New England is gleaming in the fall

This autumn the weather gods cooperated as we took a family trip in the northeast to see six states that qualify or makeup what is known colloquially in America as New England.

Mass, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island (tiniest state in the union).

The outing helped tally up the states we either lived in, visited or have worked in to 47. Guess which three have eluded this intrepid traveling family.

Any rate the drive was all in about 1,800 miles and included some memorable geographic wonders or points of interest. Easternmost part of state of Massachusetts being one. Furthest drivable road east in Mass being another.

Visit to all Ivy League schools (term harkens to a collegiate athletics conference and generally regarded as elite academic institutes of some repute worldwide) is another random bucket list item of which this trip afforded the chance to knock two more of the list. Dartmouth in Hanover, NH and Brown (and its sister institute the RISD - school for design) in Providence, RI.

Of the cities we traveled two were state capitals. Boston, MA and Providence, RI.

Much of the drive constituted two distinct geographies. Coastal with the rocky shorelines for the most part and towns full of maritime history or Mountains that make up parts of what are called the Appalachians in the NE corner of the country. We also walked or drove in parts of the famous hiking path called the Appalachian Trail or AT.

Also interspersed betwixt these visits was good local food, seafood to be precise and glimpses of my other favorite item - trains..and architecture.

Below some scenic vistas that greeted our tired feet...as we did manage to get out of the vehicle and traipse for good parts of the trip.