Loved New Hampshire, heading for the Maine coast next

The White Mountains of New Hampshire are old and therefore more rounded than the western mountains but they are no less scenic. We have had a great 5 days on scenic drives, waterfall walks, cascading stream trails, and cute little towns. We can't get over how old these villages are. Most are established in the 1700s and have picture perfect white churches with tall steeples along with wonderful old Inns. Some of the inns are huge and have been in continuous operation since the mid 18oos.

We spent one of the hot days, driving the "Kanc". The Kancamagus Highway is a national scenic byway that crosses the White Mts with lots of pull outs to take in the views and other stops to walk up to cascading waterfalls. There aren't foothills in the Whites like in the Cascades at home so even though they were only 5,000 feet or so they seems high and the views were grand.

Today was our last day and we did an UP UP UP hike to Arethusa (sp) Falls. Now tired and ready to more tomorrow. We will be in Wiscasset, Maine near Boothbay Harbour where the lobster boats dock. Lobster rolls tomorrow, oh yeah!

New Hampshire is hot hot hot

There has been a record breaking heat wave across the central plains that has moved into the NE. New Hampshire normally has sunny mild summers but the day we arrived it was 90 degrees. It cooled off to 72 degrees overnight so we ran our a/c all night for the first time ever. Today it was 94 degrees. We decided to take it a bit easy so we did a short walk through the Flume at Franconia Notch State Park in the White Mountains. Very pretty place with a gorge with 80 foot granite walls that are only about 20 feet wide in places. A stream with cascades and waterfalls runs through the gorge and it is in the trees and relatively cool and shady. Even so with the heat and humidity we were both wet dishrags by the time we were done with the short 2 miles. Fortunately, the heat is supposed to break in two days and be a more normal mid 70s. Then we can hit the bike and hiking trails again.

Vermont is a tasty place

On the way to our next stop in North Central Vermont, we made a stop at the Teddy Bear Factory to see what Nana could buy for Izzy. But our favorite stop was Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. Yummo. Took the factory tour which includes a generous sample. The gift shop was very fun and reasonably priced and I managed to find some gifts. Met some fun folks at the cute little campground in Marshfield. We were close to the capitol, Montpelier so we took a drive through the main street to see the gorgeous gold capitol dome. Montpelier is the smallest capitol city with 8000 people.


On Wednesday we headed up to the ski resort town of Stowe, which was established in 1765. They were replacing the cupola on the court house as we drove through Main Street. It was going to be a hot day so we hit the bike path first. Lovely 5.5 mile path that winds through trees and meadows, following a pretty little river. Along the path near town were several sculptures and an old covered bridge. My favorite sculpture was the 20 something, giant yellow spoons hanging on both sides of the path. Stopped at the Shed restaurant along the path and had a yummy lunch on the deck. By that time it was getting pretty warm so we stopped at the Cider Mill for a little more tasting and shopping. Bought Mimi a catnip filled blanket that she went crazy for.

Next stop was the Hope Cemetery. Why you ask, did we go see a Cemetery? It is in the town of the local granite quarry and is filled with huge, intricate headstones and crypts. Some in the shape of cars, hearts, arches, flowers, anything you can think of. And there were so many. A great place to explore but too hot to walk around too much. Back inside at the Cabot Creamery for the factory tour there. And of course more tasting. Bought some interesting tuscan spice flavored cheese. We finished the day with a short hike up to the Owl's Next which is a cute stone tower on top of Owl Mountain with views of Kettle Pond and Groton Lake along with the Green Mountains. Even with the bike ride and the hike, I think the tasting added a few pounds but boy was it fun.

Christian turns 40! and Izzy 4 months

Christian (Shannon's husband) turned 40 on July 11th. Looks pretty good doesn't he? And a picture of Izzy just because she is so darn cute!

Shelburne Museum

If you are ever in Shelburne, VT, go to the Shelburne Museum. An heiress to the Domino Sugar fortune (with a Vanderbilt as a relative too) created this museum in 1950 to preserve the historical buildings and also to show folk art from the area. It is a beautiful setting with flower gardens and huge lawns. There are over 40 buildings housing both permanent and touring exhibits. My favorites were the old buildings, especially the lighthouse from Lake Champlain, the stencil home that was built in 1810 and had three stencilled rooms that were mostly original, the rooms from the Park Avenue apartment of the founder, and the Ticonderoga steamship (on dry land) from 1909. The round barn was fun too. We spent three hours there and needed three more.

Fort Ticonderoga at the south end of Lake Champlain

The explorer Champlain discovered the area in 1609 and there has been a military installation there almost ever since. The french had the first fort. Then the British routed the french to take over the fort in the early 1700s. Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain boys surprised the British and captured the fort during one of the first battles of the Revolutionary War. They took the canons from the fort to Boston and succeeded in beating the British there. The fort changed hands a couple more times before being retired as a military base. It was then bought by the Pell family who built a home and beautiful garden on the property and spent years restoring the fort. It is still privately owned and still be restored. The setting is so lovely with a tree lined road leading in and the fort overlooking the waterway between Lake Champlain and Lake George. Another great find!

