A long way to fall...

[MikeO]

17th September 2024

Harry was clearly worried about me packing my bags…

He shouldn’t be – he’s off on his holidays too, staying with my housekeeper Vikki, who has four young boys, a pug/Frenchie cross and (most recently) a cat. He’s apparently met the cat before and was “OK with it”…

Anyway – far too late as usual, I’m padding around the house finding stuff to pack, then thinking, “Do I need this?” and dithering about it, before packing it anyway.

Unusually, I'm not having any work done around the house or garden whilst I'm away. I was going to deliver my convertible to Norwich Audi to have its suspension replaced - the parts are in the boot (trunk). Unfortunately, when I went to start it yesterday to drive it there, I found that the battery was completely flat. I mean completely - not even warning lights.

Well, this confirms my suspicion that the reversing camera Dave and I fitted has been a continual drain on the battery. Hey-ho - I try using a jump-start lithium pack, and the engine barely turns over.

No matter, I can get the work done when I get back in October - it's is not as if I anticipated needing the convertible during the autumn and winter...

So, I'm back to packing - recharging camera batteries and updating my MacBook.

My flight is at quite a civilised time (14:25 from LHR), which means I won't have to set off until 08:00 or so. Unusually, I'll be driving myself, rather than politely mooching a ride off Adrian (he's travelling for work). I've booked one of these parking deals where you give your car keys to a chap at the terminal, and hope he'll be there with your car when you get back...

Anyway - more tomorrow - got to do some packing...

 

[MikeO]

18th September 2024

The alarm sounds at 0715 and I drag myself out of a fitful sleep, open the shutters and see a grey day. I never sleep well before travelling - always thinking I may have forgotten to pack something, or not done some essential chore.

After a relaxed ablute, I get kitted up and take the last few things down to my cabin bag, do a mental check of stuff I need to do, and things I need to take, then zip both bags closed and wheel them out to the car. I empty the fridge of all perishables and dump them in the wheelie bin (which is being emptied today), then I lock the front door, start the car and set off towards Heathrow Terminal Five, about two and a half hours away.

Harry was happily playing with Vikki’s boys when I left him yesterday evening - he’ll likely be knackered by now

Traffic is light and I’m joining the A11 at Mildenhall within an hour. I’ve been listening to a four-part podcast on Noiser called Real Dictators, about Oliver Cromwell. I’m a little surprised to realise I have only the vaguest knowledge of this period of history - and after I’ve finished it, I’m left to wonder if the lack of detail taught me was a continuing legacy of the shame felt about this period of British history…

Still - time for a spot of breakfast. I pull off at a service area and park with difficulty in a packed car park - then walk into a virtually empty Starbucks (why is the car park full?)...

...and order a bacon roll and a small americano, of studied mediocrity.

Back on the road, I’m making good time and soon join the M25 - where everything slows to a crawl…

Eventually, I turn off to Terminal Five and pull into the drop-off area (£5 charge ) as my booking instructions indicate. No one was there, so I called the customer service number. I get directions to the correct place and park in Row R as requested. I pay the needless £5 charge online later…

I check in with Maple Parking and leave my key with them. I then trundle my bags into the terminal and head for the baggage drop. Since I checked in online yesterday afternoon, I just have to scan my boarding pass and passport, load my checked bag onto the conveyer, stick the label through the handle, and wave it goodbye as it enters the world of luggage.

I go through security, which isn’t as busy as I’ve experienced in the past, but is still a hot and sweaty experience. Today I’ve brought a small electric fan, which lessens the discomfort considerably.

Declared legal on the other side, I repack my cabin bag and find an information screen. It tells me that the Gate for my flight will be announced at 12:55 (30 minutes prior to boarding).

I Google the flight number and immediately get the Gate number - C63.

This involves a bit of a hike and a ride on the driverless shuttle train. It’s clear that there are a lot of people on my flight, and I arrive at C63 to find it quite busy. I learn that the flight is packed, so the chances of my BA benefactor being able to swing an upgrade seem slim.

We’re called forward by groups, and I walk through a rammed club class section - no upgrade today. No matter, I have an aisle seat with the two seats to my right free. Excellent.

We taxi out and have an extended hold, as the crew rectify a non-specified problem, and we’re airborne about ten minutes late.

