Headed home

After more than 30 days on the road, today we point our Prius homeward.  We got to know our new car pretty well on this trip and loved it quite a bit - except for a love/hate relationship with our in dash gps that we have named Evangeline.  She has fooled both of us on numerous occasions with her directions.

The fall colors are still around us but have grown quite a bit less visible as we move closer to home.

Loved seeing wind turbines along the way. 

We headed to Rochester where we got to see our sister-in-law, Bunny, and her daughter Amy.  Bunny had a stroke and is recovering in rehab.  We are happy to say she will be going home on Oct. 13!  She is always so upbeat and positive and it was wonderful to get to see them both.  

Today we will have our last hotel breakfast, pack up and head back to Palmyra.  Tonight will be pizza for dinner, and tomorrow Bill and I will ease back into normal living.  It's always great to have a road trip of any length and have a break from cleaning, cooking, and obligations.  We are so fortunate to like each other's company enough to be in a small space - car or hotel room - nonstop for over 30 days and still get along!  

As of this morning we have travelled almost 5000 miles.  By the time we get home we will be over that.  Our license plate game has all but 8 states found, and we'll still be on the lookout for the holdouts today on our way home.  We have listened to 3 books on CD, the last of which we will finish today.  It will be good to be home, but oh what a wonderful trip this has been!  Memories we will always cherish of places and people we got to know.  Till the next trip - Ciao.  

Sue

Smuggler's Notch and covered bridges in Vermont

Another fine morning!  The first adventure of the day was again at breakfast.  The couple next to us noticed my t-shirt from Cartagena, Columbia and asked if I had been there - yes on a cruise - oh we are going on that cruise soon and will be stopping there.  It turned out the guy was also from Virginia, Hopewell to be exact, and I know someone from Hopewell and it turns out he went to school with her!  It is indeed a small world!  Then we later ran into them in Smuggler's Notch!!  Anywho, the plan for today was to first go to one covered bridge (a haunted one!) then head up to Smuggler's Notch to hike to a waterfall.  One thing we have run into a LOT on this trip is road construction.  And once again, road construction threw a wrench in our plans.  The covered bridge was right where the road was closed for emergency culvert repair.  We tried to get to it in the morning from one direction and the afternoon from the other with no luck.  So... on to Smuggler's Notch where we saw our first covered bridge of the day!

Haha - just kidding - just a bridge over the sidewalk in Stowe.

Next we stopped at the information area and there were some interesting rocks there.

Next the hike to Bingham Falls.  It wasn't a long hike, but it was a challenge.  It was steep and sometimes over wet rocks.  This was partway down the trail.

We made it!

Bill went a bit further than I did... I wimped out at the falls.  See him out there?  A gentleman with a lovely Irish accent came by and said "are you the widow?" pointing downstream to Bill.  Yup - that's me!

The colors are coming alive here!

Next was the covered bridges that we COULD get to despite road closures!

And the second. 

Walk your horses please!

And the third.

I'm not much of a shopper, but we did want to get some Vermont Maple Syrup and HAD to get some Lake Champlain Chocolates at the chocolate store.... 

Another day is in the books.  Tomorrow we point the very dirty Prius to New York.  Bye Bye Vermont - it's been fun!

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Rockland to Montpelier Maine

We awakened to yet ANOTHER gorgeous morning.  I don't know how we got so lucky with the weather.  We headed out taking a route that would take us thru the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire on our way to Vermont.  On the way I saw a moose on I95!

We soon crossed into New Hampshire and began really seeing some color in the leaves.

I also found my first painted rock!  In case you haven't heard, kids (and adults) are painting rocks and hiding them for others to find to make them happy!  This one made me happy and I left it for another person to find.

Soon we crossed into Vermont.  I missed the welcome to Vermont sign on the road, so this was from the welcome center.

We got checked into our hotel and headed down the road 15 minutes to Waterbury to go to the Ben and Jerry's factory!  We took their interesting short tour and got our sample at the end.  Today the sample was Totally Baked.  And it was good!

Bill is much more thrilled than he looks!

After some souvenirs and a cup of ice cream each (I got the Tonight Dough and Bill got Americone Dream) we went to the flavor graveyard.

A very socially responsible company, they had lots of solar panels.

And dinner tonight will be LATE!  But it was a fun way to end our day on the road.