Colors!

Breakfast View

Another Breakfast View

As usual, I was up early and out to the common room of the Inn by 5:00 AM.  It was so peaceful and  beautiful, watching the sun come up.  About 6:30 I began smelling wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen…the anticipation was building!  Finally, at 8 A.M. we got to have that wonderful second “B” of “B&B”.  Yes, I’m talking about breakfast.  This morning was homemade granola, cream, link sausage, and blueberry pancakes with pure Vermont maple syrup from the Maple House just down the road.  Mmmmmm!!!!

A little information on the Cornwall Orchard B&B.  The innkeepers are Ann and Robert, she’s from Turbridge, Kent, England.  He’s a recovering attorney.  The inn is about 1 mile from the nearest town, Cornwall, population 1136.  The inn has five guest rooms, and no TVs (nor did the Harpswell Inn.)  Last night the other four rooms were occupied by members of the same family, here to meet for a reunion.  Tonight, we’re the only guests.

Mona on the Ramparts

After breakfast, we took a ferry across Lake Champlain to visit Fort Ticonderoga in New York.  This fort is called “America’s Fort” because of its role in the Revolutionary War.  Back in 1875, in the early days of the Revolution, the Americans had no cannons as the British did not allow colonials to have them.  Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had served in the general area of Fort Ticonderoga and knew that it was defended only by a small detachment of garrison troops.  They came up with the idea of taking the fort to capture its cannons.  Allen marched from Vermont with about 250 of his Green Mountain Boys while Benedict Arnold came from Massachusetts with his butler.  Allen and the Green Mountain Boys easily took the fort and later Henry Knox (think of Ft. Knox) moved those guns to Boston to drive the British away and free Boston in 1776.  I could tell you more, but you’ll have to ask for it!

Today, we accomplished one of the goals we set for 2012.  Today we found a cache in New York State making the last find in our quest to find geocaches in the 48 contiguous states this year.  Woo hoo!  We will be writing up more about this cache and many others in our geocaching blog when we get home.

It had rained pretty steadily throughout the morning and the forecast for the afternoon looked the same.  We didn't want to be outdoors much so we decided to drive where the fall colors were supposed to be the brightest….the Adirondacks in upstate New York.  Off we went!

The drive through the forest was amazing!  At one point, Mona said, “My eyes are overwhelmed….I feel like I’m seeing a symphony for sight!”  The mountains were definitely in their glory, full of oranges, reds, yellow and every variation thereof.  We were constantly stopping the car to get out to view colors, mountain streams or unexpected crashing waterfalls.  I wish I had better words to share the beauty….hopefully a picture or two will help tell the story.

All too soon the daylight faded and our day of color ended.  We had a wonderful dinner at a pub in Shoreham and drove back through the rain to our warm B&B.  Time for sleep!

VT.

Having dined on our last delicious breakfast at the Harpswell Inn and after receiving hugs from Ann, it was time to move on to our next destination.  (Note: I can’t recall ever having received hugs from any other innkeeper or hotel manager before!) 

It was raining when we left and it rained throughout the six hour drive down along the coast of Maine, across New Hampshire and across Vermont.  Even so, we got to see some incredible fall colors, especially as we drove across the Green Mountains.  Mona was driving and I kept having her stop so I could take yet another picture…and another….and another. 

Otter Creek Falls

Newhart's Inn

Along the way we passed through East Middlebury, Vermont, near our Inn.  There in East Middlebury is another B&B that’s just a little more famous than ours.  Recognize it?  It’s the B&B used for the outside shots of the Bob Newhart Show!  Another recognizable spot that’s nearby are the Otter Creek Falls which are beneath Main Street, Middlebury.  These falls were used in the movie Me, Myself and Irene.

Our B&B is the Cornwall Orchards Bed and Breakfast.  It’s a restored farmhouse built in 1783 and situated on 14 acres of orchards.  Juliet, the Innkeeper, told us we could wander through the orchard and pick whatever we wanted.  Our room here isn’t as lavish as Harpswell, but Mona’s feet can reach the floor from the bed.  (Wish we had a pic of her standing next to that bed!)

