My wife and younger son and I recently took a trip to the northeastern United States. Our son planned the whole trip and drove the whole way (over 5,000 miles). It was a great trip. I call it The Great Northeastern Tour.
We saw and passed through farmland, forests, mountains, towns and cities, historical landmarks, engineering accomplishments and natural wonders.
We passed through 15 states (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Michigan) and two Canadian provinces (Quebec and Ontario).
We crossed famous North American rivers: the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Hudson, the St. Lawrence.
We saw 8 state capitol buildings at Columbus, Ohio; Albany, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; Boston, Massachusetts; Concord, New Hampshire; Montpelier, Vermont; and Augusta, Maine.
We visited Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers join to form the Ohio River. Downtown Pittsburgh is located in the triangle formed by the three rivers.
During the French and Indian War (1754-1763) the British and American colonists built Fort Pitt at this strategic location and the city of Pittsburg grew up around it.
Fort Pitt was re-activated during the American War of Independence (1775-1783). My great-great-great-great-grandfather, Anthony Dunlevy, served at Fort Pitt as part of the Pennsylvania militia. On our trip we visited the site of Fort Pitt. Here’s a photo of the Ft. Pitt Museum, on the site of the fort where my ancestor served:
We visited Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the Pilgrims landed in 1620. We were able to board a seaworthy replica of the Mayflower and visit a reconstruction of the first street in Plymouth as it was in the 1620s:
We visited Boston, Massachusetts and followed the two and a half mile Freedom Trail, a good way to see the sights. It ends at the U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides).
Here’s Massachusetts Hall, oldest building at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was John Adams’ dormitory:
This house in Cambridge was for a time George Washington’s headquarters and later the home of great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
We crossed through the Cornish-Windsor Bridge, constructed in 1866. It’s a 460-foot covered bridge crossing the Connecticut River between New Hampshire and Vermont. A sign on the N.H. entrance reads “Walk Your Horses or Pay Two Dollars Fine.”
In Vermont we visited Plymouth Notch, home of Calvin Coolidge, who was president from 1923 to 1929.
Coolidge’s parents were both from there, Calvin was born there, and was actually sworn in as president there. Vice-President Coolidge was visiting his father when informed that President Harding had died, making him the president. So his father John, a notary public, swore him in as president in 1923 in the living room. We were able to visit that living room:
Our son drove us to the top of Mt. Washington, New Hampshire, the tallest mountain in the Northeast U.S. Its summit is 6288 feet above sea level . It’s an 8-mile drive from base to summit, ascending 4600 feet. The temperature dropped twenty degrees Fahrenheit (67° to 47°) from the base to the summit. As you ascend. the trees become stunted and eventually disappear after you are above the tree line. When we reached the summit there wasn’t much visibility but it’s said that on some days you can see the Atlantic Ocean.
Lilia wanted to visit a town like the fictional Cabot Cove, Maine, in the TV series “Murder, She Wrote”. When we stopped in Belfast on Maine’s Penobscot Bay, Lilia said “This is Cabot Cove”. At an outdoor bayside restaurant in Belfast, a waitress taught us how to properly eat lobster and then we ate lobster.
Also in Maine we visited Acadia National Park (located on Mount Desert Island). From atop Cadillac Mountain (named for a French explorer, not the car) we could see the Atlantic Ocean.
From Maine we entered Canada, where we passed through two provinces: French-speaking Quebec and English-speaking Ontario. In the former we visited Quebec City and Montreal, in the latter Ottawa and Toronto. We also saw a lot of nice countryside and the St. Lawrence River.
Quebec City has been called the most beautiful city in North America. The old part of the city looks like Old France and there’s a spectacular view of the St. Lawrence River.
In Ottawa, the capital of Canada, we saw the Parliament Building but couldn’t go in, as it is being fixed up.
In Toronto we couldn’t pass up ascending the CN Tower, which affords views of the city and Lake Ontario.
We went to Niagara Falls, on the U.S.-Canadian border, viewing them from the Canadian side.
We crossed back into the United States from Windsor, Ontario which crosses the Detroit River (the border) to Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. When you go from Windsor to Detroit you’re actually going northwest to enter the United States. There is some great old architecture in downtown Detroit.
In Dearborn, Michigan we visited the Henry Ford American Innovation Center.
Here’s a 1909 Ford Model T in that museum:
In Ohio we stopped at a monument commemorating the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. In this battle, the U.S. Army under General Mad Anthony Wayne defeated a coalition of Indian tribes. My great-great-great grandfather Daniel Dunlavy was in that battle.
Passing through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio on both the outbound and return trips, I saw lots of corn in those states. It’s part of the Corn Belt, which has some of the most fertile land in the world. Here’s a photo of an Indiana cornfield. Farmers feed the world!
It was a great trip – the Great Northeastern Tour.
-Article by Allan Wall, September 6th, 2025
Tags: Atlantic Ocean, Battle of Fallen Timbers, Belfast in Maine, Boston, Calvin Coolidge, Canada, Connecticut, Corn Belt, Detroit, Fort Pitt, French and Indian War, George Washington, Harvard University, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Illinois, Indiana, John Adams, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Mt. Cadillac, Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York State, Niagara Falls, Ohio, Ontario, Ottawa capital of Canada, Pennsylvania, Penobscot Bay, Pittsburgh, Plymouth Colony, Quebec, Quebec City, Rhode Island, Toronto, Vermont, War of Independence, West Virginia