Philadelphia loomed in our sights next. I wish I could say the sight of the Liberty Bell brought goose bumps to my flesh, but I would lie. It sets, or hangs low, in a special building dedicated to it, and people herd past the bell quite thickly, so much so that it is hard to take posed pictures while acting like we had rung it before the crack appeared. A dimly lit room contains original copies of the Declaration and other documents nesting beneath glass under the watchful glare of a Park Ranger. After the Revolution, Philadelphia was the seat of temporary government so it does bear a lot of historical importance and I cannot make light of it, even though the modern city crowds up against all the significant buildings.
New York City, a foreboding place to a secluded prairie dweller, became the next destination. With our capable bus driver, though, the streets and neighborhoods of that giant metropolis flowed by. A step-on guide named Serge, a Bosnian having lived in the city some 30 years, guided our exploration. So now I can say I’ve seen place names such as Wall Street, the Empire State Building, the rising of the new World Trade Center, SoHo, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Harlem, Chinatown, Central Park, Greenwich Village, etc., etc. A harbor tour took us beneath the Statue of Liberty, something which is an impressive sight.
I can’t dwell on such places for long. (This isn’t a book.) Leaving the city during the rush hour became thrilling. Jeff, the bus driver, could not be intimidated by New York bus drivers who kept trying to edge him out for position in the crowded streets. After a second night’s stay in the dumpy New Jersey motel we headed to Boston. Boston, filled with such history as the Old North Church, Paul Revere, Faneuil Hall, the Freedom Trail, JFK’s library and museum , followed our NYC visit.
And so the days passed by with more destinations visited such as Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower, Plimouth (spelling here is correct) Plantation, the Flume, Quechee Gorge, Calvin Coolidge Museum, Niagara Falls, the Cranberry Museum, plus whatever else I’ve already forgotten. One more part to his rambling travelogue will appear soon.
