New England, NY/CT/RI

After we left Burlington, we had our longest day in the car at a little over 4 hours. Saratoga Springs was about at the halfway point, so I had asked a co-worker (a Saratoga resident) for a good place to stretch our legs. He recommended watching a horse race, but we didn't have that much time, so we went to his #2 rec, the Saratoga Spa State Park. But horses are definitely a theme here.

There was randomly an exhibit for James Bond's cars at the park.

And of course, the actual Springs of Saratoga. There was a path around where you could get water from a few different springs. You can tell by the rainbow of colors near the spigot that this is no ordinary water! It's mineral water, and it tasted terrible - salty and faintly metallic. Hadley and I tasted it first and told skeptical Owen that it was good. He felt so betrayed. Hence the funny faces. 😂

The spa part of the springs was pretty, but all of the doors were locked. I guess they were at the horse races. Nonetheless, we strolled around, admiring the architecture and grounds before getting back in the car.

Our hotel for the night was originally at Bear Mountain State Park, but I discovered the night before that they were closed because of park flooding, so we had a last minute change to Fishkill. Because of the half day in the car and earlier stops, we got to the hotel and walked immediately across the parking lot to a diner for dinner.

The next morning, we headed to the West Point Museum for some history and exhibits. Our resident military buff really enjoyed it, but we opted not to go through the hassle of getting passes to visit the USMA next door.

Instead, we headed on to Connecticut to our friends', the Schmids, house. We ran into some traffic on I-95, but we made it to their cozy house in time for dinner. They were nice enough to give us their kids' rooms, so that we could spread out a bit, which was a luxury after sharing a hotel room for a week. Then we all went to the local farm/creamery for some ice cream, and the kids ran around with a soccer ball. It was some much needed play time and socializing.

The following day we went to New Haven in the rain and saw some of Yale. We crossed the town green and ate a vegetarian lunch when the popular New Haven pizza joints were too busy to seat 8 for lunch. 

When it really started to pour, we went to a big furniture store that turned part of their warehouse into a crazy, multi-story zipline with lights, music, and water obstacles. It pays to know someone in the know! The kids had a blast for hours!

The next morning we moved a little slowly, but wanted to see more of the 'Gilmore Girls' village where they live. Our last stop was at their library, which was pretty amazing for a small town. Hadley was in heaven and wants to move to Connecticut.

The last state to make on the loop was Rhode Island. The question was Providence or Newport, and we chose Providence. First stop was for some yummy burgers!

A short uphill walk brought us to Brown University, where we learned that tuition costs $65k per year! It was sticky humid again, and the kids were not very interested, so we turned back pretty quickly.

We walked back to the river and saw the capitol from the car. We probably spent about 3 hours total in Rhode Island, including the drive from border to border. Now that's a tiny state. (Side note: this makes my 49th state! I think the kids are up to 37! J is somewhere in between.)

Our final stop on the New England tour was at Plymouth Rock, where it all began. Though the actual history around it is a little fuzzy, it was still fun to put a rock to a name. It has quite a nice home by the sea.

And another ship! This one is the replica of the Mayflower II. Go figure.

It was a beautiful night to stroll around Plymouth, reminisce about our New England journey, and soak in the mild summer breeze before returning to our hot Houston home.

New England, NH/VT

By the time we crossed into New Hampshire, our perfect weather had run out and it was drizzling. We drove past Mount Washington (highest mountain in the Northeast), because we couldn't even see it in the thick clouds, but we did stop for a short hike to Glen Ellis Falls in the White Mountains. 

We stopped for the night in North Conway, which is a cute little ski town in winter and stayed in the Kearsarge Inn. We ate dinner at a place called Beef'n'Ski (haha, had to try it!) and walked to Zeb's General Store. Zeb's was an adorable, two-story mountain lodge full of knickknacks, books, candies, toys, and country canned goods, like local maple syrup (yes, please!). This section of stuffed animals had a talking, animatronic moose, and two humanoid robots.

The next morning, we walked across the street to a quaint breakfast diner where Owen ordered the Waffle Charcuterie platter and scarfed it all down.

Next up was a trip down the Kancamagus Scenic Highway, which follows the Swift River as it winds its way through the White Mountain National Forest. The rain was still on and off in the morning, so we stuck pretty close to the road, but there were ample opportunities to get out and admire Mother Nature's handiwork. The river is mostly shallow and clear, tumbling over rocks in peaceful, trickling rapids and waterfalls.

There are covered bridges dotting the area, and the family gave me a hard time, but I wanted to get close and photograph at least one. Some people are really into covered bridges! Simpler times and all that. I didn't really have a good reason when Hadley asked, "why did they cover the bridge?"

Some spots were not as shallow, like this rocky gorge.

The Basin reminded me of a manmade tube ride, but it was a natural flume carved into granite by the power of water. Amazing! And just off the highway. New Hampshire sure is pretty. I would love to come back here in the fall!

After lunch, we continued into Vermont, and the rain picked up. This was the best pic I got of Montpelier and the golden domed capitol, since it was blocked off for road construction. Poor Vermont was still recovering from severe flooding that had occurred just a couple of weeks earlier, and we could see flood debris just off the road.

A little further down the road, we figured that Ben & Jerry's HQ was worth a stop, rain or not. And we were right! We all got extravagantly flavored scoops from their walk-up windows and strolled the grounds when the rain finally stopped.

Of course, the tour includes the Flavor Graveyard, which is a walk through history of flavors that have come and gone, like Neapolitan Dynamite and PB&J. Each "de-pinted" flavor is commemorated with a tombstone and clever epitaph.

Once we'd seen the sights, we finished the last 30 minutes to Burlington for our hotel a little early, and the kids finally got to go swimming! Always a highlight when on the road.

The next morning, we went to check out downtown and Lake Champlain. Cloudy skies had cleared, and Waterfront Park provided a green backdrop and walking path along the lake. We can never get enough cannons! And I'm thankful that Hadley is still excited to match her Mom!

Right off the lake, they had these awesome swings periodically to take in the view. We didn't see Champy, but it was a beautiful day on the lake.

Back in downtown, they were having the Festival of Fools, which seemed to be just general fun with all kinds of performers, acrobats, and jugglers on the street. But the heart of this little city (whose population is under 45,000) felt very walkable and charming with lots of shops and restaurants. 

Alas, this was our major car day, so we couldn't stay in Burlington forever. We got some nice pictures at the rest stop before we crossed the border into New York. On to the next!