We rode into Providence, Rhode Island on a sunny but very cold day. The State Capital buildings are always very impressive.

 

 

We were riding around the historic part of the town and noticed the tents and soldiers in a garden and wondered what was going on. When we walked up to the house we found it had been built for John Brown who was an American merchant, slave trader and then Statesman in the 18th century and it was the first mansion ever to be built in Providence.

The 'soldiers' were doing a re-enactment of the 1812 war with Britain. We had quite an amusing conversation with them. 

 

The house has been turned into a museum and as we were the only people walking around at the time, each guide in every room gave us a very full description of its contents and how life was lived there. It was fascinating and John especially enjoyed looking at all the guns and as you can see above decided to enlist and swap sides:-)

 

Today we rode 115 miles from Seekonk to Provincetown on Cape Cod, which is famous for the landing place of the Pilgrims in 1620. Although the day started bright by the time we reached Cape Cod is was raining and down to 8C (44F). At the tip of the peninsula it is just a mile wide between the Bay and the Atlantic.  Provincetown is small with a very narrow one way street running through it. There were quite a few tourists today when it was very bleak so we cannot imagine what it must be like in the summer.

 

 

The monument to the Pilgrims which stands at 252ft. It is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States.

 

As we are only a couple of weeks away from Halloween we have been seeing all sorts of things outside peoples houses but today we had to stop and photograph the above/below house as we haven't seen anything quite so elaborate.

 

 

Woke up to brilliant sunshine and blue skies today. Chilly start  but warmed up during the day.

We only had about 180 miles to cover today so took our time and found some good back roads. We came upon Jamestown, Rhode Island, so stopped for lunch by a lovely marina, before crossing the above bridge.

 

We sat watching boats being lifted from the water, I guess for the winter clean up.

 

Idyllic setting with the sun warm on your face - what else can you wish for on a chilly autumn day?

We had to drag ourselves away to ride the 40 miles to Seekonk which took us over the border into Massachusetts.

 

Rodney, the Service Manager phoned us at 09.30 to say the  bike was ready for collection after its service.  Lovely chap and very helpful.

 

Riding through the streets of New York we noticed how the NYPD have

been reduced to driving round in golf carts:-)

 

 

A bustling Times Square with yellow cabs everywhere.

 

 

Riding through the back streets of China town and little Italy, looking at all the old buildings where in places time seems to have stood still. 

 

Looking at Ground Zero you can see Tower One on the right being built, which was originally known as the Freedom Tower but will now be known as One World Trade Center. When completed it will be 1776 ft high and will become the highest building in the Western Hemisphere and the third highest in the world.  The significance of the 1776ft is that it is the year of American Independence.

 

 

The new One World Trade Center. 

 

Partially built Tower 2 next to the start of Tower 3 which will be offices and part of the World Trade Center complex. Looking at how close everything is, you cannot begin to imagine how it was on that fateful day.

  

 

Riding out of New York along the River Hudson, we spotted the above which is open to the public.

 

Fortunately we got chatting to a guy from New Jersey this morning who had just travelled down from New York on a BMW R1200 and was on his way to Florida. He recommended catching the ferry from Lewes in Delaware to Cape May in New Jersey as this would cut out a lot of riding round Washington and Philadelphia. As the weather was still wet we decided this would be a good idea and set off about 08.30. It was a gloomy ride to the port but the rain had stopped by the time we arrived. We had an hour to wait for the next ferry which was a roll on roll off type and as we were parked at the very front which was totally open, John decided to put his bike cover over the bike to stop it getting covered in sea spray. We ended up spending the one and a half hour crossing leaning on the bike to stop it being blown over. The captain said the crossing would be medium to rough and he was right! 

 

Here we are outside the Holiday Inn, Manhattan after a very long and very wet day. I have to say, riding into New York was a new experience! Every few miles you are stopping to pay tolls and they are only $1.50 or 75 cents but it was a pain having to take wet gloves off and delve into my purse and then try to put wet hands back into gloves. The traffic is horrendous with no quarter given. At one point we were going over a bridge with 8 lanes going forward and we could see either side had 4 lanes each going back the other way. Have never seen anything like it especially with the rain pouring down.

When I checked in, I was not very happy to be told that we couldn't park the bike in the underground car park next door as they were only insured for cars. This is now 4pm and what were we to do with the bike? Our only hope was that the BMW dealer down the road, where the bike is booked in for a service tomorrow, would take the bike in tonight. We rode down there and the Service Manager couldn't have been more helpful. He told us to go back to the hotel, unload the bike then bring it back and they would keep it overnight and service it first thing in the morning. He even offered us a Tetley tea bag from the pack he keeps in the drawer. It seems they have an English guy working there whose Mum sends over supplies and he now has a liking for it. It was the first cup of tea we have had in 10 weeks and it was lovely! 

 

 

View from hotel window - nothing exciting but we are only 3 blocks from Times Square. Luckily I booked this a few nights ago on booking.com for $189. We had decided to book a second night but when I looked at it the next night, if I wanted 2 nights it would cost $600 - so no way, we will move on tomorrow night out of the city.

 

Fortunately after a day's rest, John's wrist had eased enough to be able to ride the bike. It was raining slightly when we left Richmond and was only 11C (50F). What a massive drop in temperature from only 2 days ago.  En route, we stopped off at a place called Colonial Williamsburg. It is a very interesting place where buildings have been reconstructed as they were in the 18th century, under British rule.

The Governor's Palace

 

All over the town you can talk to people who are in period dress and discuss what is happening at that point in history. Each day they have different programs such as the American Revolution turning from political debate to armed combat. They are trying to portray how all this affected the ordinary person in their everyday life. It was a shame we couldn't have spent the day there as there is so much to see and learn.

 

The Gunsmith & Foundry.

 

 

The Courthouse.

 

From Williamsburg we decided to cross the Chesapeake Bay on the Bridge/Tunnel to work our way up the Eastern Peninsula to Maryland. This bridge when built in 1964 was selected as one of the 'Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern world'. It was interesting to cross. Above you see the bridge we have just crossed from the mainland. Just before it goes down into the tunnel, there is a restaurant so we stopped for lunch and watched people fishing off the side in the Atlantic!

 

This is the view from the restaurant - just before you go under the tunnel and you can see a mile in the distance where the road comes back up and carries on to another bridge. You carry on for a few more miles and go down under another tunnel and again back up on to a bridge to finish the crossing. The total length is 23 miles. It was just a shame it was raining. As there is a naval base nearby its not unusual to see a warship or aircraft carrier passing through this gap.

 

 

After a day's rest the wrist is still aching but easier than yesterday. Hopefully it will be ok to set off tomorrow as we have to be in New York now on Tuesday evening as the bike has been booked in for a service on Wednesday. I had hoped to get home first but as we have now covered over 12,000 miles, the service needs to be done. Fortunately the BMW dealer is in Manhattan so we can spend the day exploring.  Being laid up today hasn't been too much of a drag as its been raining and much cooler so its given us time to catch up with things.