Acadia NP - White Mountains
Friday, 29th September, 17 °C, rain, distance 274 miles

The weather forecast for this day wasn't very promising and indeed when we woke up and looked out of the window it was pouring down and you could hardly see a thing. So we had to rethink our plans for the day. It wouldn't have made any sense to spend another day at the coast in this weather and we decided that the day would be better spent tackling the 300 miles drive to the White Mountains in New Hampshire instead, which we had planned for the following day. The motel had a 72 hours cancellation policy, but they offered to charge us back the room if they were able to re-rent it. Well, considering the weather our chances weren't good, but it was a Friday night, the forecast for Saturday was much better and the hotel had a full house the night before. And anyway, if we didn't leave, we knew we would be sorry afterwards. So we decided to risk it and in the end we even got the money back!

I would have liked to go whale watching that day, or we could have visited the Schoodic Peninsula which is also part of Acadia NP, but quite a way further up the coast. We used our W-LAN connection to book another night at the Econo Lodge which we had reserved in Littleton, NH. Now they wanted $80 instead of the $63 rate we got a couple of months before. After checking out we took the time to enjoy Maine Blueberry Pancakes for breakfast at Jordan's. We left Bar Harbor at 10:30 a.m. and an hour later we reached Bangor. I wanted to see Stephen King's house, so we headed downtown and we also had a look at the giant Paul Bunyan Statue near Bass Park in the rain. The statue came to life in King's novel "It".

Then we took to the I-95 south. Beyond Lewiston/Auburn we left the Maine Turnpike toll road after almost a 2 hours drive. It was 2 p.m. and we stopped for lunch at Tim Hortons in North Windham before we continued on US 302 to North Conway. The trees were getting more and more spectacular. We were nearing peak foliage in this area and after we had crossed the border to New Hampshire, the rain finally stopped! North Conway is famous for its outlet centre, as there is no sales tax in New Hampshire, so we had a look and I found a GAP Jeans for just $15. After an hour's break we continued on our route. It was 4:30 p.m. and passing by the Bartlett Covered Bridge, the Flume Cascades and Silver Cascades in Crawford Notch it was 6 p.m. when we finally arrived in Littleton. With Fryeburg Fair close-by and peak foliage during the first week in October, this is the busiest week of the year in North Conway, meaning that hotel prices are exploding. This was the main reason why we chose to stay in Littleton. We also thought that the Econo Lodge would be a good enough middle class hotel with a fair price due to its being a bit off the main routes. However, we were to be disappointed. After some initial confusion as we had 2 reservations for 4+1 night, they checked us in for the $63 rate for all nights which was great, and amenities sounded good: 2 Queen beds, fridge, coffee maker, free W-LAN, an indoor pool and free continental breakfast. But when we saw the room we immediately returned to the reception desk. The room was right behind the stairway which even blocked the view from the window so that the room was dark and noisy. And we had checked in for 5 nights! No way would we be satisfied with this! Unfortunately only smoking rooms were still available and we didn't want that, knowing from prior experience that the smell would be bad. So we asked that they move us the next morning if possible. Back in the room we saw how dirty it was in all the corners and the carpet needed some cleaning, too. Thus we decided that we would stay the night and the following as well as it would be highly unlikely that they would be able to move us on a Saturday but go and look for another place to stay from Sunday to Tuesday. The only highlight was that there was an Applebee’s next doors. I had heard that this restaurant chain was supposed to be very good, and it was! And it was good value, too. We paid $28 including tip (and just $1.80 meal tax) for their Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl and a Fried Chicken Salad with drinks.

White Mountains (The Flume, Kancamagus Highway)
Saturday, 30th September, 14 °C, sunny, distance 165 miles

It was foggy in the morning, but it promised to be a beautiful day. We left shortly after 9 a.m. Via US 302 we headed towards Bath where 3 covered bridges can be found: one in town, next to America's Oldest General Store, one in nearby Woodsville Village (Bath-Haverhill Bridge, which wasn't really worth the detour) and one along route 112 in Swiftwater. Afterwards we drove up to Franconia, passing by the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway, then onto the I-93 south. We stopped at The Basin with several small waterfalls and at 12 p.m. we reached the Visitor Center of The Flume. Here we met Miri and Ulf once again who had just finished their tour! There's a $10 fee to visit the chasm. But it was worth it. You can follow a trail which takes about an hour. It leads you through 2 covered bridges and across a boardwalk through the flume with 2 waterfalls along the way. We also got some spectacular views of the surrounding hills with trees in peak foliage showing off their leaves in yellow, orange and flaming red!

Afterwards we had a short lunch break at the Cascade Coffee House in North Woodstock. The village of Lincoln is just around the corner and here we had come across a small motel, Riverbank Motel & Cottages, which we had almost booked from Germany if they hadn't asked for a bank transfer because they don't accept credit cards. So now we went and had a look. The owner was a nice lady. She didn't have anything available for the Saturday night as we had expected, but the day after would be fine. Thus we left a deposit in cash and continued on our tour. With the forecast announcing rain again for Sunday we intended to drive the Kancamagus Highway still today. We stopped at the Visitor Center for a parking permit ($5 for 7 days) which allows you to leave the car at the trailheads in the White Mountain National Forest. In spring or summer the drive may not be such a big deal when the trees are all green, but now in autumn it was spectacular. We went to see the Sabbaday Falls which are just a few minutes walk from the parking area. Shortly before Conway we turned off left onto Passaconaway Road with the Albany Covered Bridge. In Conway we stopped at 2 more covered bridges, then we headed back onto Kancamagus Highway towards Lincoln which took about 45 minutes without further stops. The final bit was via I-93 north and shortly before 6:30 p.m. we were back in Littleton. Right in time for dinner and it had to be Applebee’s again. Then we went to the Econo Lodge's reception desk and asked for an early check-out the next morning which didn't cause any problem.

