16 States and 11 Countries Part II

New England, New England....certainly not a "new" England in my opinion, yet the name sticks. Sorry, but you have nothing on my brief home...

My Tree and I went off on another adventure! The freedom to simply go off after finagling schedules and planning at the optimal level - just enough to have an inkling of what we're doing with plenty of free time for exploration - is the best way to go!

First on the docket: Sleepy Hollow, New York, to pay homage to Washington Irving!

Off to Connecticut, which was more of a pit-stop. Traffic is the worst part of travel and it had me longing for efficient public transportation as my eyes began to water and my bum grew ever numb from sitting in the car for so long.

House of the Seven Gables

 Eventually we made it to Salem, Massachusetts. Traffic....that's all I'll say....Tree slept in the car which was a bit of a bummer because I would have liked the company since I had another person with me on one of my crazy adventures for once. My Sleeping Beauty awoke and his excitement only increased and strengthened mine, balancing the fatigue I kept fighting. For not doing much except for directing my small vessel of a car, it's often surprising how one can feel after several hours...

We lucked out and Salem had a grand festival going on. It was warm out, but beautiful and worth the long, winding drive through tolls and bridges. The views from the car were enough to keep me going.

Are you, are you, coming to the tree?
They've strung up a man they say who murdered three.

A late start, but we made it to the coast in Maine and hiked along the beach. Pretty flowers and sunshine tucked away in a little section of town. 7 hours until the homeland...

First Jail

La playa

New Hampshire and Vermont were my favorites. The trees seemed alive with their foliage gently swaying in the breeze, crimson and golden, both wholesome colors. I wish I had pictures of these trees to share, but I was a good girl and did not shoot [photos] and drive. As they say, half the fun is the journal itself.

Rudyard Kippling's abode

Onward and out to my hometown, or as I lovingly call it, Bumfuck PA. You can't change your roots and I call it such in an endearing way. Home is where one can take their pants off and feel at ease, as well as enjoy Buffalo Chicken Dip. Tree went to bed shortly after a late snack, but per usual, I stayed awake with my thoughts and woke up early. I find this a habit of mine even though I could likely use as much shut-eye as I can get....

<Borrowed pic of the iconic castle not too far away>

And so we made it. New England conquered but for Rhode Island. Plans are already in the making for a solo trip to this little state.

16 States and 11 Countries

Current travel statistics [counting my home state and country in there as well] with more to come...I'm quite sad I did not make it to Rhode Island during the insanely fast-paced weekend trip through New England, but alas, traffic was horrendous as we neared Salem.

[excuse my chubby knubs]

Many adventures taken this summer...I wanted to travel, and I did just that. In PA alone, Shartlesville, the church of the Blue Eyed Six, Gettysburg [I haven't been here since I was a wee lass], Bird-In-Hand, Intercourse [ironically enough, is a quaint little town], and Blue Ball.

On one curiously slow week, I packed a bag and drove up to Niagara Falls to see the beautiful World Wonder and all of her glory. 'Twas a chilly day down on the water, but a gorgeous day to explore and take in the sights. The drive across the bridge was a nightmare to get into Canada and they did not even bother to stamp my passport, to my chagrin.

However, I met some wonderful people and how could the night not have been something wild when the penultimate chapter of my night is: "we stayed until last call and the bar had turned its lights out, 2 Germans, a Brit, a New Zealander, a Canadian, and I?" Wanderlust temporarily satiated.

Adventure is out. Find it. Take chances. Live your life.