And now the end is near...

Burlington, Vermont
Friday 24th August- Monday 27th August

I left Boston on the Friday and took a short plane journey up to the town of Burlington in Vermont.

To say the plane was ‘small’ would be an understatement.

To obtain some idea of its size, almost more people attended my failed ‘Vice City’ club night several years back than were on this actual flight.

Without wishing to sound too horrid, when a slightly large lady got on the plane and sat above the wheel, I must confess I did think that the laws of aerodynamics would be put firmly to the test.

Nevertheless we arrived safely, and that afternoon I had the opportunity to explore the incredibly laid back town centre and the nearby Lake Champlain facing the Adirondack mountain range in New York State.

In the evening I went to a nearby karaoke bar and belted out a couple of Johnny Cash ('A boy named S(t)ue') and Meatloaf numbers, and asked someone to take a picture of my efforts.

However in addition to capturing my performance for posterity, the girl also managed to delete all my photos from my previous week in Massachusetts.

Luckily I didn’t find this out until much later that evening, as firstly I’m sure it wouldn’t have been a pleasant scene if I had discovered this incident there and then, but also secondly, by some twist of fate I would in fact unbelievably manage to retrieve them from my camera when I came home.

I don’t know how I achieved this.

Maybe the ‘witches’ of Salem played their part?

On the Saturday I went to the Shelburne Museum.

An enormous collection of American artefacts ranging from utilitarian day-to-day items, to the unique and bizarre.

Initiated by the millionairess, or should that be billionairess, Electra Havemeyer Webb some sixty years ago, it was a real collector’s collection.

Amongst this eclectic collection the museum's grounds also contained a reconstructed steam train complete with railway station, a nineteenth century light house, as well as the luxury paddle ship SS Ticonderoga.

And I thought I was a terrible horder.

On the Sunday I got back to nature and went to Shelburne Farms.

Created a century ago again under the patronage of the Webb family, and designed in part by Frederick Law Olmsted, whom I believe also designed Central Park in New York.

Here I talked to the animals, walked around the grounds, and visited their famous dairy amongst other things.

Having now spent three months in a country where the environment is not always a number one priority it was nice to see the ecological outlook adopted by the farm.

JFK Airport, New York
Monday 27th August

I left Burlington early Monday morning, and was somewhat optimistic that once at JFK with time to spare before my flight home I would be able to check in my bags and then head over to Manhattan for one final hurrah.

Unfortunately this was not to prove the case, and I spent my eighty fifth and final day in North America camped at various terminal buildings.

Whilst I maybe did not get that last opportunity to visit Central Park, visit Ellis Island, or consume more cwoffee and bwagels, this did at least afford me with the window of opportunity to read the Diego Maradona biography my sister had given me some ten years previously, and which up until then I still hadn’t had time to begin on my travels.

Orpington, Kent, UK
Friday 31st August

So here I am now back at my parents’ house, adjusting to a life no longer on the road.

In a couple of weeks I will be moving to London and starting my MA in Broadcast Journalism, but I will never forget those fantastic three months I spent travelling around North America.

I hope you enjoyed my blog.

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