On the road with Carolina Tours, this time to visit the Midget States – a cluster of five small states with lots of history and natural beauty … and fall colors as a bonus.  One of the best things about traveling with this group is seeing old friends – after so many years, we feel like we are traveling with family!

CONNECTICUT was founded in 1662, when Governor John Winthrop obtained a royal charter for the colony from King Charles II of England.  The “Constitution State” is small enough to cross in a few hours, but there are many enticements to stay longer. 

Groton is the home of General Dynamics, the nation’s largest submarine producer.  The USS Nautilus, the first atomic-powered submarine, was launched here on January 21, 1954, and four years later, it completed the first undersea voyage to the North Pole.  The U.S. Submarine Force Museum here is filled with models, films and historical equipment.  Best of all, it is now the home of the Nautilus, which we enjoyed touring. 

 

 

Mystic is a picturesque coastal town on the banks of the Mystic River.  In the mid-1800s, some of the fastest clipper ships in the country were built here, as well as one of the first ironclad vessels commissioned by the U.S. Navy. 

Mystic Seaport is a replica 19^th century seafaring village, a 17-acre living museum dedicated to America’s maritime history.  Its narrow streets re-create an entire seafaring village, including a tavern, chapel, lighthouse and one-room schoolhouse.  Craftsmen demonstrate the skills of the blacksmith, cooper and shipcarver.  

 

 

Mystic’s fleet of vintage ships includes the 1841 Charles W. Morgan, last of the nation’s wooden whaling vessels.  

 

We stayed one night on the Pequot Indian Reservation, better known as Foxwoods – the world’s largest resort hotel & casino under one roof.  It is quite an amazing place – hotels, casinos, restaurants, shops, theaters, nightclubs, pools, spas, a golf course, and (under construction) an outlet mall.

  

RHODE ISLAND is the smallest of all fifty states (only 48 miles long and 37 miles wide), but it boasts the longest name of any state:  “State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.”   Rhode Island was the first state to declare independence from Britain and the last to ratify the Constitution, holding out until the Bill of Rights was added. 

Providence is the state capital, and its State House dominates the city skyline.  It is topped by the fourth largest self-supporting marble-covered dome in the world.  (The other three are St. Peter’s Cathedral in Vatican City, the Minnesota State House in St. Paul, and the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.)  

Providence was established by minister Roger Williams, who was banished from Massachusetts due to his liberal theologies.  The town is populated by a number of historic churches, including the first Baptist church in America, founded by Roger Williams.  

Many Italian immigrants settled in Providence, and we enjoyed a morning in Little Italy.  The colorful shops were interesting to visit, but the highlight for us was a behind-the-scenes tour at the local bakery.  

 

Scialo's Bakery first opened in 1916, and one of its three brick ovens is an original, over 100 years old.  Everything is baked the traditional manner – beautiful to see and to taste. 

 

 

The economy of Providence is largely based on its location on Providence Harbor, a skinny band of water that stretches from three downtown rivers to Narragansett Bay, where trading schooners once departed from the West Indies and Africa. 

And at night, there’s WaterFire – an amazing sculpture installed in, on and around the rivers downtown – over 100 bonfires blazing, lighting up the downtown and beautifully reflecting the water.  It sounds simple enough, but to experience it was truly magical – aromatic wood smoke, flickering firelight on the arched bridges, silhouettes of the fire-tenders passing by, torch-lit boats traveling down the river, and beautiful music from around the world. 

Newport is known for its jazz festival, the America’s Cup Race, and its cottages.  In the late 1800s, Newport was just a small town on an island in Naragansett Bay, until it became THE place for the ultra-rich to spend their summers.  The Astors, Vanderbilts and other families gave new meaning to the word cottage as they built giant estates overlooking the cliffs of Rhode Island Sound. 

We toured the Marble House, one of the Vanderbilt homes that cost $11 million in 1892, including $7 million for the 500,000 cubic feet of marble used in its construction.  There’s even a Chinese tea house on the edge of the cliff, just for parties!

 

Up and down Bellevue Avenue, there are mansions (er, cottages) with fanciful names – The Breakers, Rosecliff, Rough Point, The Elms, Chateau-sur-Mer, and Belcourt Castle.  The Gilded Age is alive and well in Newport!

 

 

 


It’s not just grandeur in Newport, there’s history, too.  There are over 500 buildings surviving from the colonial era.  Here are two churches – Trinity Episcopal Church and St. Paul’s Methodist Church. 

 

Historic Wickford Village is mostly a tourist trap, but it does offer a taste of New England as it was a century or more ago. Its historic homes from the 1700s, churches, gardens and picturesque harbor offer a glimpse of our nation’s early history.  It’s a good place to walk around and try a bowl of clam chowder.

Near the village of Saunderstown, we visited the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum.  Gilbert Stuart, one of American’s best-known portrait artists, painted over 1000 paintings in his lifetime, but he is most remembered for his portraits of George Washington.  

Stuart was born in 1755 above his father’s snuff mill, the first snuff mill in the American colonies.  Set in the woods on a beautiful millpond and stream, the 23-acre museum also includes an operating gristmill, fish ladder, colonial herb garden, and a gallery of Gilbert Stuart paintings (mostly reproductions). 

 

During our stop here, we dined on johnny cakes, thin corn-meal pancakes that are a tradition in this part of the country.  Back in the early 1700s, transportation was limited and folks relied on homegrown produce. Since wheat was not well adapted to New England soil or climate, bread in the form of johnny cakes was commonly made from corn meal. Locals claim that the name is derived from their ability to travel along with early settlers.  Easily stuffed into knapsacks, they were portable - hence “journey cake.”

NEW JERSEY is not all oil tanks and turnpikes.  The Garden State abounds with cultural, historical and natural treasures.  We visited nostalgic Atlantic City and beautiful Cape May.