Northern Vermont (Stowe, Montpelier)
Sunday, 1st October, 10 °C, rain, distance 81 miles

Once again we had a day of heavy rain. While it was still dry we drove into Littleton and had a quick look around. There's also a covered bridge, but this is still very new (2004). Then we did some shopping at the Shaws supermarket. By 10:30 a.m. we were done and that's when it started to rain. So we didn't have much choice but look at the landscape from inside the car. We decided on a tour around Northern Vermont which we hadn't planned originally, but as we had left the coast a day early, we now had a spare day. At least visibility wasn't quite as bad as when we were at the coast on that rainy day, but it was still a shame as the orange hills we saw from time to time in the distance would have been stunning in the sunshine. After a while we turned onto Highway 100 which is a famous foliage route and we stopped for lunch in pretty Stowe, the main winter hub of the state of Vermont.

We drove past Ben and Jerry's Icecream Factory and in Warren (which also has a covered bridge) we turned east again across a mountain range and around 3 p.m. we reached Montpelier, Vermont's capital. We had a milk shake at Ben and Jerry’s in the centre. The white capitol building with its golden cupola was quite impressive. Via US 302 and 112 we reached Lincoln/North Woodstock back in New Hampshire. It was 5 p.m. and still raining. We checked into the Riverbank Motel and skipped going out for dinner as we still had a muffin each and a whole bag of grapes.

White Mountains (Mt Hedgehog Trail, Bear Notch Road)
Monday, 2nd October, 11 °C, cloudy, distance 101 miles

When we got up, it was still rainy and we weren't sure if we would be able to go hiking that day as we had planned. But we decided to drive to the trailhead anyway. There are quite a number of interesting hikes in the area, such as Lonesome Lake, Greeley Ponds, Welch/Dickey Mountain, etc. But first we took the time to enjoy a good but inexpensive breakfast at Notchview Country Kitchen. We reached the trailhead opposite the Passaconaway Campground (UNH Trail) after 30 minutes along Kancamagus Highway. Finally the rain had stopped and the forecast looked more promising for the second half of the day. Shortly after 11 a.m. we were on our way. The trail was a 5 miles loop up to Mount Hedgehog. We went into clockwise direction which I preferred as the other way round we would have had a very steep climb at the beginning. We had a picnic lunch when we got to the top and were rewarded with some beautiful views across the hills in peak foliage. The wet ground made climbing across some granite blocks and lots of roots on the path a bit tricky. At 2:30 p.m. we were back at the car.

Then we headed towards Bear Notch Road which also has some nice views. Shortly before Bartlett Covered Bridge we turned south towards North Conway via a side road. Here we came across a signpost to Cathedral Ledge. We followed that road which takes you up to a lookout point above a sheer rock wall. Down below is Echo Lake which would also make a good picnic spot. Via Passconaway Road we returned onto the Kanc. Here we stopped at the Lower Falls and Rocky Gorge. By 5:30 p.m. we were back in Lincoln. For dinner we went to the Woodstock Inn Station & Brewery which has reasonable prices. Most restaurants in this area we found to be rather highly priced.

White Mountains (Mount Washington)
Tuesday, 3rd October, 16 °C, partly cloudy, distance 158 miles

It was foggy early in the morning but it was going to be a beautiful day. We had breakfast at the Cascade Coffee House in North Woodstock. Then we stopped by the visitor centre to check on weather conditions for Mount Washington which is said to have the world's worst weather with very high wind speeds and often icy temperatures. Thus its peak is most often covered in cloud. We set off at 9:30 a.m. With the sun out we stopped at a few viewpoints along the way on the Kanc and on Bear Notch Road. We drove across its covered bridge into Jackson which is famous for its pumpkin people at this time of year. Around 11:20 a.m. we started driving up the Mount Washington Auto Road, the oldest man-made attraction in America, dating from 1861 when horse-drawn carriages were used to transport visitors to the mountain top. We were charged $27 for two but a CD for the self-guided tour was included. With a few stops on the way we reached the summit in about 50 minutes. Before going up we had already been told that the peak was in clouds. We walked up the last metres to the summit. It was 5 °C at this altitude of 1917m and the wind was nearly blowing us away in this spot! But we got lucky: the clouds drifted away for a few minutes and we were able to look down upon the mountainous landscape below and then we also saw 2 locomotives of the Mount Washington Cog Railway arrive that has been puffing its way up the mountain side since 1869, the first mountain-climbing cog railway in the world!

When we were back down again, we drove to Glen Ellis Falls in Pinkham Notch which were quite impressive, then we continued north to Gorham with a short stop at McDonalds and to Berlin, NH. Via Bretton Woods we reached the historic Mount Washington Hotel which opened in 1902. By now it was 4:30 p.m. and the sun had just disappeared behind a cloud for good. So we decided to return to Lincoln via the shortest route, got there by 5 p.m. For dinner we went to the Woodstock Inn Station & Brewery again.