060710 - Trams,Moose&Ice cream
July 5,2006
Mexico, Maine
With the beautiful costal area disappearing in our rearview mirror, we headed in a westerly direction to see the rest of the New England states. Our friends Barry and Maureen suggested that we stay off the interstate for a while and take a more interesting road US 2. They claimed it was a more scenic route and you know my opinion of what a scenic road is: a stretch of road that is enjoyed by everyone except the driver.
They assured me it was a good idea and so I acquiesced. You can actually take this road across the northern portion of the entire US.
The weather was the nicest it has been in weeks, with sunshine, warming temperatures and no fog or high humidity. We are heading for Conroy , New Hampshire to get a ride on an old train that winds thru the White Mountains . Route 2 is a more of a countryside highway, usually one lane each way, but in good condition and easy to drive. It goes thru lots of small towns and rural areas and we get to see a lot of old buildings, farms, and basically the real America. Of course, that means slower speeds, especially going thru towns and school area, and since we don’t want to get caught in any city fundraising speed traps, we check our speed and good driving habits regularly. Peter mans his battle station at the side window looking for police cars and pet food stores.
So far we have been lucky about the price of gasoline, not having paid more that $2.89 a gallon and often lower. We avoided higher prices in New York and Connecticut, and see prices that vary from $2.75 to $2.85. There’s a chain of gas stations called IRVING, and they seem to have reasonable prices so even though we are only ½ full, we decide to top off @ $2.77. For some reason, this particular station has an attendant pump your gas at self-serve prices. For us it is a real treat and I fully enjoyed the rare experience of shouting out “fill’er up!
Just down the road was a new Wal-Mart Super center so we decided to combine a road break for Peter with a little shopping. It was about 4 PM and we were tired, so on impulse we asked if we could spend the night in their parking lot. They actually encouraged us to. We ran our generator for a few hours for the air conditioner and Microwave oven to operate, and after dinner shut everything down, settled in with a book and fell asleep.
Getting an early start on they day, we arrived in Conway about mid-morning and got real close to the train station but couldn’t find a parking spot for the Beast. The town itself was going thru a lot of street construction and we definitely didn’t feel comfortable ducking and weaving around orange cones and machinery. A phone call to the railway station for assistance in parking didn’t get us any help, so we decided to get a good steak for lunch and find a campsite for the night.
We were determined to get some sky high view of the mountains and so we headed for a tramway that climbs over 4,000 feet in the Franconia Notch State Park of New Hampshire. It was a beautifully clear day and it got even nicer as we ascended the mountain. Peter had a hard time trying to get a look out the windows but was duly impressed when we got to the top and exited the car.
We had a view of mountain ranges from Maine to Vermont. Just spectacular. Photographs will not do it justice, but I did the best I could.
Feeling satisfied with our lofty experience, we felt comfortable leaving the state and crossed the border into Vermont at St. Jonhsbury. A lovely campsite called Moose River was our home for 3 days. The owners were charming and they had planned events for the weekend like moose racing at the lake (not real mooses), an evening blind auction and finally a bonfire at sundown ( which was about 8:45 pm.)
Our site was on a large grassy field with lots of room for Peter to roll around on and sleep.
The weather had threatened rain and thunderstorms but they never materialized and the sun was bright and hot most of the time.
Monday, July 10, 2006
The bad weather that was predicted never appeared. We were especially thankful since it is really unpleasant to unhook and stow connecting gear when it’s raining.
WE had some options on our list of things to do today – one was a visit to a maple sugar candy factory.
It sounded like fun, but when we reviewed it in our book “Things Made in America” (given to us by Pete and Rose), it described lots of stair climbing and some slippery surfaces, so we opted for our next choice.
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory Tour in Waterbury. Yeh, you would have picked it too. We got there a little before noon and the parking lot for RVs was not very crowded so we got a space close in for a very short walk, but when we returned to the Beast 2 hours later the lot was jammed so our timing was great.
The tour consisted of a movie and catwalk view of the actual factory and finally a visit to the tasting room.
Their newest flavor is called Chocolate Therapy, and it was delicious, and so was the 2nd one.
We checked out the gift shop for some things to bring home but they were really overpriced and unspectacular. In fact, it was hard to tell the difference between B&J souvenirs and those of Gateway computers. They both use black & white cow hide as their logos.
The story of how two chubby, non-achievers from Long Island, built an Ice Cream Empire is inspiring and heart warming, but eventually they sold out to a large conglomerate and now have nothing to do with the company.
Oh, before I forget, we decided to top off our gas tank at ½ full in the mountains if we see good prices and at $2.79 we did. Once again, the attendant offered to pump the gas for us. Wow – what a treat. Lets see what happens the next time when we cross state lines in to New York. “You want me to do what? Yeh – right” is the expected response.
Another surprise – my phone indicated that we are back in “Sprint Territory”, and lo and behold, my small phone that refused to take a charge is now fully functional. Go figure.
I called Sprint to get a refund for the past 3 days of total blackout and some wise ass supervisor tried to tell me I was not entitled to it because I was outside the service area. After 10 minutes of getting nowhere with MR. COMPANY MAN, I hung us on him, called Sprint again and got a service rep that was overly apologetic and issued me a $20 credit even though I only asked for $18. aIn't life grand?
Shelburne, Vermont is our home for tonight and will shove off in the morning to what sounds like some interesting places.