William's Sugar House

A few miles past the Inn is a Maple Syrup House, called the Williams Farm.  We stopped by and met a man and his wife who appeared to be in their eighties and both had been farming maple syrup for most of their lives.  They told us how the trees are tapped and how the sap is boiled down to the syrup.  The husband showed us a picture of him as a young boy, with a wagon of syrup being pulled by a team of oxen.  He’s been in the business a long long time!

We found a nice place in Middlebury for dinner.  You wouldn’t believe the huge stuffed mooseheads they had adorning the walls.  Huge!

Our B&B 

This really is a quaint area…feels like we’re in England.  Lots of English named towns such as:  Corwall, Essex, and Underhill.  And, Middlebury is the shiretown.  Not to mention, we’re just a few miles from the Northeast Kingdom.  Most of the people here have a slight English accent, with a hint of French.  After all, we’re just 85 miles from French Quebec.

Now,  to settle in for the evening.  Like the other B&B, this one does not use locks for the inside, nor the outside doors.  I could get used to this….NOT!  Give me a couple of deadbolts and a cylinder lock and I can sleep like a rock!  Oh well, will have to tough it out here in the wilds of Vermont.

More ME!

We had planned to go looking for whales today, but a front came in and the resulting rain caused our boat trip to be cancelled.  We took this as an opportunity to further explore the Harpswell peninsulas and islands.

Revolutionary War Vet

First up was a little geocaching…have to keep our streak going!  Our first cache site was in a nearby cemetery.  We found the cache quickly and then started looking around.  The cemetery was enclosed with a wall of stacked stones so we were pretty sure it was old.  We confirmed its antiquity by finding several headstones with American flags and memorial “badges”….obviously veterans’ graves.  We’re used to seeing similar commemorations on soldiers’ graves in the Midwest.  What was different here was that these were veterans of the Revolutionary War!  There were quite a few of these markers.

Zoom In On the Head!

Also nearby, were several headstones  dating back to the 1760’s with strange carvings on them….reminiscent of an earlier city we had visited….Roswell, NM!  See for yourself.  Note, these people were buried as English citizens!  

Next up was a hike through the mountains to a cliff overlooking the bay.  The trail lead through dense pine forest.  At the trail head was a sign about the hunting regulations in effect….moose and bear, no squirrel, were listed.  Damn, why did we leave the bear bells in the car?

Deep into the forest we came upon this sign about Fairy Houses.  What??!?!?!  Just beyond the sign we started seeing these strange dwellings, none more than a foot high.  We took pictures of about 20 of them, but easily missed another 50.  

A little after the Fairy Houses we finally reached our objective…the cliffs over the bay.  We took a few minutes to enjoy the view, find a cache, and then started back.  By this time it was raining pretty good, but luckily the dense forest kept us fairly dry.

We returned to the Inn to change into dry clothes and to visit the lobster dock to talk to Albert again.  He reminded us of another trail that led to The Giant’s Stairs so off we went.  The trail to The Giant’s Stairs was much easier, but it was along the coast with no protection from the rain that was pelting down.  We made it to the steps and then headed back to the car and back to the Inn for more dry clothes.

We visited with Ann, the innkeeper, for a while and worked on a puzzle with her.  It might sound boring, but actually it was so pleasant….sharing stories, watching the rain come down on the bay…and just being warm and comfortable.  It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon in Maine. 

At The Giant's Stairs

We had dinner again at Cook’s….more seafood of course.  I would hate to count the number of lobsters, crabs, clams, mussels and oysters that gave their lives for us here on the eastern shore.  Sad for them, but damn scrumptious for us!

We’re leaving Maine tomorrow….hate to leave, but Vermont awaits!  But of course, we’ll have to have another breakfast by Richard before we leave!!!

View From the Cliff Trail

(For the record....we've just climbed up into our bed.  Mona's got the latest episode of Boardwalk Empire on her MacAir.  I'm typing this blog on my laptop and using a flashlight to see the keys...gotta love life in the fast lane!)

Lighthouses and Sunset

Breakfast Room

I was up early, but the innkeeper, Ann, was up earlier with a full pot of coffee ready to go.  I sat outside on the veranda with my coffee, smelling the fresh sea breeze and watched the day awake. The morning views included lobster boats heading out and kids and their dogs walking the long road to their school bus stop.  Mona had a pretty good morning, too. ..she didn’t fall out of bed.  For her, that was quite an accomplishment as the bed is seemingly taller than she is!

