Just before we left our overnight stop in Portsmouth, which used to have the much nicer name of Strawberry Bank, we went for a coffee in the main square where there were a few bikes parked. We talked with a few people there and once again were surprised at how friendly people are around these parts. I think that as a nation, we English can sometimes be to formal and the much more laid back approach to life of many of the people Paul and I have already met is very refreshing. Paul needed to find a particular store and rather than simply give us directions, one of the locals, a biker on a restored R90 BMW with 146,000 miles on the clock rode with us to show us the way.
Here is Ron on his beautiful BMW...
Soon we headed south once more and we rode along the coast, as ever preferring small roads and avoiding anything that looked like an Interstate. We went through the Hamptons, saw some stunning houses and stopped by some of the beaches. This was the first time we had seen sand (although rocks a-plenty) and as it was the start of the 4th July weekend, the beaches were like a magnet to many thousands of sun worshippers. The first beach we saw was Wallis Sands....
This was the view of Jenness State beach....
The Hamptons were very busy and crowded with a huge amount of traffic trying to find somewhere to park, so we decided to ride on. Soon we found a lake covered in water lilies. This was quite stunning....
We all see airplane con-trails in the sky every so often. Today we saw what was a first for both of us and we soon realised what this was – con-trails for planes converging on what we thought must be New York about 300 miles away and they made for a great picture....
We stopped for ice cream. This is the author with the smallest they sold....
Soon we were approaching Boston and we stopped in a very historic place – Salem. There are a few tourist type shops and a wax museum, but we ignored these, choosing instead to go to the cemetery where the supposed witches were buried. It was quite sombre as we walked around and read the headstones of the people who had been found guilty of witchcraft – mostly women. July 1692 was a sorry time and I had to feel sorry for those poor people who were killed mainly over the period ofa few days.
The cemetery at Salem....
A line of witches graves....
Elizabeth Howe....
The Boston Skyline soon approached and we hit some traffic. Not too bad but it felt strange to be back in a city again!
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