A busy week is behind us

August 29, 2007
Broad Brook, CT

Sorry for the gap in posting! We spent most of last week in northern New England, and web access was very spotty. Here’s a summary:

August 20-21: Riding the rails in the White Mountains
Monday, the 20th, was a travel day. We left Bangor, ME and drove a short distance on I-95 before switching to US-302 for the cross-country drive to northern New Hampshire. It was a nice day and we were able to get to our stop in Twin Mountain, NH, on schedule. Since we were only there for two nights, we didn’t deploy much and decided to do a little sightseeing before dinner. I’d wanted to go up Mount Washington for a while; I don’t know why, I just did. Since we were only a few miles away, we decided to go to the top on the Cog Railway. This is an old narrow-gauge railway that was originally built in the logging era, and it uses coal-fired steam locomotives to climb straight up the side of the mountain. There is a narrow track between the rails and the engines use a large gear (cog) to slowly grind their way up the 30+ degree slopes. And I mean s-l-o-w; it took an hour to climb the 4,000 feet. The ride was pretty rough as well, making your bum numb. We stopped at the top for ½ hour or so, and then made the descent. The views were nice, and I’m glad we put a check mark next to it.

On Tuesday, we drove south into North Conway and took a ride on the Conway Scenic Railway. This was a more traditional train environment (they use a mixture of steam and diesel locomotives), and we took the longer 5-hour ride from North Conway up through Crawford Notch and back. It was a nice ride along the Saco River, and we had lunch on the train.

Here are some photos from these two train rides:
http://picasaweb.google.com/GeorgeandGeri/RidingTheRailsInNewHampshire

August 22-23: Touring the Green Mountains
Wednesday was another travel day, although shorter than usual. We got an early start and made our way west along US-302, crossing the Connecticut River into Vermont. We stopped in Wells River for fuel and then went south on I-91 to White River Junction. After another partial deployment, we took a short ride, stopping at Quechee Gorge (nice, but not roaring like it would be in the spring), the Taftville General Store (quaint but not overly well stocked), and the 7 Barrels Brew Pub for a snack and a pint. We started with a flight of the eight beers they were pouring (I know, 8 brews from the 7 Barrel Pub doesn’t add up), and selected the two pints based on what we liked, which is a good way to do it. Geri chose the Irish-style dark ale and I had the traditional IPA, and we bought a gallon of the Irish ale to go.

On Thursday, we took a ride west along US-4, which cuts across the center of Vermont. We stopped at the Woodstock Farmer’s Market (more of a combination grocery store and deli than a real farmer’s market, but good nonetheless) for some supplies and lunch. Geri said she had the best Rueben she’s eaten in a while, and I had a good grilled chicken sandwich. We continued on US-4 over to the western edge of the state, to an area where my family spent summers (and weekends year-round for a while) in the late-60s/early-70s. It was interesting to see how some things had changed (our old place was replaced with a relatively new home) and others hadn’t (many of the homes and some of the businesses along the lake were recognizable). Of course, everything seemed to be smaller and closer together than I’d remembered it, but that’s natural. The Post Office where we had to go for General Delivery mail is still there, and the “summer church” we used to go to (it was only open in the summer, with the priest driving in from Rutland or Fair Haven, the nearest towns) is for sale (someone could do an interesting renovation). We returned via US-4, past the Killington and Pico Peak ski areas where the summer “alpine slide” season is winding up. We could see the first hints of fall color starting to appear. Usually, early color is a sign of disease, damage or infestation in individual trees, but this year’s weather could be setting things up for an early Fall.

Here are some pictures from Vermont:
http://picasaweb.google.com/GeorgeandGeri/ScenesFromAShortStopInVermont

August 24-28: Back in Connecticut for a short stay
On Friday, the 24th, we drove the quick shot down I-91 through Massachusetts to Connecticut. On Saturday, we toured a few wineries in eastern Connecticut with Pat and Al, and Mike and Lynn Bower. It was the Bower’s anniversary, so we stopped for a nice dinner at a seafood restaurant in Mystic before heading home. The wines ranged from “acceptable” to “awful”, with the better ones made from fruit imported from California (why bother?). On the other hand, some were unique at least; I can honestly say that I’ve never heard myself saying that a wine had a hint of cooked bacon flavor before! Monday was a quiet day, and the evening was spent with Al giving me and his uncle Charlie a lesson in cribbage.

We’ve spent the last couple of days catching up on laundry and some coach maintenance. I power-washed the roof yesterday and cleaned the accumulated gunk off the outside of the radiator and other cooling systems. I’ll apply Mop ‘N Glow to the roof today (it helps keep black streaks from forming on the sides) but don’t think I’ll get around to washing the exterior. Tomorrow, I need to pick up a new axle hub cover to replace one that has a small leak; hopefully, we’ll be able to install that tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow is also Alicia’s “packing day”, as she’s off to college on Friday.

We’ll be heading out first thing Friday as well, heading for Alabama with an overnight stop in southern Virginia along I-81, probably at one of the truck stops we’ve been at before.

Whew!