Beer, Baseball & Bridges - Wed 30th May 2007

Stayed in Bar Harbor last night. We wandered downtown and found a bar. Spent the evening sampling the local Real Ales and watching the Red Sox winning against the Indians. I still don't 'get' baseball. I suppose most Americans feel the same way about Cricket.

We visited the Acadia NP today. In the morning on top of the mountain the views were great and it was warm without a breath of wind. Later in the afternoon there were a few drops of rain so we definitely caught the best of the weather.

Continued our journey south, crossed the new Penobscot Bridge - which was impressive

www.waldohancockbridge.com

Finished the day in Belfast and found a great motel overlooking Penobscot Bay. The photo is taken from our deck.

To the Sea - Tues 29th May 2007

Today we headed East until we reached US1 near the Canadian border. Followed the US1 until we reached the Quoddy Head Light State Park. Which is allegedly the farthest East you can get and still be in the US.

We followed the US1 down the coast making the occasional detour to the shore. But in the main we still seem to be driving though trees all the time. I say it again there are LOTS of trees in the US.

On the drive down the coast we each sampled a clam chowder, and to be perfectly honest we have had much better elsewhere in the US.

We are overnighting in Bar Harbor with the plan to visit Acadia NP tomorrow.

The Old Canada Road - Mon 28th May 2007

Today we headed North from Waterville on US201 which is decribed as 'Old Canada Road' scenic by-way. Apparently it is one of the old-time trading routes from Quebec to the US.

Very quiet, isolated and scenic. We reached Jackman 14 miles from the Canadian border before turning south-east to finish up near Millinocket for the night.

During the day we took a short hike to see the Moxie Falls. On the way Jenny spotted two kinds of Trillium by the side of the trail.

After today we have decided that we are "wildernessed out" and need to get to the coast for a change of scenery. We realised that we are possibly too far North when we noticed on the map that everything to the east is Canada.

In the Backwoods - Sun 27th May 2007

Today was just driving in the wild country of North East New Hampshire and NW Maine.
From North Conway NH (which reminds us both of a smaller version of Pigeon Forge!!) we drove North on State Highway 16 to Rangely Lakes in North Maine. On the way we saw lots of Lakes, lots of Rivers, lots of Fishermen, lots of trees and one Moose just disappearing off the side of the road.
The weather has been warm but overcast today - which suits us.
Headed south east in Maine to finish up in Waterville for the night.
Much excitement when we spotted our first roadside sign for Lobster Rolls. Hopefully that will be our treat for the next few days. That and Clam Chowder.

Scaling the Heights Sat 26th May 2007

Another fine, sunny day started with a drive along the I89 to Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory outside Waterbury, VT. It being a Saturday, the factory was not in production, but we had a factory tour anyway, including free sample of Triple Caramel ice cream. Carried on through VT capital at Montpelier and took the US 302 to Barre, centre of the granite industry. Just outside Barre, there is a notable cemetery with lots of fancy granite headstones; see sample photo. www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/VTBARhopecemetery Had a great late brunch at a truck stop. Crossed over into New Hampshire, staying on the 302, eventually arriving at Mount Washington, the highest point in the US East of the Mississippi. Took a trip to the summit on the cog railway ( www.thecog.com ), 6288feet. See pictures. Continued through the White Mountains area, eventually overnighting North Conway.

Lakes to Locks Scenic Byway Fri 25th May 2007

The plan today was to take the Lakes to Locks scenic byway which follows the Hudson and then the western shore of Lake Champlain in NY. First stop was a detour to Granville to visit the Slate Valley Museum www.slatevalleymuseum.org . The slate soil heaps here are very reminiscent of North Wales. Unfortunately, it didn't open before 1-00pm so we missed that. Silly us - we had just assumed it would have opened in the morning. Never mind it was a fairly pleasant detour.

Then up Lake Champlain to Ticonderoga where the Ticoneroga Heritage Museum was open ( http://mysite.verizon.net/unclefvp/indexti.html ) In fact we were the first to sign the Visitors Book this season. The area seems to have quite a strong historical French influence. Pictured are the falls at Ticonderoga

Continued up the lakeshore to Essex, where we took the Car Ferry over to Charlotte, VT. A very pleasant 20 min. trip. Pictured is the ferry leaving Essex, VT

We are staying overnight in Burlington, VT. So now we are in New England at last.

Aother hot (upper 80's) day in the sun.

Involuntary Detour Day - Thurs 24 May 2007

Not much to report today. Decided to tour the lesser known by-ways of PA and NY.
Hence the involuntary detours comment, as we managed to get off track a couple of times.
Most of the time we seemed to be still following the Susquehanna. Big rivers in America, aren't they.
Eventually we came across the Erie canal system.
We have pulled in for the night in Glens Falls, NY just north of Saratoga Springs and near to The Hudson and associated canals.

For those at home: the weather is great. high 80's all day and not a cloud in the sky. the forecast seems to suggest that it will stay that way for aweek or so. We have really struck lucky so far weatherwise

If it's Wednesday - it must be Gettysburg

Spent about 5 hours at the site of the Battle og Gettysburg today.
First we went to the National Cemetry to visit the spot where Lincoln gave the famous address.
Then we attended half hour lecture on the battle at the Electric Map Auditorium in the vistor centre, which certainly provided the framework for the remainder of the visit.
We were glad we got there early - when we came out it seemed like every school on the East Coast (and further afield) had a coach party visiting. Bedlam and crowded loos!!
We invested in a CD for the self-guided auto-tour. Saw lots (and we mean LOTS) of memorials etc. But it was very interesting and a beautiful warm sunny day for the visit as well.

As is our usual custom on these road-trips, lunch was the Subway of the day - Turkey today.

For the last two or three hours we headed north, mainly following the Susquehanna until our overnight stop near Scranton, PA.
As I am typing this I am watching a replay of the Liverpool vs AC Milan on ESPN, and AC have just this instant scored their second. Sorry Norman :-(
Woops- Liverpool have just got one back.
Full-time 2-1.
The plan for tomorrow is to get further North and nearer the coast.

More later.

The Trip over - Tues 22nd May 2007

Up at the "crack of dawn" for the early morning flight down to Heathrow to connect with the 11.00am flight to Dulles.
A bit of a delay leaving Newcastle, otherwise the usual totally uneventful journey. Too much food and too many films.
One film I only saw half of and now want to see the whole, was "Venus" starring Peter O'Toole it looked very good.

Picked up the rental car at Dulles. They were out of Ford Taurus which we prefer, so had to settle for a Pontiac Grand Prix. Seems OK
Drove up to Gettysburg for the first night.
The plan is to tour the Battlefield tomorrow.

We hope all family and friends are well

Another road-trip coming on?

It has now been one and a half years since our last road-trip - and we are suffering severe withdrawal symptoms.
So the plan is now for a trip to the US NE States later this year.
We will keep you posted.