This morning seems so long ago. It was a packed-out-day and left early, pointing the car towards the state capitol, Albany.
TomTom is keen to find all the toll roads, and whilst we absolutely don’t mind paying tolls which are typically just a few dollars, in cash, any electronic toll means our car rental will charge us 25 dollars for each instance. We followed Google Maps to avoid the tolls on Moxie instead, which was a breeze. It was only a short drive, and you wouldn’t have known we were heading into a city, until we approached the last few miles. We were again able to park directly outside the museum. Before heading in, we ascended the stairs to take photos of the Egg, which is a performing arts venue. We also got to glimpse the State Capitol when we left the city.
The museum was on one floor, with achives and the state library above. It was full of art, treasures, excavations through the history of the State (New York) ending in more recent events including seeing the set for The Muppets, and an unexpected exhibition for 9/11. A 20 minute interview from one of the firefighters who entered the tower filled the hall, and he was the only one from his station to survive. His words will haunt me. There was also a section of one of the planes, and my heart hurt when I placed my hand on it's cold crumpled surface. I can’t find the words to explain what I felt and how sobering it was to see displays with real stories behind each artifact. We also learnt that the towers had five permanent locksmiths along with hundreds of caretakers.
On our visit, we also helped a homeless man who was sat on the floor suffering from toothache. We briefly left him to get a bottle of water and pain meds out of the car, we hope is is ok.
We had a lovely lunch in a proper Cafe in a gorgeous town. We had an unplanned stop for an outside sculpture garden (by this time, my camera had filled up the card so I took mental photos instead). The garden was more like a field, full of trees, where eerie structures gathered. I can only imagine the shadows they will cast at dusk and dawn. There was a giant metal spider in the wooded walkway, built from twisted objects that would not have looked out of place on the set of War of the Worlds.
The total miles today was fewer than than yesterday but it was slow-paced through beautiful villages, crossing rivers and lakes in New York. We cut a corner across Massachusetts but we will be revisiting this state in the next few days to trace a line across the coast.
We were delighted to spot signs to Norfolk, a Whitby family favourite in the UK. This was a charming village and took a welcome break to explore.
The second half of the journey was tiring, through many winding villages but they were so very enchanting. I feel New York as a state, is now in my top 5 list.
Our hotel is comfortable, and the kind lady on the reception was able to rustle us up a carton of milk so we can have coffee.
This evening America is in full trick or treat mode. Do ask Matt about Truck & Treat.
