2023: Northeast U.S. and Montreal
2023: All Over the Northeast
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My uncle and I went on a whirlwind driving tour of the Northeast U.S. to visit state capitols and take a bucket-list side trip to Montreal.
After resting in Texas for a few weeks, I was ready to hit the road again by mid-June 2023. This time, I picked up my uncle in West Virginia to visit state capitols and make my first-ever trip to the New England states, but not before making a stop in Lexington, KY, to enjoy a regular visit to Kentucky Native Café.
My uncle is a great travel companion. He’s game for almost anything and shares my love of good, local coffeehouses. As a bonus, he stays on his game the entire trip. Often, he’s waiting on me in the mornings (which is saying something because I don’t dawdle) and helps load the car quickly and efficiently. On days we hit the road, having a travel companion who maintains this level of efficiency is gold. This is why we were able to cover as much as we did.
Hitting the Road
After hitting our favorite coffeehouse, The Grind in Morgantown, we were off to Annapolis, Maryland, but only after we made a stop at Sheetz where my uncle forced me—forced me I say—to finally get my Sheetz rewards card.
Maryland: Our trip to the Maryland State House began a very busy, productive day. We took a side trip to Delaware before heading back to Annapolis to visit downtown and the United States Naval Academy. I ended the day with my coveted crab cake.
Delaware: Dover is close enough to Annapolis to fit in a visit to the Delaware Legislative Hall and Dover Green.
New Jersey: We stopped at the New Jersey State History Museum while waiting for our scheduled New Jersey State House tour, which took so frustratingly long because you must register in advance to see it. That will teach me to plan better.
On to New England
The great thing about New England is you can visit multiple states in one day. Even as fast as these days went, I grew to love New England. This part of the trip took only a few days.
Rhode Island: We went straight from New Jersey to Rhode Island because we would not make it to the Connecticut State Capitol in time. This was a lesson in being flexible on the road. We began a productive day visiting the Rhode Island State House before heading on to Massachusetts.
Massachusetts: Boston is an hour train ride from Providence, so we visited the Massachusetts State House to get updated pictures and a passport stamp. The only request my uncle had for this trip was to visit Salem, so we were able to spend a couple of hours there before heading back to Rhode Island to rest before another busy travel day.
Connecticut: We circled back to Connecticut on beautiful back roads to visit the stunning Connecticut State Capitol.
New Hampshire: We were able to make it from Connecticut to Concord in time to visit the New Hampshire State House. We arrived on a good day because afterward, we got to enjoy the first day of Concord’s annual Market Days Festival, which features booths by local businesses, local food, and music.
Maine: After spending the night in Concord, we made our way to Augusta to visit the Maine State House. The people there are very friendly, and Augusta is a charming town.
Holiday Weekend in Montreal
After driving the back roads of Maine through a small border station heading into Quebec, we arrived in Montreal during one of their biggest holiday weekends of the year, St John the Baptist Day. We saw a lot in three days, including significant smoke from the Quebec forest fires of 2023.
Return to the U.S.
We crossed back into the United States at a desolate Border Patrol outpost at the Canada-New York border near Rouse Point manned by an obviously bored (but friendly) Border Patrol agent. Vermont was literally around the corner.
Vermont: We saw a lot in the few hours we spent in Vermont. After stopping in Burlington for coffee, we made our way to the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to pay our respects at the flavor graveyard. We then headed to Montpelier to enjoy the Vermont State House and a fantastic lunch before enjoying the beautiful Vermont roads to New York.
New York: We arrived in Albany with plenty of time to tour the palatial New York State Capitol.
Pennsylvania: After a restful night in Albany, we headed to Harrisburg in time to visit the amazing Pennsylvania State Capitol. Since photography of the chambers was not permitted because they were in session, I was able to go back the next morning to photograph them before we headed out to Gettysburg.
Onward On My Own
At this point, I dropped my uncle off at his home in West Virginia, then headed to Pennsylvania and Ohio to see family and friends. I took my time returning to Texas to visit what turned out to be the final new stamps in my state capitols’ passport to date:
Indiana: I made the quick drive to Indianapolis to visit the grand Indiana Statehouse before heading south.
Kentucky: The same day, I made my obligatory stop in Louisville’s Brown Hotel to enjoy my annual Kentucky Hot Brown.
Tennessee: Even as calorie-packed as a Hot Brown is, it did not slow me down from meeting my goal of making it to Nashville by nightfall so I could visit the Tennessee State Capitol. After a quick stop at the Nashville Farmers’ Market for a latte, I headed to Memphis, where I visited Graceland for the first time before heading back home to Texas.