Montreal is magnifique!

We are camped about 2 hours from Montreal and figured we would never be closer so we got up early for a whirlwind day in the old city. We started with a drive through the main street of Vieux (old) Montreal and then a walk around to get our bearings. By then it was lunch time and we had a great lunch at Jardin Nelson (named for Lord Nelson whose statue is in the square). I had a savory crepe that was delish. Then we walked to the Basilique du Notre Dame and went inside to see the beautiful paintings and the amazing stained glass. Next we took a walking tour of the old town with a cute young french canadian as our guide. The tour was two hours and packed with history and cultural information. It was a beautiful day but quite warm so we headed up to Parc Mont Royal which the locals call The Mountain to see views of the city and eat a little sorbet.

The drive to Montreal is through forests in a valley between the Adirondack and Green Mountains with Lake Champlain along the east the entire way. So even the driving was a treat. Voila! (now I have used almost every french word I know so I'll quit)

Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania & Pine Creek trail

How could I forget our terrific day at the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. Lovely walk at the overlooks and around to an old forge. Then down to the bottom for a long bike ride along the Pine Creek Trail at the bottom of the canyon. A Bald Eagle even posed for a picture. Fantastic!

A day in the Green Mountains of Vermont

Today was a perfect weather day. Sunny and about 70 when we started out about 9 am. Low humidity with a high expected around 80 degrees. A light breeze kept us cool. We took the ferry over Lake Champlain to Middlebury, VT. It is an historic town with the historic and very exclusive Middlebury College. The campus is full of beautiful stone buildings and huge expanses of lawn. The historic center of town has tons of cute shops and good restaurants and Otter Creek runs through the center with paths down to it. From Middlebury we drove the scenic back roads through the Green Mountains to Ripton where the poet Robert Frost spent his summers from 1939 to 1963. We walked up a path in the woods to the old cabin where he would go to write. Nearby is a wonderful nature trail with his poems scattered along the route. It was a great place for a picnic lunch.

From there we drove to Texas Falls which is a cascading water fall with a nature trail and several viewpoints. Then on to the ritzy ski resort of Killington and Pico Mtn. Not much going on during July but the drive there was along rivers, creeks full of boulders, and always the Green Mountains above us. Spectactular. Back to the ferry for another fun crossing and a pretty drive along the New York shore of Lake Champlain. Long day but thoroughly wonderful.

New York has been a great surprise

Neither one of us expected much from New York. We thought it was just on the way from Pittsburgh (Chris & grandkids) to Acadia National Park in Maine. What a wonderful surprise it has been. The Finger Lakes area was a delightful mix of waterfalls, gorges, pastoral drives, neat old homes, wineries, and the Cornell University Campus. We stayed at Cowanesque Lake on the Pennsylvania border and has a big pretty campsite to come home to after fun days of sight seeing.

Then the Adirondacks area has really blown us away! Lake Champlain has a Lakes to Locks national scenic byway that is fun to drive. Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain have the olympic venues from the 1932 and 1980 Olympics. Wet and Wild Wednesdays is an upbeat fun demonstration of freestyle ski jumping into a swimming pool. They do amazing flips twists and other tricks, especially off the highest jump. All with an M.C. explaining what they are doing and telling corny jokes. Lots of sunshine, music, and amazing athletes. Freaky Friday highlights young skaters who create programs and perform. The little girl in the picture was so good.

There are several ferries that give you a pretty ride across Lake Champlain into Vermont. The closest one is free and has an ornate old lighthouse on the New York side. Also at Crown Point there is a state historic site where in 1759 the French has a fort and then when ownership transferred to the British, they built the largest for in North America with over 3000 soldiers. We walked around the old battlements and barracks and the views across the lake were so nice.

So glad we decided to stop and see upstate New York!

Ithaca, NY - my new favorite place

The tourism slogan is Ithaca is Gorges (lots of gorges and waterfalls) and it is. Cornell University has the most beautiful campus. Cayuga Lake and Tauhannock Falls. Robert Treman State Park and the gorge walk. All amazing!

Fun lunch at the Boat Yard courtesy of old friend, Michael (originally from Rochester) was super. Beautiful sunny and 80 degrees!!

Watkins Glen, NY - Gorge walk

Corning, NY - Museum of Glass

Titusville, PA - First Oil well in the world

Chautauqua Lake

Bemus Point/ Stowe NY Ferry has been in operation for 200 years! We rode on the second day of the 200th season.

Presque Isle State Park

Not much internet access lately so just pictures.