Till next time,
Mexico, Maine
With the beautiful costal area disappearing in our rearview mirror, we headed in a westerly direction to see the rest of the New England states. Our friends Barry and Maureen suggested that we stay off the interstate for a while and take a more interesting road US 2. They claimed it was a more scenic route and you know my opinion of what a scenic road is: a stretch of road that is enjoyed by everyone except the driver.
They assured me it was a good idea and so I acquiesced. You can actually take this road across the northern portion of the entire US.
The weather was the nicest it has been in weeks, with sunshine, warming temperatures and no fog or high humidity. We are heading for Conroy , New Hampshire to get a ride on an old train that winds thru the White Mountains . Route 2 is a more of a countryside highway, usually one lane each way, but in good condition and easy to drive. It goes thru lots of small towns and rural areas and we get to see a lot of old buildings, farms, and basically the real America. Of course, that means slower speeds, especially going thru towns and school area, and since we don’t want to get caught in any city fundraising speed traps, we check our speed and good driving habits regularly. Peter mans his battle station at the side window looking for police cars and pet food stores.
So far we have been lucky about the price of gasoline, not having paid more that $2.89 a gallon and often lower. We avoided higher prices in New York and Connecticut, and see prices that vary from $2.75 to $2.85. There’s a chain of gas stations called IRVING, and they seem to have reasonable prices so even though we are only ½ full, we decide to top off @ $2.77. For some reason, this particular station has an attendant pump your gas at self-serve prices. For us it is a real treat and I fully enjoyed the rare experience of shouting out “fill’er up!
Just down the road was a new Wal-Mart Super center so we decided to combine a road break for Peter with a little shopping. It was about 4 PM and we were tired, so on impulse we asked if we could spend the night in their parking lot. They actually encouraged us to. We ran our generator for a few hours for the air conditioner and Microwave oven to operate, and after dinner shut everything down, settled in with a book and fell asleep.
Getting an early start on they day, we arrived in Conway about mid-morning and got real close to the train station but couldn’t find a parking spot for the Beast. The town itself was going thru a lot of street construction and we definitely didn’t feel comfortable ducking and weaving around orange cones and machinery. A phone call to the railway station for assistance in parking didn’t get us any help, so we decided to get a good steak for lunch and find a campsite for the night.
We were determined to get some sky high view of the mountains and so we headed for a tramway that climbs over 4,000 feet in the Franconia Notch State Park of New Hampshire. It was a beautifully clear day and it got even nicer as we ascended the mountain. Peter had a hard time trying to get a look out the windows but was duly impressed when we got to the top and exited the car.
We had a view of mountain ranges from Maine to Vermont. Just spectacular. Photographs will not do it justice, but I did the best I could.
Feeling satisfied with our lofty experience, we felt comfortable leaving the state and crossed the border into Vermont at St. Jonhsbury. A lovely campsite called Moose River was our home for 3 days. The owners were charming and they had planned events for the weekend like moose racing at the lake (not real mooses), an evening blind auction and finally a bonfire at sundown ( which was about 8:45 pm.)
Our site was on a large grassy field with lots of room for Peter to roll around on and sleep.
The weather had threatened rain and thunderstorms but they never materialized and the sun was bright and hot most of the time.
Monday, July 10, 2006
The bad weather that was predicted never appeared. We were especially thankful since it is really unpleasant to unhook and stow connecting gear when it’s raining.
WE had some options on our list of things to do today – one was a visit to a maple sugar candy factory.
It sounded like fun, but when we reviewed it in our book “Things Made in America” (given to us by Pete and Rose), it described lots of stair climbing and some slippery surfaces, so we opted for our next choice.
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory Tour in Waterbury. Yeh, you would have picked it too. We got there a little before noon and the parking lot for RVs was not very crowded so we got a space close in for a very short walk, but when we returned to the Beast 2 hours later the lot was jammed so our timing was great.
The tour consisted of a movie and catwalk view of the actual factory and finally a visit to the tasting room.
Their newest flavor is called Chocolate Therapy, and it was delicious, and so was the 2nd one.
We checked out the gift shop for some things to bring home but they were really overpriced and unspectacular. In fact, it was hard to tell the difference between B&J souvenirs and those of Gateway computers. They both use black & white cow hide as their logos.
The story of how two chubby, non-achievers from Long Island, built an Ice Cream Empire is inspiring and heart warming, but eventually they sold out to a large conglomerate and now have nothing to do with the company.
Oh, before I forget, we decided to top off our gas tank at ½ full in the mountains if we see good prices and at $2.79 we did. Once again, the attendant offered to pump the gas for us. Wow – what a treat. Lets see what happens the next time when we cross state lines in to New York. “You want me to do what? Yeh – right” is the expected response.
Another surprise – my phone indicated that we are back in “Sprint Territory”, and lo and behold, my small phone that refused to take a charge is now fully functional. Go figure.
I called Sprint to get a refund for the past 3 days of total blackout and some wise ass supervisor tried to tell me I was not entitled to it because I was outside the service area. After 10 minutes of getting nowhere with MR. COMPANY MAN, I hung us on him, called Sprint again and got a service rep that was overly apologetic and issued me a $20 credit even though I only asked for $18. aIn't life grand?
Shelburne, Vermont is our home for tonight and will shove off in the morning to what sounds like some interesting places.
Till next time,
posted by The Highway Guys @ 7:17 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home