Fall Colors, Scenic Trains & Martha’s Vineyard (First Report) by Gary Bingham.

Linda and I are participating in a tour named above starting in Boston commencing on September 25, 2019.  It is a combination train, bus, boat trip.  The areas to be visited are:  Maine, Portland, Bathe, Kennebec River, Lake Winnipesaukee, Connecticut River, Mystic Seaport, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyards.   Some of the activities include: Boston City Tour, visit Maine Maritime Museum, Martha’s Vineyard tour. 

I became motivated regarding train trips after reading two books on trains.  One of the main books is called “All Aboard, The Complete North American Train Travel Guide”, 4^th Edition by Jim Loomis.  It is a very good book to read for anyone considering taking a train trip.  Good preparation.

We flew Southwest airlines from Sacramento Airport to Baltimore Maryland and had and extended lay over due to rain in Boston.  We took lyft in Boston to our nice hotel.  In the morning we started our Boston City Tour which allowed us to see many of the land marks of the city.  Our city tour guide: Carol was very detailed in her presentation.  The city is 90 percent land fill from near by hill tops.  The major buildings in the city require pilings to be driven deep into the ground to strike hardpan.  The old Trinity Church had used wooden pilings and as a result needs water surounding  them to keep them from decaying.  We stopped by Fenway Baseball park and took pictures of statues that represent famous Red Sox players.   I am not a fan and took some pictures anyway.  We saw great Italian brickwork throughout the city made by Italian immigrants.  We also saw the Boston Marathon memorial after the tragic past bombing.  The city has had a recent Hemp Festival (legal in Massachusetts) which allegedly made residents high in close vicinity to it.  We saw a nice looking statue of George Washington, The State House, Benjamin Franklin Statue (our son is named after him), Paul Revere’s statue and building he lived in.  We also went in and heard a presentation on the oldest church in Boston.  We saw the USS Constitution ship (old iron side).  We then had a bus ride to Portland, Maine.  On the way we saw the Nubble Lighthouse.  On the whole, we had a terrific first day of touring.  Please see the pictures on binghamevent.blogspot.com