I’m on the upper deck of the Fatbus, towards the rear, and - saving the legroom - it’s not an unpleasant environment.

BA cabin staff are - as ever – good-humoured and helpful.

After we’ve been airborne for an hour or so, we get a packet of pretzels and a choice of beverage. I ask for a Coke Zero and get the TINIEST can...

About an hour later we’re served lunch - a choice of mushroom pasta or chicken tikka masala - I opt for the latter and am pleasantly surprised by a very satisfying meal.

The chap directly in front of me.

He’s in his late twenties, I’d guess - he has yet to stop farting around trying to get himself comfortable, forever rocking back on the seat, which wobbles and makes viewing on my screen challenging. It's been three hours and he’s still thrashing about like a toddler on espresso

Hey ho.

Not a great choice of films. I watched and enjoyed (by moving my head in concert with his seat back) Quiet Place Day One, which I thought was really good. I may rewatch Quiet Place now.

In fact, that’s what I’m going to do - the toddler seems to have settled.

Quiet Place, which I saw not long after its release, was good – and was obviously a good companion film for the earlier one. I don’t bother watching anything else, as the toddler had started thrashing about again. I write some stuff for my journal on my iPhone and generally pass the time.

Flight time today was six and a half hours – a pleasant change from the further three hours I’d have to endure if going to the West Coast – Jorge says it filters out those that aren’t hardy enough…

We get a hot pastry snack and a drink just before top of descent and arrive at Boston Logan about ten minutes after schedule.

As you can imagine, with a rammed Fatbus arriving, the Borders and Immigration team have every booth manned.

Or perhaps they don’t.

We must have walked about three-quarters of a mile (seriously) to get to immigration, so this sweaty mass of humanity is penned into seemingly endless corridors of nylon belts, getting slowly nearer to the outside world. You aren’t allowed to take pictures there – I’m not surprised – it wouldn’t make good viewing…

It’s an hour before I have my picture taken and am wished a great holiday by the bored-looking immigration officer.

My case arrives just as I do. I’m fooled into paying six dollars(!) to rent a cart, only to find that the shuttle bus stop is about 200 feet away…

The shuttle bus is full of people who don’t want to be there – principally the driver. I get off at the second stop and precariously negotiate an escalator down with two wheeled bags – it’s sketchy enough with one.

I roll my little packaged world to the far side of Level One of the car park and present my QR Code to the very helpful and cheerful couple. They are right on the case – it’s a warm day and I look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards. I ask if the car is going to be an X5, which I had requested. Sorry, he says, out of X5s, but I’ve got something better for you.

Regular readers have already guessed where this is going…

Yep – it’s an X6. A newer model of the Ugly Duckling I drove last year. Against all odds, BMW has managed to make it look even uglier – it’s impressive…

I load the cases into the back and then spend 10 minutes (with the AC set to Pluto) pairing my phone with the car and putting my hotel into Waze.

It’s apparently 35 miles away – it will take me over an hour to get there.

It’s getting dark, so I set off, through some really rough areas and across some third-world road surfaces – I’ll never complain about British roads again.

OK, that last bit’s not true.

I mean - what's this meant to be?

A large part of the journey is on Interstate at night – I get to my hotel at about 19:30 and am efficiently booked into Room 130, on the ground floor. I wheel my bags in and then park Son of Duckling not far from the entrance...

...noting that it has Florida tags. They probably love this crap down there...

As I type it’s 21:00 local – but that’s 02:00 body clock time, so I grab a couple of bottles of over-priced iced tea and sit down to pen today’s journal.

I miss Harry already…

 

[Monsieur]

Your entry into the free world at Boston Logan seems quicker than mine did. I did get a cheery border guard though.
And a BA flight late leaving? Surprise! (See my other thread

 

[Pukmeister]

Enjoy Boston, my least favourite US city.

 

[LOLGEOFF]

Where are we going this time? I can't wait...

 

[Oldrat]

I'm in.

 

[Simmo]

I'm in.

And me

 

[Hairnet600]

after being stitched up by an airbnber few weeks ago

rented a chevy and the hotel 20 miles from logan took an hour also

for a place with big distances - urban sucks

so.........maine? canuck? tour of the lakes??

