Welcome to the thread Cowboy! Thanks for the compliment.

Yeah, I remembered us talking about going for a beer. Just figured you were too busy with family stuff when out there. NBD. If you're ever back up there, or see me close to Cowboy country, give me a shout. Or maybe Vegas as you mention.

Today, started just west of Cleveland and followed US 6 along the lake. Another cloudy/blustery/cool morning, the lake was a little angry.



Not sure why Volunteer Bay needs artillery, but it's ready.



US 6 runs close to the lakefront most of the way into the city. Seems like some communities are still little lakeside communities, but there's some really nice properties along the way too.

Got through the city, it was pretty cloudy there.



Cleveland's west side seemed pretty nice; the east side seemed poorer and more run-down.

Back out to the countryside, liked this guy's mailbox stand (which should come as zero surprise to readers of this thread):



Occasionally noticed some nice scenery, despite the bad light. Pymaturning (sp?) Creek.



Now into PA, near Hayfield



I think this is French Creek



Near Port Alleghany, where I stopped for the night. Seemed like the weather was just breaking as it got to 6PM local. Was thinking about finding camping, but thought it might be unpleasant due to the on-and-off rain happening throughout the day.

Plus, I'm kind of lazy, and the Mid-Town Motel had decent reviews for a cheaper place. And, I asked the person at the desk if there was a spot to go for a beer, and her sister's the bartender just down and around the corner, so might have to go say hi.

Tomorrow's plan is to keep going east on 6. If I get as far as Connecticut, it will be my first new state since 2017.

Cowboy,
You should regret that decision--or multiple decisions. Golddog is a good guy, but when he and I met up he was in too big of a rush to have a beer. That was probably sound judgment on his part but a mistake that we'll have to rectify one of these days.

I recommend making the effort to have that beer!
And drop by here if you ever follow your nearest interstate a couple of states east!

Something I realized while driving today that I forgot to mention.



Wandered over to the bar the hotel person recommended stopping at (her sister is the bartender, about four blocks away). When I said,

"I'd like a beer. What do you have that I can't get back in Colorado?"

She asked if I liked porter, and pointed to the tap handle.

Breckinridge's Vanilla Porter. Which is great, but as I pointed out to her, I can practically walk to get that any time I want.

We settled on a Straub, which is from St. Mary's, PA. Pretty local.

My all-time favorite TV show episode!

My truck has a weird quirk. When I point it east on I20 it takes a loop as soon as I cross the river in Bossier City and I end up at the Horseshoe.

How much farther do I have to coax my donkey to go to get to your place?

On my road trips I always ask at check-in where the best places to get some grub and brews preferably with TVs. Hit rate is surprisingly high and not what I would have picked just browsing Yelp. Locals know.

Three and a half hours.
I'm kind of tied up with family stuff for the next 2-3 months, but if your donkey happens to stumble in during that time frame we'll work around that somehow.

(Notice that I answered in Texas-speak where time is the standard substitute for distance.)

ETA: Your truck may just be allergic to Bossier and trying unsuccessfully to find its way back to Shreveport.

Same--except for the TV part.

Strong recommendation on meeting up with the Ames' if possible. Super nice folks.

Phone tells me I'm in some place called Mahopac, NY. Keep a little lunchmeat, cheese & rolls in the cooler. When hungry, find a city park or the like & stop for a quick bite.

Nice so far, likely camp somewhere in CT if I can find a spot.

Similar quirk, but my truck turned off and went to New Orleans last weekend when it hit Shreveport.

Damn. I know you don't drink, but I would've given you the name of a fun, neighborhood, dive bar in case the GF wanted to go for one. Owned by the sister of a friend of mine up here.

Wow, we have a signal at the campground, so I'll try to give a quick update.

The next morning, continued east through N PA. This area reminds me quite a bit of up north; hills, woods, and water. Of course, the hills are bigger here, and it's more farming, but one thing that really struck me as similar is you'll be driving along, and, all of a sudden, there will be a little clearing in the woods with a campground, bar and grill, or whatever.





Normally on these road trips, I will just put the iPod on shuffle. But, every once in a while, I'll select a specific song to play. Yes, I played Harry Chapin's 30,000 Pounds of Bananas on the way into Scranton.

While I'm nominally following US 6, I make the occasional detour.





To paraphrase Joni Mitchell, I went on down to Yazgur's farm.

Actually, I did, quite by mistake. I'd written instructions to the above before leaving home. Missed the sign for Perry Road, but driving along, saw this.



