2011 Grand Fall Tour
New Hampshire, Vermont, and a little New York City thrown in
Part VIII - Albany, NY to Olympia, WA by
train (Lakeshore Limited, Empire Builder, Cascades)
Part VII - Glens Falls, NY: Fort Ticonderoga, Lake George,
Saratoga Battlefield
Part VI - Burlington, VT to Glens
Falls, NY: Amtrak Vermonter, Chester, Vermont Country Store
Part V - Burlington, VT: Amtrak
Vermonter, Birds of Vermont Museum, Stowe, Trapp Family Lodge
Part IV - Burlington, VT: Shelburne Farms and Museum
Part III - Meredith, NH to Burlington, VT:
Canterbury Shaker Village, Cafe Lafayette Dinner Train, Lake Willoughby, Jay
Peak
Part II - Meredith, NH; Lake
Winnipesaukee, mv Mt. Washington, Conway Scenic Railroad, Mt. Washington Cog
Railway
Part I - New York City, Bennington, and Hildene
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| We spent the weekend in NYC before joining our tour group in Albany, NY. Our hotel room on 35th looked right out at the Empire State Building. At night, and..... | ...in the daylight. | We took the subway into Brooklyn, and walked along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The Brooklyn Bridge is in the distance. | Great views of the Lower Manhattan skyline. |
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| We walked along Cranberry Street, which is where the movie "Moonstruck" was filmed. | Mo walking across the Brooklyn Bridge on our way back to Manhattan. | Terry had to stop and adjust his new boots after trekking across the bridge. This is in City Hall Park, in Manhattan just West of the Brooklyn Bridge. | We walked around the World Trade Center site, and looked at the first tower being erected to replace those destroyed on 9/11. |
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| This is a memorial on the side of the Engine 10 firehouse located adjacent to Ground Zero. | We walked around Battery Park, with views of the Statue of Liberty. | Interesting outdoor sculpture in Battery Park. | "Ape and Cat (at the dance)" |
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| Mo at Battery Park. | Another interesting outdoor sculpture at Battery Park. | What did you think it would be titled? | Terry at Battery Park. |
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| The subway on Sunday morning was very quiet, with plenty of room to sit. | No pictures from the subway later on Sunday or Monday, when it was SRO everywhere. | We walked up to Theatre District to see "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", starring Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and John Larroquette. The production was delightful, and very high energy. Certainly one of the most fun musicals we've seen. | After the musical, we hopped the subway up to Lincoln Center to check out where we're going to see "War Horse" with Pam and Stephen in November. |
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| Monday morning, we rode the subway up to the middle of Central Park, and walked our way back to midtown through the Park. | Central Park | The iconic horse carriages at Central Park. | Mo enjoying the tree-lined mall at Central Park. |
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| We stopped by St. Patrick's Cathedral to explore the beautiful architecture.... | ...and magnificent pipe organ, which was used for the mid-day Mass. | One of the Stations of the Cross at St. Patrick's | |
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| After leaving St. Patrick's Cathedral, we walked back to the subway past the NBC Studios, at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Otherwise known as "30 Rock". We didn't see Tina Fey or Alec Baldwin. | We got off the subway at Herald Square, which you should remember from "...give my regards to Broadway, remember me to Herald Square....". | After joining up with our tour group in Albany, our bus headed North. Our first stop was in Bennington, Vermont, at the site of Robert Frost's grave. The inscription below his name reads "I had a lover's quarrel with the world." | Frost is buried in the cemetery adjoining Old First Church in Bennington. The older headstones are in this tablet style. |
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| Old First Church. We will see a lot of churches built in this style in the days ahead. | Built in 1806. | Mo spotted a pipe organ inside. | For Bob Martin, the radiator emblem on a Martin Wasp car on display in the Bennington Museum. |
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| Something like 20 of these cars were built in Vermont in the 1920s. | Outside the Museum is this statue of Abraham Lincoln. The inscription reads "The American Spirit...Faith Charity Hope" | Next stop was Hildene, the home of Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham. | The house reminded me of a modern Monticello. It had numerous high-tech features, such as the observatory (telescope) in the distance, a full-scale pipe organ inside the house, and an electro-mechanical call button system to summon the butler. |
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| A stitch-up panorama of the view from Hildene. | The gardens behind the main housel | Mo at the stone overlook behind the Hildene estate. | |
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| Robert Todd Lincoln became the President of the Pullman Car Company after George Pullman's death in 1897. | This beautifully-restored car is a new exhibit at Hildene. The car ("Sunbeam") came off the Pullman assembly line during Robert Todd Lincoln's tenure as its President. |