Day #64: Saturday, June 10, 1995
142,446 Miles


Sachin had to be back home on June 11 for pooja, so we had to drive back down to Succasunna today. We had planned to come back to Boston on the 12th. Planned. Ha Ha!

10:40 AM Said "good-bye" and "thanx" to Niranjan and left Cambridge -- by car. Niranjan was going to Los Angeles on June 13th for his Ph.D. commencement ceremony.

We drove to the Eastern end of I-90 (not the most direct route to Succasunna, but I had a mission to accomplish!). Then we started driving South towards Succasunna.

Although our main objective was to reach Succasunna by tonight, this was not a "driving day". We had a few sightseeing attractions to see along the way. The first stop was the city of Plymouth.

12:00 PM Arrived at a visitor center in Plymouth. This was a visitor center, but not the kind of visitor center we wanted it to be. This was "Cranberry World Visitor Center". It was a museum about cranberries! We had expected it to contain maps, brochures, etc. about local area attractions; instead we found museum displays about cranberry farming! . At the end of the museum, we had some free cranberry bread and cranberry juice. This reminded me of "World of Coca-Cola" in Atlanta. Since it was all free and we were both hungry, we ate a lot of cranberry bread and drank even more cranberry juice.

12:30 PM Mayflower II. Replica of original Mayflower. Ship like any other ship.

Plymouth Rock. Replica (or maybe even the original) rock where the pilgrims stepped off the Mayflower. Rock like any other rock, only bigger. .

Mayflower II and Plymouth Rock were the only two attractions in Plymouth that we were interested in. Neither one of them were worth a stop. We started driving again at 1:15 PM.

Just outside Plymouth, I stopped at a drugstore and went inside. Our Coke supply had finished, and I was addicted to Coke -- I NEEDED more. IMMEDIATELY.

I had a hundred dollar bill in my wallet. I had been carrying it around since I left Atlantic City. I bought one six-pack of Coke and paid for it with that hundred dollar note. The cashier gave me a dirty look when I handed him the note. In making change, he had to empty his entire cash register. But the important thing was that I finally had some Coke.

2:35 PM Entered Cape Cod National Seashore.

Cape Cod is supposed to be one of the more scenic areas in this country. Sachin was very disappointed. I was downright disgusted. Both of us were expecting fantastic views of the ocean all along the road. Neither one of us saw the ocean during any portion of our drive. We stopped at a local diner to pick up some box lunches to-go. Sachin was hungry and wanted to eat immediately. I suggested we continue driving and eat at a good "scenic overlook". There was no such place, and I started to feel sorry for Sachin as we kept driving without finding any scenic overlooks.

3:30 PM Reached the end of the road. Parked at Herring Cove Beach at the tip of Cape Cod. This was the only point on the road that was even remotely nice. We finally ate lunch at the beach, then left the beach at 4:00 PM, driving back South towards Succasunna. Rating for Cape Cod = .

6:05 PM North Dartmouth, MA: Gasoline over-fill-up. When I started the car again to leave, the "Oil" warning light turned on -- and stayed on. I went back inside the gas station and bought two quarts of oil and put it in the engine. This was the second oil "change" on this trip -- more than 12,000 miles after leaving home.

Of all the states I had been to on this trip, there was one state of which I did not have a "Welcome" sign yet... Rhode Island. We were traveling West on I-195 in Massachusetts. Five miles before the Rhode Island border on I-195, a small local road goes South into Rhode Island. I took that exit, thinking it would be easier to stop along a small road to photograph the "Welcome to Rhode Island" sign. I had forgotten my adventure in Mississippi!

6:40 PM Entered Rhode Island on Hwy 136; 142684 miles. The "Welcome to Rhode Island" sign was obstructed by a tree branch, so I did not photograph it there. I made a U-turn and went back to I-195.

6:40 PM Massachusetts on Hwy 136 (same point); 142684 Miles.

One mile before the Rhode Island border on I-195, I took another exit for a local road that goes to Rhode Island.

6:50 PM Entered Rhode Island on Hwy 114; 142691 Miles. Second attempt to photograph Rhode Island sign: NO SIGN!

