The Maritimes

New Brunswick does not show the best face to people entering from the US, and Saint John, as viewed from the pot-holed freeway, was a complete turn-off. We no doubt missed the best parts, but choices must be made; time is running short, it's off to PEI. The Confederation Bridge is looooong, costs $42.50 to traverse (do I seem at all cost-conscious?) and is only 2 lanes! However, considering that it was nearly empty, other than the guy tail-gaiting me, even two lanes seems extravagant. BTW, you only pay to LEAVE PEI, and the ferry is $73, so entering from NS (ferrry) and leaving by NB (bridge) will save you $25.

The main roads on PEI will jar your fillings loose, and Summerside was disappointing until we found our beds, which we chose only for the 'best rates'. What a great little place! The friendly owners of Clark's Sunny Isle Motel insisted on showing us their newest renovated room, and it was every bit as nice as anything we've found in hotels costing many times more. Very tastefully decorated, with every convenience, even a 'History of Summerside' on the bedtable that made for great reading. A walk through the lush grounds leads to a path to the ocean, along which I found a pair of jays building a nest, and tasty fiddlehead greens pushing through the earth. Which was fortunate, because the only seafood place in town closed at 6PM, the big hotel restaurant staff ignored us until we left, and the only other choices were every fast food joint you can name. What a let-down! The historical photos showed what this place used to be, and it's clearly lost its way. Even Steveston has done a better job, and I'm not a big Steveston fan.
But out in the countryside, PEI comes to life! We seem to have chased spring everywhere we've been on this trip, and the fields were full of plows, turning the low hills into red and green quilts. They really do grow potatoes from one end of PEI to the other! The coastline is heavily convoluted, and every hilltop offers hugely satisfying vistas. And the roads are smoother, even the dirt ones. It's a place made for happy meandering, if you're not being chased by a large propane truck.

At 5PM we sailed to NS; the ferry is freaky, because they open a big hole in the main deck, and have you drive DOWN into the hold below. With night closing in, we barreled our way north to Cape Breton. Again, Tim Horton's everywhere, but not a seafood restaurant to be found! What's with this place?? We finally caught up to a lobster dinner in our hotel, that sent me into a deep sleep, but left Robbi with big, painful, itchy welts all over her body, poor thing.

Roots

A wonderful collection of ancient machinery (locomotives, generators, milling machines, patent models, etc.) at the Mus. of Am. Hist., poorly lit and freezing cold, but I could have spent two more days happily ogling the stuff. The GM History of Transportation display is very well done. Of course, once again I decided against bringing my camera, because of the crap shots I managed yesterday in the Nat. Hist. Mus. My auto-focus is having spasms, and the flash bounces uselessly off the glass cases. But this old stuff would have photographed just fine. Sigh.

Sunday traffic out of DC was staggering, and we got suckered onto the pike before realizing that any gains made by higher speeds were more than wiped out by some incredible lineups at the endless toll booths. But we touched 5 states in about 4 hours (DC, Maryland, Delaware, PA and N.J.) and after striking out for the third time in Philadelphia in our quest for America's best burger and/or sandwich, we settled on Charlie Brown's Steakhouse, near Princeton, where Jabberwock, our waiter, hovered a little over-indulgently, even finding us a motel!

Cool weather at last.

Our pilgrimage to Forest Ave, in Caldwell, N.J. provided photo evidence that my grandfather did indeed live there. It's a beautiful little town, and I can't imagine why he left.

Time being short, we reluctantly left NYC for another trip, it not being the most vehicle-friendly burg anyway, and deserving of more than a fly-by. We blasted through to Durgin Park Restaurant in Quincy Market, Boston, arriving within 100', at 6:03PM (free parking!) all quite by fluke. Dinner was 2 of their legendary over-sized T-bones that'll last us into next week. We've gotta stop eating like this!

