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New England in the Fall
  • Hazel and Ted's Journeys

New England in the Fall

Ted and I haven’t been to the US of A since Ted’s 60th birthday bash in 2009! We have always wanted to go to Boston so this trip was booked 12 months’ ago, coming off the back of the ill-fated Corsica and Sardinia compensation. Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 16, 2025
    Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    3Awkward selfie
    Marvellous Sue!Arrival at TribeView from room.... 😳Ted... now smiling. I wonder why?!

    Here we go again: Highcross Hill to Manc

    September 16 in England ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    The day has finally come and with it a frisson of excitement. A frisson only, as this year has been dogged by health issues culminating in a bad back which, although settling, is still causing me problems. The thought of a seven and a half hour flight to the east coast of the USA is frankly daunting but hey ho, onward and upward. The war in Ukraine shows no sign of abatement and the situation between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza strip are examples of the dreadful lives some people are forced to live. So, even with a bad back, if you are lucky enough to travel and see a part of the world you haven’t seen before it’s almost a duty to do so.

    Setting off from Highcross Hill in time to get the bus to PLF station whilst also taking the obligatory awkward selfie on the doorstep (with an unsmiling Ted as usual), we encountered our marvellous neighbour Sue who positively insisted on running us into Poulton! What a 🌟 and how could we refuse? Straight to Manchester Airport then and a very short walk to the new hotel Tribe-quite splendid. Nice little room with everything we could need especially with a bedside table to put your painkillers 😩. Early 6.15 pm dinner as we’ve an early start-could almost parachute down to the dining room….    Read more

  • Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    First trudge of the day in an eerie blue light!
    Not very interesting but spent some time here.Double-deckerTaxi queueView from hotel room-23rd floorAnother fairly boring day but early days of the blog!

    Manchester to Boston

    September 17 in England ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    Can thoroughly recommend the Tribe Hotel-even has breakfast from 3am included in rate. Pouring with rain as we left to make the wearying trek to T3.
    The lady on “breakfasts” is also cabin crew for Jet2. She apparently got off her flight from Lanzarote at midnight and went straight to Tribe for her other job. Needed to get her foot in the door, she said, as holiday flights lessen in October. 👏 to her. I would really welcome the job of being responsible for the signage in an airport….I wonder whether someone is secretly giggling watching the CCTV of all us poor fools trudging along the pavement to “Door 1” (as instructed for Departures) then going inside the building and trudging all the way back (parallel) to the pavement to Door 4 where we were told we deffo couldn’t enter from outside. Then the inevitable wait in the queue with dire warnings of how the check-in opens 2 hours before and you need to be there. Well we were but the queue is immense and there is 1 person on the check-in desk…. However, churlish to complain and on the positive side going through security was a dream-fastest ever. Ted never gets through first time and today did not disappoint-his hand luggage was examined closely and much swabbing took place before it was reluctantly handed back to him. At least it wasn’t an old screwdriver, long since forgotten, as was discovered at Delhi though missed in Heathrow! BA shuttle in one hour to Heathrow.
    So…… have now been sitting on the BA plane at the gate at Manchester for 2 hrs. My back is killing me and going nowhere for at least 40 mins. Problem with on board computer and weather. We won’t make our Boston flight and will have to re-route at Heathrow.
    Finally got off this ruddy plane, having been on it for 3 hours. Took them only 40 mins from Manchester to Heathrow. BA has been very good and a lady was waiting for those missing connecting flights. So we are now sitting at Gate C55 still in T5 awaiting the 14.40 to Logan, Boston with BA. Just 2 hours behind the main group so not too bad. Looks like one of those 4-engine, double-decker jobs…. not been on one of those since Hong Kong to Singapore in 2014.
    Now in Boston, adding to the blog in the back of a taxi on the way to Hotel Revere and it’s rush hour. Uneventful flight and not too uncomfortable considering we had the two middle seats of 4 😩but no choice in the matter. Just about 6.30 pm local time and still light but 11.30 pm at home.
    The queue at Homeland Security was humongous and the guy had to come out of his little box to place Ted’s fingers correctly for the all-important fingerprints as his dry skin made it a bit problematic 🤣😂
    Having been in contact with Great Rail we took a taxi from the airport, gave the driver a generous tip and got a receipt to claim back-driver was delighted 🤣😂
    So… now 19.30 here and half past midnight at home and we are in the Hotel Revere Bar having a drink before hitting the sack. Very nearly went to find the Cheers Bar or the Irish Bar but our heads are pounding so wimped out! Tomorrow is another day.    Read more

  • Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    We are on 23rd floor of the Revere
    Boston LawSelf explanatory!Ted "enjoying" breakfast!1What a range!Tiffany's, BostonPresidential LibraryTortoise and the Hare-symbols of the Boston Marathon1Old church next to ultra modern glass walled building4Main entrance of MITMain entrance of Harvard with statue of its founderJFKA character from the revolution?1Old Ironsides...the ship not Ted!Throwback to the old Italian part of Boston where saints' relics were collectedOutside Rose Kennedy's churchQuincy Market-food outlets and other shops2Some of the delights on offerCrystal Lake at Eaton Beach24 degrees now!Could sleep an army in this room tonight."Boston Bark" 🤣😂Paul Revere himself1Some of these Boston Houses worth millions-more expensive than New York.

    Boston

    September 18 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Slept quite well and easily awake by 6am so up and out exploring downtown Boston for breakfast (in effect just up the street from the Revere Hotel). And there it was…. Dunkin’ Donuts! Had a breakfast “sandwich” each and a coffee, espied another couple (from Horwich) on same trip. Appears the Virgin flight was excellent but so was ours. Saw Robert the tour leader on the road, brief chat then back to hotel for packing and meeting in lobby for 8.30am. A bit drizzly for the first couple of hours but then warm and no need for coats. Cindy (local Bostonian) boarded the bus and conducted a 3-hour sightseeing tour of Boston with two walking tours. Very interesting. Mostly, of course, about the Founding Fathers, the revolution and ensuing American War of Independence plus facts about Boston and Bostonians. Boston used to have a elevated Freeway going right through the middle to carry the ever increasing amount of traffic but that has been demolished and up to 14 lanes of traffic now go by underpasses-a bit like lots of Mersey tunnels. We walked to see the USS Constitution or “Old Ironsides” (one of the first warships made) and saw a statue of Paul Revere, famous US folklore hero of the revolution who rode to inform the people that the Brits were coming. Saw a statue of JFK, the house where he and Jackie lived and the church where matriarch Rose Kennedy worshipped and where her funeral was held in the 1990s. Boston has an abundance of higher education institutions and we saw the building of MIT and Harvard.
    The coach dropped us at Quincy Market (a bit like Borough Market in London) where Ted and I partook of broiled scallops wrapped in bacon for lunch. Back to the coach by 2 pm and then the longish drive from Massachusetts to North Conway, New Hampshire. It was warm and sunny outside but the air conditioning in the coach makes it miserably cold! Arrived at the Residence Inn by Marriott which seems to be on a bit of an industrial site. There are outlet stores and the odd supermarket. We walked to Barley and Salt for dinner but an expensive and indifferent meal really. I am still very tired and so at the time of writing (9pm) I’m off to bed!    Read more

  • Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    Self explanatory
    1Photo opportunity-Mount Washington HotelKenny-our driver!Activity of the daySome factsVERY STEEP!3 trains go up togetherOurs was number 2And here comes the mistFreezing up there!North Woodstock pet shop-what a place!3🤣😂Astonishing red roofed hotel!Photo opportunityPicturesqueBy a beautiful lakeRare one of us bothCovered bridge at AlbanyTed in the bridge-used to be a toll bridgeCross many unmanned railway crossingsTerry doing his thing!Freezing!1Anyone in need of a pumpkin?!🎃

