Ready or not we’re off on our New England and Mid Atlantic trip! We’re ready to see some beautiful fall colors in Vermont and New Hampshire and visit many of our country’s historic parks where the American Revolution and the Civil War were fought. What we’re not ready for is visiting the REALLY big cities where many of the historic parks are located – we’ve decided we must be allergic to big cities because we avoid them as much as possible. Avoiding the big cities on this trip is just not possible so here we go!
Rose getting a bath before the trip
Our first week we spent exploring the countryside in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the Catskill mountains in New York and Vermont and New Hampshire. We visited the famous battlefields of Appomatox, Antietam, Harper’s Ferry and Gettysburg –it was so moving to actually see the civil war battlefields and hear the stories of the sacrifices that were made from both sides of the war .
House in Appomatox where Lee surrendered to Grant
Antietam - bloodiest day of the civil war - 23,000 soldiers died that day
Harper's Ferry changed control between Union and Confederate 6 times during the civil war
Living history re- enactment at Gettysburg
A live demonstration of Union soldiers firing their muskets
We also visited FDR’s home and library in Hyde Park, NY and Eisenhower’s home in Gettysburg and Amish country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania – being in Amish country was like stepping back in time 100 years – fascinating!
FDR's office where his radio broadcast of fireside chats were held
An Amish scooter - a regular form of transportation
A common site around Lancaster county - the Amish "car" - we even saw them in the Walmart parking lot!
Fall harvest on an Amish farm
The fall leaves were at their peak in Vermont and New Hampshire - as brilliant as we had hoped they would be– so beautiful! There was quite a bit of storm damage still visible in Vermont but thankfully many of the quaint little villages and covered bridges escaped the floods and are as lovely as ever!
Flood damage - such a loss of history
Milking cows in Vermont - sure glad not to have this job!
Covered walking bridge in New Hampshire
Beautiful fall leaves
Fall leaves at their peak in New Hampshire
Molly making freinds along the way
Now we’re headed to our first of four big cities – Boston. It has an amazing amount of historical parks to see and fingers crossed the traffic and crowds won’t be too bad! After four days in Boston we’ll welcome a few days at our next stop, Cape Cod, to get back to nature and walk on the beach!
Fall harvest on an Amish farm
