We had a slow morning of Tuesday the 4th of August at our campsite just north of Boston.

There was no great rush over the next few days. We knew we had to be in Niagara (Canada) by Friday the 7th of August. This was because Hannah and Rez both needed to leave the US at some point and then return in order to switch from their tourist visas that that had originally entered on over to their student visas to allow them to start the semesters. The reason that this was required is that the student visa only allows entry up to thirty days before the start of semester. It was also a good excuse to go and see Niagara falls!

We had three days and roughly 500 miles to cover. We were all pretty exhausted, even after our sleep in, and a little bit over doing touristy things. Because of this we decided to take the trip easy with short drives each day and lots of time spent at camp relaxing. Before leaving the Boston area there was one town that we had all heard about that we couldn't miss; Salem, Massachusetts.

Salem was a very short distance from our campsite toward the Atlantic Coast. The town is famous (unfairly so, but more on that in a bit) for the Salem Witch Trials where between 1692 and 1993 twenty people were executed, accused of witchcraft. The whole episode is a good example of mass hysteria caused by two young girls claimed possession by the Devil and accused townspeople of witchcraft. This led to a period of panic where accusations flew. The trials lasted about six months before sense finally prevailed.

Salem

As I mentioned earlier, Salem's reputation is not quite justified as the majority of the executions actually took place in a nearby town called Danvers. In any case the witchcraft trials put Salem on the map and have turned it into a bit of a tourist hot spot. We explored the town for a bit with a visit to a memorial to those executed. We also visited the town museum which had interesting information on the town's history outside of the trials. It detailed, for example, how during the late 18th and early 19th centuries Salem was one of the most famous and important trading ports in the world, and a vital link in trade to both the East and West Indies. Before leaving we had lunch in nice little Thai place.

All of the those executed were hanged...

Except for this poor man who was crushed to death.

Our campsite for the first night was called Hapgood Pond, a three hour drive from Salem, located in the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont. As you should expect by now we were dodging thunderstorms as we drove. Peggy seemed to have a knack for having to drive through them and that day was no exception. Aside from that it was a straightforward journey. The terrain quickly became mountainous as we headed back into the Appalachians. The roads became smaller and quieter and the hillsides densely forested. We were soon driving alongside large rivers and saw several of Vermont's famous covered bridges. We almost missed out on the state of New Hampshire but a last minute decision to go to Walmart for supplies meant that we crossed briefly into the state before continuing on.

Hapgood Pond turned out to be a reasonably nice place. There were very few people around which suited us nicely. For the first time in a while the air was slightly chilly as the night crept in and I found myself staying very close to the fire. I was really starting to feel the cold that I had picked up in Boston so I think I might have been feeling the chill more that the others. After dinner we sat and played Heads Up (kind of like Charades) before having an early night (at last!)

Our tents at Hapgood Pond

I should mention here that our planning of camping spots during these few days based around lakes and the hopes of swimming. As the name suggests there was indeed a pond at Hapgood Pong, and a reasonably large one at that. It was about a five minute walk from the campsite and although I was still cold the next morning I couldn't resist having a swim before we left. Thankfully there were changing rooms nearby with hot showers!

We had a much short drive planned for our next stopover although we hadn't quite decided on our campsite. All we knew was that it would be somewhere in the Adirondack Park in Upstate New York (a long way from New York City). Peggy and Rez also needed to book their trip to get from Niagara Falls to Blooming Indiana in time for their orientation. We drove west for about an hour through beautiful Vermont passing snowless ski slopes and moose warning signs (we newer saw any unfortunately). After crossing into New York we stopped at a gas station and spent the next two hours camped out by a Subway making good use of their free WiFi. The girls eventually settled on a three part, 21 hour bus trip, and we settled on a campsite.

Poplar Point it was called and it sounded nice enough. We never made it to Poplar Point however as soon after entering the Adirondack Park we passed another campsite right beside a large lake and decided to just stay there for the night instead. We arrived at Caroga Lake late in the afternoon and quikly set up before heading to the water to swim. Again it wasn't the warmest temperature but it was still nice. The next morning we lounged beside the water until early afternoon.

Caroga Lake

One thing that bothered me at Caroga, and something that we would encounter again later, was ridiculous rules for swimming at the lake. The lake itself was reasonably large and there was a wide open beach area beside the campsite. Unfortunately someone in their infinite wisdom has decided that swimming must be restricted to a very small portion of this beach and is only to be allowed in the presence of a lifeguard. There was no lifeguard the day we arrived so we swam anyway. It's sad that such things need to be regulated so pointlessly.

The last night before Niagara Falls was spent at the Niagara Hartland Campground. It was mostly a RV campground so it wasn't particularly scenic but it did the job. The drive was the longest of the three days but was almost entirely along an Interstate toll road and was low effort.

Finally on the morning of Friday the 7th we were ready to cross the bridge and leave the United States and enter Canada. Before that though we had one last thing left to do and that was visit Buffalo New York and get some famous Buffalo Wings. Buffalo looked as though it had seen better days. It was hard to put your finger on but the city centre just felt as though it was slowly falling into disrepair. For wings we went to the Anchor Bar where the dish was invented. We arrived just minutes after opening at 11am and ordered two large platters of wings between us. The wings were really good but very messy! We left sticky and full and drove toward the border.

A Feast of Buffalo Wings

We sat in traffic on the Rainbow Bridge connecting the two countries for about half an hour before quickly passing customs and entering Canada.