Back to the State of New York

Sunday morning 20 May

We left Provincetown after breakfast & returned to Boston via Plymouth which is where The Mayflower landed in 1620 and the colony founded by The Pilgrims here was one of the country's first settlements. We arrived about 10.30 a.m. & it was still pretty quiet but by the time we left about midday, after strolling around the historic district, it was very busy & we encountered a big motorcycle procession in the main street so we were very lucky with our timing.

Julie (aka Tom-Tom, our GPS) got us through to Boston Airport for the car drop-off after a couple of navigation stumbles including going through the Boston tunnels TWICE & turning into a section of the freeway on the wrong side of the road (don't you just love those signs that say "wrong way, turn back!" ?? I tell you, my stress levels were way off the scale at that point. I was very pleased to have the car handed back to Hertz & return to public transport! Anyway, we did just over 1000 miles in the little Subaru.

We had enough time to go out to Harvard University. Enjoyed a short amble around the grounds; there was a lot of activity as it seems students are in the process of graduating, and being Sunday, it was very relaxing. We enjoyed a sandwich watching the word go by & listening to some music played by buskers.

We then returned to central Boston and took a short walk to the water where the boat is moored that featured in the uprising by early colonists against the British Govt. & the East India Tea Company when they tipped tea overboard into Boston Harbor in protest at the tax imposed on tea. This incident marked an iconic moment in American history & the beginnings of the Boston Tea Party.

We are now on a Greyhound bus to Albany which is in the State of New York (as is New York City). We should arrive by 9.15 p.m. we hope.

Later on Sunday (10.30 p.m.)

Well, all the horror stories regarding Greyhound bus services did not come to pass. Bus duly arrived on time, staff were very pleasant &, even though the service was full, it didn't seem to be over-booked; nor did we get mugged or robbed at the bus station.

We are now installed in our lodging for the night in Albany having had some tasted fruit bagels & fruit for tea kindly provided by the night manager.

We had walked from the bus station to our accommodation & as we did so, one could not but be impressed by the magnificent buildings. Albany is the capital of the State of New York & is located on the Hudson River. European settlement here dates back to 1614. The city of Rensselaer on the other side of the river is linked by bridge & it is from there that we will catch our Amtrak train in the morning to Niagara.