By now I was getting frustrated at the state of Rhode Island and Sachin was getting irritated at me.

6:50 PM Massachusetts on Hwy 114 (same point); 142691 Miles.

7:00 PM Third attempt to photograph Rhode Island sign. This was on I-195.

The sign was on top of the freeway -- like an "Exit" sign. The sun was setting, and at that time of the day, photographing the sign meant pointing the camera directly at the sun! I took the picture anyway, then continued driving.
I had driven less than one mile, when I suddenly saw another sign that said "Welcome to Rhode Island". This sign was by the side of the road, rather than above it. I quickly pulled over and took a picture of that sign as well. When I started driving again, I saw something from the corner of my eye -- a smile on Sachin's face.

7:40 PM Connecticut; 142732 Miles. I had already taken a picture of the Connecticut sign on the way up, so there was no reason to stop now.

8:00 PM We stopped for dinner at a Burger King in the town of East Lyme (as opposed to South Lyme or Old Lyme). Sachin called home and told Ananda Uncle about our ETA (11:00 PM).

8:40 PM It was dark by now. Just before leaving the Burger King, Sachin said we should drive the more direct route through New York City, rather than the way we came (we had made a circle of the city on the way up to Boston). Driving through downtown New York City at 10:00 at night was not something that I had wanted to do on this trip. Sachin tried to comfort me by telling me that he knew the roads -- "all you have to do is follow the signs for I-95 South, then follow the signs for I-80 West". Easy for him to say! I was the one doing the driving! I had been through enough driving adventures in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Dallas, New Orleans, Miami, Orlando, Denver, Memphis, Atlanta, Charleston, Washington, Baltimore, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, and countless other cities. When I told Sachin about this, he just said, "Driving through so many other cities should have made you a more experienced driver, so what are you worried about?" He had a good point. But I was still worried. I knew what would happen if I was in the wrong lane at the wrong time in New York City.

After countless words of encouragement from Sachin, I finally agreed to drive through New York City. I kept repeating to myself, "All I have to do is just STAY ON THE INTERSTATE!"

Everything happened very quickly...

10:05 PM Entered New York state; 142841 Miles.
10:15 PM Entered New York City; 142851 Miles.
10:30 PM Entered New Jersey on George Washington Bridge (I-95); 142861 Miles.

Thanks to Sachin's excellent navigating, I had survived my first night in New York City!

While driving on the George Washington Bridge, I turned my head to the left. From there, I could see the New York skyline. This was the first time I saw it. The Empire State Building was the only building that I recognized that night. Sachin said that the World Trade Center buildings are also visible from that bridge. If I saw them, I did not recognize them.

11:25 PM It takes exactly one hour to drive from the George Washington Bridge to Succasunna, NJ. Since it was getting late, I drove faster than normal and managed to cut that time down by five whole minutes!

Miscellaneous:










Street: Boulevard Street, Quincy, MA
Town: Sandwich, MA
Town: Buzzards Bay, MA

License Plates:

















HARBNGR VA Ford Thunderbird
SEANMP MA Toyota Celica
COSTA-3 CT Chevrolet Truck
CHAR 60 CT Chevrolet Lumina

Expenses:































$1 Cash Toll: I-90 Boston, MA
$4 Cash 6-pack of Coke Plymouth, MA
$10 Cash Two box lunches to-go Cape Cod NS, MA
$11.94 Chase Gas over-fill-up North Dartmouth, MA
$5 Cash Two quarts oil North Dartmouth, MA
$4 Cash Dinner -- Burger King East Lyme, CT

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Day #65: Sunday, June 11, 1995
142,910 Miles


Today was a day of rest -- and prayer.

There was pooja in the morning.

In the evening, we rested.

I called home and Parixit answered the phone. He told me he had moved to a new apartment and gave me the change of address for future postcards. He also complained about the number and contents of postcards. I had been sending him one postcard from each state until I came to Washington. In Washington, I sent him one postcard FOR EACH ATTRACTION. Every day, he would receive several postcards in the mail. He complained that he did not have the time to read them all. I tried to change the subject, and unfortunately, the subject was changed!

