Road Trip to Chicago

As there were a few places to see between Boston and Chicago I thought ...hey lets hire a car ...or as they say here .... lets get a rental.

I set of early from Boston heading east on my next adventure.   The car was fitted with a GPS ..wooo hooo but a little bit different.... you pressed a button on the rear view mirror and you spoke to a real person, you tell them where you want to go and they send "turn by turn" instructions to the car.  WOW that was so cool.   So Cooperstown is my first stop.   The birthplace of Major League Baseball and the Hall of Fame.  You may ask ...WHY??? ... I used to play baseball in Melbourne and sadly miss it.   Seeing the history and the names that have been honoured, Babe Ruth, Joe Di Maggio,  Carl Ripken Jr, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig and hundreds of others.... The stories ... the way the game developed and the amazing History.

Here are a few pics of the Hall Of Fame

Babe Ruth

Then I seen this... its a softball... the bat was used at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney that I was a volunteer at.   So cool to see that.

The Famous hitting line up for New York Yankees - called Murderess Row

The first game of baseball in the USA was played here.

Day 2

Niagara Falls - The only way to sum it up is --WOW!!!!

The raw power and sound of the falls is mind blowing ....

Words are hard to describe it so I will let the pictures do it.. ( well try to )

The Canadian Falls

The American Falls

On the Maid of the Mist ... after this pic I was soaked

The noise was amazing ....

last pic before I got soaked again ... but it was awesome

the White Water Walk - down stream from the falls creates an awesome sight

The rainbows the mist creates ..they are every where

Behind the falls ...it was so loud in here

Oh Canada ....

Day 3

Canton Ohio - Pro Football Hall of Fame

Boston

A famous city with lots of history..

The site of the Boston Tea Party,  The ride of Paul Revere,  The American Revolution, Harvard University and of course the bar that started the series - Cheers.

The Freedom Trail in Boston is the story about the Boston Tea Party which is 1 of many issues that the Americans had with the English which led to the start of American Revolutionary War.

The ride of Paul Revere ... which saves the capture of John Hancock and the guns and ammunition. 

 

 

These building were the printing press for many famous authors

 

On this balcony the new US Constitution was read to the people of Boston

 

The oldest pubs in Boston

 

The building the ammunition and guns were hidden from the English army

 

Paul Revere monument 

 

The church where the lanterns were lit to warn every body that the English were on the way.  1 lantern for army by land and 2 lanterns for army by sea.  The whole story that he road through the streets yelling " the British are coming " is not true.

 

The first battle of the American Revolution at Bunker Hill.  Locals of the area, farmers and a few soldiers dug in and became the first Patriots of the USA. 

They lost the battle with heavy losses but the English who were regular army also lost many. The Brits underestimated how strong the Patriots were.

 

 

 

USS Constitution the oldest US Navy battle ship.  Never lost a battle - with a 24 gun broadside fire power ... there wont be much left ... then they swing around and smash them with another 24 guns.

 

 

By the way this was closed to the public due the Government closure.... GGGGRRRRR

 

Had a day extra in Boston so I went to see the famous Harvard University.  WOW!!

The Oldest Uni in the USA

 

The largest library in the world...its 5 floors high...3 floors below the ground and stretches underground for 200 yards.

 

remember the movie - Trading Places - the Winthrops...

 

As for the sports - home of the current NHL Stanley Cup  winners - Boston Bruins and NBA's Boston Celtics. 

The first day i arrive and the cab driver pulls into the street and at the end of the street is the TD Gardens.  I completely forgot of where i was staying and said, "OMG its the Boston Gardens".  I found the hostel, half a block from the stadium, put my bags in and made my way to the TD Gardens.
Was open ... Wooo Hooo .. was able to do a self paced tour of the two teams Hall of Fame.   WOW!
It was on the levels where you go in for the seating ... I open the curtains that were drawn and OMG the court is set up for the Celtics Basketball game.

Here are a few happy snaps ....

 

 

 

 

More Sports....The oldest Baseball park in the USA - Fenway Park. 

The home of the Boston Redsox.  They are currently in the World Series.

 

 

on top of the "Green Monster" ...its so much bigger than I thought.

 

view from the pressbox ...