Trip to New England

On the last Friday in September, 2001, I traveled to New England to attend the annual conference of the New England Library Association. I drove almost 1800 miles, going first to my sister's house in Brockton, MA, then to Cape Cod, then up through New Hampshire to Vermont. Following the conference, I took a ferry from Vermont to New York, drove through the Adirondaks, and stayed overnight in Ithaca before making my way home. It was a very good conference and a wonderful trip, and I hope you enjoy the pictures I took.

Saturday I visited Cape Cod. The Fall is a wonderful time to go to the beach, and the Cape can be really beautiful. I headed to the town of Orleans for some fried clams at Captain Elmer's ... and they were great! Orleans is located at a very narrow spot on the Cape, and so there are two beaches that are very close, one on the northern shore and one on the southern shore. The northern shore has docks for local fishing boats. The southern beach is better for swimming (the water is warmer), but the day I was there, no one was in the water. It was overcast, blustery, and cold ... and still, very beautiful. My first picture shows one of three paths from the parking lot to the beach. The second picture shows the path as it crests the rise just before the beach. And the third picture is of the beach itself. I drove around the Cape for a while, going through several small towns, and when I started back to my sister's house, I took a picture of the Cape Cod Canal.

Sunday I headed up to Burlington, Vermont. I tried to avoid the interstate highways as much as possible, and take my time. In the small town of Salisbury, New Hampshire I spotted a library that looked really neat -- just the kind of building I think of when I think about New England.

Monday morning was time for work. The reason I took this trip was to give a presentation at the NELA conference, and my session was from 9:00 to 10:30. I also attended a business meeting/discussion group of the New England Library Support Staff Association. Monday afternoon was my time to play and to explore Burlington. I had a great time down on the shore of Lake Champlain. There's a great park there, lots of boats, benches, places for kids to play, even a skateboard park. I also explored Battery Park, the scene of a British-American battle in 1812. It offers a commanding view of Lake Champlain.

Tuesday I left Burlington and headed for New York. There are three ferries in the Burlington area that offer service to New York, and I thought that would be fun. I took the ferry that goes to Essex, and while waiting for it to arrive, I took a picture of some of the boats anchored next to the ferry pier.

I had never been in that part of New York before, and thought I would head almost directly west until I got to Lake Ontario and then turn south. And that's what I did. Travelling through the Adironacks I often went for several miles at a time without seeing another car on the road, but there were plenty of trees, mountains, lakes, and rivers.

My last stop on the way home was Ithaca, New York. I wanted to break up my return trip into two days, and Ithaca has long been a favorite of mine, especially the campus of Cornell. The first thing I did after I checked into my motel room was to visit the Cornell campus and take a picture of Louie's Lunchwagon, a Cornell landmark for the last 80 years or so. And no visit to Cornell is complete without taking a walk over the gorge running through the campus. The best way to do this, IMHO, is to take the footbridge.

Early Wednesday morning I left Ithaca for the last leg of my trip and home. It was a wonderful trip! The conference was very good, and I had a chance to meet and talk to many interesting people. And the drive up and over and back down, and the side trips and explorations and picture-taking, were all very enjoyable. I'd like to say thanks to the New England Library Association for giving me such a great excuse to make this trip, and a special thanks to my sister Mary.