    The Mount Washington Cog Railway

    September 19 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    8am start from hotel to Mount Washington to catch the 10am train up to the summit (maximum speed 5mph). Felt a lot better after a fairly good night’s sleep. A word about the group… 19 Yanks and 17 Brits. Quite hilarious at times with the opening gambit always being “Where are you from?” They hail from Washington State, Florida, Texas, New Orleans to name but a few. For some it is an adventure to be on the East coast. Interesting conversations every day.
    Back to the cog railway…. an engineering miracle of the 1850s patronised initially by the rich of the Gilded Age who came to holiday at such places as the Mount Washington Hotel Resort, where we stopped to photograph on the way. This hotel is famous for hosting the meeting that led to the inauguration of the World Bank (International Monetary Fund). It was an hour to get up to the summit, freezing cold at the top, an hour up there (I sent myself a postcard home) then an hour to come down. The “Brakeman”, Terry, told us all the history and how the weather is the “worst in the world” but that today was a good day considering.
    We stopped at North Woodstock on the way back for lunch -a pretty little town with a dog pet shop and dog cafe and ice cream place 😳
    4 stops on the return to the hotel, along the Kancamagus Scenic Railway, for photo opportunities, to visit the Albany covered bridge and the picturesque river rapids which is more picturesque when there is enough water there to rush across the rocks but due to the good summer the water level was low unfortunately.
    Went to the local supermarket to buy a few drinks and a salad for “dinner” as the local restaurants are not the greatest……    Read more

  • Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    Here we go!
    And another!And another!Just to give you a flavour1And here comes the trainWell I did teach anatomy..Yep... fur tatoos...What a treat!School bus for dogsNorth Conway's finestTypical house?As it says....Ticket collectorA bit of scenery hereThis could be in Virgin River (if you watch it!)Self explanatoryAnd againThe Lake at Crawford NotchThis is a giveawaySome Fall colours to be seen in the treesThe Radisson (3 nights here)

    North Conway Scenic Railway

    September 20 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    A word on Kenny the driver’s 👢 . Ted quoted the line from Dumb and Dumber “Killer boots man!” I asked him about the boots and apparently his son is getting married on the 27th and the wedding theme is a cowboy one. So he has bought these “killer boots” and is wearing them in before the wedding. Just in case you were wondering….
    We had a couple of hours in North Conway before the train departed at 11.30 am and, hilariously, there was a dog extravaganza going on. Lots of stalls selling all things doggy, including dog (furry) tatoos! There were nutrition stalls, a bow-tie and bandana stall, all dog poo items-narrowly missed having a deodoriser thrust upon me, old age homes for dogs and lots of fund raising activities for medical treatments etc. The funniest activity was the dog long-jump competition (see videos!) which was taken extremely seriously. Only in America.
    Onto the North Conway Scenic Railway (built in the 1860s to link Portland, Maine to Canada) which was constructed mainly by hand with a bit of dynamite thrown in. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the full spiel as the microphone wasn’t working! Also, unfortunately, it was a bit like travelling through a forest for the majority of the time with trees on either side (New Hampshire is 80% forest) for a couple of hours. The rivers are so short of water, some with barely any flow, and when we did emerge out of the woods we could see that what are probably usually spectacular waterfalls were completely dried up. Kenny and the coach met us at Crawford Notch (so named as the Crawford Family owned that neck of the woods) and we returned to the hotel. It is lovely and sunny with blue skies at the moment-may try out the hotel pool 👀
    P.S. I did in fact try out the small indoor pool and tried putting the back through its paces. Also went in the splendidly 🔥 jacuzzi. Fell into conversation with “Rick and Candy or was it Sandy 🤔 from Boston who visit the hotel two three times a year for a short break. We discussed replacement joints (my hips, his knee) and they couldn’t get their heads around the NHS with “free” medical care!    Read more

  • Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    One of many old crones
    Most properties make an effortLots of businesses like thisSelf explanatorySkeletons galore!More of the sameApparently Oprah's fave sweet shop!Coastal viewPoor Boston!Didn't go in-too busy in given time we had2Is this the Witchfinder General?!Houses had plaques showing when houses were built and the occupation of the ownerSkeletons popping up everywherePumpkins galore!Could have done away with Ted!Another coastal view 🤷🏻‍♀️2A little taste of New EnglandNot as good as Bark in the Park yesterday!Next 2 nights at Fairmont-similar to last hotel.

    The Salem Witches

    September 21 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Leaving the mountains behind this morning we drove for two and a half hours to Salem. I wasn’t expecting it to be like it was! The Halloween season starts on the first Thursday in October with a big parade and finishes on the night of Halloween. It’s an extravaganza of ghosts, skeletons, witches, coffins and all things spooky and the town experiences an influx of 60-100,000 visitors every year. They have capitalised on their history which saw the Puritans in the mid 1600s who settled there, accuse, find guilty and put to death 20 women whom they thought were witches. 19 were hanged and 1 crushed to death 😳 It was a bit like Blackpool-a bit tacky and lots of people dressed up to reflect the Halloween theme. We did visit the graveyard where the 20 women were buried although it wasn’t clear exactly where they were. I was expecting a quaint, coastal town with maybe a museum or two. Funnily enough there was another “event” on the town open green space-not Bark in the Park this time but mobile street food vans. Ted had a chicken curry and I had a pizza dog. We did take the Red Trolley Bus Tour which was expensive at $24 each and a bit of a silly commentary focusing mostly on locations where horror movies and shows had been filmed like Hocus Pocus. There were 1 or 2 interesting facts but not worth the cost really.Read more

  • Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    Huge memorial
    2The Group! 🇬🇧🇺🇸Ted and his mateThe Rock!And here it is in all its gloryMayflower II in the backgroundInformation plaqueBrave peopleTearoom, complete with phone box outside2Ted enjoying a proper cup of teaAn original pilgrim lived on this site maybeLovely waterfrontEntertaining talks! Ted: "I see no ships.."JFK memorialSelf explanatory🤣😂JFK MuseumMemorial in a lovely spot with sun shining through fountainTonight's watering hole.

    From Pilgrims & Founding Fathers to JFK

    September 22 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We are now in New Bedford, Massachusetts, at another Marriott hotel on the waterfront in a town renowned for whaling. Funny, really, as I was born in the original Bedford in the UK. Breakfast is the same as the last 3 mornings (same chain of hotels) which is to say mediocre, with disposable plates, cups and crockery but at least there is something which looks like sliced bread today so we did have toast!
    So…. first stop today is Plymouth and the huge memorial to the Pilgrims Fathers who landed on these shores in 1620 to get away from, as they thought, an unreformable Church of England. About half of them perished on the way and in the first year and initially they had to work with the native indigenous people to help them with farming and survival skills to get by.
    From here we visited the (smaller than it was) Plymouth Rock which is surrounded by a large cordon of pillars and guarded to stop vandalism. This rock is supposedly where the Mayflower came ashore.
    The waterfront in Plymouth was made even more lovely by beautiful weather today and we then boarded Mayflower II which is a replica of the original, built in Brixham, Devon in 1957 and sailed over in considerably less time than its predecessor took. There were some brilliant retirees on board who were fountains of knowledge.
    From the waterfront Ted and I toiled up one of the streets to Main St (parallel to the waterfront) following the sign to Michelle’s Tearoom where we met herself (Michelle) and partook of a proper cup of tea! Ted had crumpets and I had Victoria sandwich but couldn’t really eat it all…. Bit sickly but the tea was great!
    I have taken advantage of the bus WiFi to upload half of this but if you are reading this we still have Hyannis Port and the JFK Museum to visit….. (18.34 ish UK time)