Breakfast was served beginning at 8:00 AM and ending at 9:00.  That made it a bit of a challenge for Mona, but she literally rose to the occasion showing up bright and early, ready for her cranberry muffins, poached eggs and sausage.  Totally yum!



Portland Head Light

Today was lighthouse day.  We visited six lighthouses and got to go to the top of one, the Pemaquid Lighthouse near Boothbay.  Amazing stories go with each lighthouse;  The Portland Light Head was commissioned by George Washington, the Pemaquid is on the Maine quarter…..etc….etc.  Many of them have tragic shipwrecks associated with them, with many lives lost in spite of the precautions of the lighthouses.

In between lighthouses we came to the Inn to visit the lobster dock just below.  There we visited with Albert who runs the dock.  He showed us how to sort lobsters, crabs and clams and told us a lot about the lobster industry.  We learned a lot about how the lobster that cost $3.99 turns into a $36 lobster in Central Illinois.

After our last lighthouse we came back to the Inn yet again to watch the sunset from the Adirondack chairs in the yard.  So much beauty! (The sunset, not the chairs.) We took way too many pictures and can’t choose from them so we’ve included a few of our favorites below.  We then walked down to the lobster dock again and took a few more pics.  Getting to be a bad habit!

At the top of Pemaquid Lighthouse

We had dinner at Cooks.  Hard to believe, but this may have topped our list of great meals for the trip.  We hope to go back again tomorrow to verify!

As we were leaving the restaurant Mona asked me what time it was.  I replied, “8:30.”  “Damn!” She said, “Less than twelve hours of sleeping before breakfast!”  Such is life at the Harpswell Inn!

(BTW, did I mention that not only do you not lock your room door, they also don’t lock the front doors of the Inn at night?!?) 

Going up the lighthouse

Lighthouse light

ME!

We started our morning by driving over to the House of Seven Gables.  It’s a wood frame house that sits right beside the shore.  And, yes it does have 7 gables.  I counted.  Interestingly, when Nathanial Hawthorne wrote his book the house had only 3 gables.  That’s because the owners had modified it to eliminate 4 of them.  After the book because famous the house was again modified to restore the original number of gables.

Vermont

Maine

Soon we were on the road again and within twenty minutes we were in New Hampshire.  It’s quite apparent that drinking is a big deal for New Hamshirians because when there is a liquor store at an exit there are huge highway signs, government signs mind you, that give you ample warning about the proximity of the liquor store.  Usually there are at least two or three signs for each liquor store.  Contrast that with Maine where one of the first signs we saw told us about how snacks aren’t meals!

We didn't even ask!

Our original thought was to spend a few days in Kennebunkport.  However, when talking with a Visitor Center guide she suggested going a little farther and trying the rocky peninsulas between Brunswick and Boothbay Harbor.  We took her advice and while driving north I talked to several  B&Bs, trying to find one that was a good fit for us.  (Actually, Mona was driving….I was doing a poor job of navigating while researching.)  We finally landed on an inn near the town of Harpswell, Maine. 

The Harpswell Inn

As we entered the inn we were greeted by Bob Newhart….no, not actually, but geeze there is a striking resemblance!  (I could have sworn I heard the Bob Newhart theme song playing softly in the background!)  Bob…er Richard, showed us around the Inn.  There’s a great room with a large fireplace and a baby grand piano.  Adjoining that is a large kitchen with a fridge with soft drinks and ice water…next to which is the never-empty cookie jar.  Chocolate chip today!  Our room is the Lilac Room, upstairs.  The room has a large four-poster bed, a small fireplace and has ample room for the love seat and matching chair; both upholstered with lilacs of course.  And yes, we do have a private bath…complete with a clawfoot tub.

After getting settled in we walked a couple of hundred yards down to the shore.  There’s a lobster dock there where fishermen bring in their catch.  Not much action there today, so we’ll head back tomorrow.  Then we decided to take a drive and get oriented.  The town of Harpswell is located on two rocky peninsulas and several islands.  We decided to drive all the way down the other peninsula to Land’s End to see the sights.  One of the sights is a unique bridge…actually the only one like it in the world.

The Cribstone Bridge

Here's what is holding
up that bridge!

