DAY 20 - VERMONT!

This was a long day on the road. I vowed to drive only "back" roads and I stuck to that except for 20 miles of an interstate. Now of course that made the driving day alot longer than it needed to be. But I saw things I would never have seen. I do love to drive around the back roads.

Now having said that, I will admit that when it ended up taking about 5 hours to cross the state of Maine, I was beginning to weary! To begin with, traveling due west from Bar Harbor crosses the widest part of the state. And then the back roads and towns exacerbated that. But if I had taken the main roads, here is what I would have missed:)

-The sign pointing the way to turn to get to the telephone museum ( I would have loved to see that!)
-The sign that said "Llama/Ostrich redemption" (were they sinners? Do people collect them and turn them in for cash? Do they recycle llamas and ostriches?)
-The sign for auditions for Kiwanis talent night
-THe town with no restaurants but a store that said "Marjorie's Tropical Fish"
-The stretch of highway when I was driving on Hwy 2 West, Hwy 7 North, and Hwy 10 South all at the same time!
-The time I was stopped on a bridge because a guy on a crane was changing a light bulb on the fake gaslights- I would have loved to stop and watch that.

You just don't get that on an Interstate! Plus, much like yesterday, I spent the whole day feeling like I was being held captive in a calendar. Nothing but one gorgeous landscape after another. This area is a feast for the eyes to be sure.

So when I finally crossed over into New Hampshire, all was forgiven. NH was gorgeous - beautiful view of the mountains - in particular the snow (!) on Mount Washington in the White Mountains! Also The Great North Woods section - breathtaking! Compared to Maine, I was only in NH for a heartbeat. . . a heartbeat being about an hour and a half. And then came Vermont and one adorable town/village after another. The theme song from the old tv show "Newhart" kept running through my head all day.

So the plan for Vermont was to see The Vermont Country Store. So I headed for Weston. Arrived when the store had 1 hour left to be open. I have received catalogues from this place for years. If you aren't familiar with them, they sell nostalgia, and specifically, products that used to exist that have been gone for years. But you can still get them in this store. For example: right now I reek because I squirted myself with Wind Song, Yardley Lavender, and Emeraude - all three fragrances from my childhood! They have Prell concentrate shampoo, and Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo. And Clark's chewing gum. It's so much fun to look around. I needed more time there, so the woman behind the counter tipped me off about an Inn across the street. I went there and it is really upscale, and as a result, expensive! But there was no one booked for tonight, even though a crowd of people are coming tomorrow for the beginning of the season. If you log on to The Inn at Weston and look at The Parkhurst Room, that is the room I'm staying in! And he gave me a price much much cheaper than he regularly charges. So I have an entire elegant inn to myself tonight! The owners live next door. I was even shown where the wine is in case I want a glass before I go to bed!!!! So I would say this day turned out just great!

My plan tomorrow is to go back to Vermont Country Store when they open, and then hit the road and get as far as I can on the way home tomorrow (this means interstates!). It's time to get home, and I'm ready. PS - I ate very conservatively today, keeping my promise to myself! Until tomorrow. . RP