We moseyed down the road into Alma, tasted the fresh warm sticky buns - Yep, good as
we were told, and added some warm biscuits....
....I bought a 1.5 lb. just cooked lobster for less than $15
(this is retail, not off the boat from the fisherman).....
....stopped in St. Stephen where we lunched on the water looking at Calais where
we would return to the U.S.
My lobster was deee-lish!
Two blocks up the street we crossed the border.
Canada - we loved you for your beauty, your charm, your patriotism,
and mostly for your people.
We hunkered down in a park in Bangor for several days to take care of
a few items. Easy ones like buying groceries, doing laundry, getting an
oil change, giving Estelle a top to bottom interior cleaning, getting
her water heater serviced, and filling up the LP. I got a haircut and nail job.
Much better!!!
Ed went to the Cole Land Transportation Museum while we were in Bangor.
It was started in 1990 by Gaylon Cole. The Cole family was prominent in
Maine in the transportation industry. The collection is enormous and includes
fire engines, snow plows, buses, tractor trailers, and a diesel electric locomotive.
1907 Steam Pumper used in firefighting. 1100 gal. of water per minute.
1931 Waukesha front wheel drive snow plow
1949 G.M. Diesel electric locomotive - one of 59 built
Used on Bangor and Aroostook Rwy.
16 cylinder, 1500 hp.
1923 REO Speed Delivery Wagon operated by Cole Transportation Co.
1933 Yellow Coach Co. bus on GMC chassis
used by the Hazelton Autobus Co. in Hazelton, PA.
Very interesting short bus.
1943 - 1950 REO semi
1955 Mack delivery truck owned by the Cole Delivery Co. in St. Johnsbury, VT.
Caterpiller diesel drive train for a truck. Modern.
We left Bangor refreshed, heading to Augusta, ME.
Another state capitol.
She's getting a new copper dome, hence the scaffolding.
We settled in Brookline, NH, near Nashua, NH to await the
arrival of my new computer in about a week.
Being in this area is never a bad thing. We decided to make day trips.
Signed Finn up at Good Mojo Day Care - gotta love the name.
He loved it there - and came home VERY tired. A good thing.
Our first trip was to Portsmouth, NH. Finn included.
The 1758 John Paul Jones home...typical New England.
John Paul's neighborhood. Not too shabby.
A stop in the Visitors Center and we mapped out a 2-3 hour walking tour of town.
One of the first stops was this church which has a very interesting
membership history. (clicking on these photos will enlarge them.)
It was organized in 1671.
The interior of the church. Very spartan, very Puritan.
The 1702 Oracle House is one of the oldest in New England.
The gardens in the park along the water.
We walked across the bridge and back to the waterfront..
It's dedicated to the citizens of New Hampshire who participated
in WWI. It's also a drawbridge (there are tall ships here...)
with those massive chains to accomplish the job.
The island is Kittery and that's Maine in the distance.
At the end of the bridge...a lobster shop.
They are everywhere. Heaven...when you're not used to it.
It was an absolutely wonderful day - all planned by Ed.
We had a great time, so he planned another day. A trip to Salem, MA.
Driving there I gave a "whoa..detour!" when I saw a sign on the highway.
Another one of those National Parks Historic Sites. So detour we did to
Saugus Iron Works
A group of Puritans arrived in this area in the 1620's with a dream of
self reliance and religious purity. Their govenor, John Winthrop, led them in the
decision to establish an iron producing business, but their choice of location was
not suitable. An engineer was brought from England to help to relocate the works
to a more suitable spot. They not only supplied their own needs but turned out
enough iron to begin shipping it back to England.
The works stopped producing in 1670, successful in output, but it never made a profit.
However, it laid the foundation of the American iron industry.
In the 1940's (a favorite decade of mine) a group of
preservationists began excavating the site. During the 50's this replica was built.
I found all this very interesting because Ed and I have visited many of the NPS
Historic Sites. It is so important that we remember the tenacity of the generations
before us. This site was developed after WWII when the U.S. was riding so
high and was beautifully recreated. When we were in Selma, AL we visited the "future"
location of the Historic Site remembering the Freedom March over the Petus Bridge.
The National Park Service owns the land at the base of the bridge but has no money
to build the site. Sad.
This large building would have been the home of the Iron Works owner. The left
wing is the Park Service visitor entrance.
There's a small museum of artifacts found during the excavation.
This one is part of one of the water wheels.
The 3D bronze model of the place shows how the location worked for the Puritans.
The water from the Saugus River was used to power the Works.
Coming down the paths from the home to the site.
We were standing atop the blast furnace where raw materials were
heated to burn off the impurities.
The first building is the Forge where the water wheel powered the bellows.
There were four sets of bellows - one in each corner.
The Slitting Mill where the iron was cut into rods. There was also
a sheeting operation.
Finally, off away from the operation is the Blacksmith shop.
This young man is quite skilled and offered to make us a nail.
Ed and his freshly made nail.
I'm just a sucker for cattails.
These were along the water on the path back to the visitors center.
The blast furnace . The other photo was taken from the top.
P.S. on the story of the Saugus Iron Works:
The work was hard, dirty, and the hours were long.
The Puritans imported prisoners from England to work. Non-Puritans.
The influence of their lifestyle prevented the dreams
of religious purity and self reliance from ever coming to be.
We headed back to the highway on our way to Salem.
I was all set and ready for a really tacky experience and warned
Ed I would want to do something about witches.
Oh, how wrong I was!!
Salem is a very interesting place. It's major history is maritime.
(Witches are minor, but they are everywhere.)
Our first stop: the Visitor's Center where they got us all
oriented and gave us a good taste of what is around. The entire waterfront
is also a National Park Service Historic Site.
We made a decision to spend our time in the Peabody Essex Museum.
It's a major museum that has been well funded for a very long time.
The building is spectacular and the collections outstanding.
I have to confess that I had a favorite. This installation of the racks of identical
clay figures all named Nobody...is titled Everybody.
There's a large collection of Asian art. This gallery's wood floor
and stairway is painted to enhance the collections.
Salem was the sixth largest city in America in Colonial times.
Because it had a major seaport, with an elite merchant class,
it was a source for imported goods.
This is a small part of the Chinese porcelain dinnerware.
I tried to convince Ed that we need a new bed. He wasn't buying it.
This magnificient Moon Bed is just what I want...
Ivory carvings from the early 1800's.
The Dolls.
Painted unfired clay, 1850's
Each 12-15 inches tall. Beautiful detail.
Two level galleries
Beautiful porcelain pottery
Ivory carved in India with minute detail
American gallery
Prisoner Ships
These were built by prisoners - with time on their hands - using
pieces of bone from their meals, paper, and wood
during the Napoleonic Wars.
Scrimshaw is an all American art form.
Created by sailors on whale, walrus, shark teeth.
The piece on the lower right is the oldest, pre-1830.
The museum has a special exhibit of J.W. Turner's work. It covers
5 galleries. We were not allowed to take any photos.
5 galleries. We were not allowed to take any photos.
It covers his work from the late 1790's to the end of his life and is focused
on his love of the sea. The exhibit was curated on England and drew from
many museum sources. It's extensive and breathtaking.
We will be here for several more days until my computer is ready to be delivered.
We took a class at the Apple Store to learn a little about the Mac.
It's gonna be fun...
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