Road Trips – globalyatra

Time for another road trip… we had friends visiting from India and we wanted to do a short trip together nearby. We decided to go to the Poconos Mountains area, specifically to the scenic Jim Thorpe.

Jim Thorpe is a quaint town in the Poconos Mountains known for its narrow streets, small shops and Victorian buildings. It offers charms of a European city and is home to many adventure sports including mountain biking, white water rafting and hiking. It is also known as “Switzerland of America”.

History Lesson – Mauch Chunk was founded in 1818 Mauch Chunk (Bear Place in Lenape language). It was a coal town.. known for its Anthracite coal. In fact the entire Lehigh Valley area is known the Carbon County. The coal from the area was transported along the Lehigh River by rail and other methods. (Fun fact: the switchback gravity railroad was one of the earliest roller coaster, only it was used here to transport coal). Mauch Chunk was renamed as Jim Thorpe in 1954 after the legendary Olympic athlete ( Fun fact : Jim Thorpe never actually lived in the town. His widow negotiated a deal to bring his remain to the town and create a memorial named after him). Today, Jim Thorpe is a popular holiday destination, adventure sports and “millionaires row” (now called Broadway)

We arrived in Jim Thorpe after a 2 hour ride from our home in Central Jersey . It was a beautiful sunny, warm spring day and a perfect day to be outdoors. We immediately bought tickets for the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway train ride. This is one of the main attractions in Jim Thorpe, the train ride follows the Lehigh River and the over bridges. The train ride takes you through the Lehigh State Park and the various trails along the way. The train is powered by a diesel locomotive and has vintage Victorian coaches (they have vista dome, open air and air conditioned coaches). The out & back ride is about 70 min. We got tickets for the 3 pm ride.

After a quick lunch (home made sandwiches) just outside the train station, we had time to explore the area. We walked down to the Lehigh River behind the train station. It was a beautiful sight..the roar of the Lehigh River had calmed down to a calm flow, waves crashing against the gravel, finding its way downstream. The roar of the water gets louder on dam release days. We spent some time taking in the beauty of the scenery and clicked a bunch of pictures.

We had time to grab some soft serve ice cream before we boarded the train. We were now all set for the scenic train ride. At exactly 3 pm, the whistle blows and train rolls out of the station, past the Victorian mansions along the hillside, into the forested mountains. The train hugs the Lehigh river and trails along the river. We saw whitewater rafters & kayakers in the river and bike riders on the trails alongside. The train passes several old canal locks and small streams / waterfalls along the way. For many us who grew up in India, train rides are very nostalgic reminding us our childhood train journeys in India. There is something unique about train rides… it is in many ways a reflection of life… as Agatha Christie once said “To travel by train is to see nature and human beings, towns and churches and rivers, in fact, to see life”.

After the amazing train ride, we drove to our Airbnb. We checked into our beautiful Airbnb which was located off Broadway on Race Street. After freshening up and some chai, we went on a walk on Broadway to check out the cafes and stores. We found out that many stores / cafes are closed on Tues/ Wed. We saw some the mansions including the Asa Packer mansion and a couple of other mansions. A few of the locals told us that the town is bustling with activity Fri-Sun during offseason and is very quiet rest of the week.

After a quiet dinner, we settled down for the night. Our Airbnb was very very good and I would highly recommend this for anyone planning to visit Jim Thorpe.

Day 2 started with a search for coffee, a cappuccino or latte. Most cafes were closed, but we were able to find decent coffee at the King Coal Cafe near the train station. The cafe is inside a refurished rail car.

We checked out of the Airbnb and started our drive to Saylorsburg/ Stroudsburg area. The plan was to visit a couple of temples there before we headed home. It was a rainy day with temperatures in the 60s. Our first stop was at the Arsha Vidya Gurukulam in Saylorsburg. The Gurukulam ( school) was established in 1986 to provide an academic like environment for study of Vedanta, Advaita & Sanskrit and practice of Yoga & meditation. The campus is well spread out with lots wooded areas offering a serene and peaceful environment. It has facilities for residential programs and has a large auditorium & cafeteria.

We arrived at the Gurukulam around 11.30 am. It was still raining. We parked near the auditorium / cafeteria and made our way to the temple / prayer hall. I have fond memories of coming to this Ashram with my parents 5-6 years ago and was reliving of some those moments as we walked in the rain. There was a Vedanta class underway in the prayer hall with about 15-20 students there. We spent a few minutes there taking in spiritual vibes and after a brief prayer we were ready to head out. The folks at the Ashram invited us to join them for lunch (we were secretly planning a visit to the cafeteria anyway). We enjoyed the simple (and delicious) lunch in the cafeteria and made our way back to the car.

