144 From Salem to Lebanon

Saturday 20th April  Miles Today 156  Total  504

Happy Birthday Liz.

Our night had been spent in the "Clipper Ship Inn" in Salem, it was pleasant enough and after packing up we were going to do a couple of things in Salem, (Ray get a haircut, use launderette and visit another museum), Ray got his haircut, however we failed to find the laundry and as it was quite considerably colder today than it has been, we lost interest in the museum.

The Clipper Ship Inn, is actually a Motel.

We are traveling roughly north/west towards Burlington, Vermont, but we are going to take two days doing it.  We are not using the interstate as it is quite boring, so taking the more scenic back roads.  Our first stop was Weare, where (same pronunciation) we found a great diner for coffee and soup, to warm up.  We have actually used our heated jackets, and I have heated gloves and I can say, they were brilliant.  In the diner were a group of locals, who all ride motor cycles and were quite taken with our bike and our intended journey.  However after lots of good byes and good lucks, as we left I heard one of them say, "it's great, but they're a bit nuts". Don't know what he meant.

It has been quite strange really as we have been passing towns with the names of Hertford, New London, Enfield, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Weare (Ware) and Manchester, and in Boston there was the Cambridge area, Arsenal Street,  and this is the first time we have ever been to Bradford.  It is understandable why it is called New England.

Up to now the area has been flat but now it is getting hilly and hopefully more mountainous tomorrow.

There are some lovely houses, all made from wood and the towns look like something from history novels.  We have met some lovely people, and all very friendly.  Even cars drive past giving us a thumbs up, and the number of people who have stopped to ask us how far we are going and giving us their business cards so that we can send them a picture.  They are really impressed with our "rig" as they call Wallace.
One other thing that we have noticed here, is when Boston virtually closed all its borders, the local community completely supported all the actions taken and didn't complain.  When the arrest of the second suspect was made, as officers left the scene, the public cheered and applauded them for their efforts, not something we were used to back home.

We went through Springfield but could not find the Simpsons

This afternoon took us to a town called Lebanon.  We decided to hole up for the night in a Days Inn, and then found a launderette and got on with our chores.  There we met the owner, a guy called Jeff, another biker.  Completely jealous of what we are doing, but he helped us with places to stay and camp, once the weather warms up.  We cannot fault the friendliness of the people we have met so far.

Karen bought a cat mascot and squeezed it in behind the screen with another small bear one that Mikey had given us. I do not think it ended up looking as she envisaged.