Went down the little lane, thought "this can't be right", then saw this.





A guy in a tie-dye T shirt, smoking a joint, yells out, "weclome home!" and walked down from the barn area and chatted for a little bit.

Camped that night in a state forest in NW NJ.

This morning, being the geography nerd that I am, I decided to find the marker I'd heard about for the tripoint of NY/NJ/PA. Driving around, and saw a sign for the "3 point rock" pointing into a graveyard.

Followed the road down to see this.



at first, only saw this near the top of the hill (has NY info on the other side)



But then saw the actual rock down by the water



From there, moved on to the highest point in all of New Jersey, in a state park nearby.



They built quite a monument. Unfortunately, upon reaching the top, the windows were dirty, so not much of a view.



This was coming down, to give you an idea of the climb. I'd probably went down about four flights by this time.



And there's a little spiral staircase to either/end the journey



Banged across New York, crossing the Hudson near Peekskill





At this little pull-out, a guy jumps out of a VW van. Looked a lot like John Hodgman.

W Connecticut was a mess. Traffic horrible. Plowed along, and eventually got to the worldwide leader.



Saw the state capitol. Parked in the House Republican Whip's reserved spot. It's OK, it was about 3:15 on Thursday, they all had long gone home for the week.



Got out of the mess that is Hartford and headed east. Went to a state park to see about camping. The young people working the office said I needed to have a reservation booked at least two days ago.

"So, you're going to turn down money rather than fill up another space, huh?"

Well, they wouldn't but that was the state's policy. They were nice enough to mention some private campgrounds in the area, and here I am.

Great pics! And extra credit for 30,000 Pounds of Bananas! I saw Harry Chapin twice (maybe three times) and I don't think he ever mentioned bananas. Seems like a fun trip. Now you can truthfully say that you were at Woodstock!

Now that you've pitched your tent, I'll let you know that a buddy of mine posted a couple of pics of two bobcats (no idea what they call them in CT) in his gf's yard in CT (no idea where) last night. Sleep well

I have been a single guy since late March! I had a suggestion for you too, but you were long gone by the time I thought about it. I'm sure you'll take a different route home, but if not, you should check out the spillway in Linesville, PA. Pretty crazy bunch of fish.

Sorry to hear that Mark.

Funny you should mention that, Tom. Last night, campground guy and I were chatting as I was setting up, and he told a story of being out somewhere and saw a fresh mountain lion print. Told his buddy, who used the old, "yeah, but I can outrun you." gag.

Woke up to some fog in NE CT.



John Cole was nice enough to take some time out of his day and meet up midmorning. Really nice guy, I enjoyed the time we spent chatting and getting to know each other a little bit. Still 100% on meeting good people through 2p2.

One of the things he mentioned to do is the cliff walk down in Newport. Following my professor's advice, headed that way. Rocky beaches and huge homes along the coast.













The Breakers is the last one. Just at the time I was there, the text for my bar poker group, saying who's in line to deal tonight, came through. Sent that last one, saying I wasn't going to make it, and also that I'd bought a summer cottage while out here. Hope the tips go well when I return.

Also my first view of the Atlantic this trip.

Newport super touristy and crowded. Hard for me to navigate. Most of W CT and RI have been that way though.

Unfortunately, couldn't find a campsite tonight. It's really nice out. Actually had quite a time finding a room. Eventually landed on a Hampton Inn for more than I generally care to spend. However, as things, go, there's a bright side; it was close to laundry time, and they have a washer/dryer, so I don't have to take time out during the day.

Tomorrow's plan is to drive up the Cape

Oh yeah. There's Rhode Island's state capital, as we're stuck in traffic.



And a view of New Bedford harbor as we're waiting for the drawbridge to close

Were you camping anywhere near here?

ugh!

No, went across the middle of CT.

Out to the Cape yesterday. Was nice, pictures later.

Found a campground near Plymouth. Always surprised by people's lack of awareness. News flash: your noise carries out in the quiet, and others didn't come out here to hear you.

Grrr.

In Plymouth now for a bagel sandwich, then toward Springfield.

Bad morning the other day. Woke up too early in the Hampton Inn. Couldn't get back to sleep. Went into the bathroom, and couldn't move the shower faucet. Felt as if I was going to break it.

Went down to the desk to ask if there was a trick; clerk said the manager could help when he got in. Sigh. Had some of the crappy, but at least filling, breakfast offerings.

Back upstairs, whacked the handle sideways instead of trying to turn it, and it popped. Washed up, hauled junk out to the car, and got down the road.

