2013 NorthEast by Motorcycle Day 4

Kingston, New York to Kittery, Maine.  358.6 miles.

We woke to a Berkshire morning that was cool to cold with a pretty fog covering the low lying areas.  That fog signaled cold in the valleys and hollers as we headed out on the bike for the ride east.

We took 2-lane roads to the Taconic Parkway.  The Parkway rolls along near the Hudson and as we went north, we were one of very few cars on the road.  It was magnificent.

While some people think I'm crazy for wanting to get up early on vacation, it is mornings like these that make early mornings mandatory.  This is the best time one the road, with no traffic, gorgeous lighting and cool dense morning air.

Far too quickly we were at the Toll Interstate headed east.  Traffic increased, but only marginally as we got nearer to larger cities and the morning became later.
We headed southeast into Rhode Island, leaving one fewer state to roll through on two wheels.  After Rhode Island, we crossed back into Massachusetts and to the Town or Fall River.  Fall River isn't the the most spectacular town in the East, but people there were exceptionally friendly.  While parked on the side of the road, several people strolling past and even one guy driving past gave a friendly hello which was kind of nice.

Fall River is where, on August 4, 1892, Abby and Andrew Borden were slain, likely with a hatchet.  This murder may have been committed by Andrew's daughter Lizzie Borden.  The murder was a sensational crime and covered internationally.  Lizzie was eventually acquitted of the crime and moved out of the house, selling it for paltry sum a few years later.  It was a private home for many years.  In one book I read about the Borden murders, the house was described as dilapidated, still having wall paper from when the Borden's lived there; the house is in a quaint if a bit older section of Fall River.

In 1996 the house was sold and turned into a Bed and Breakfast (Where everyone is treated like family - cute...), playing on the theme of the murders.  We decided not to stay there for the night since timing was wrong and I wasn't very interested in the themed activities, and the like.  The night before we were there, apparently the shenanigans went on until the wee hours of the morning.  Luckily, they also give tours of the house which last about an hour.
Carol was our tour guide and she gave a very fascinating telling of the events and tour of the areas of the house.  This may be a macabre tour, but the Lizzie Borden Story is part of the American Lexicon.  Possibly because enough time has passed along with the fact that she was acquitted but presumed guilty by many.  Seventeenth century misogyny also plays a roll in my opinion (if the prime suspect was named Lester, history would have written this differently).  It is so much a part of American history that there is a school yard rhyme we all may have known at one time:
Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one.

The owners have gone to great lengths to furnish the house with period articles including furniture and decoration.  Part of the charm of the tour was just the recreation of Victorian style.  Carol was obviously passionate about the subject and also plays the role of Lizzie in the annual recreations.
Below is an attempt to recreate the antique crime scene photos - or at least the locations.  It shows how the decor comes reasonably close to what the house looked like in 1892.

Andrew Borden.

Abby Borden

With the tour completed, we headed north.  After a short but delicious lunch at the Stone Forge Tavern we went around the city of Boston and into New Hampshire for a few miles, then into Maine.  One state left!
Just into Maine, we stopped in Kittery for the night.

After lounging at the hotel for a while, we headed out again and went to Badger Island, right in between New Hampshire and Maine.  We ate at a restaurant called Weathervane (Lobsters in the Rough) out on the pier overlooking the harbor/sound.  Since it was my first time in Maine, I had to have the Lobster for dinner.
After filling up myself, I filled the bike with fuel on the way back to the hotel and picked up an authentic Whoopie Pie to finish off the day.