Hartford, CT to Jeffersonville, VT
Arrived in the late evening. The plane's descent into Hartford in the wind and rain was extremely bumpy - horribly scary for me, nauseating for the woman next to me. I could have sworn the plane was hit by lightning (which I've heard happens often and is completely prepared for, so not really something to worry about) several times on the cloudy way down. But once we landed, all was fine.
I got a black four-door Corolla from Enterprise and, had I realized that Motel 6 was literally across the street, could have saved myself a bit of cash by picking up the car the next morning, but oh well. No problems with the cheapest motel in the BDL airport area (according to a cursory Google Maps search.) Though the guy at the nearby 7-11, who was apparently trying to sell me the breakfast sandwich I decided against due to lack of refrigeration, told me the Motel 6 had mini fridges. Uh, no.
Oh, look, they have "Friendly's"! This is apparently a chain on the east coast, given the number that I saw during my trip. My grandma used to take me there for ice cream sundaes when I was a kid. Ah, nolstagic. Moving on...
Slept mostly fine despite very loud planes flying right overhead and a 9am wake-up call I didn't ask for. Could've been worse. After a couple bites of the crappy 7-11 breakfast sandwich (kept sorta cold by the OJ), I started my venture north in I-91 in the pouring rain.
I did not stop until I reached the exit for a town my co-worker, who grew up nearby, told me about. Windsor, VT. "The Birthplace of Vermont 1777." Wow, that's old. This was the first of many oh-my-god-how-cute Vermont towns. And my first, ahem, Covered Bridge. I stopped to get yummy chai at a cute coffee shop called "Boston Dreams" full of Red Sox pictures. The self-defined Sports Gallery & Coffee House had a very friendly Asian barista and the next person to walk in the coffee shop was a girl who went to CU. Small world. I got directions to the longest covered bridge in Vermont nearby and off I went. I drove through the bridge. Looked too long to be wooden to me, but I made it through to the other side as, apparently, everyone has since 1866. I was now in New Hampshire! Cool, three new states in one day (counting the strip of MA I drove through on the way up)! I decided to keep on going north on that side of the border (along Maxfield Parrish Highway - nifty!) until I reached my turnoff on I-89.
It kept raining as passed the Ben & Jerry's factory and came to Stowe, VT. Stowe reminded me very much of the equivalent touristy, but cute Colorado or Oregon ski towns except with foliage and white-steepled churches. More inns than houses, basically. I kept driving north and suddenly I was in a gorgeous area called "Smugglers' Notch State Park". Beautiful rocky cliffs with waterfalls surrounded by foliage-full mountains were above. The road through was a barely-two-late switchback road with fairy-like yellow trees floating on either side. Just enchanting.
Arrived in time to meet the brides, discover that red wine does not work over ice, have a fish dinner (which I'd never do in Colorado) and Maple Creme Brulee for dessert, and buy some more maple stuff and postcards at the cute general store in the much-less touristy town of Jeffersonville.
Actual signs I saw today:
The brides and company traveled to Stowe in the morning. We discovered that the UPS store is open on Saturdays, which is very helpful for your weekend program-printing needs. The hair salon, over the river and through the pedestrian-sized covered bridge was conventiently (or inconveniently) located right at a perfect photography spot for foliage+white-steepled-church. In other words: parking lot chaos. Napoleon the Pug wandrered around the shop, looking cute, and sat on the lap of the bride as she got her hair done.
At the salon and on the way back, brides hid from each other as they got all dressed up and I handed out readings to various folk and went up and down the stairs running minor errands while the photographer captured the near-panicky joy. The veil - with a dear friend - arrived at the very last minute. Then finally, the moment arrived, and a gorgeous, sweet, and very special-feeling wedding ceremony commenced under a sunny sky with the colorful-tree-filled mountains in the distance. Afterward, I moved cars around, gathered bouquets, and set out favors at the restaurant a mile up (which luckily was unlocked despite not being technically open yet and which luckily had the nicest woman in the world helping me out.)
Then I returned for more group photos. (There was an almost Aragorn-Arwen bridge shot, but getting down there in wedding garb + shoes was not feasible. Oh well.) Then dinner commenced: yummy sausage-mushroom hors de'vourves, four options for dinner (Prime Rib was one of the options, which trumped everything else), and Ben and Jerry's ice cream cake for dessert. Then (after I had two helpings of dessert) came the very nice speeches in the log-cabiny intimate setting.
Hanging out with the now-pajama-garbed brides, chatting, laughing, comparing pedicured toenails, hugging, and playing competitive cards was the agenda until guests went to sleep. (I prefaced sleep with a soak in the jacuzzi - I got the Jacuzzi Room and I'm going to use it! Except the jet bubble timer was not actually in reach of the tub...)
Gassed up (and yes, they had Maple Syrup at the gas station) and headed out, enjoying once again, my drive through Smugglers' Notch State Park. On the way, I heard a bit of home on the radio: E-Town! I headed toward I-93 and New Hampshire.
Thanks to some AAA Tour Book researching the previous night, I decided to turn south earlier than planned and check out Cannon Mountain Aerial Tram. I went down Franconia Notch (one of many "Notch"es in the area - I think a Notch is like a Valley?) Lots of people were about - it being a beautiful Sunday - but the line went fast. Seventy people squished onto the gondola and up it went. Way up. At the top of Cannon, there were some neat hiking trails and a 360 degree view at the top where, on a clear day, you can see Vermont, Maine, and even Canada, as well as New Hampshire. We saw a few gliders, some flying below our elevation.
I learned something at the base of the moutain - apparently, Cannon Mountain was home to a really neat natural rock feature called The Old Man of the Mountain (Wiki article here). No imagination needed - it really did look like an old man. It was such a neat symbol with so much history that the Old Man is on the New Hampshire license plate. However, sadly, the rock formation collapsed in 2003.
I bought a dual ticket (for $24) that included another feature down at the next exit off the narrow interstate through White Mountain National Forest. This one was called "The Flume." The Flume has a natural gorge within a mile-plus trail through the forest. The Flume Gorge was an awesome rock formation that I can only call a crack in the earth. A small wooden path is on one side of two dark rock walls, and the river is on the other. There's a fancy geothermal reason for the formation. But however it was made, it was nifty, and the main reason to walk through The Flume. Also full of tourists, foreigners, and other folk with cameras. Getting a shot without people in it was a challenge. Along the way were some pretty water falls and a short, rocky tunnel called the "Wolf's Den" which I managed to squeeze my hips through. Also, there were two covered bridges along the route!
That was the end of the day. The eatery closed just as I finished the walk so I ended up eating a turkey wrap from a gas station, which actually was pretty good, and I also had a banana, which I was craving after my hikes. There were no shortage of inns after The Flume, despite that we were in National Forest Land. (Or perhaps, the National Forest part ended and started around the towns? Not sure...)