 

[Aidan1150]

There's a lot to be said for pre-clearance at Dublin before heading Stateside. Which is exactly what I'll be doing next Thursday.

 

[MikeO]

There's a lot to be said for pre-clearance at Dublin before heading Stateside. Which is exactly what I'll be doing next Thursday.

But I had a big poo before leaving home...

 

[Hairnet600]

eep

 

[MikeO]

19th September 2024

I sleep really well and wake just before 07:00 (but of course, this is noon body clock time). I get up, have a shower, shave and try to organise my bags so I don't need to open both every night. I fail - I'll crack it just in time to go home...

I get dressed and wheel my bags out to Son-of-Duckling, who beeps excitedly as I approach...

Having stowed the bags, I return to the hotel to partake of...

...the Hampton Inn breakfast. You can eat all day from one of these if you do it right...

Cheese omelette and biscuits with sausage gravy - I'm definitely in the USA again...

I fill my thermal mug up from the coffee machine and my bottle up from the ice machine - I'm ready for the off just before 08:00...

Son-of-duckling has an excellent heads-up display (HUD) - occasionally a compass appears on it, as well as the speed limit and your speed. If I used the BMW GPS, it would show directions too.

I join commuters, heading basically northeast for a while on an Interstate...

First bridge!

It crosses the Piscataqua River...

Quite soon I enter Maine, where most of today's drive will take us, although we dally in New Hampshire for a few miles...

I enter state roads, but they're not scenic - pretty much long sections of shops and strip malls interrupted by the odd bit of farming land. Things will improve...

One of the reasons I have come here is to see New England in the fall (autumn) - but it feels like I have arrived in New England in the summer - it's 25C today.
Despite this, the leaves are starting to turn, as you can see on the tree to the left...

Look at this little beauty - it's in front of an RV sales yard...

I let this woman out into traffic...

Her 'stick-figure family' is a bunch of T Rexes...

I spot these neglected old gentlemen sitting in a yard...

I've always loved the 'pagoda roof' 1960s Mercedes SL - this chap specialises in nothing else...

They'll likely all end up beautifully restored...

I walk back to son-of-duckling, which looks even more hideous when compared with these graceful designs...

Everywhere I look there are more...

A little way down the road is this. Enough said, I think...

I spot this, do a U-turn (much to Agnes's displeasure), and backtrack to get a closer look...

It's been chopped up - and not well. Even the paint is unremarkable...

I stop at a Conoco gas station and fill up - don't need to, but I needed the loo and also bought a couple of large bottles of Gatorade. I put five gallons of Premium in for just over $20. Out of curiosity, I'm going to check the car's mpg. Normally I'd zero the trip meter, to assist in this, but goodness knows how you do that...

I pop into an Ace Hardware store - I have forgotten a couple of charging cables, so pick them up for about $25 the pair.

I love American hardware stores - we don't really have an equivalent in the UK - they're just great...

I take this pic for my old boss Andy, who has a dog called Otto (Hi Andy

)...

Aha! this has to be worth a look...

Lots of points available for make, model and year!

It's a great collection. If you aren't interested in old cars, you may want to go and have a cup of tea or something...

Luis, the friendly, but camera-shy, chap on the counter, chats with me about what brought me here and tells me to take my time looking around the collection...

Right by the counter they have this toy car - Luis says it's so kids can play with it and get the 'need to touch cars' out of their system.

I'm immediately reminded of my next-door but one neighbour who had one of these when we were kids. He wouldn't let me have a go in it.

Git.

No captions - give me your guesses...

One for you Catherine...

Tartan upholstery...

It's not all Americana...

No prizes for the Citroen DS - surely one of the most elegant cars ever to enter production...

This has prismatic paint - which I think is like putting ice cubes in real ale...

A couple of German chaps, of a very similar vintage...

Delightful little Messerschmitt...

...and an Isetta bubble car of similar age...

Pretty sure we all know what this is...

Now we're talking...

Early Aston Martin...

Alongside another Brit...

Now this is an interesting car...

The doors retract into the front wings...

Popular with Hollywood stars. As they drove with the top down to Palm Beach, photographers were primed to be at a certain junction. As the car came by with its doors open, they could get a full-length pic of the occupants...

Beautiful little Porsche...

