I love road tripping. I think its because of the trips I did as a kid. My parents would pack my siblings and I up into our old Ford station wagon and take us on all sorts of camping, caravanning and beach side trips around Australia and I always loved them. Despite being squashed into the old car with sometimes obnoxious siblings, no air-conditioning and zero road tripping music, I have incredibly fond memories of those holidays. Consequently, I never baulk at an invitation to jump into the passenger or driver's seat for a road trip.So Christmas 2014 saw my partner and I strapped in and on the road again. This time we took the opportunity to put some rubber down on the road throughout the North East of the US.
We started in Boston and drove through Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island, where we woke up on Christmas Day to the ringing of church bells from the Cathedral next door. Didn't notice the church when we checked in but a 7am wake up to chiming Christmas carols was certainly a 'cheerful' start to our day.
From Providence, we made our way over into Connecticut, then up into New York State following the Hudson River up to Albany, the capital of New York. Saw some beautiful countryside and wonderful little towns along the way. But also some tragically derelict places. One town in particular had some fabulous old homes throughout, yet almost all were boarded up and falling to pieces. True ghost towns in some cases.
From there we meandered through upstate New York to the Finger Lakes, which were absolutely beautiful. We stopped here at a little place called Skaneateles, and if you can pronounce that correctly....well done.From the Finger Lakes we made our way over to Lake Erie, Pennsylvania, one of the Great Lakes. Again beautiful. These lakes are truly inland seas. We then travelled along the edge of the lake into Cleveland, Ohio. Only a short stop here to take a spin around town and check out the architecture, have a coffee etc. We travelled around the southern end of Lake Erie up to Vermilion and Toledo before we headed inland into Kalamazoo in Michigan. We have lived in Jabiru and Kakadu, and have played sport in Humpty Doo. So of course, we had to visit a place called Kalamazoo!
From Kalamazoo we made our way over to the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and down its banks to Chicago, Illinois, our final stop on this trip. Chicago deserves its own mention, so I shall speak to it later for you.
But on this trip, I was impressed not only with the beautiful countryside but also with the history of the land we passed through. I was equally saddened by the tragedy of that history. This New England/Upstate area had such a rich American Indian culture and history, all trace of which is almost gone. I know it is the way of colonising peoples but to lose such amazingly rich cultures is terribly sad for the integrity and fabric of a country. It is heartening at least to see that some States have recorded that history and protected what may be left.
This road trip was only a taste of what this part of the US has to offer and I would love the opportunity to do it justice another time. My advice, if you make your way to this area...take some time and check out the back roads and the farming areas...beautiful.