Rockport MA has melt-in-the-mouth shrimp and calamari, but the real feast is for the eyes, on the drive northward up the Massachusetts' coast. B.C. may have the edge in rugged natural beauty, but for intoxicating charm, nothing can top this place: mile upon mile of picture perfect homes, weathered into historic landscapes. I finally turned off the camera in frustration after making only about 30 miles in 5 hours: a thousand pictures would still just scratch the surface; it's pointless. Besides, the roads are narrow with no shoulders or pull-offs, so many of the best shots are unattainable. I'll look for a book on Amazon.

DC & Virginia

Washington DC

Warning: the $910/day posted rate at the Hilton/Doubletree may be enough to cover the warm cookie they hand you on sign-in, but EVERYTHING else is extra. Sure, we only paid $77 thanks to Capt. Kirk, but even the cheapest fleabag motels have free WiFi; here it's $10/day, unsecured! Likewise parking; free everywhere but $28/day + tax here, and don't forget to tip the valet. Water is $5/ bottle. One cup of tea brought to your room will set you back nearly $9 plus gratuity. The TV has half the channels of a Super8, and no Canucks or even Capitals playoff coverage: WTF?? And it's not like you get peace and quiet: the doors started slamming before 7AM (Sat.) and kept at it for an hour as some youth group hit the road. Good riddance. At least the tap water is drinkable, and the Smithsonian museums we came for are all free, thanks to their founder, bless him; although their cookies are $2.75/ea. US!

Lunch was at Ray's Hellburgers in Arlington, packed since Obama freaked his handlers last week by standing in line for a 10oz cheeseburger, creating a mild sensation, and a stimulus package for Ray. WE heard and just HAD to go! Two burgers for $22 had better be good, and they were! We were full for a day.

We tried driving around Washington, but the traffic is intense and there's no parking anywhere. So we swallowed hard, ditched the car with the valet and went walking. The place is so sprawling that by the time you get anywhere, you're too burnt to enjoy it, but $35/ea bought us 48hr hop-on/hop-off double-decker multi-tour bus passes, and other than the diesel infusion, they were worth it. One bus even goes right past our hotel, though the trip home in Friday rush-hour took 90+ minutes. (I was busy blabbing away to this nice old guy from Kansas and was finally told to shut up by some frustrated tourists who couldn't hear the recorded guide: how embarassing! Like I needed to know that there are 95 Starbucks in Washington. Or 1300 lawyers.)

Charleston

Savannah

One month on the road!

Lots of pickup trucks down here; some have memorials to fallen soldiers painted on their rear windows. Quite moving. Drove past a tattoo and piercing mall; at least a dozen shops, and not shabby at all. Strange times.

Followed Robbi's intuition to Savannah GA and Charleston SC, and were richly rewarded. Old town Savannah was built on cotton in the 1700's, around an array of 22 parks, each about a block square and now full of huge over-arching trees that shade the surrounding homes; these sport a surprising range of architectural styles, all beautiful. The trees are heavily draped with some kind of moss, and I clicked photos til the camera was full (most of which were terrible: I can't seem to hold a camera straight at all!) At a riverside bar we ate creole shrimp and mussels in cream that were as good as could be imagined. On the way out of town, the skies opened and we could hardly see the road, which at highway speeds on unfamiliar interchanges gave me a hint of what F1 drivers face in the rain. Freaky! But with full tummies, a bag of fresh-made salt-water taffy and thunder crashing all around, Robbi wanted it known that she was "a happy camper!"

Charleston was even nicer, if that's possible, with row upon row of lovingly preserved homes and gardens, dating from ~1740 on. The defining feature of the Battery Street area was, for me, the alluring passageways that separate the elegant homes, each hinting at an intimate floral oasis hidden beyond. There were a few places for sale, none that looked even remotely within our reach. Besides, it's HOT here!

We were headed for Cape Hatteras, but the slow roads, looming schedule and storm warnings turned us inland. Besides sweltering for an hour in stopped traffic for 'road work' that appeared to be nothing more than 5 miles of orange cones, we drove like crazy, three states in a day, catching more heavy winds and rain but missing a tornado by one county. We are now on Washington's doorstep, where we plan to stay the weekend; not on the doorstep, but in a fancy hotel downtown, priceline willing. And it seems willing!