KAA: East Coast Bias

The reason its taken me so long to write about Kanan Across America's New England experience is that it was very low key, I didn't get to do many of the traditional things to do in New England:

• I couldn't enjoy the foliage because it was summer
• I didn't get gay married
• I didn't wear a tweed jacket
• I wasn't able to attend any Ivy league schools

That last one I did try, however it didn't work out as planned.  I was in Boston, which I had previously visited, though hadn't seen much of the city.  It occurred to me to check out Harvard, one of the smartest places on earth, where I did one of the dumbest things I've ever done.  It was night time, and the street lighting in Boston leaves a lot to be desired.  I simply couldn't get to where the GPS was directing me!  So I saw a bus that said Harvard Square and decided to follow, and I ended following it all the way to a bus-only tunnel bus stop... FAIL!  Embarrassed I decided to get out of Boston as fast as possible!

I did get to hang out with my old Mil-Lab buddies in Vermont, which was awesome, finally getting to see Rutland in all its glory after hearing so much about it! =P  It was annoying constantly getting weird looks from people around the capital, probably b/c I was wearing a Texas shirt.  I've always believed that extreme liberalism can be just as close minded as extreme conservatism.  Oh well, c'est la vie.

This is what I expected all buildings to look like =P

Vermont: America's Vagina

Quechee Gorge

I wonder where this person stands on the issues...

My next stop was Manchester, NH, home of the famous British soccer team.  The town was incredibly nice and well kept, I was under the impression that it was the capital of the state, but apparently they too decided to relocate recently.

I had decided not to eat anything when I left the Emmons Estate in Vermont because I fully intended to feast on Maine lobster.  Maine was a state I was really excited to see, especially the part of Maine that isn't in Canada.  Unfortunately a nasty thunderstorm hit me on the way from Manchester to Portland, I had to pull over a couple of times due to no visibility, but I eventually made it to Portland in the late afternoon.

There I had another 'first,' I touched the Atlantic Ocean for the first time!!!!!  Took a boat tour of the harbor, which wasn't as beautiful as it should've been due to the gray skies, but heck I was happy they had tours in such weather to begin with!  Afterwards, it was LOBSTER TIME!

Never Thought I'd Be On a Boat...

It's a Big Blue Watery Road...

Poseidon, LOOK AT ME!!!!

My goal was to spend the night in Providence, RI, which is way bigger than I imagined, that's what she said, so I ended up getting lost looking for the Motel 6.  As impressed as I was by Providence as a city, I found it was incredibly dead for 11pm and I couldn't think of any 'must have' experiences.  I was probably too bummed out by there not being a Quahog, RI, that I decided to move along.

Suddenly, as Kanan Across America continued to steamroll across New England, I felt this horrible feeling.  I couldn't pinpoint what it was, all I remember was this awful headache and started hating all things University of Texas, I was sick to my stomach.  I suddenly craved SEC football, Yanks/Sox, and Lakers basketball, WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME?!  That's when I saw the sign:

I needed to get out of Connecticut fast!  Actually, I did try to see if they offered some sort of ESPN campus tour, but the gate guard didn't let me in, I reckon my UT shirt was burning his retinas.

So like I said, a very low key New England experience, truth be told there were a lot of museums and points of interest, but they were simply out of my financial reach, maybe next time.

Your American Hero,
-AK