We had this trip planned for over 10 months... Funny how when you live somewhere you don't take advantage of what's around you... You think "you'll get to it sometime" "we have time" "maybe next year".. and then before you know it you're moving and you never did those things you longed to do.That is what happened to us when we lived in upstate New York for 3+ years back in the 90's. We didn't take advantage of the beautiful New England Fall Foliage.. Well all of that was about to change.
January of 2015 I started planning for our trip.... Trying to pick just the right week... Would the leaves be amazing? Would the weather cooperate? Too much driving in a day? I happen to be one who overanalyzes... But all the worry was for naught... I could not have drawn up a more perfect trip.. It was absolutely perfect.
Saturday October 10th We flew 1st Class from Denver to Boston thanks to United points. A nice perk from all of Johns sacrifice being away from home for work. Our only hiccup was when we got to the Thrifty counter to pick up our car the not so nice lady behind the counter informed us, once she looked up from her cell phone.. that "there are no cars here and we don't know when we'll have one for you... could be a couple of hours or maybe tomorrow"... Mind you.. we'd had a reservation for over 10 months... So we moved down to the National car rental car counter and they had a nice car for us... much more expensive but we were not about to let that dampen our spirits. We were about to embark on an amazing week....
Our first stop was about an hour down the road in Sturbridge, MA where we enjoyed an amazing pizza at Old Sturbridge Pizza & Restaurant. It's a little mom & pop place and the service was as good as the food.
Sunday October 11th Up bright and early for our first stop at Old Sturbridge Village.. A living history museum which we got free admission into due to John's veteran status. We were there early so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. I don't think it was worth their normal asking price of $28.00 but free made it worth while.
Our resting place for the second night was a castle I found on the internet called Castle Hill Resort & Spa. Our intriguing room was on the 3rd floor.. oh and lest I forget.. There's no elevator.. so start climbing... It was so outside the ordinary and we loved every minute of it. John had clam chowder at dinner at Killarneys and loved it.
Next morning we headed out towards St. Johnsbury.. along the way we stopped at Echo Lake for a few pics. We drove through the most darling little town, Pittsfield, VT and fell in love. Brunch found us at Park Row Cafe in Waterbury, VT right next door to where they make Green Mountain Coffee. The brunch was delicious. On the road again found us stopping at two waterfalls.. Yes.. 2 waterfalls in one day !! Warren Falls and Moss Glen Falls
Whew... as I type this I see how much we packed into this day. No wonder we slept so well at night. After the falls we stopped at Ben & Jerry's where I found one of my new favorite ice creams... "Cherry Garcia".. Where has this been
all my life?
Onward to the Cold Cider Apple Farm and yummy fried donuts before we drove through the town stopped in time known as Stowe, VT an absolutely darling town and more covered bridges.
We were having the absolute best time. No agenda... no news... no kids.. no worries.. nothing but enjoying time together and remembering exactly what we love about each other.
In St. Johnsbury we did a little exploring around town before finding a yummy dinner of nachos and beer at Bailiwicks on Mill.. right by the train-tracks.
Tuesday October 13th
Today would take us east towards Portland, ME. Our first stop was one I wanted to pop into quickly just to see what all the fuss was about... Chutters Candy Shop.... They had tons of candy... old and new and some cute novelty items. I got Breccan some cute moose socks.
I was very much looking forward to The Franconia Notch Flume and the Kancamagus Highway. The Notch was a self guided tour through amazing natural rock formations and waterfalls. There was a slight mist in the air which added to the beauty of the area. This is a definite "don't miss".
The Kancamagus Scenic Highway is a two lane road which traverses New Hampshire from west to east and is absolutely one of the most beautiful drives especially in the fall with all of the leaves changing. It's 32 miles of uninterrupted beauty with no gas stations, stores or businesses. One stop on the highway brought us the beauty of Sabbaday Falls. Wow..
Our hotel in Portland was right on the water. We strolled around the "shore" and missed by one day being able to go into the Portland Observatory. Sign on the door said "Closed for the Season." Bummer.. Oh well.. The walk along the coast was cool and foggy and the "Unpack" display added to the novelty. The Narrow Gauge Railway had some awesome sights and photo ops so we took advantage of that and had a yummy dinner of nachos, margarita and beer.
Wednesday October 14th
Heading south from Portland to Portsmouth, NH took us by some beautiful lighthouses.. which of course I felt we needed to stop at each one. The drive on Wednesday was a different kind of beautiful than the days previous. The morning started out with me "falling" in the Atlantic Ocean. At one lighthouse we stopped and I wanted to get a closer look at the rocks and lighthouse and while quickstepping backwards I tripped and took a bit of a dip in the ocean... And of course it was field trip day so plenty of high schoolers got to witness my grace. The rocks along this part of the coast looked much like petrified wood. We skirted the coast, again, doing our best to take backroads and had the most amazing fish and chips at The Chowder House in Cape Elizabeth. We continued down the coast encountering little towns like Wells and Ogunquit which looked like they would be hopping places just a few months earlier in the summer.
