe. Needless to say, we chatted non-stop over lunch!

Later in the afternoon, my friend Barbara and I went to one of the mansions on Bellevue Avenue. This one, Marble House, belonged to one of the Vanderbilts.

It was built in the 'Gilded Aged' (the late 19th century) by William Vanderbilt, as a summer 'cottage' retreat for his wife Alva. She decorated furnished all the 50 rooms (which had a staff of 36), but divorced William 3 years later! I couldn't take any photos inside but here is the view from the terrace.

Alva kept the house after her divorced from William and added the Chinese tea house on the cliff overlooking the sea, and hosted rallies for women's suffrage in the gardens at the back of the house.

Here's the view from the Cliff Walk (near Marble House), recently reopened after being damaged by Hurricane Sandy.

Days 23 & 24: LIzzie Borden - and a friend!

Sunday, June 22nd was a fairly lazy day, with just a short drive around the Portsmouth area of Aquidneck Island, where there were some lovely bays.

An interesting sign!  Was there really a Common Fence? Or did someone mistake the old style s for an f, and should it have really been Common Sense Point?

On Monday, we travelled north and crossed the border into Massachusetts.

Our destination was Fall River, and the home of Lizzie Borden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lizzie Borden took an axe

And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done,

She gave her father forty-one.

We had a tour of the house with an excellent and entertaining guide in 1890s costume who told us about society in Fall River at that time, the Borden family, and the main details of the trial and Lizzie's acquittal.

This was the dining room.

And here's Ralph, my friend's husband, posing on the couch where Mr Borden was hacked to death (with 11 blows, not 41!)

The guide then  got two of the tour group, a mother and daughter, to act out the hacking of Mrs. Borden (with 18 whacks not 40)

The Kitchen

 

And we assume this car belonged to the tour guide or one of the staff - FRTYWX - Forty Whacks!

I was tempted to buy one of the tee-shirts in the shop which read:
'Everything I know about anger management,
I learned from Lizzie Borden.'

Later that afternoon, by way of a complete contrast, I was delighted to meet up with Toni Lynn Cloutier and her husband Billy, who took me out for a meal at Fieldstones in Portsmouth. Toni has been my critique partner and online friend for over 5 years, so it was a thrill to finally meet her in person!