New England: Land of Opportunity

I've been spending the last month in New England which is all of America North-East of New York. For the most part I'm staying with with my sister's boyfriend Matt. He has been nice enough to give me a futon to sleep on and cable internet access, which is all a nerd can ask for. I was with Matt for only a week when I ran off again on an adventure up to Boston with the Perth boys.

The gang is back, introducing Leszek Nic's friend from Perth.


First day in Boston we walked the Freedom trail. This is the State House at the very beginning.


And the Bunker Hill Monument at the very end. In between are a lot of nice old buildings that are very historical, trust me.


The view from the monument is magnificent and well worth the agonising 275 steps it took to get up there. You know you've climbed a fair distance when suddenly your breath is evaporating. The next day we rented a car and went to see some more of New England. We started by going up to Salem, home of the Witch trials and also what used to be one of the biggest trading cities in America.


Oh No! What ever shall I do to escape :(


This guy is not a witch apparently, but rather a puritan, I really fail to see the difference. Next off we headed down to Providence in Rhode Island, the smallest state in the Union. Rhode Island is called the ocean state for some reason.


It's nice little city and the state building is very majestic.


Brown University which is another fine establishment that no one should be able to afford.

Next off we headed east to Cape Cod for some fine seafood dinner and a beach frolic.

It was very very windy and cold for May

Our final day in Boston was spent on a leisurely trip out to Cambridge to visit the Harvard campus.

Another fine institution which is well out of my price range.


Money can buy class!

After my 3 day sojourn to Boston I was well and truly in need of break from travel and partying. I spent the next 3 weeks getting in touch with my inner slob (he wasn't hidden that deeply it turns out). I played a lot of computer games and slept in a lot. It wasn't untill this last week that I started to do anything productive. Matt suggested we climb the Sleeping Giant, a rock formation/mountain just a few minutes drive away.

It doesn't look that hard at all. This is the head of the Giant.


Easy as they come. That's Matt by the way.


Other than a heart attack scare it wasn't too bad in the end. The view was well worth it.


That's the way down! Just kidding but that is how far up we climbed.


Again views of New England. It's surprisingly well covered with trees. We assume the witches scared off the farmers.


This is the "tower" which is oddly placed just below the giant's waist....


It was a secret training ground for killer labradors!

The very next day I continued my exercise binge by climbing up East Rock, which is only a few block's from Matt's apartment.

Not so dauntingly tall this time.


Stairs this time, how convenient.


The view of New Haven is a bit misleading, it's a very industrial town with a lot of economic problems, but there's still plenty of money at Yale!


That ridiculous brown tower is part of Yale and is an eyesore. Matt's Apartment is right in the middle of the picture, the brown block of apartments directly in line with the tower.

So, I've been relaxing and having my first care free summer vacation in a couple of years. It's nice to have no responsibilities, showers and shaving become optional ;)

I'm heading down to Mexico on the 6th of June for 6 weeks (18th of July) and am flying in and out of Mexico City. I'm not sure if I will be able to update the page at all while I'm gone and my laptop won't be travelling with me but I will try post something at least. My current plan is to head up north to Monterrey and Chihuahua and then work my way down south to Guadalajara and Guanajuato before I head into the deep southern jungles to go hunting ruins. Either way watch out Mexicanos!