We’re back! The trip to Newfoundland went good but I must admit, riding the bike is MUCH better than jets! We started off with our blast to NYC and a few days visiting our friend there. The Jersey Turnpike is always a bummer to drive but this time, traveling just under the limit, we found it pretty relaxing, not having to pass anyone till we got real close to New York. But somehow New Jersey managed to deliver a blow to our enjoyment. Thirty-five dollars later, we exited the turnpike at just about the George Washington Bridge. Seems that having ONE more axle is more than TWICE the cost of a car! Guess who isn’t going that way on the trip south?! Even with such resolve, they managed to gouge us again at the George Washington Bridge for the same reason (one additional axle) and it was another whopping $30.00 to get across it. Good grief! I could say more but let’s not! Once safely in the Bronx with our friend, it all seemed to melt away and get so much better! We had a GREAT time! In addition to the National Parks, we managed to bag quite a few National Historical Landmarks as well, bringing our total to 11 sites in New York and surrounds alone! That’s not to mention, and only secondary to, how good it is to be with friends again. Our visits included (not the complete list) places like General Grant National Memorial, African Burial Ground National Monument, Dykman Farmhouse National Historical Landmark and the Morris-Jumel Mansion National Historical Landmark. Look some, or all, of them up. You’ll be surprised at what you find out about them! Out of all of them, we felt the best were the Hamilton Grange National Memorial, Federal Hall National Memorial and the Thomas Paine Cottage National Historical Landmark.
The Hamilton Grange made the list because not only is it a great place to visit, it also is talked about in the book I read about Alexander Hamilton so that made it all the more real. Besides, it was the Fourth of July and what better way to spend the day than visiting places of National significance! Alexander Hamilton built the Grange, as he referred to it, as his family home around 145th Street and Broadway in Manhattan but the house was moved once before it found its permanent home in St Nicholas Park on 141st Street. Hamilton was a very interesting person and he is well worth a bit of investigating to see just how much he contributed to the Revolution and the American Government that we know today. Hamilton is an unsung hero of our history, being the first Treasury Secretary he had many other achievements. Unfortunately, Hamilton’s life was cut short in a duel with Arron Burr.
Another great spot was the Federal Hall. The site where George Washington was sworn-in as the first President of the United States, the open-air balcony overlooks Wall Street and is catty-corner to the New York Stock Exchange Building. It was April 30, 1789. The building was built in 1703 as the British governor’s council and the assembly of New York. Inside is displayed the stone on which George Washington stood to take the oath of office. Very cool! The present building arose in 1842 as the Customs House and by then, Wall Street had become an established center of finance. Definitely plan a visit here!
A few parks ago, I bought the Thomas Paine pamphlet titled, “Common Sense”. It made for a great read and set the basis to make our visit to his cottage one of the most memorable. The Thomas Paine Cottage National Historical Landmark is actually in New Rochelle. Given 300 acres from the State of New York for his contributions to the Revolution, most significantly Common Sense which instilled more will on the part of the revolutionaries to continue the struggle for independence. Though he did not live there much, it being so far from the city (New York) it is a very quaint spot along a stream, though surrounded by modern day mansions. We had a good visit and even got to write with quill pens! (as instructed by the staff guy there). He also told us the story of how Thomas Paine’s bones were stolen some years after his death by an English admirer who took them to England to sell but apparently lost them! No one knows what happen to him (Paine)!
We left New York on Monday July 6, sadly parting with our friend but anxious to begin exploring again. We headed north from the Bronx to Weir Farm just across the state line into Connecticut. An easy 50 mile drive across the Cross County in the Bronx, we hit some stop and go traffic for the 10 miles or so we needed to go. We settled for I-684 north to avoid further delay and exited on US 35. It was a short drive to Weir Farm. Weir Farm National Historic Site is the home of J. Alden Weir, an American impressionist painter. What a lovely setting! The site consists of the Visitor Center, sunken garden, Burlingham Barn, the Young Studio, Weir Barn and house. There is also a nice trail too the pond built by Weir after winning a $2500 prize! It is a great place to get out into nature and enjoy the peace and tranquility the farm has to offer.
We had planned to visit a few spots in Hartford on our way to Boston but the cost to visit those historical sites was WAY too much! After our blast along I-84 and past Hartford, before you knew it, we were headed north on I-91 and into Massachusetts. Right downtown Springfield was our destination for the Springfield Armory National Historical Site. What a museum! If you are into vintage guns, this is a no-miss museum! The museum must have just about every gun manufactured for war use you can think of. All in pristine condition! There were racks of rifles (called Organ of Muskets – because they look like the pipes of organs) that looked like they just came out of the manufacturing process, machine guns (including a Gatling gun), all kinds of flint locks of every version and arms right up through WWII into Vietnam era stuff. For 174 years, Springfield has been answering the call for firearms to protect our liberty. They even had the replica (made of rubber but looking just like the original in the case) Colt Walker 1847 used by my favorite actor, Clint Eastwood in many of his films. If you are into firearms, this is your Nirvana! As usual, the film started us off and we browsed the museum for quite a while. So much to look at. Especially note-worthy were the rifles used by various Union soldiers during the Civil War that had their stocks engraved with the likes of the battle places they had seen- Chickamauga, Shiloh, Chattanooga and, “served with Gen. Sherman”. Pretty cool stuff you don’t get to see just anywhere. Definitely see this National Historical Site!
We left there in plenty of time to get to Worcester, MA to bed down for the night. But first we caught up on writing after checking out the bike. I am not sure why they asked me this but at BMW of Charlotte, they wanted to know if my bike used oil between changes. I never noticed that it did but now I am checking it more often. Never any loss so far and it has been over 3,000 since Charlotte. I don’t know, maybe some do, but mine doesn’t. I always check the tires in the morning and these I notice lose a bit of air after three or four days. Other than that, the GTL has been great as always!
We are off to Boston tomorrow (Wednesday, July 7) and then into Maine. Since we have a fair amount of pictures, we’ll cut this chapter off and re-group after a day seeing all the sites in Boston. Till then- Stay tuned, much more to come! Greg & Cynthia.