After a long day of flying and a few issues along the way, I made it to Long Beach where two other AYCJers joined up to share a car.
We drove down to Los Angeles to meet even more AYCJers at the Grove.
Michael Bolton had a free concert that surprised all of us. I’m still not sure what the occasion was that would lead to him singing in the middle of a shopping mall.
Completing the circuit between Buffalo and Syracuse, we began the day in Syracuse. You can walk through the Frank Buchanan Thomson at the Erie Canal Museum. This museum is in the old weightlock building.
After landing in Buffalo, I made my way east to Lockport to see locks 34/35 on the Erie Canal. From the bridge, at Pine and Canal St., you can watch boats rise and fall through two locks in about 15 minutes. It is quite fascinating how the locks operate. You can also walk down to the museum and watch the boats from a few feet away.
The sixth state capitol on this trip, in Montpelier, Vermont, was a fascinating drive from Burlington. Less than an hour drive from the Burlington airport, a JetBlue destination, you can see hills covered in trees on the side of the highway. In a few weeks, they should be changing colors and provide an even better visual treat.
In a quick visit to sunny, warm, but a little cloudy San Diego, I was able to get a hang of the transit system and use it to get to a couple of places.
Bus route 992 departs from in front of the airport. For $2.25 each time you get on, or $5 for the whole day with unlimited rides, the bus is a convenient mode of transportation. In addition, the trolley car lines are included in the unlimited ride day pass.
Route 992 first passes by a couple of ships docked in the San Diego Bay.
Another city and another capitol. Wednesday was the day to visit Denver. Having not read the U.S. Mint’s website closely, I failed to make a reservation for the tour in advance. I only realized my mistake as I approached the Mint. Fortunately, they have standby tickets for the same day. I was given a ticket with the number 2. At 20 minutes until the time of the tour, those with reservations stand in one line and the standby tickets in another. There was no issue with getting in with low numbered standby tickets. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed. A picture of the outside is all you get.
Today was spent seeing a few places on the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile long path featuring a number of sites around Boston. The path is marked by a red painted line or a red brick line.
The USS Constitution is a great boat to take a tour of. They are currently performing maintenance so there is a good amount of construction around it. You can go down two levels on the ship, and with the guided tour, we were able to go into the Captain’s quarters.
The Rhode Island State Capitol in Providence was the third capitol of twelve I’m visiting this month.
A quick note as I wait in Denver for the next flight. If this isn’t already obviously clear, blogging while traveling takes some skill, or…
