Steps: 4,477,874
Miles: 1880.60
Miles to Canada: 155.40
Augusta, Maine - The turrented building in the center of the picture is the Post Office building built in 1890.
Augusta is the capital of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine. The city's population is about 18,560. Located on the Kennebec River at the head of tide, it is home to the University of Maine at Augusta.
The area was first explored by members of the ill-fated Popham Colony in September 1607 who abandoned the area by early 1609.
The Popham Colony was a project of the Plymouth Company, which was one of the two competing parts of the proprietary Virginia Company that King James I set up in 1606 to raise private funds from investors in order to settle Virginia. At the time, the name "Virginia" applied to the entire northeast coast of North America from the Carolinas to Quebec in modern-day Canada.
The first ship built by the English in the New World was completed 1607/1608 and was sailed back across the Atlantic Ocean to England. The pinnace, named Virginia of Sagadahoc, was apparently quite seaworthy, and crossed the Atlantic again successfully in 1609 as part of Sir Christopher Newport's "rescue" mission to Jamestown, Virginia.
The Augusta, Maine area was first inhabited by English settlers from the Plymouth Colony (not to be confused with the Plymouth Company) in 1629 as a trading post on the Kennebec River. The settlement was known by its Indian name -- Cushnoc, meaning "head of tide."
The Plymouth Colony holds a special role in American history. Rather than being entrepreneurs like many of the settlers of Jamestown, the citizens of the Plymouth Colony were fleeing religious persecution and searching for a place to worship God as they saw fit. The social and legal systems of the colony were thus closely tied to their religious beliefs. These people, of course, were known as the Pilgrims.
The Plymouth Colony abandoned the Kennebec area in 1661.
The Kalmar Nyckel - This ship is a replica of a pinnace, constructed in about 1625, that carried Swedish settlers to establish the colony of New Sweden in 1628, an area that is now Wilmington, Delaware. It is open for tours and takes frequent cruises in the summer months.
10 comments:
Wow, Iggy....you are getting so close to the end of your adventure. Love the pic of the sailing ship.
Very interesting, Iggy.
Hey... When the virtual walker has finished exploring the US, maybe he could jump on a plane or a boat and come take a walk around the UK? :)
I was thinking the same thing AK. When you started this virtual walk Iggy, I thought what a great idea! But I also thought, there is no way! But I also knew if anyone could do it, it is you. Because of your virtual walk I have discovered so many interesting places that I would like to visit in real life.
I think you have a great idea there, Tori. Uk, the Australia, then...
It's time to do the west coast...and middle America...:-)
I DONT want your walk to stop :(
x
Oh, my poor legs. :)
I will not stop walking - and I'm working out plans on were to head next based on what all of you have suggested here and in the past.
I originally thought I would just turn around and head back to Key West, Florida and cover spots I missed on the way north but I'm now leaning toward a trip from Maine to Seattle, Washington via the Great Lakes and the Canadian border and from there, south along the west coast to Mexico, legs and feet willing.
I know the Thousand Islands, the Wooden Boat museum in Clayton NY, Niagra Falls, the House on the Rock in Wisconsin (if ChicagoLady doesn't do entry on it before I get there!), International Falls (home of the Boundary Area Canoe Base), Mount Rushmore, The Battle of the Little Bighorn—also known as Custer's Last Stand, and many other sights await me.
And of course, there might be a sprinkling of side trips too - including Carrick-on-Shannon, Ireland as well as places you might suggest.
:)
I still say ya need to do a criss cross across the country ;) Middle America would be nice to see, Im sure there's more there to see than people give it credit for. Europe would be another great destination. Oooh how about a journey to the Wonders of the World?
You have so many options, Iggy...you could keep walking for years and years!
I've really enjoyed your trip from FL to ME. Great pictures with great stories have made this a must read for all of us.
Oh, and I'll let you do House On The Rock, you'd tell the story of it much better than I ever could, lol.
Aww - you are way too modest ChicagoLady! Well, it will probably about 6 months bofore I get to it, and I'll hope you change your mind in the meantime.
:)
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