    Stopped briefly at the JFK Memorial which was impressive and especially lovely in the bright sunshine. And so… now in the bus having spent nearly two hours wandering up and down Main Street in Hyannis Port with nothing much to look at really (except the name of the wine bar which made us laugh) and then finally meeting up at 3.30 pm at the JFK Museum.
    Very interesting and still sad after all these years. I still remember I was at Brownies, aged 10, when I heard JFK had been assassinated.    Read more

  • Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    2More impressive than Buck House!
    Walking up to house for 10am tourCast of The Gilded AgePoor old Cornelius Vanderbilt who only had 4 summers at Breakers before he diedThe dining room-the chandeliers were geared up for both electric and gas lighting 😳Open air terraceSide view of house with beautiful sheltered flowered sitting areaSome of the garden we sawThe real breakers behind us but no time to walk down there1Some of the mansions built in The Gilded AgeThe International Tennis Hall of FameThe Boat ShedOutdoor scenesMetal ShopPosing outside the HorologistsThe Print ShopWith Denise and Pat from FloridaTall Ship!Small taste of the seaport museumOutside Track 15 having a drinkInside Track 15-we decided on Indian in the end.

    Mass-Rhode Island-Connecticut-RI

    September 23 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Three states in one day today. Setting off this morning to Newport, Rhode Island (the smallest state), home of the Americas Cup, to visit The Breakers, fabulous mansion house once home to the Vanderbilt family. The mansion has been used in the TV series The Gilded Age and the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby. It was built between 1893-94 and has 48 bedrooms. The visit did not disappoint. This was a sight worth going round but bizarrely we only had an hour and a quarter at our disposal. The gardens were also lovely and in fact it was possible to walk right down to the sea (the breakers!) but we simply didn’t have time to do justice to it all. I must rewatch The Gilded Age to check out scenes which were filmed at The Breakers.
    After a short lunch break, on the coach again into Connecticut to the Mystic Maritime Museum, a recreation of a 19th century seaport. This was a pleasant stroll in the sun around the exhibits but not as splendid as The Black Country Living Museum in Birmingham for example. A lot of things were closed. Back on the coach by 4.15 pm and now to the hotel in Providence, Rhode Island.    Read more

  • Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    Lobby of our hotel-The Graduate but was the Biltmore
    Macy's-doing well in Providence when stores generally aren't at this timeOriginally the railway station, just over the road from the hotel but not anymoreThe "Superman Building" so-called because of its resemblance to the Daily Planet buildingCity Hall-our room looks out onto its roof-French in styleCan't remember what was said about this one!Telephone Building built to house switchboards when domestic telephones were unheard ofStreet Art-interpret as you wish!Street art againMore street artCaricatures of notable figures in theatrical worldTrinity Repertory TheatreOur guide's favourite-just the Bilt of Biltmore included on the rightConrad Building-a long tale about the first "postal murder" here 🤷🏻‍♀️Originally a furniture store built in 1920s and had unusually large windows for the timeProvidence Performing Arts CentreThe Lion King is coming tooMore street artJust an attractive street!Indoor market building-flooded in the 1938 hurricane hereProvidence's own "flat-iron" building known as the Turk's Head buildingBiggest piece of street art yet which we found ourselvesView of the roof of City Hall from our room on the 14th floorTed in his happy place!Last night in Providence