Atlantic City is New Jersey’s most famous beach resort town.  Its heyday came during the 1920s and early ‘30s Prohibition era; liquor laws were flouted, mobsters and crime ruled.  Al Capone and Nookie Johnson were next-door neighbors; their homes included covered dock areas for speed boats that transported alcohol and other contraband.

 

By the 1950s, the city had lapsed into decline, but once the first casino entered the picture in the 1970s, the feisty beach town was on a roll again.  Entertainment entrepreneurs like Merv Griffin, Donald Trump and Steve Wynn were on the scene, spurring casino development along the boardwalk and creating an East Coast gambling hub. 

 

Today, things don’t look so bright and shiny.  Several huge casinos and hotels have closed, unemployment has skyrocketed, and the city seems on the verge of collapse.  We’re glad we had the chance to visit and hope the city finds its way back to prosperity – just don’t expect us back again….

 

On the other hand, there’s Cape May, which bills itself as the nation’s oldest seashore resort.  Situated at the southernmost tip of New Jersey, Cape May seems light years away from Atlantic City.  It is a classic, Atlantic beach town with sand, surf and all the usual seaside trimmings, but what makes it special is hundreds of colorfully restored Victorian Homes. 

 

 

The entire city has been designated a National Historic Landmark.  Its 600+ Victorian-era homes and buildings make up one of the largest collections of 19^th-century architecture in American.  We saw lots of them – on foot and aboard the Cape May Trolley.   This would be a great spot for a long vacation.  Maybe in a month or two we could learn to distinguish Italianate style from Gothic Revival or Queen Anne…

DELAWARE is known as the First State, since that day in 1787 when delegates to Delaware’s Constitutional Congress took a deep breath and voted to ratify the Constitution, making Delaware the first state to do so.  For these travelers, it will also be known as the LAST STATE, as we have now visited all 50 American states. 

Dover is the state capital and home to the Air Mobility Command Museum.  Vintage airplanes and military aviation artifacts are displayed in a restored World War II hangar at Dover Air Force Base.  There are some impressive airplanes here:  the C-5A Galaxy can fit six buses inside its cargo area!  Other specimens include the VC-9C which transported America’s presidents, vice-presidents and first ladies until 2011; a B-17G Flying Fortress, a C-47 airlift aircraft; and assorted other jet fighters and trainers.  Dover AFB is also the home for the largest military mortuary in the Department of Defense; the remains of those killed overseas are traditionally brought to Dover before being transferred to family.

 

 

Wilmington echoes with Colonial-era history and du Pont family opulence.  We took a ride on a water taxi on the Christiana River, where we saw a replica of the Kalmar-Nyckel – the ship that brought the first settlers to this area.  Out in the harbor there were much larger ships, like this freighter bringing a load of salt for use on winter roads.  Many old warehouses along the river have been restored and converted into restaurants, condos and galleries. 

 

 

MARYLAND is for crabs, the Maryland blue variety from the Chesapeake Bay is the best.  It’s also known for the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner, the birthplace of Babe Ruth, beautiful shorelines and more. 

Baltimore is Maryland’s largest city, though it sometimes may seem overwhelmed by the political power center that is nearby Washington, DC.  Don’t be misled - Baltimore is a grand city!   It was the starting point for the nation’s first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio.  The land that once was Camden Station on the B&O Railroad is now the home of Baltimore Orioles baseball team, Oriole Park at Camden Yards.  

We had a great behind-the-scenes tour of the ballpark, including a stop in the press box behind home plate - what a view! 

Can you name the Orioles’ players whose numbers have been retired?  Answer: Frank Robison (20), Brooks Robinson (5), Earl Weaver (4), Jim Palmer (22), Eddie Murray (33), Cal Ripken, Jr (8), and Jackie Robison (42).  No, Jackie Robinson did not play for the Orioles; every team in baseball retired his number in 1997, the 50^th anniversary of his major league debut.    Can you guess which player is Fran’s personal favorite?  Hint:  He played third base ….

Baltimore is also the home of Fort McHenry, where U.S. forces successfully defended the city after it was attacked by the British in 1814.  After witnessing the bombardment, Francis Scott Key, a Maryland lawyer, wrote the poem that was later set to music and became our official national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” 

We arrived at the fort just in time for raising the flag.  As you might expect, the flag here is anything but ordinary – how about HUGE?  They use three different size flags here, depending on the wind speed – we helped raise the middle-size flag.  Looks like it would take a small army to raise the big one!

Baltimore is also a shiny example of urban renewal; its Inner Harbor has been transformed into major destination for residents and tourists alike.  From historic ships and sightseeing cruises to seafood restaurants, from waterfront promenades and shopping to wonderful attractions like the National Aquarium and the Maryland Science Center, the Inner Harbor is just a fun place to be. 

Annapolis dates back to an early settlement in 1649.  It was named the capital in 1695, and its charter of 1708 makes it one of the oldest cities in the U.S.    Today Annapolis is best known as the home of the U.S. Naval Academy, established in 1845. 

 

 

VIRGINIA is definitely not a midget state, but we did make a couple of stops there along the way.

The National Museum of the Marine Corps is a relatively new facility dedicated to preserving and promoting the heritage of the Marine Corps.  The building itself recalls an iconic moment in Marine Corps history, the raising of the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima during World War II. Inside there are lots of exhibits, movies, and memorabilia. 

 

The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden near Richmond has been recognized as one of the top ten gardens in North America.  We don’t disagree.  We weren't there at a time of peak blooms, but this place would be beautiful at any time of year.  There are themed gardens connected by beautiful paths and trails, as well as a classically-styled conservatory loaded with orchids and tropical plants.