Linda & Virgil’s Most Excellent East Coast Adventure!

(Sunday, September 15th to Thursday, September 26th, 2024) – We left home in Linda’s blue 2023 Subaru Forester on Sunday, September 15th, 2024. On our last road trip (after the vehicle repair fiasco we needed near St. Louis while traveling to Sarasota, FL), we decided we would take our newest vehicle on road trips going forward! The first night we stayed in Morris, IL, and the 2nd and 3rd nights in Hartville, Ohio. Hartville was central to our visiting plans for Tuesday, September 17th.

In Hartville, we went to Pat & Bob Neff’s home. Their son John and his wife Debbie joined us for breakfast and a good morning of visiting. The Neff family, including their son Mark (who now lives in the Washington DC area), was a solid, stable, and faith-filled family important to Virgil.

Next we visited Virgil’s Aunt Mary & Uncle Jim (Bare) in Uniontown. We had lunch at their home and talked about family past and present. Mary is Virgil’s mom Janett’s sister, 9 years younger.

In between things, we went to Hillside Memorial Park and found the grave of Virgil’s dad- Virgil Palo Hawkins Jr. 1929-1978. Very close by are his grandparents’ graves- Virgil Palo Hawkins and Anna Mary Hawkins.

Next on Tuesday, we met Mike & Sue Elliott at their home in Mogadore. Virgil and Mike were grade school friends and have continued their relationship. Mike and Sue are avid travelers and have visited us a couple times in Minnesota. We went into Akron and ate at Luigi’s Italian Restaurant, and then attended a minor league baseball game together. The Akron Rubber Ducks played the Erie Sea Wolves.
It was a perfect evening for baseball and catching up with friends.

Wednesday morning, we traveled from Hartville, Ohio to Niagara Falls. We arrived in Niagara Falls, New York in the afternoon and checked into our hotel. Then we headed into Canada and went on a Niagara City Boat Cruise (by Hornblower) along the American Falls and into the Horseshoe Falls.

Water flows over these falls at a rate of 6 million cubic feet per second, and 68 miles per hour.
These falls are 170 feet tall.

Our first adventure on Thursday morning was to visit “Journey Behind The Falls.” We descended 125 feet in an elevator, then walked down the long tunnels that ended in open portals under the rushing water of the falls. The vibration of the thundering water could be felt!

Beauty around the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

On our next adventure on Thursday at Niagara Falls, we took a Parks bus north along the Niagara River, and went on the White Water Walk. This is where the Niagara River narrows into the Niagara Gorge. The speed of the water here is about 30 miles per hour and is classified as Class 6 rapids (no boats allowed).

We learned that the beautiful aqua color of the Niagara River is due to dissolved salts and minerals such as limestone and sandstone.

Our next Niagara Falls adventure on this beautiful sunny day was the Whirlpool Aero Car. This is a whirlpool area over the Niagara Gorge where the gorge abruptly turns counterclockwise, located downstream from Niagara Falls. The Aero Car has been running for over 100 years. The span across the Niagara River is about 3,500 feet and the cable car is about 200 feet above the river level. The Whirlpool Aero Car offers spectacular views of the swirling Niagara River and the river’s Class 6 rapids!

Niagara Falls area is host to visitors from all over the world, but on one adventure there we met a couple that live about 2 miles from us. We agreed to meet for lunch and enjoyed their company. We had lunch with Kathy & Joe at Table Rock Restaurant, with this view out the windows (see photos below). Four Great Lakes feed into the Niagara River to make it so powerful! The four great lakes: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Erie.

After our luncheon at Table Rock restaurant, we visited the area’s original hydroelectric power plant- Niagara Parks Power Station, again on the Canadian side. The underground experience involved a 180 foot descent in a glass elevator where we could observe the power harvesting structures. We then walked through a 2,200-foot-long, 21 foot high arched, block lined tunnel that was excavated and completed in 1904. We took an audio tour that continued as we walked. At the end of the tunnel we walked out onto a platform where we could closely view the falls and river.

Friday morning, we left Niagara Falls and drove to New Haven Connecticut, where our Airbnb was located. That evening, we met Virgil’s sister Anna for supper at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napolentana in New Haven. The area around Wooster Avenue in New Haven is a “Little Italy” of sorts, with many renowned restaurants. Frank Pepe’s pizza is one of the most well-known and it was delicious!

New Haven, Connecticut is a bustling city, home to Yale University. Virgil went for a walk through the Old Yale Campus on one of his morning walks, and also found a local coffee shop for a delicious latte.

Saturday, after catching up on some laundry, we met Anna & Aaron at The Little Pub Stratford on Long Island Sound for lunch. We enjoyed some good conversation and good food. Then we went to their house in Stratford for a while and then on to Long Beach on Long Island Sound to spend time together.

