Boston to New York

As is so often the case on our travels, our stay in Boston was far too short. We said our goodbyes to Stephen and family as they went off to work and school. We had arranged a taxi to take us to Boston South Station where we were catching the 11.15 Amtrak Acela Express to New York, a three and a half hour journey through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York State.

The weather had improved considerably from the rather grim previous 36 hours and the sun shone as we drove to the station. Much to our surprise, Stephen turned up to say a final goodbye! His office is just around the corner from the station, so we had a lovely send-off from Boston.

The train ride was great fun and well worth doing. We had beautiful views across the countryside and the coastal regions of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

This was our first time in both states and we even went past the ferry from New London to Long Island that we will take when we drive down on our way to Savannah in a couple of weeks time.

We arrived at Pennsylvania Central station in New York at 2.45pm. We then had a half hour wait, in a long line, for a cab. Finally we reached the front of the line and loaded all our bags into the cab for the twenty minute drive to our hotel on 7th Avenue. On our way, we heard from Ed and Kate that they had just checked in, so we had a great welcome from them both when we arrived.

We partly unpacked and went to a cafe for a late lunch and, as Wendy would be rehearsing on both the next two days and would not have that much time to sightsee in New York, we all walked down 7th Avenue to Times Square and spent some time there taking photos. The Square was crowded with tourists and we were approached time and again by people working for the theatres trying to give us leaflets for the various shows on Broadway. We liked the two girls in silver outfits with outrageous headgear promoting Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

We returned to our hotel for an early night and for Wendy to get ready for tomorrow's rehearsals at the Sheraton Hotel on the other side of 7th Avenue.

Boston

We awoke to torrential rain that didn't let up for most of the morning. We had planned various things to do, including going the AAA (Triple A is the US equivalent of the AA in the UK) to get their very informative guides for all the US states and Canadian territories we are intending to visit. We use the guides to find places of interest on our route, as well as good hotels and restaurants. Also, I wanted to go to REI, an outdoor clothing and camping chain, to buy a lightweight anorak. All this had to wait till the rain let up, which it finally did just before noon.

Anita very kindly took us to a nearby post office where I could mail a package back to the UK that they had been storing for me. After the post office, we took the T (the Boston underground network) to downtown Boston and the AAA office.  We managed to get all the guides we wanted, though I am rather concerned at the additional weight of so many books and wonder whether we will now have to pay additional baggage charges on our Air Canada flight from New York to St. John's.

We left the AAA offices and went past the Old State House which is dwarfed by the skyscrapers that surround it.

Close by, on State Street, was this modern art deco-style building with gold facings running all the way up to the top.

We then continued  down to the harbourfront and the Marriott Long Wharf hotel.

This is where we stayed at the end of our drive across the States in 2007. On the way, we went through an area with art deco skyscrapers.

 Opposite the hotel is a small restaurant, Le Sel de la Terre. We had eaten there four years ago and decided to go back and have a snack lunch.

After lunch we walked back to the T and took the Blue Line and the the Green Line trains to the REI store in Brookline. I bought a very reasonably priced weatherproof anorak and Wendy bought a pair of travel trousers for $27!

It was a short walk back from the store to Stephen and Anita's house, which is on a lovely tree-lined square. The whole area around their house is made up of wonderful old brick and stone houses. Their house was built in 1912 and next year they will be celebrating its 100th birthday.

Mason Square and Stephen and Anita's house.

In the evening, we were their guests at one of Boston's finest restaurants, Number 9 Park. The food was fantastic, as was the champagne and wine. What a way to end the day!

Tomorrow we say our goodbyes to Stephen and family and take the train from Boston South Station to Penn Central in New York. The journey is just over three hours and will be a welcome break from having to use airports. An added bonus is that we arrive in the centre of New York and have only a short taxi ride to our hotel, the Manhattan at Times Square.

London to Boston

After months of planning, booking of flights, hotels and ferries and organising the shipping and customs clearance into Canada, we are on our way.

Our flight left Heathrow at noon, some 45 minutes later than scheduled because of air traffic delays. It was an uneventful seven hour flight across the Atlantic and, as we came into Boston, we encountered the weather of a tropical storm that had hit the coast of the Gulf a couple of days previously. We only broke through the cloud when we were about 500ft above the runway. It was not the sort of welcome to the US we had been hoping for! Still, we cleared US immigration and got our bags in a relatively, for the US, quick time. We were met by my nephew Stephen as we walked out of the baggage hall and he drove us the short distance to his house in Brookline, a suburb of Boston.

Stephen's wife, Anita, and their two girls, Sophia and Athena, arrived shortly after. In the evening, Anita prepared a wonderful meal for us all. It was a great way to end the first day of our US/Canadian trip.

Sussex

Just ten days to go before we take the BA flight to Boston and the start of our latest drive.

Having just seen the effects of hurricane Irene on the Eastern Seaboard of the USA, and with two more months of the hurricane season to go, we have to hope that when we are driving down from Canada we are spared such an event!

We have heard from Kenny and DeeAnne that they will be arriving in St. Johns at 1am on Tuesday 13th September, having flown from Texas via Quebec and Montreal. I hope they aren't expecting me to collect them from the airport at that time!!

Finally, our good friend Ahmad has arrived in the UK for a few days and we are trying to meet him in London next week before he flies to Iran.

Sussex

I have just had confirmation from Cars Europe Ltd that the cars are on their way and will arrive in Newfoundland on September 1st which gives plenty of time for customs clearance before we pick them up on September 13th.

Our Texan friends, Kenny and DeeAnne, who will be travelling with us as our passengers for the first week of the drive, have let me know they will be arriving in St. Johns at 1am on the 13th.

Here's a brief update on our travel plans prior to the start of the drive on September 14th. We fly from London on September 7th to Boston, where we stay with my nephew for a couple of nights and then we take the train to New York. We stay there for Wendy's concert on September 11th and then fly to St. John's on the 12th. Lots to do therefore before we start driving!!

Sussex

I am writing this while we are down in Sussex for a few days. Yesterday I delivered the Landcruiser to Cars Europe up in Suffolk. They will load the car, with Bob's Landcruiser, into a 40ft container, next Monday.

Here's the Landcruiser, with the windscreen stone-guard fitted once more, parked up at the warehouse ready for shipping.

Now we are about to embark on our eleventh long-distance drive and I have just realised that we are nearly at the 10th anniversary of our first drive, the Inca Trail, which took place in October 2001. What a wonderful ten years it has been. How fortunate we are to have visited so many out-of-the-way places all over the world. With the planned trips to New Zealand and Australia, we will have driven through all the continents of the world.

London

Looks like we are all set to go!

The car is ready and on Tuesday I take it up to the shippers in Suffolk. Later in the week, Bob will be delivering his Landcruiser and both cars will then be loaded into a 40ft container for shipping to Argentia, Newfoundland. Argentia is about 130 kms from St. John's and our plan is to hire a car in St. John's and drive to Argentia to collect the cars and bring them back to our hotel before we start the drive across Newfoundland.

I heard in the week that Kenny and DeeAnne, who were hoping to rent a car in St. John's for a one-way rental to Quebec City, have not been able to do so. I suggested they join us as passengers as far as Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they should be able to rent a car. Let's hope they can do that.