    Providence

    September 24 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

    Our luck has run out with regards to the weather and it is pouring down this morning. We are booked on the architectural walking tour at 11am, the first being at 9am when they all set off with umbrellas and all came back like drowned rats.
    This hotel (recently refurbed by Hilton apparently) is a relic of the Gilded Age also and has a grand lobby and central staircase with a post box still on every floor for guests to post their letters. The room is massive with a seating area, a sort of dressing come luggage room and a sink area which is in semi gloom-hardly any light at all so cleaning teeth is by memory 🤣😂 We are on the 14th floor. There is a small park opposite which last night was home to a few drug dealers and people sleeping rough-first time I’ve felt unsafe on this particular trip.
    However, we set off on the walking tour, having borrowed an umbrella, with the guide, a native of Providence who I can only say suffered from verbal diarrhoea and didn’t stop for breath. Most of the time he was reading the facts from his file and would sometimes tell himself that he didn’t know anything about this or that and would skip over it (audible to us!) He’d been a mailman for 20 years he said and then later a tour guide in Providence, New York and Washington but when COVID hit he was left unemployed. Have to say he wasn’t the best….. Thankfully it only started to rain at the end of the tour so we didn’t get wet. We saw some interesting buildings and also quite a bit of street art.
    Ted and I then went out and walked by the river and saw a memorial to the marines killed in the 1983 Beirut bombing. Crossing over the river on College Hill is Brown University, a prestigious educational establishment, 7th oldest in the US, founded at end of 18th century and has produced 11 Nobel prize winners to date.
    This time last week we were on our way here and tonight is the last night. We set off at 8am in the morning by train to Boston.    Read more

  • Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    Providence Amtrak Station
    Train nearly hereAnd here it comesThis is a BIG flagOther end of Quincy Market.Old Customs Building apparently.A flavour of Quincy Market

    Back to Boston

    September 25 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    The rain was so heavy this morning that we were unable to walk to the Amtrak Station to catch the train so all had to pile into the coach. Only about 14 of us went with the original plan of taking the train back to Boston and the rest wimped out and stayed on the coach-1 American lady said to me “You are so brave!” 😳 Actually the train ride was only about 40 mins and not really very inspiring in any way. Seats were not plentiful and I think Robert would have struggled getting some of the more infirm ones on there so it’s a good job they stayed on the bus. We went back to Quincy Market and literally wasted time until it was time to board the bus again to the airport. If we had had time I should have liked to go to the Boston tea party museum. Kenny dropped us at different terminals, mostly internal flights and we were the only ones going international at this time. It was quite sad saying farewell to some people! The rest of the Brits won’t be coming to the airport until about 5pm this evening. The usual routine of booking in and security ensued but so much more relaxed than in UK with no great long queues. It didn’t seem to matter we were booking in 6 hours early! At the present time we are sitting in a restaurant airside sharing one of the usual huge meals.Read more

  • Hazel and Ted's JourneysNew England in the FallHazel and Ted's Journeys
    The only photo of the day!

    Homeward Bound

    September 26 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    The Delta flight took off 7pm Boston time, 12 midnight UK time and lasted for 6 hours. There was no comparison to the delightful BA flight on the way out-food was revolting, wine served in paper cups-all a bit of a rush and certainly no one gliding round with water, apple or orange juice several times! A lot less leg room too. So remind me if possible never to go with Delta again.
    We had a full English between 2 in the Wetherspoons in T5, as Manchester flight not til 10.35, and then a quick 35 minutes up in the air and we were back. We made a huge dash to the Station as fast as we could and missed the Blackpool train by about 30 seconds. It was still at the platform… so frustrating. Got the next one ….. it’s an airport train with nowhere to put luggage…. At every station hordes of people got on with even more luggage and the train was packed but we got home eventually and walked through the front door of Highcross Hill at 2.45 pm!
    Here endeth the last Footprint of New England in the Fall. Travelling gets harder as we get older but…. we can still do it. It was good to visit the States again and visit new states we hadn’t before. It was also different to have half the group American and the chats that ensued. I was asked what I thought about Megan and Harry and whether I had ever seen Catherine in the flesh-I think my responses to both disappointed them! As always, we saw a lot and learned a lot. To those of you who read a few Footprints thanks a lot…. you didn’t have to but it’s nice to know people did! Here’s to the next time! 🤔🤣🙄😱    Read more

    Trip end
    September 26, 2025
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