The Bailey Island Bridge, more commonly known as the Cribstone Bridge, is built upon blocks of granite laid in a crosshatch pattern.  Think of a Jenga stack with the middle blocks omitted.  It’s totally amazing to see that an 1150 foot bridge is built on blocks of stone with no mortar, no pilings, no nothing!  Just blocks piled on one another.  Even more amazing, and scary, is how they leveled the big blocks with little chunks of stone!  I’ve seen it, but I’m still not sure I believe it!

Puzzling at The Inn

Lunch was lobster at a lobster shack….wow!  Dinner was lobster at a nicer restaurant…wow!  Not sure how much more wow I can handle, but I’m willing to do my part to help out the local fishermen!

Two more things about the Inn.  1.  Every room has a flashlight because power outages are common out here.  2.  You don’t lock your room door when you leave…only when you’re in the room.  !?!?!  3.  The floors appear to have the planking from the original 1761 construction…and they are a little creaky.  I’m hoping that will give us ample warning of any ghosts!

MA.

We started out from Mystic around 9:00am and got on I-95 headed for Salem, Massachusetts.  We quickly exited Connecticut and entered Rhode Island.  Rhode Island zipped by and in seemingly no time we were approaching Providence.  Mona was navigator and while looking at the maps she noticed that Plymouth was only about an hour out of our way.  We decided that we’d probably never be any closer to Plymouth Rock so we did a little rerouting and headed to the coast.

Plymouth Rock Ravillion

Mona and the Mayflower

Plymouth is a quaint little town right on the coast.  It didn’t take us long to find a parking spot about 500 feet from “the rock”.  Plymouth Rock is about 6 feet by 4 feet, set under a little pavilion of columns.  Not a lot to it, but it’s pretty cool to see the rock we’ve heard about all our lives.  A little to the north of the rock is a replica of the Mayflower which we toured.  Amazing that 102 people lived on this tiny boat for 9 weeks.  Afterwards, we did the walking tour of Plymouth….seeing the memorial park, the grist mill and several old homes.

Witches Literally Everywhere!

Now we headed north on Route 3 and then on I-93 through downtown Boston.  Loved the tunnel!  (Well, at least I did…Mona was driving and her story might be a little different.)

Salem was our destination and we quickly checked into the hotel and began our walking tour.  This city is typical of the other seaports we’ve seen, but with a decidedly different twist.  Witches. Witches.  Witches. Everywhere you look you see witchy things…signs, shops, museums…all about witches.  We walked through much of the downtown area, visiting a couple of witch shops and two museums.  We learned how the witch frenzy was widespread throughout New England back in 1692 …over 150 arrested for witchcraft.  Twenty humans were executed, all in Salem, and three dogs were tortured and executed as familiars.

 

At 8 PM we joined the Ghost Tour of Salem.  Our guide walked us through the dark streets to points of interest including cemeteries and homes where murders had occurred.  There was also a stop at a church where they had built an addition to the church on top of a cemetery.  They took the headstones and incorporated them into the interior masonry of the church walls.  The tour ended up with a visit to the home where Captain John White was murdered in 1830.  This murder story and the home served as the basis for the game of Clue and the lead pipe and the knife were actually the murder weapons!

The Home that Inspired Clue

We took lots of pictures on the tour, hoping to catch an orb or apparition…..no such luck!  However, many people have seen such things on their tours and some of their pictures are posted on the Ghost Tours site.  Feel free to check them out:  http://www.salemghosttours.com/apps/photos/

Salem is interesting,(and it's amazing how bloodthirsty the early colonists were) but it’s time to move on.  Maine is our next destination…..just not sure where in Maine.  We’ll find out tomorrow! 

Heading to CT.

Dunes along the Boardwalk.

We started the morning just sitting and watching the waves roll in.  Great way to begin our day!  Need more days where that begin with watching the tide come in!  Then we walked the boardwalk doing a little shopping and ending up at the Apple Store.  They were out of AT&T iPhones so we decided it was time to move on.  Maybe we'll find an iPhone somewhere further down the line.

Driving through New Jersey was interesting to say the least.  There was a lot of construction on the turnpike and lots of areas with 45 mph speed limits.  What made it interesting was that no one drove slower than 70!  We were booking the entire time!   We finally slowed down as we approached Manhattan, crossing on the George Washington Bridge.  What an awesome bridge!!!  Traffic got a little tight through Manhattan, but finally opened up as we left the Bronx.

