The drive between Boston and New York City was basically, as we say in the sport of rallying, a transport section. We really just wanted to get from point A (being Boston) to point B (being NYC), although we stopped to see a few things along the way. We were looking for a place to overnight for a day or two as our NYC accommodation was booked for August 1 and we had a few days up our sleeve. Kate in particular was very keen to go somewhere she could swim, so we headed for the beachside area of Hyannis on Cape Cod, made famous as the holiday playground of JFK and the Kennedy family. Our track to there took us via Plymouth Rock, the site where the Pilgrims first landed on American soil (well, stone) The stone itself was remarkably unremarkable, with the inscription "1620" engraved into it, oddly and apparently placed there sometime during the 1800s.

Pushing on to Cape Cod, the traffic was unbelievably bad! It was like everyone in the greater Boston area had decided to spend the weekend on the cape. After battling our way onto the island, we took a back highway and finally found our way into Hyannis where we booked into a very nice resort-style place for a couple of nights. We swum, played tennis, went to nearby Mayflower Beach, and generally had a great time. I must send a special G'day to Steve, a nice fella from Boston I met by the outdoor pool who was so impressed at meeting an Aussie in Hyannis that he insisted I take his Tshirt and cap as a souvenir gift!

From there we drove south, via Newport, Rhode Island. Man! There is some serious, serious money in this place! We took a drive down Bellevue Avenue past all the mansions, then out on Marine Drive and back into the town, where we parked and went for a walk. A quick visit to the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the yacht marina, where I got the chance to remind a few locals that Switzerland, not the USA, is the current holder of the Auld Mug... :-)

From Rhode Island, we pushed on further to Connecticut and stopped for the evening in a very nondescript litttle city called Stamford, only about 45 minutes away from NYC itself. Our plan was to leave after rush hour and try to get an early start into the big city.

New York City, here we come.