You're unlikely to get this - I believe they only made six or so - you can see by the rosettes and trophies that this one's top of the heap...

(1954 Chrysler Ghia GS-1)

You can see one of these in the film The Lost Boys...

Here's a strange beast...

Doors that extend up into the roof line...

I love the design of the rear lights...

Pretty sure it was a white, hard-top version of this that the mystery blonde drove in American Graffiti...

This was loaded with every option...

Including a slot you could feed a 45rpm single into...

Just for my mate Darren (Hi Darren

), here’s an Alfa - a Right Hand Drive one at that...

I'm left thinking "They could fabricate a beautiful design like that - but not work out wind-up windows?"

Very nice...

OK - enough cars - time to get back on the road...

I've slightly tweaked Agnes's route, to avoid too many dual carriageways...

Dammit! Got to stop again...

Both for sale...

I'm back on a major road (and over a bridge!), just to get through Portland. I have now qualified for my "Driven in both Portlands" merit badge.

Luis's parting words to me were "Have a great trip Mike - and eat lots of lobster"

Well, OK then...

I'm quickly given a window seat and brought a lemonade...

The lovely Beth - who doesn't look in any way strange, unlike this awful pic

...

...recommends the lobster roll. Its price is marked "market", as it is so changeable. I ask how much - $39...

She also tells me that the soup of the day is Cheeseburger...

I choose a cup of the soup (you've got to try it, just to say you have), and the lobster roll with sweet potato fries...

The view is great...

...but the place isn't exactly packed...

The soup is actually great - very rich, and I'm glad I only ordered a 'cup' (half portion)...

The lobster roll is superb. I close my mind to the cost and just enjoy the food...

My bill, including 20% tip, was just over $82...

Nice though it was, I'm not sure I'll be partaking of any more Maine lobster...

I settle up, and walk out to the parking lot...

...to find this pretty little Porsche has arrived...

I get into son-of-duckling and set off towards my target for tonight.

Something you notice immediately about New England are the place names - they are in the vast majority the place names from the UK, presumably where the first settlers hailed from. Today I've driven through or past, Exeter, Portsmouth, Biddeford (extra D) - and tonight I'm staying in Belfast. Not high on the list of holiday destinations in the UK, but a pretty coastal town in Maine...

I find the New England architecture very attractive...

Particularly houses out in the countryside...

Those in towns have the blight of overhead power and telephone lines...

I love the clean lines of their design. I'm guessing most of them are clad in plastic, rather than the traditional painted wood, as upkeep otherwise would be pretty expensive...

Agnes directs me up some great little state roads, the leaves starting to turn...

I see quite a lot of Trump signs on people's lawns. Not so many Harris ones, but I think her supporters are less likely to advertise. By one of the Trump signs a hand-painted notice says, "The world is watching".

Indeed it is.

Agnes turns me into where I'll be staying tonight. When I booked it, I'd read loads of reviews about the sea views etc. Once I'd booked, I got an email telling me that my apartment was over a garage on the other side of the road and didn't have sea views...

No matter, I'm checked in in no time and given a map to show where the apartment is and a code to get into the front door...

What a beautiful place - I don't think I've seen a TV that big before...

Great deck...

Superbly equipped kitchen...

King sized Bed One...

Two Queen-size doubles in the second bedroom...

Great bathroom, with...

...stacked washer and dryer.

I get my kit upstairs, upload today's 200+ pics on the ultra-fast Wi-Fi and start penning today's update.

Good day

 

[Hairnet600]

 

[Doc]

As always nice oics and report.
That Indian motorcycle sign would look good in my workshop.

 

[MikeO]

As always nice oics and report.
That Indian motorcycle sign would look good in my workshop.

 

[Doc]

Yes but with a modern bike.

 

[Bloomers100]

Thanks Mike, I remember you tour of NZ and this going to be just as enthralling.

 

[MikeO]

20th September 2024

I had an epic night's sleep - about 21:30 straight through to 07:45 - I feel great...

I ablute in the apartment's superb bathroom, then pack up my bags. I'm not going far today - Bangor (about an hour's drive), but I won't be taking a direct route...

First, though - breakfast...

More later...

 

[RedRick Esq.]

Yes but with a modern bike. View attachment 352426

Fuckin Fly tippers

 

[Hairnet600]

king of the road