Stopped along at Wareham for this scene



Walked out to the pier there. A family was fishing, using chicken legs for bait. When I walked up, they caught this guy.



But it was too little, back in with him. Proceeding, there were a couple spots on the dirve out to the cape that were nightmarish. Bumper-to-Bumper, stop-and-og for miles at a time.

Saw this other kind of cool-looking bridge



and the Cape Cod canal.



But there was a lot of this



Along the way, there was a rest area, so I stopped for my usual sandwich/Coke/snacks. They had this



The lady in the little tourist shack told me they mix glue in with the sand, so that will last til about Christmas.

Took the tour of the Cape Cod lighthouse



Here's the view. That deck out there is where it used to be. Due to erosion, they had to move it back. In 1996, they set up a system of rails and blocks, and inched it back over the course of (IIRC) 31 days. Took them 2 to move the adjacent lightkeeper's house.

[****, missed uploading this picture, and can't do it in edit mode. F to developers, I'll post it below.]

Saw some of the dunes, but didn't go on the beach ($25 to park).



Then, well, I finally found the end of the road.



Drove around Provincetown for a little bit, but it was crammed, super-touristy. I didn't find parking, but I didn't look very hard. Reminded me of Key West; fun to visit, but just too much.

So, I started heading back.



One of my friends in St. Louis remarked that my trip is kind of like Forrest Gump--get to the end, and turn around. I can't disagree.

Wandering back that evening, found the campsite just outside Plymouth.

Awoke this morning, got going. Unfortunately, the restaurant recommended by the campsite person wasn't open when I went by (Cowboy's idea is 0-for-2 so far),so I found a bagel place in Plymouth. The town is kinda like this.





When leaving town, I saw a sign for Plymouth Rock pointing east at the intersection I meant to go west. I'm not much of a history buff, but I also knew there were only about 3 blocks of east left, so drove down there. Parked across the street from the statue of William Bradford, who was some important Pilgrim.



Here's the rock



It's in this monument



They also had a boat called Mayflower II, which I assume to be a replica.



The weather turned bad. What better way to spend a dreary day than driving around Massachusetts to meet up with suitedjustice? If you haven't read his blog, you might look into it. It's not for everyone; he's really honest about things, but also a really good writer.

Anyway, he was nice enough to meet me at MGM in Springfield. We had lunch and spent some time talking. Afterward, he showed me some of the secrets he uses to try to know when certain casino machines are in a "plus EV" state (unfortunately, none today). We wandered by the poker room, but the list was 47 long, so we both bailed.

Cruised back to Boston. Just kind of drove in, and saw a sing for Fenway. Of course, Boston being Boston, there's nowhere to park legally, so I hopped out quick and got this.



Then drove over to Boston Common. Once again, parked illegally for a couple minutes to see Cheers.





Did not go any farther than the front door. Loud, packed, not my scene.

Driving around Boston is a nightmare, so I bailed. Headed up US 1, crossing a toll bridge. No booths, I assume there will be something in the mail upon my return (also Providence).

I may have gotten a auto-speeding ticket in PA the other day too. After camping in NJ, went through the NE corner of PA to get going east again. Going into Milford, the speed limit dropped pretty dramatically, as I was going on a downhill curve. Saw a bright light from the warning sign, I assume that was photo radar at work.

Kind of bothers me, as I'm in no hurry and generally am pretty good about being close to the speed limit. Oh well.

Anyway, wanted to get out of metro Boston. Came across a hotel in Seabrook, NH. Another day where it is clearing toward the end of the day, but still to wet for me to deal with camping. A bit more than I like to spend, but when I went in to check the price, the young man at the desk was super nice, and he had Cocoa the chocolate lab as the office dog. Well, of course I'll stay at Cocoa's place!

Tomorrow's plan is to head into Maine, and see what transpires from there.

On a side note, I meant to post this in the Connecticut area, but got distracted.

I try to keep this light and fun, but this bothered me. It's pretty dark, so I'll spoiler it so those who don't care for that kind of content can skip it.

Woke up to a dreary morning. Gray and cool. Guess it's a good thing I got the room.

Walking over to the Cafe for breakfast, I noticed the building next to the hotel has a sign for poker & blackjack. Not sure what's up with that. Nothing was happening last night. Don't know if they were closed due to Sunday, the holiday weekend or whatever.

Too early for them today. Would've been a fun way to spend a few hours.

So it's my fault you're 0 for 2 on recs from the hotel clerk when you insist on having breakfast at 5am and the restaurant is closed?