This is the view from our room at Wentworth by the Sea in beautiful in New Castle, NH. The island of New Castle is like a picture from a fairy book. The homes butted up right against the road and the colors of the doors were amazing. We got into Portsmouth with plenty of time to do our own walking tour. Dinner tonight found us at The Gas Light Pizza Pub where we enjoyed salad and cheesy bread.
Thursday October 15th
Welcome back to Boston.. We'd gone through 4 states... driven over 600 miles.. ate amazing food... seen some of the most beautiful sights our planet has to offer and spent time with the person I love most all in 7 days. We arrived in Boston by about 11 am and had a full day ahead.... We did our own Freedom Trail Tour... seeing The Old North Church, The site of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere's House, Faneuil Hall, had Starbucks (welcome back to civilization) and ate a slice and a cheesesteak sandwiches at Zitis... The USS Constitution was closed but we got to tour the Destroyer USS Casin Young which was very cool and I think we put about 10 miles on our feet but it was well worth it. Our last hotel was right across the street from Fenway Park so after touring what Boston had to offer we got to tour our hotel neighborhood as well. Our flight back home was early Friday morning... This trip goes down as one of the best of my lifetime. Everything was perfect and I'll cherish the memories forever.
Whew... as I type this I see how much we packed into this day. No wonder we slept so well at night. After the falls we stopped at Ben & Jerry's where I found one of my new favorite ice creams... "Cherry Garcia".. Where has this been
all my life?
We were having the absolute best time. No agenda... no news... no kids.. no worries.. nothing but enjoying time together and remembering exactly what we love about each other.
In St. Johnsbury we did a little exploring around town before finding a yummy dinner of nachos and beer at Bailiwicks on Mill.. right by the train-tracks.
Tuesday October 13th
Today would take us east towards Portland, ME. Our first stop was one I wanted to pop into quickly just to see what all the fuss was about... Chutters Candy Shop.... They had tons of candy... old and new and some cute novelty items. I got Breccan some cute moose socks.
I was very much looking forward to The Franconia Notch Flume and the Kancamagus Highway. The Notch was a self guided tour through amazing natural rock formations and waterfalls. There was a slight mist in the air which added to the beauty of the area. This is a definite "don't miss".
The Kancamagus Scenic Highway is a two lane road which traverses New Hampshire from west to east and is absolutely one of the most beautiful drives especially in the fall with all of the leaves changing. It's 32 miles of uninterrupted beauty with no gas stations, stores or businesses. One stop on the highway brought us the beauty of Sabbaday Falls. Wow..
Our hotel in Portland was right on the water. We strolled around the "shore" and missed by one day being able to go into the Portland Observatory. Sign on the door said "Closed for the Season." Bummer.. Oh well.. The walk along the coast was cool and foggy and the "Unpack" display added to the novelty. The Narrow Gauge Railway had some awesome sights and photo ops so we took advantage of that and had a yummy dinner of nachos, margarita and beer.
Wednesday October 14th
Heading south from Portland to Portsmouth, NH took us by some beautiful lighthouses.. which of course I felt we needed to stop at each one. The drive on Wednesday was a different kind of beautiful than the days previous. The morning started out with me "falling" in the Atlantic Ocean. At one lighthouse we stopped and I wanted to get a closer look at the rocks and lighthouse and while quickstepping backwards I tripped and took a bit of a dip in the ocean... And of course it was field trip day so plenty of high schoolers got to witness my grace. The rocks along this part of the coast looked much like petrified wood. We skirted the coast, again, doing our best to take backroads and had the most amazing fish and chips at The Chowder House in Cape Elizabeth. We continued down the coast encountering little towns like Wells and Ogunquit which looked like they would be hopping places just a few months earlier in the summer.
This is the view from our room at Wentworth by the Sea in beautiful in New Castle, NH. The island of New Castle is like a picture from a fairy book. The homes butted up right against the road and the colors of the doors were amazing. We got into Portsmouth with plenty of time to do our own walking tour. Dinner tonight found us at The Gas Light Pizza Pub where we enjoyed salad and cheesy bread. 
Thursday October 15th Welcome back to Boston.. We'd gone through 4 states... driven over 600 miles.. ate amazing food... seen some of the most beautiful sights our planet has to offer and spent time with the person I love most all in 7 days. We arrived in Boston by about 11 am and had a full day ahead.... We did our own Freedom Trail Tour... seeing The Old North Church, The site of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere's House, Faneuil Hall, had Starbucks (welcome back to civilization) and ate a slice and a cheesesteak sandwiches at Zitis... The USS Constitution was closed but we got to tour the Destroyer USS Casin Young which was very cool and I think we put about 10 miles on our feet but it was well worth it. Our last hotel was right across the street from Fenway Park so after touring what Boston had to offer we got to tour our hotel neighborhood as well. Our flight back home was early Friday morning... This trip goes down as one of the best of my lifetime. Everything was perfect and I'll cherish the memories forever.
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| Not just a beer |
