And as we send Favourite Cousin and Cousin-in-law back home to the Oo Es Eh we’re as good as our word in sharing the story of when a Maryland town took the Michael out of the British.
A subject that King Charles noticeably decided not to drop into his banter in front of Congress in his speech up the road in Washington DC.
Too busy having a friendly dig at Donald Trump over the burning of the White House… ‘a small attempt at real estate redevelopment.’
Hands across the ocean: The family
St Michaels‘ part in the American story is heralded on the Chesapeake Bay coastline of Maryland but little known across the pond.
But the small Marylander community are rightly proud of their part in protecting the nascent nation as ‘the town that fooled the British.’ in the War of 1812.
All of which you can discover for yourself, and you should as an extension to visiting the US capital 85 miles to the west, at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
Light the lantern of freedom
America the Brave: St Michaels fights back
The story goes though that in the early morning of August 10, 1813 the citizens reportedly placed lanterns high in the trees, on ships’ mastheads, and on the roofs of buildings.
So that the enemy would be fooled into firing over the town.
And so the British Redcoats rowed their boats along the Miles River, on a dark and stormy night.
The British appeared at Parrot’s Point at 4am, where the Americans had two cannons waiting for them.
As 300 British marines marched on shore, William Dodson and the Marylanders took aim.
Shots heard around the world
Sign of the times: The proud St Michaels boast
The museum’s curators tell us that the Americans “’were able to get maybe two shots. And then they grabbed their flag and ran back to town.’
After the Americans disappeared into the mist, the British got back in their boats, and trained their cannon on St. Michaels.
But they were not successful, shooting over the town.
St Michaels, just like every small town, big city and shotgun shack across the US will celebrate Modern America’s 250th all across the year.
And the good news for us is that they’re not playing Hide and Seek with today’s British visitors.
Where you can take in views of the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, and One World Trade Centre.
The two-and-a-half-hour cruise features a chef-prepared buffet, live DJ entertainment, a fully stocked bar, and open-air rooftop decks. Prices start from £63pp.
Out on the Great Lakes
Chicago-go-go: Taking in the Second City
If that whets your appetite, and you are in some of these other great American cities, be our guests and go cruising.
On Lake Michigan, with a chef-prepared buffet on a two-and-a-half-hour cruise taking in panoramic views.
Where your three-and-a-half to four-hour adventure will give you the chance to spot Grey, Blue, Minke, and Fin Whales, along with dolphins, sea lions, and marine birds.
Expert narrators from the San Diego Natural History Museum provide live commentary. Prices start from £50pp.
And again we say Washington deserves a guided tour and so do you, and particularly this America 250 year.
Now Scotland’s World Cup opener with so-called underdogs Haiti is scary enough but we’d like to avert your eyes away from the football to Bewitching Boston and the Salem witch trials.
Because the beauty of football travel is to drink in the culture (and here it’s Sam Adams) around you when you’re there.
Which, of course, we’ve done during a working summer after uni at the coalface, and 30 years later as guests of the Bostonians.
From the cradle to the grave
Boston, of course, is front and centre this year of the 250-year celebrations, as the birthplace of the American Revolution.
It is tempting to imagine Beantown‘s story beginning in the 1770s with the Boston Tea Party but the great old city dates back to 1630.
And, of course, Boston’s hinterland has always been central to its history which is why you should enjoy the city, yes, but also get out to the hinterland.
Where back in the 17th century, and still, the spirits are still exercised.
With the train from Boston North Station to Salem taking just 35-40 minutes and costing just $20pp round trip.
Going back to Massachussetts
By hook or by crook: The Salem Witch Museum
Our Irish pals Cassidy Travel are offering a three nights in Boston and one night in Salem package for October from €1,999pps with the option of adding nights.
It’s just another staging post on the Tartan Army‘s world tour, and no doubt we’ll be coming down the road singing No Scotland, no Boston Footie Party.
We have, of course, been here before in Beantown, where Scotland’s first two games against Haiti and Morocco will be played.
With Scots early pioneers out to the American colonies.
And obviously being a Scot I got to walk this Son Of Liberty’s footsteps.
A Scot’s Swansong
James, I discovered, was quickly identified by Samuel Adams and the leaders as important to the cause.
Through his work at the mercantile house Thaxter & Son and their dealings with the sale of tea.
James, or Swannie as he was probably never known but would have been if he had been a footballer, brought his Scottish ways with him to New England.
I learned that he became a member of the St. Andrew’s Lodge of Freemasons, the Scots Charitable Society of Boston, and enlisted in the Revolutionary Army.
Ya dancer: The Boys in Blue
Where this Scottish soldier rose to the rank of colonel for the Battle of Bunker Hill.
And also held positions on the Massachusetts Board of War and Legislature.
My own time working as a busboy at Guadalaharry’s in Quincy Market and an ice cream shop in Faneuil Hall.
Stars in Stripes: Boston, cradle of the Revolution
Swannie, of course, would have been too busy fighting the English, and no doubt some Scots with the Brtitish Army, to have concerned himself with such pastimes as football.
Although it was a game, having been played back in the Old World since the 1500s with the oldest ball housed in Stirling Castle, not far from Swannie’s Fife fiefdom, from 1540.
Coming down the road: SuperMac Scott McTominay
Even if organised or Association football, from where we get the word soccer, had not taken hold in Scotland until 1873, 43 years after Swannie’s death in Paris.
Scotland’s famous Tartan Army will, of course, get a warm welcome from Bostonians.
And we will doubtless repay our hosts by supporting the Boys in Stars and Stripes when they play.
Just as Greenock native Ed McIlvenny did when he captained America to victory over England at the 1950 World Cup.
And there’s a trivia question for you and money you can take from your English friends in a bet.
America The Bountiful
In with the bricks: Your bartender
All of which trips down memory lane lead us neatly to our modern-day American friends at Brand USA.
Who hae put together a handy guide for footie fans for next summer.
Which celebrates this sports-mad city’s rich legacy.
Inside TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics.
And would-be sportscasters can sit at a replica New England Sports Network (NESN) desk, where visitors can ‘Be the Broadcaster.’
This time: Scotland’s World Cup odyssey
So you can practise: ‘And Andy Robertson makes history as the first Scot to lift the World Cup.’
For those of who will go native, of course, there is the hub of American soccer fans, The Banshee.
A 14 television sports bar across two floors where the Tartan Army will converge.
Because No Scotland, no Boston Footie Party.
The wailing Banshee
Off your rocker: Boston Airport
This is where, The Banshee, the American Outlaws (supporters of the U.S. national football team) congregate as well as fans of other major sports leagues.
And on special celebrity bartending nights, local athletes pour drinks at this mainstay Dorchester-based Irish pub.
Now what Swannie and his pals would think of the America of today we can only imagine, but we’d say pride would be their foremost emotion.
Particularly as the tournament coincides with America 250, and Brand USA is spotlighting 250 things to do.
Across the US through a themed content series.
And as with all else with transatlantic travel from these islands to the Oo Es of Eh, we always advise travelling through Ireland.
And Aer Lingus with pre-clearance where you can get a sample return flight for a week, covering both matches from £963.58.
Paul Revere has long completed his Midnight Ride and the first shots have been fired at Lexington and Concord, so we can start the USA’s 250th party early, right?