Great road trip overall, but it's making me think twice about doing one in the NE based on the traffic. Traffic was one of my motivating factors to move out of the DFW Metroplex back to my sleepy home town. I go back to visit friends frequently or catch a Rangers game, and remember, oh yeah, this sucks trying to get anywhere.

Great pics as always! Looking forward to the rest of the trip.

Not saying it's anyone's fault, just reporting data. BTW, it's 1-for-4 now, so above the Mendoza line.

OK, two days gone now. As mentioned, left NH with an ugly start weatherwise. Marshy area



Then got to Maine. Saw something new; at a red light, the red was circled by white flashing led-type lights. Thought it was like a speed camera to bust runners (a M******* did run that lane), but it kept flashing after they were through. Only on the right-hand of the two lanes, though.

Maine has Scarborough marsh



By now, it's lunchtime (well, for me anyway). I keep rolls, lunchmeat, cheese and Coke in the cooler, and can usually find a park or some such to make a quick sandwich. When passing Yarmouth, I happened to look down from the overpass and saw a grassy area with a small building, right by the exit. Turned out to be just that, not a park, but at the bottom of the ramp they had a town sign of the various points of interest, including Royal River Park. Better than what I saw originally.





US 1 took me through Freeport, so I stopped.



and saw LL Bean (among many other outlet stores. IDK, the prices at these places didn't seem that great to me, but I'm not up on such things.

Up by Woolwich, saw this old bridge



The other end is cut off. Reminded me of the old overseas highway on the other end of US 1. Old, decaying bridge that they haven't torn down.

Lots more marshy areas.



Unfortunately, bad lighting, but interesting little inlets and so on.





The rain cleared off by early afternoon. While the sun didn't come out too much, decided it was nice enough to camp. Stayed that night in Camden Hills State Park.





The ground was damp, but it wasn't raining on me. Just a little wipe before packing the tent, which I have to do on dry days also due to condensation. Somewhere along the line, I accumulated a few beach towels. On my very first camping adventure, I threw them in just because.

Three of them are pink, and have become the camp cleanup towels due to being easily identifiable. Then, the others can be for me.

Anyway, this park has a road to the top of Mount Battie, which offers an OK view of Penobscot Bay from this tower





Pretty nice stay. Unfortunately, due to my nature noted above, up at ~4:15 AM, on the road at 4:50, so Dot's (the recommended breakfast place) wasn't open.

Turns out, pretty much no non-chains open on July 4 in Maine. Strange, I finally settled on a Dunkin' up the road. Wasn't bad, but I prefer to go with the local places.

After packing up, hit the road. Tried quite a few different things to expose the sunrise over the harbor, at Lincolnville and failed. This is the least bad of the lot.



Foggy here & there



Pretty sure that's Acadia off in the distance



More fog



Finally the sun tried to come out.



Went down to Eastport, which I thought was the easternmost point in the contiguous 48 states. Being a geography nerd, wanted to check that off my list. Figured they'd have some sort of marker, like the "southernmost point" in Key West.

If there was, I couldn't find it. So now I've been to the southernmost point in 48; southernmost point in 50 (Hawaii), Northernmost point accessible by road (Deadhorse, AK), most southwesterly bar (near San Diego), easternmost at Eastport. I like the end of the road.

Eastport was busy with small-town July 4 stuff, everyone down by the waterfront, and a ship was in.



Plus the Gorton's fisherman



But none of that interested me, so up the road I went. Saw this at a rest area where I stopped for lunch.



That's Canada over there. Maine doesn't seem to have beaches, either mud flats or rocky.



Maine also has a scale model of the solar system. Here's Saturn



Centered at the University of Maine--Presque Isle, there are sculptures along route 1 appropriately sized and distance. Saturn and Jupiter are the only two I noticed, though. Cool idea.



Rumbled on from there, trying to get to Fort Kent, where they have a municipal campsite. Turns out, they only take Mainers in their RVs (plus it looked like it would be packed in with no privacy. So, despite it being a nice night, ended up in a hotel back down the road.

After checking in, went for a beer in town at the only place open. Got to talking to a guy who said there's a municipal campsite that's not advertised just not far away. Rats.

Tomorrow's plan is to go into Canada (if they'll have me), tour the Maritimes for a few days, then start heading back.

I must say, Maine is fantastically beautiful. Along the coast, as pictured above. Heading north, great views of farms and forests. Sorry, was too fixated on getting here before dark to pay proper attention to the photographic possibilities.