Parixit started complaining about the contents of the cards. Recently, I had been sending him postcards with obscure messages ["Pea (hee), are art? Why?" = P-E-R-R-Y; "Pea, eh. Are I axe? Ay, Tea!" = P-A-R-I-X-I-T]. I had been purposely misspelling words. The Cape Cod postcard did not have a single correctly spelled word. I was even misspelling my own name at the end! He got tired of this very quickly, and told me to stop doing it. I told him I would cut down on the number of cards, but the misspelled words were for him to figure out!

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Day #66: Monday, June 12, 1995
142,910 Miles


We were supposed to go back to Boston today. SUPPOSED TO.

We were both feeling tired, and decided to take another day off and stay home and rest.

I planned the rest of the trip with Sachin and made a motel reservation for the next night. Until now, I had never made any motel reservations. Now, however, I knew I would have to start making reservations. Summer was starting, and the tourist season was at its peak.

After planning out where we wanted to go (slightly changed from my original plan), we relaxed for the rest of the day. We would leave tomorrow.
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Day #67: Tuesday, June 13, 1995
142,910 Miles


Sachin's Trip, Part 1 was primarily city-sightseeing. Sachin's Trip, Part 2 was primarily nature-sightseeing. He had enjoyed Part 1 very much. Part 2 started today.

We left Succasunna at 10:30 AM. Sachin had a few errands at the bank and the library, and both of us needed to go to the grocery store to restock our junk food supply.

I was driving, and since I had survived the worst, I was now ready to go back to New York City -- this time during daylight.

11:10 AM Entered I-80 East near Succasunna.
11:45 PM Entered New York state and city on George Washington Bridge; 142967 Miles.
12:00 PM Left New York City's city limits, without getting lost.
12:10 PM Connecticut on I-95; 142978 Miles

The section of I-95 between New York City and Providence, RI was to be repeated this time. We had seen something very interesting on I-95 in Connecticut. When we were driving through here on June 5 and again on June 10, we had seen a McDonalds restaurant next to a Mobil gas station. There is nothing interesting about that. Here is the interesting part:

There was another McDonalds restaurant and Mobil gas station across the road from the OTHER McDonalds and Mobil.

A few miles later, there are two more McDonalds and Mobils across the road from each other.
A few miles later, there are two MORE McDonalds and Mobils across the road from each other.
A few miles later, there are two MORE McDonalds and Mobils across the road from each other.

[A total of five times]

Now THAT was unusual!

On this, our third drive on I-95 through Connecticut, I took a picture of one of these occurrences.

12:55 PM - 1:15 PM Stuck in traffic in New Haven, CT. Went three miles in twenty minutes. One of the trees next to the road was on fire, and the fire engines and crew putting out the fire blocked the traffic on the road.

2:55 PM Rhode Island on I-95; 143085 Miles. Took picture of another Rhode Island sign, this time at the state tourist information center.

During our trip, we drove the road from Succasunna, NJ to Boston, MA a total of three times. It is a full day's drive from Succasunna to Boston. That did not mean we did not see anything along the way. The first time, we went to the USS Nautilus Memorial and Mystic Seaport (and Branford). The second time, we saw Cape Cod National Seashore. The third time (today), we saw the Marble House at Newport, RI.

The Marble House reminded me a lot of the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. The Marble House was built by the Vanderbilt family as their "Summer Cottage".

The city of Newport, RI is famous for the "Summer Cottages" of some of the richest families during turn-of-the-century America. The Marble House is considered to be the most impressive of them all.

Unlike Hearst Castle, the Marble House is not a castle. But it is hardly a "cottage", as it was often referred to by the Vanderbilts. It is a lavishly decorated mansion. The exterior is all marble. The interior contains priceless works of art (in gold frames), furniture made entirely of either gold or marble (or both), and one "Gold Room". In the gold room, there is a fireplace made of gold, marble and ivory; the curtains are made of gold thread; the entire floor is gold-plated; and the walls are marble. That was the most impressive room in the house.

