Finally, after 14 months, I am going somewhere. The only state I have not visited is Vermont. So I am off to meet up with my friend Ginny for a road trip through upper New England. I got to the Portland Airport at 5 am (ugh) on Saturday, only to find the bag drop line was the longest line I ever saw in an airport. It went the length of the terminal and back, probably two hours. It had been so long since I traveled, I stood in the line for a couple of minutes before I remembered I was in first-class. The first-class line was three people. The flight was uneventful, and I hung out with Ginny for a day before we headed out.
Ginny wanted to check out a place where she was going to a wedding in September, so our first stop was Roxbury NY. The Roxbury Motel was a pseudo-Art Deco oddity. Every room was decorated uniquely and artistically, but nice. Ours was black and white with a pattern that went up the walls and across the ceiling. There are two motel buildings and, 2 miles up the road, a resort by Stratton Falls. The outsides were all black, white, and lime green. Tacky but not offensive. The only restaurant in town was called Chappies. The outside did not look promising, but inside it was quite charming. The special was an excellent prime rib with roasted potatoes and asparagus, $32.
Tuesday we headed toward Corning. The first part of the drive wandered thru some bucolic countryside before we hit the interstate which was rough as a cob and it started misting. We stopped in Painted Post, which had been a quaint 19th-century village 30 years ago, but now was just another exit off the interstate with chain hotels and fast food. We finally got to Hammondsport and the Vinehurst motel, a charming 1960’s family-run place. We drove down along the lake looking for a place for dinner but nothing was open. We had to go to Burgers and Beer, or starve. It was awful, except for the sweet potato fries and the beer.
Wednesday, we went to the Corning Museum of Glass. It is stupendous and worth the journey. In addition to the historical exhibits and the art glass, they had great, live, demonstrations. After three hours of glass, we headed to Bully Hills winery, founded by Walter Taylor, a renegade son of the Taylor wine family. Now his winery is still going and the family one is gone. They had some nice whites and an excellent rose. I had them ship a case.
Our last stop of the day was the Glen Curtis Museum. He was an early bicycle racer, motorcycle racer, engine builder and a major pioneer of aviation. Finding a well done, comprehensive museum in a small town is always a treat and this one was great. Who knew Hammondsport was an early airplane manufacturing center and now there are 100 wineries. Dinner was at the Park Inn. We split a clam appetizer and both agreed it was the best clams we ever had in our life (we have eaten 1000’s of clams) The rest of the meal was also excellent, Ginny had the scallops and I had cod wrapped in prosciutto.
Thursday was sunny but cool. We started at the Rockwell Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate. There were a few nice Fredrick Remingtons and C M Russels but it was quite small. The ticket was an add-on to the Glass museum ticket. We managed to find a route to Utica that avoided the major highways and were quite scenic. In places, the fields were completely yellow with dandelions, almost like they were deliberate. The sun was shining and it was a perfect drive. The only sight that seemed worth checking out in Utica was the train station It was a completely restored 19th-century gem. Not many trains these days except the Adirondack Scenic Railroad in the summer. Dinner was at Delmonico’s. The signature dish of Utica is called riggies, chicken, mushrooms, peppers over rigatoni with a spicy tomato cream sauce. We had clams (again) a small steak and the riggies. It was wonderful and with two glasses of wine each, the bill was $100 with tip.
Breakfast Friday was at Craylee’s, a down-home coffee shop and one of the best breakfasts ever. After that, we headed for Adirondack state park, 6+ million acres and 3000 lakes and ponds. Another beautiful day and a scenic drive thru the trees and past many lakes. Eventually, we reached the town of Saranac Lake. Almost everything was closed, and they only had 2G phone service. We took a nice walk along the lake and had dinner at Camp Adirondack in the old hotel, I had the duck breast over barley risotto.
Saturday breakfast was at Blue Moon Cafe, lox and bagel, eggs on corned beef hash. We continue driving Northeast to Champlain, on the Canadian border. The road then went down a chain of islands in the center of Lake Champlain (which separates NY and Vermont). It was the prettiest drive so far. We had rented an Airbnb in Waterbury because from there, all of Vermont was a day trip or less. It was an adorable cabin deep in the woods but less than two miles from town. The two good restaurants were booked so we tried Mcgillacudy’s Irish pub. The food was surprisingly good. The blackened haddock was cooked perfectly and only $14.
Sunday was sunny and we drove to Stowe, a cute ski town, and then drove the notch road to smugglers’ notch. This road is only open in summer and winds spectacularly thru huge shards of shattered granite, often just one lane. We then meandered thru NE Vermont, what they call the northern kingdom. It was nice but a lot of trees and a few tiny towns. Montpellier, the state capital, is the smallest state capital and the only one without a Mcdonald’s. It is a totally charming town and they have redone the grand victorian houses by the capital building into state offices. The two open pubs in Waterbury were totally booked so we had to eat dinner at Zachary’s Pizza. Surprisingly good, the best pizza crust in years.
Monday we had a leisurely start and eventually drove to Burlington. Bernie Sanders started his politicl career as mayor here in the 1980s. It seems like a nice college/hippie kind of town. There is a lovely pedestrian mall in the center of town and we wandered and looked into several shops. It is right on Lake Champlain but most things were closed. We did walk along the lake for a bit which was pleasant. Dinner was at Michael’s on the Hill, a chef-owned place. It was totally Vermont, furnished with antiques and decorated with things from old mills. The food was sublime, braised lamb, but the portions were too big for us the try dessert. On the way back to our Airbnb, a black bear bunded across the road (the high point of the day).