Sunday morning, we met Anna & Aaron at their church, Stamford Church of Christ. We had an encouraging time there, meeting Anna & Aaron’s church family and hearing a good sermon that could be summarized as “where empathy ends, conflict begins.” This is also the church Virgil attended when he lived in Connecticut in the mid-80s. It’s a small, close-knit body of believers.

As we moved around New Haven, Stratford, and Stamford, Connecticut we were reminded by signage how close we were to New York City. The congestion reminded us too.

Sunday afternoon, Cape Cod was our destination. We stayed two nights at the Breakwater Hotel in Provincetown. It sat right on Cape Cod Bay. We had clam chowder and a lobster roll for supper on Sunday evening at the Lobster Pot, located overlooking the bay in Provincetown.

Virgil got up early Monday and went to Race Point Beach in Cape Cod National Seashore, to capture the sunrise. We were scheduled to do a whale-watching boat ride that day, but it was canceled because of high winds and waves.

Walking along a secluded beach at sunrise with the waves crashing against the shore and seagulls flying in the air – fills me with gratitude to witness such beauty, and I feel closer to our creator in such moments. Moments like this bring to mind this incredible literary gem from Clive Staples Lewis.

A former atheist, C.S. Lewis converted to Christianity in his 30s, and he concluded that “we have hunger because we need to eat, we have thirst because we need to drink; so if we have inconsolable longing that can’t be satisfied in this world it must be because we belong in another, godly one. Our commonest expedient is to call (the longing) beauty and behave as if that had settled the matter…but the book(s) or the music (or other thing) in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust it to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things – the beauty, the memory of our own past – are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country (Heaven) we have not yet visited.”

Later in the morning on Monday, we again entered the Cape Cod National Seashore and went to the second floor of the visitor’s center to watch for whales as advised, but to no avail. Next we visited the Highland Lighthouse. This was commissioned by George Washington in 1797 after many shipwrecks had occurred in these surrounding waters. It had to be moved further back in 1996 because of wind/sand erosion. Photos were taken from the top. It is still in service today with LED lighting. (Originally it had a whale blubber flame!)

On the next adventure, back in Provincetown, we climbed the Pilgrim Monument. It commemorates the Pilgrim’s first landing in America on November 21, 1620, after 67 days at sea. While anchored there, they wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact, declaring themselves a democratic commonwealth. Some of the signers of the compact were ancestors of Linda’s, including William Brewster, John Howland, and Tilly. Although, Virgil notes that the Mayflower Pilgrims have 35 million descendants! The tower was built in 1910 and is 252 feet tall! We climbed to the top and were treated to spectacular views!

This photo above is on the inside of the Pilgrim Monument, looking down to the bottom floor of the tower. A sign at the entrance of the museum assured us “it is an easy climb”. It was not!

Lupper after the tower was at Fanizzi’s Restaurant, located right on Cape Cod Bay. We shared crab cakes and grilled salmon with cucumber dill sauce and grilled brussel sprouts and rice. It was delicious!

Provincetown had almost all gray buildings and narrow, crowded streets. Rainbow flags were a common sight – a symbol of inclusivity in Provincetown.

On Tuesday, September 24th, we headed to Plymouth, Massachusetts, the site of the second landing of the Mayflower Pilgrims, and where they at least temporarily, settled. We toured the Mayflower 2. Tour guides told us the story of how things likely were for the 102 pilgrims arriving from England. It is thought the Pilgrims were limited to one lower level for the 67 days they traveled. The passenger list included 50 men, 20 women, and 32 children. It sounded like a miserable trip. This replica of the Mayflower was built in England and sailed to the US in 1957.

Plymouth Rock was our next stop, a quick walk from the Mayflower 2. Cape Cod Bay in Plymouth, MA was covered with anchored boats. Away from the bay in Plymouth we found The Mayflower Meetinghouse and Burial Hill. Overlooking Cape Cod Bay, Burial Hill was opened in 1620, and many of the original Mayflower Pilgrims are buried there. William Brewster and William Bradford are among those. We learned that only 52 of the Mayflower passengers survived their first winter in the new land.

We toured the Plymouth Museum, housed in the site of Government House Of The Old Colony.

That afternoon we left Plymouth for the trek home. The first night on the way home was spent in Scranton, Pennsylvania. On the way home, we were treated to autumn colors and cooler temperatures.

We stopped for treats at Stricklands as we passed through Akron Ohio. It is a place from Virgil’s childhood, famous for delicious frozen custard.

After a stay in Scranton, PA, on Tuesday night, we spent the following night in Peru, Indiana, after traveling 627 miles, and the next night after 13 hours and 661 miles we arrived at home!

In all, we traveled 3837 miles in 12 days. We listened to several Audible Books, mostly Enola Holmes Mysteries. It was another wonderful Hawkins road trip-a nice mix of visiting family, friends, history, and creation.

We’re thankful for that blessing and for the memories on this Most Excellent East Coast Adventure!