When we got back to the car, I gave Marble House a rating. Sachin saw that and said my rating system is not fair -- this definitely deserved five stars. That was his opinion. Not mine. I had seen better at San Simeon. My system is based on the general rule that four stars is "excellent" and five stars is "best of the best". The Marble House, in my opinion, is "excellent". The Hearst Castle is "best of the best". According to Sachin, "Marble House is best of the best". If and when you, the reader, go to both of those homes, you can decide for yourself which one is better. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photographs inside Marble House. I thought about photographing the exterior, but... maybe next time (according to my guidelines, four stars also means "worth another visit"!)

6:20 PM Massachusetts; 143138 Miles.

8:15 PM Checked in at Days Inn in Worcester, MA.

License Plates:













































OL HOSS NJ GMC Safari
BOOMEY RI Buick
BONS 90 CT Ford
RED SOX NJ Mercedes C220
1-CRAB CT BMW
IM PAM CT Nissan Altima
JOLY RI Mercury Sable
RICO 3 RI Ford Tempo
SUDUBE RI Buick
MIYAGI RI Oldsmobile
RUBY MA Toyota Celica???

Expenses:











$6 CB Gas -- SUNOCO -- 4 gallons only because extremely expensive in Connecticut. New Haven, CT
$12.65 CB Gas over-fill-up -- Mobil Raynham, MA

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Day #68: Wednesday, June 14, 1995
143,217 Miles


On June 7, since it was raining, we had gone for a drive around Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We had passed through the town of Worcester, MA and got hopelessly lost trying to find a science museum. This morning, I got lost again trying to get back to the freeway from the motel. I have made a note in my notebook (in red ink) "Never come to Worcester, MA again!!!". I won't.

We checked out of the motel at 10:15 AM. An hour later, we came to Lexington National Historic Park. This is the site of the first battle of the American Revolutionary War. We went to "Lexington Battle Green", where the first shots were fired. There was nothing especially beautiful there... . We also saw Walden Pond, but did not stop there.

Sachin wanted to buy a "Nantucket" T-shirt for Shilpa, and he had seen one in the "Cheers" gift shop in Boston. We went there again to eat lunch. I parked the car in front of Niranjan's house, then took the "T" to Cheers. Ate lunch there, then Sachin bought the T-shirt. By the time we left the restaurant, it was raining again!

3:45 PM Back to car in front of Niranjan's house.

5:00 PM New Hampshire; 143355 Miles.
5:00 PM Massachusetts; 143355 Miles.
5:00 PM New Hampshire; 143355 Miles.
5:00 PM Massachusetts; 143556 Miles.
5:10 PM New Hampshire; 143358 Miles.

All that to photograph two signs!

I had left home on Saturday, April 8, 1995. I had been on the road for sixty-eight days. I had driven 12,924 miles. That is how long it took for me to drive from California to:

5:40 PM MAINE!!!

143374 Miles.

This was a significant occasion on my trip. I had gone from one corner of the country to the opposite corner. I was elated. It had also stopped raining by now.

The first time I entered the state of Maine, I saw their "Welcome" sign next to the freeway. I took one picture there. Ten minutes later, I had exited from the freeway and was driving on a local road. Sachin saw another "Welcome" sign next to that road. There was an ice cream "shoppe" next to the sign, and he offered to treat me to an ice cream to celebrate my cross-country drive. We each had an ice cream, then I made a sign in my notebook and asked Sachin to take my picture with my sign and the "Welcome to Maine" sign (oh, and me too!). My sign read:

6/14/1995
5:40 PM
CA to
ME;
OR to
FL

Under the words "Welcome to Maine" on that sign were the words "The Way Life Should Be". Next to that, there was some graffiti.

After leaving that spot, we drove through the town of Kennebunkport and checked in at Susse Chalet Inn in Portland, ME.

Miscellaneous:







Bumper Sticker: "WARNING: In Case of Rapture, this car will be unmanned."
Town: Reading, MA

License Plates:

























PARN1 MA Porche
1 JEEP NH Jeep
NFINITY ME Infinity (!)
RAM 27 ME Buick
FOUR IN ME Ford Bronco
GEAR 1 ME Oldsmobile

Expenses:











$41.69 Chase Days Inn Worcester, MA
$1 Cash Toll -- New Hampshire Turnpike New Hampshire

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