Breakfast at Maxi’s was delicious, banana bread french toast! Route 100 south to Killington was reputed to be the most scenic drive in Vermont. It was indeed lovely, but we sure have seen a lot of trees on this trip. We had leftovers for dinner as we had to clean out the fridge before we left.
We got an early start on Wednesday as we had seen many construction delays in the last few days. We said goodbye to Vermont and headed for Mt Washington in New Hampshire where I was looking forward to riding the cog railroad to the top. The cog rail opened in 1869 and, at one point, has a 38 % grade, on a wooden trestle. It was a pleasant day with clouds and sun but as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, it started to rain. We were early so they put us on the 12 o’clock train instead of the 1. We boarded the train and they said everything at the summit was closed. Just after we pulled out of the station, it started to snow. It was a complete white-out at the top with snow and 30+ mph winds, the wind chill was zero! I know Mt Washington is proud of having the world’s worst weather, but this was ridiculous. So we stayed on the train to go back down. It started sleeting and the windows fogged up so you could not see out. Argh what a waste of $75, each.
After that fiasco, we drove to Jackson NH, a charming little ski town. We were booked into the Wildcat Tavern and not expecting much. They did not have a room with two beds so we booked two rooms, $75 each When we arrived they said the rooms were on the third floor, no elevator, ugh. The place was the original lodge in town and when we climbed up, we each had a three-room suite, beautifully decorated with old country furnishings and ski pictures. Eventually, we went down for dinner and it was two for one night. We split one entree and the wild mushroom crostini and were stuffed, $27 plus tip. We decided to stay another night. It turned out that there was an issue with the shower in my room, so they moved me across the hall to a bit smaller room with a bigger bathroom.
Thursday was bright and sunny. You could see the peak of Mt Washington, a perfect day to take the cog railroad except we did that yesterday in a white out. We had breakfast at the Sunrise Shack which was good but the portions were intended for farm hands, we should have split one. We looked for Glen Ellis Falls and finally found where they took the sigh down and closed the parking lot. There were supposed to be a lot of stairs to get there and I guess they had washed out over the winter. We visited the Omni Mt Washington Resort, a grand hotel built in 1900. It was quite spectacular, in an old fashioned way, but there was a lot of construction going on, so we did not linger. We did a bit of walking around town and had dinner again at our lodge. I had lobster chowder and a beet and carrot salad. The salad looked like it was meant for four people but was so good I finished it. And again we had no room for dessert.
Friday morning there was not a cloud in the sky. A perfect day to take the cog railroad to the top of Mt Washington, as if. We had breakfast at Yesterday’s, waffle with whipped cream and fresh blueberries, $7. The road to Boothbay was slow and scenic (3+ hours for 118 miles). We visited Fort Edgecomb, built when Jefferson was president. It was quite small and built on an island, a great place to picnic. Our destination was Ocean Gate Resort, just across the bridge from Boothbay. As soon as we drove in we decided to stay an extra night. Our room had a wonderful view of the inlet and there were kayaks and canoes if you wanted them. We lazed out on the lawn for a while before dinner. Robinson’s Wharf, obviously tight on the water and mostly local patrons. We had oysters (amazingly good) and lobster dinners, $150 with tip.
Our room came with cooked to order breakfast, first time on this trip. After that, we went to the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden., $18. I thought it would be good for an hour but we spent 2 ½ hours there until our feet gave out. Beautiful flowers, a mile-long walk along the inlet, and lots of local flora. An artist from Denmark was almost finished with building five, huge, 15 foot high, wooden trolls, way cool. From there we went to downtown Boothbay to meet some friends of Ginny’s for lunch. The boathouse restaurant had a lovely balcony on the 3rd floor overlooking the harbor. I had a fish stew that had two lobster claws, 4 scallops, 6 shrimp, and lots of haddock, $24.Downtown Boothbay is hilly, cute, touristy. And was the first busy place we have seen. Lunch was filling so we just sat by the water and read for the remainder f the afternoon. Supper was a dozen oysters each.
Sunday we turned south to Newport Rhode Island. It was a lot of interstate driving and consequently, very dull. There is no way around Boston, you just have to grit your teeth and take the long, slow, underground. route through the city. Out first stop in Newport was the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Ginny is an avid tennis player and spectator. I decided that I would not get $13 worth of interest, and waited in the courtyard. It was housed in an old club which had grass courts, was the first club to host the US open, in 1881. Our hotel was the Atlantic Beach Hotel. It was built on stilts to allow for hurricane tide surges and was a block from a very nice beach. The rate was $135 but tripled after Memorial Day. Dinner was at the Mid-Town Oyster Bat. We started with a doxen littl necks on the half shell and I had the striped bass while Ginny had a lobster and pasta dish, $113 +tip.
After a heaty breakfast at Tickets Bar and Grill, across the street from our hotel, we headed for home. We tried the old highway thinking it was close to the water, but it was just strip malls and stoplights. The interstate was ok for a while but when we saw a notification of an accident, we switched to the Merritt Parkway, which was beautiful, but slower. We stopped for lunch with Ginny’s daughter in Greenwich, Connecticut. She lives in a la-d-dah neighborhood of a very la-d-dah town and had a beautiful backyard. By the time we got to Ginny’s place, it was 5 o’clock and we were shot. It was a great trip, eight states, 15 days, and over 2000 miles. Now I have visited all 50 states.