JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

Massachusetts Route 2 (Mohawk Trail) Since I had never been through northwestern Massachusetts, the route back to Canada followed Route 2 through the Berkshires. The scenery and hilltop views were beautiful, especially along the Mohawk Trail segment of the highway. Few cheesy tourist traps playing on the area's native heritage lined the roadside. The road's winding nature tossed my travel time estimations out the window, which was OK thanks to hotel reservations in Montreal. I stopped for a stroll in downtown North Adams and found this vintage theatre marquee. The Mohawk operated as a cinema for fifty years , then as an event venue before shutting in the early 90s. Efforts to restore the theatre have been going on for years. Once I reached Albany, I hopped onto I-87 and stayed on it most of the drive to the border. The exception was a short jaunt through Lake George to find one of the three remaining Howard Johnson restaurants (which may be down to two if the u...

The May long weekend has traditionally my time to hit the road on a long solo roadtrip to an eastern destination. This year it was Boston's turn for a visit, folded into my annual jaunt to Montreal. I had been up late/woken up early to finish off an article, so I got off to a later start than intended. My first decision was choosing a border crossing. Queenston-Lewiston was out of the question, since it always has backups and its border guards tend to be the crankiest. I headed to my usual crossing, the Rainbow Bridge, only to find it had a bit of a backup. I was resigned to a wait no matter what until a timely intervention from the 680 News traffic report, which indicated no problems at the Peace Bridge. I rarely make the trip to Fort Erie, since my western Empire State misadventures tend to start in Niagara Falls. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I left the line and drove down to the Peace Bridge. The crossing couldn't have been smoother. There was a mild backup but plent...

As mentioned previously, I never finished the tale of my spring swing through New England and Montreal. We go to day 6 on the road, as the intrepid traveller leaves Boston to head back to the Great White North. Today's tale begins a few miles north of Beantown... Wandered into Lowell. I checked the Boston guide book and discovered this was where Jack Kerouac permanently left the road. I wasn't in a hurry and there wasn't a downpour. Why not look for it? The graveyard was listed in the guide book, so I checked a map in a grocery store for directions. Found Edson Cemetery, but the office was as lively as the folks in the ground. I drove up and down the numbered streets within the graveyard, looking for any unusual adornments to the graves. All I found was a giant elk. I asked him for directions. "What are you, some pinko from Soviet Canuckistan? Go away kid, ya bodder me!" Deciding it was best not to ask him any more questions, I continued criss-crossin...