On the George Washington Bridge

Speaking of the Bronx…we wanted to get our New York cache near New Rochelle…just past the Bronx.  We looked for three different caches with no luck.  We finally gave up and got back on I-95 and headed to Connecticut.  Never had that happen before!  (We’ll be back in New York next week so we’ll get a cache then.)

Mystic Evening

We ended up in Mystic, Connecticut.  Beautiful little town…lots of old houses and boats everywhere.  We plan to explore more tomorrow.   (Yes, this is the home of Mystic Pizza!)

We had dinner at the Oyster Club.  They had several varieties of oysters, all local.  I’ve never seen a menu like that so I asked the waitress about the difference between the oysters.  She explained that some are briny/salty; some are sweet and some even taste fruity.  Our choices were the briny local oysters and the sweet Rhode Islands.  It was amazing how different the two types tasted.  OMG…they were soooo good….especially the sweeter Rhode Islands.  I never knew oysters could taste so good!  I’m ready for more!

Now, we’re trying to adjust to our hotel room.  Last night we stayed in a $4000 suite and tonight we’re in an $80 Quality Inn room.  No gold faucets nor an in-room sauna tonight, but the TV works and the toilet flushes so all is good!

A.C.

We started our day just relaxing…sharing stories about Tuscola, pileated woodpeckers and calving glaciers…you know, the normal stuff.    All too soon it was time to move on.

At Obama's Table

Our first stop of the day was Ben’s Chili Bowl.  This place is really just a hole-in-the-wall chili joint, but is famous for its chili and half smokes.  It’s frequented by Bill Cosby, Barak Obama, Russell Crowe and George Bush.  (George W even helped paint the mural on the side of the joint!)  We all tried the chili dogs and they were OMG Wow!  No wonder this place is famous!  Ben’s Chili Bowl is a definite do-over for us!

After saying our good-byes to Margaret and Pete we headed northeast through the D.C. traffic.  Even though it was Sunday, the D.C. streets were jammed.  Traffic settled down once we were on the Beltway, but then about 30 minutes north of Baltimore things came to a complete stop; apparently, there was a bad accident on the bridge just ahead of us.  We parked our car with thousands of others and watched as emergency vehicles passed us on the left and right shoulders and then as helicopters landed ahead of us.  We sat there for about 90 minutes.  Finally, traffic began moving again…but the oddest thing was, we saw nothing…no crashed vehicles, no emergency vehicles…nothing.  All had been cleared away before traffic was allowed to move!

I 95...stopped and making new friends.

Our target destination for tonight was Atlantic City.  Mona had been there with a girlfriend years ago and she was certain I’d like the city…and, besides, she wanted to look for Jimmy.  While I drove, Mona researched hotels.  She was reading the reviews to me and our sleep night wasn’t looking good as the best she could find was an Econo Lodge for $75.  This hotel’s only drawback was the constant coming and going of prostitutes at 3 AM and their arguing in the hallways.  Something to look forward to! 

Suddenly, Mona shouted, “Oh, oh…I’ve got our hotel!”  She found a deal on Orbitz where we could stay at the Trump Plaza Hotel for $50.  This sounded too good to be true, but she booked it anyway…even though we were sure there must be a catch.  (Would you walk away from a fool and his money?) 

We got to the hotel and kept waiting for the catch.  We self-parked for $5 and then walked through the opulent casino and lobby to the front desk.  Sure enough, they didn’t have our reservations.  But after 5 minutes they found them and we were in!  We got to our ocean-view room and finally found the catch…the room wasn’t clean and the bedsheets hadn’t been changed.  Ugh!  We called the front desk and told them about the situation.  They said to come back down and they’d make it right.  Make it right?!?!  We ended up in an ocean-front suite…huge living room, huge bedroom, both with ocean views…two baths with Jacuzzi tubs...probably the best hotel room we’ve ever had! 

From our room...the Jersey Shore!

We dropped off our bags and headed to the Boardwalk just outside our hotel.  We strolled up and down the Boardwalk, enjoying the sea breeze and the sights and sounds.  I like this place better than Vegas because the ocean is just steps away.  Simply beautiful!

We finished our evening with a prix fix dinner at Evo’s and then winning a few dollars from the Donald at his casino.  Finally, we had a drink in our living room and watched the waves rolling in again.  Ahh….retirement!!!