Our next stop was the Blue Ridge Vineyard & Winery… after we purified our souls at the ashram, we were ready for wine tasting. The Poconos region has a diverse selection of wineries and a few of them offer an expansive, scenic estate experience. The Poconos region offers (I read) offers unique conditions that allow a variety of grapes to flourish – diverse microclimates (due to the elevated and varied terrain), fertile soil and proximity to sources of other fruits that useful in making wines. The Poconos is also a major vacation destination for folks in NY, NYC, Philly metro areas making it attractive for setting up these wineries. Direct to consumes sales is the biggest source of revenue for these smaller wineries

The Blue Ridge Estate is quite expansive and well laid out with lots of outdoor seating overlooking the vineyards. On this rainy day, sitting outdoors was not really an option for us. We sat inside in their large tasting room and ordered their wine samplers. They have a pretty large collection of wines, some made from grapes grown locally and others brought from vineyards around the country. I’m not much of a wine guy (and since I was driving) settled for a lite beer. I tasted a couple of the wines.. with my “newly acquired” wine tasting skills (from the popular show on Apple TV – Drops of God), I tried to identify the other fruits and additives to the wine. I was not too successful, I must admit. Becoming a “wine sommelier” is definitely not a career option for me. They had a few food options on the menu including pizza made onsite. The staff were very friendly and welcoming.

Now it was time to drive home, it was still raining and the drive home was uneventful and easy.

Our visit to the Poconos was quite enjoyable, Jim Thorpe was clearly the highlight and the tour of the ashram was very spiritual. Lots of memories made on this short visit to the Mountains. If you have not visited the area, you should definitely add this to your list, especially Jim Thorpe (best season to visit is in the Fall).

We decided to do a summer road trip to Rhode Island… I’ve been here a couple of times but never spent enough time to discover this historic and beautiful State. They say this is a place made of surf and soul… we wanted to experience it.

Our 4.5 hour drive from New Jersey was uneventful, we did not run into much traffic along the way. After a short charging stop at an I-95 rest area, we arrived at our Airbnb home in Portsmouth.

The drive from the exit off I-95 from mainland into the island is quite slow, narrow two lane roads and slow moving traffic. We crossed the Narrangasett Bay over the Claiborne Pell Bridge (also known as the Newport Bridge) to get to Portsmouth. The Pell bridge is a suspension bridge connecting the cities of Jamestown (on Conanicut island) and Newport (on Aquidneck island). It is 400 feet tall and longer than the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

A little bit about the history and geography of Rhode Island. Rhode Island is a State which includes the mainland and several islands in the Narrangasett Bay. It is the smallest State (48 miles long and 37 miles wide) in the USA and also called the Ocean State. It is part of the New England coastline – Massachusetts to the north and east, Connecticut to the west and Atlantic Ocean to the south. Narragansett Bay is a major part of the state’s topography. There are more than 30 islands within the bay; the largest is Aquidneck majors towns include Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth. The second-largest island is Conanicut and the third is Prudence. Block Island is another island which is off the southern coast of the mainland.

The history of Rhode Island is no different from many parts of America… Native Americans lived here (in the Narrangasett Bay area) for thousands of years before English settlers began arriving. The Natives welcomed the settlers, but perished to the diseases that came with them. To state the obvious, the relationship between the New Englanders and the Indian tribes was testy and many battles were fought. Rhode Island was the first colony in America to declare Independence (two months before the US Declaration of Independence). For history buffs, there’s a lot more to read about all the battles, the civil war etc. in Wikipedia or Britannica.com. I am going to get back to our discovery of the Ocean State.

We had done some reading about things to do in Rhode Island and general plan for the 4-5 days we were going to be in town. We arrived at the Airbnb in Portsmouth around 3.30 pm. After some rest and a cup of masala chai (Wagh Bakri instant chai ), we freshened up and left for the famous Ocean Drive and the Castle Hill Inn in Newport.

It was a 20 min drive that took us through the streets of Newport to get us to Ocean Drive. The Ocean Drive is a winding road along the coastline, offering fantastic views of the ocean. The sound of the waves meeting the shore as you drive along the ocean and the breathtaking views makes it a tranquil journey. The historic Castle Hill Inn is on Ocean Drive. Like the Ocean Drive, this is also on the top 10 list of places to visit in Newport. The property was built in 1875 as a residence for a famous rich guy and was eventually converted to an Inn and a Resort. The main building (aka the Mansion) has 8 or 9 rooms or suites, I should say. The resort also has ocean facing cottages. We enquired about the rates for the suites here…found out that it is $1400 per night !! We went to the outdoor bar that overlooks the Narrangasett Bay. It is a very large sloped lawn with several Adirondack chairs facing the bay. Quite a view from here. We bought ourselves a couple of overpriced cocktails (kind of an entry fee) and found a couple of chairs to sit and enjoy the sunset. It was an amazing experience. We made an unsuccessful attempt to find the Castle Hill lighthouse and gave up. (More about the lighthouse later in the blog).

Day 2

We got off to a slow (read “lazy”) start to the day. Our first stop was Fort Adams State Park. Fort Adam is located right on the Narrangasett Bay and offers spectacular views all around. We paid to get a self guided (app guided) tour of the fort.

Gyan time… Fort Adams is part of a series of forts built along the coastline of USA during the 19th Century to defend key cities and harbors. Fort Adams (named in honor of President Adams) is one of the largest forts built in 1857 and its walls spread out over 20 acres. The massive walls are deigned for cannons to protect the Newport harbor.

