Sunday, August 12
Wow!
Boston is a nightmare in terms of finding a motel! We were trying to stay
in Quincy, which is right outside Boston, and everything was full. Very frustrating
at 11:00 PM. So we ended up going a little farther south and finally found
a place. Then, this morning, we had a heck of a time finding the Adamses.
First, we found the National Historical Society, but that was closed. Then
we realized that we were looking for the visitor's center for the home. We
finally found that after about a half-hour of looking, about a block from
the historical society. Either way, it was worth it. The visitor center had
a timeline and some replicas of the homes and other Adams Family buildings.
Andy found a lovely print that he really liked and I learned a little about
John and John Quincy Adams. John was heavily involved in the revolution; some
say even more than Washington. John Quincy helped formulate the Monroe Doctrine
when he was secretary of state under Monroe. We enjoyed the Adams but knew
we needed to get back on the road so we could keep on schedule.
Then, of course we did something that threw us completely off schedule but turned out to be the best-unscheduled stop of the whole trip. We were in Boston and who can go through Boston on a presidential trip without seeing the JFK library and museum? We were going to count JFK as done since we saw the sixth floor museum in Dallas but both Andy and I just had a feeling that we should stop after seeing signs for the library. We were right. It was just about the best presidential museum we have seen so far. It was all so interesting and dynamic, as Andy put it. The museum displays included actual artifacts, video and lots of visual stimulation. Andy especially liked the area dealing with the campaign between Kennedy and Nixon. They had the televised debate, election memorabilia, and even an alcove dedicated to election night with returns from the states and television reports. I particularly enjoyed the area dealing with the Cuban missile crisis. I learned a lot about it from the video that they showed. It was quite powerful. I also liked learning about Jackie Kennedy. It was all a lot of fun and we are very glad we disrupted our trip and spent the time there.
Finally, we got on the road away from Boston. We were glad of that. On our way, we realized we needed gas right away so we took the next exit and found a gas station about a mile into a small town. The sign read $1.49 for gas but when I was pumping the gas, I realized that the pump was charging over $1.60. When I asked the clerk behind the counter, he said that I had pulled into the Full Service pumps. He seemed unimpressed with my defense that no one came to pump my gas so I should be charged the lower price. He said I should have honked if I wanted full service. Well, I have never been to a full service station that expects you to honk. Usually, they are out there surprising us with the service. Well after a couple of minutes of arguing I told him that I would pay the price but I wanted the full service - come out clean my windows, check my oil, check my tire pressure . . . You know, full service. He refused, saying, "this is not a full service station." HELLO! We argued for another minute then Andy came in to join the fun. His argument was the same as mine - sure we'll pay. Just come out and give us full service. We had already pumped the gas but there was still plenty to do for full service. Well, I guess we were both just too much for him. He finally gave in and only charged us $1.49. We were quite pleased with ourselves. Anyway, we went to get a slice of pizza across the street and then were on our way again.
Next,
we traveled to NH to visit the Franklin Pierce homestead. We enjoyed a video
in the visitor's center and took a picture of the home. It is sad about Pierce.
He had a lot of promise but personal problems wore him down and he did not
excel as president. His only surviving son was killed in a train crash right
around the time he started his presidency and his wife, already not keen on
him being in politics, mourned the boy and never supported Pierce in his work.
She was depressed and in turn, he had bouts of depression. He wasn't even
re-nominated by his own party. It's a very sad story, but I am glad that we
learned about him.
We then began back west and went through Vermont. Both New Hampshire and Vermont are beautiful states. Lots of trees and countryside. I got a very nice nap on our way to see the Calvin Coolidge site in Vermont. By the time I woke up we were parked in his tiny hometown of Plymouth. It was a tiny place. His birth home, later home and church were right next to each other with the general store that his father worked at, attached to the birth home. It was all on one tiny block. You could tell that this was a special place and why Coolidge thought it was the best place in the world. We enjoyed just strolling on the small road. We enjoyed the displays in the visitor's center and buying a few trinkets at the general store. Coolidge seemed like a very nice man with good values. He restored faith in the White House when the Harding scandals came to light after his death. He easily won his election but chose not to run for a third term. He retired to his home in Plymouth.
By the time we left the Coolidge site, it was about dinnertime. So, we stopped at a charming restaurant called Huck Finn. It was everything I would expect from a local restaurant in Vermont - painted white picket fences on the walls with silk flowers placed to look like a home garden. Lots of old books on bookshelves to give the aura of a library and low light for atmosphere. It was very nice and the food was good. I had Vermont chicken, which had Canadian bacon, Virginia cheddar cheese and honey mustard on top. It was a little rich but otherwise, very good. Andy had ribs (he can't seem to get out of the south) and Vienna just had some french onion soup. It was very relaxing and we read the books as we waited for our food. Andy read part of one of his favorites, WarDay, and I read from a book about where wit and humor came from. Vienna learned all about cats from an encyclopedia. She even took notes - she is so studious.
After Vermont we headed on toward Syracuse, NY, where we are spending the night. On the way, we changed our minds about a dozen times as to where we would actually stay and how we would work tomorrow. It's going to be a tough day. We have a long way to go and we want to be in Springfield, OH, by dinnertime so we can visit with Andy's friend Matt and his wife, Susan. It should be a good day, though. We won't get a lot of sleep again but we knew this would be a workout.