Maine to Vermont

  [Thursday 10 July]

We were in no particular hurry today since all we're doing is driving to Vermont. We enjoyed a leisurely morning sipping coffee and packing for the next leg of our trip: taking the scenic route 2 across northern New England.

We were on the road a little before 10:00 am. To make a long story short we pulled into our hotel in Killington, VT about 4:30 pm - not a bad drive at all.

Our plan was to eschew the interstate and drive Route 2 across Maine and New Hampshire and so we did. The drive was really pretty stress-free. I set the adaptive cruise control at 56 mph and off we went. We encountered very little traffic for much of the first several hours, and occasionally no traffic at all. The road surface was quite new and the New England scenery bucolic as we cruised along through Skowhegan, Farmington and Rumford, Maine. We stopped at at the Rumford Falls information center to enjoy the view of the falls as well as take advantage of the facilities. 

Rumford Falls Info Center

memorial to Ed Muskie born in Rumford

back in the days when public service meant something

dedicated to the founders of the Order of the Sons of Italy in America, founded in Rumford in 1915

lovely view of the falls

two guys trying their hand at fishing

who knew that Paul Bunyan and his blue ox settled in Rumford?

We zipped right along, crossing into New Hampshire a little after noon and took the opportunity to stop and grab a bite of lunch in Gorham. Although the weather for much of the trip had been simply overcast by the time we hit the mountains in the Granite State it was rainy and the temps had dropped to the low 60s. We pulled into the parking lot at the White Mountain Cafe and Bookstore where we ordered a couple of toasted paninis for lunch. The air conditioner was going full blast but the sandwiches were scrumptious.

Back on the road we enjoyed the drive passing through occasional rain showers. Soon we crossed into Vermont where, just short of St. Johnsbury, we got off of Route 2 onto I-93 which took us to I-91 south. After about 60 miles we switched over to I-89 and got off at Route 4 heading to Woodstock, a road well-traveled by us during our Vermont years. 

Traffic moved slowly through Woodstock, an experience that hasn't changed in 20 years. It wasn't long before we came to our exit for Killington Mountain and soon found our hotel for the night, the Killington Mountain Lodge.

After checking in and settling in we had a glass of wine and played a game of 8-ball on the bar pool table. Not being on our game, so to speak, it seemed we might be playing for hours. Eventually I won.

We finished our wine and headed out to get some dinner. Right down the road was a place called Yama Ramen where we sat outdoors and enjoyed the quiet evening in the mountains. We split an order of chicken rolls and a bowl of Tonkatsu ramen - washed down with a glass of Sapporro beer. Delicious!

Back to the hotel we tucked in for the night.

Tomorrow it's off to say hi to Lena and then drive to Douglas, MA and Dick and Dorothy's home.

Stay tuned!