Our self guided tour took us to the barracks where the 2400 soldiers lived, secret listening tunnels and up to the ramparts of the fort from where we had all-around views of the Bay and the Harbor. We had terrific weather and the setting was perfect for some amazing pictures. The tour ended, as they always do, in the gift shop. We indulged in some ice cream that we enjoyed on the picnic benches taking in the splendor of the bay.

Picture of Fort Adams (downloaded picture)

Next stop, the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF).. big question on my mind.. Why is it in Newport ? We soon found our answer to this question also. The ITHF is in downtown Newport on Bellevue Avenue and is set on a National Historic Landmark property called the Newport Casino. The Newport Casino hosted the first US National Lawn Tennis Championship in 1881 before it moved to New York in 1914. There is a museum and a few tennis courts in the facility. The museum had a 20 dollar entry fee (no free lunch) but I think it was was worth it. The museum featured the history, evolution of tennis as a game, change in equipment and profiled the many champions that we have all known over the years. The highlight for us was the feature on the two latest 2024 inductees to the HoF – Vijay Amritraj and Leader Paes (both from India). We have many memories of watching Vijay during our growing up years play in various tournaments including the Davis Cup. The memorabilia, pictures and videos made it a cool experience. The Federer hologram was a nice experience as well.

After a break in the afternoon, we headed to the famous Cliff Walk in Newport.- a 3.5 mile trail along the ocean. The north end of the trail starts at Easton’s Beach and ends in the southern tip of the island at Bailey’s Beach. We entered the Cliff Walk at the Easton’s Beach entrance and hiked a couple of miles to Forty Steps point. After a we got a few pictures, we walked back to the car and drove to Bowen’s Wharf for dinner.

Bowen’s Wharf is a totally happening place. The views of the marina were amazing. I got a couple of really nice pictures. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Diego’s – the tacos were amazing.

Day 3

Newport (RI) is famous for its mansions and visiting these mansions is on the top 10 list of things to do. We had to check this box as well. We decided to visit the Breaker’s Mansion. Some background on the Mansions in Newport – they are iconic symbols of America’s Gilded Age, a period of extreme wealth and opulence in the late 19th century. Wealthy families, such as the Vanderbilts and Astors, built these lavish “summer cottages” to escape New York City and enjoy Newport’s coastal beauty. The Breakers was built between 1893-95 by the Vanderbilts, an extremely wealthy family. It is a 70 room “cottage” built in an Italian Palazzo style architecture. There were many life size Elephant sculptures in the back lawns of the mansion. We learnt that this is part of a project called the Great Elephant Migration. The sculptures were created by a community of 200 artisans in Nilgiris in India. The sculptures are made of a weed that encroaches wildlife habitat. (the elephants are available for purchase in case anyone is interested)

After our tour of the Breakers, we headed to the Bowen’s Wharf for a scenic bay cruise on the historic Coastal Queen. Bowen’s Wharf is known as the anchor of Newport and has a history dating back to 1760. it was a perfect day to be at sea… we enjoyed the views of the various landmarks – bridges, lighthouses, yachts from the top deck of the Coastal Queen. We got to see the Castle Hill Lighthouse as well.

After a rather busy day, we decided to have a quiet evening… dinner at the Newport Wineries and Taproot Brewery. The Kolsh beer was very German and the food was quite eclectic. They even had a version of the south Indian dish Avial. We had to try it… it was very tasty but nothing quite like the original dish.

Day 4

After 3 days on Aquidneck Island, Day 4 took us to Jamestown on Conanicut Island. We drove to the Beaver Tail State Park which is located at the southern most tip of the island. The park is also home to Beaver Tail lighthouse, the third oldest in the US and still active. As we walked into the lighthouse museum we were greeted by Ellie, a volunteer at the museum. Ellie gave us a quick lesson on the history of Jamestown, the lighthouse, the hurricane of 1938 and many more things including the lens & bulbs used in the lighthouse. I asked her why there were so many lighthouses in Rhode Island (there 22 active lighthouses) and she explained that it was due to the complicated topography islands in the Narrangasett Bay. She pointed us to a chart that highlighted all the major shipwrecks in the region, mostly caused by navigational errors in the bay. Quite a fascinating gyan session… Ellie’s enthusiasm was quite endearing.

Day 4 evening was chilled out. We went to local restaurant in Portsmouth called the Sunset Cove. A quiet evening, enjoyed views of the sunset and brought home some pizza for dinner.

On Day 5 We were at a wedding at Wyndham Newport and we drove back home the next day. We had a terrific stay in Rhode Island and enjoyed the easy paced life of the Ocean State. We were thrilled that we covered 9 of the top 10 things to do in Rhode Island (we did not cover the Newport Art Museum).

Visit Rhode Island… it’s a lot of fun…. the biggest little State in the Union

Category: Road Trips

Visit to Jim Thorpe and the Poconos Mountains

Discover Rhode Island