Check one off the bucket list!
Based on research on the best time to go, we planned this for the first week of October, and by early March we had booked our flights to Bangor ME, returning via Albany NY, and all hotels.
We then navigated to the Behive Trail, which Tim and our friends completed. I wimped out once I had to cross over an iron bridge and the back up of people waiting to complete it was just a bit intimidating. My loss. We met back at the parking area, enjoyed a quick lunch, then Great Head Trail with spectacular ocean views along a coastal headland with some wooded sections.
New Hampshire 
We continuged on to Burlington, Vermont and checked out Zero Gravity Brewery as well as Switchback Brewing Co. We checked into our unique motel, The Starlight Inn. We had the Julia Roberts room, while our friends spent the night with John Wayne.
Along the way we stopped at High Falls Gorge where we enjoyed a one mile walk through a wonderful gorge along the Ausable River.
We then took on Balanced Rock Trail, a rigorous 3.1 miles hike. Several portions required scrambling up (and back down of course) large stretches of boulders. The view at the top was amazing and so worth it!
We rewarded ourselves with a stop at Lake Placid Pub & Brewery. We then made our way to The Deer's Head in the oldest tavern in the Adirondaks, in Elizabethtown, NY. What a day!
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| Taking advantage of the wedding decor, Manchester VT |
One of my bucket list items was a fall foilage road trip in the northeast. In the summer of 2021 I started mapping out what that would look like as an RV trip, and it would be at least three weeks in duration. We realized it would overlap a volunteer commitment so I started looking at this as a fly in and drive trip, cutting it to nine days. I asked our baloon fiesta travel buddies if they were interested, and it took them all of 20 seconds to say "we're in!".
With a goal of seeing as much as possible in those nine days, I scoured Pinterest and created a plan using Roadtrippers. Using Hotels.com I tried to find unique stays and points of interest, allowing time for hiking along the route. Ended up with a great plan, zig-zagging our way across the area. Kind of. More on that later.
Based on research on the best time to go, we planned this for the first week of October, and by early March we had booked our flights to Bangor ME, returning via Albany NY, and all hotels.
Maine
After flying into Bangor, we quickly got our luggage and rental car (it's a very small airport), and headed down 1A about 50 miles, which takes a little over an hour. After checking in at the Edenbrook Motel, we walked to downtown Bangor. The next morning we rose early to check out the sunrise over Bar Harbor (we were unable to get the Cadillac Mouintain sunrise entry time), a beautiful sight for sure!
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| Bar Harbor Sunrise |
Acadia National Park
After enjoying the sunrise over Bar Harbor, we made our way into Acadia and up Cadillac Mountain during our assigned entry time. Since parking is limited, entrace does require a pass. As I mentioned, we missed out on the Cadiallac Sunrise pass - it was sold out within seconds of it being available online. Oh well. Even though it was a little overcast, we enjoyed amazing 360 degree views.
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| Views from atop Cadillac Mountain |
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Scenes from the Beehive Trail |
Our last stop was the visitor's center, and our National Park selfie, this time with friends!
We wrapped up our day with a lobster roll at the Thirsty Whale, my first one ever! I didn't realize it would be basically a hot dog bun STUFFED with lobser. YUMMMM.
After two days in Bar Harbor, we set out for Lancaster, New Hampshire, about 220 miles and 4.5 hours drive. We planned a stop to hike along the way, couldn't find the trailhead, then found a backup trail along the highway. We did take the interstate for a part of this drive, but most of it was on two lane roads that meandered through small towns and around small lakes. A wonderful way to spend the afternoon!
After one night at The Lancaster Motel in Lancaster, NH (the Snowmobile Capital of the World!), we took a quick detour to see the Stark Covered Bridge the first of several white churches, then headed south about 30 miles to Franconia Notch State Park.
The drive down 93 to Franconia Notch brought us even more spectacular sights, showcasing the ruggedness and beauty of New Hampshire. Our first target in the park was the Flume Gorge trail, which meanders though a natural gorge extending 800 feet at the base of Mount Liberty. The walls of Conway granite rise to a height of 70 to 90 feet and are 12 to 20 feet apart.
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| Franconia Notch SP Flume Gorge Trail |
We then challenged ourselves to the Artists' Bluff Trail, which was only a 1.5 mile loop but quite challenging. The views were worth every step!
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| Artist's Bluff Lookout |
Vermont
Leaving New Hampshire, we set out for Stowe, VT, about 80 miles and 1.5 hour drive to the west. Besides Acadia, Vermont was of special interest to me personally, as my 50th state. At least I thought so. Once I started looking back and confirming each state, I am unable to convince myself I've been to Delaware. Possibly in my airline days, possibly, but not sure. I see another trip in our future!
The traffic in Stowe was CRAZY. After checking into the Commodore's Inn, we had our first chance on our road trip to check out a brewery, Von Trapp Brewing, just north of town.
The next day we set out for another trail, the Duxbury Window Trail, 3.5 mile trail that took us just about 2.5 hours to complete. This is a wonderful trail through thick woods along a creek, that eventually opens up a 'window' where you can see miles and miles of rolling hills and of course, those wonderful fall colors!
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| View out the Duxbury Window |
We continuged on to Burlington, Vermont and checked out Zero Gravity Brewery as well as Switchback Brewing Co. We checked into our unique motel, The Starlight Inn. We had the Julia Roberts room, while our friends spent the night with John Wayne.
New York
The next day we heded out to Lake Placid, which was about 80 miles around the south end of Lake Champlain, a beautiful drive. We ended up stopping in this small town at the edge of another body of water, where the sky and leaves were perfectly reflected in the water.
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| Lincoln Pond, near Elizabethtown NY |
Along the way we stopped at High Falls Gorge where we enjoyed a one mile walk through a wonderful gorge along the Ausable River.
We then took on Balanced Rock Trail, a rigorous 3.1 miles hike. Several portions required scrambling up (and back down of course) large stretches of boulders. The view at the top was amazing and so worth it!
The Manchesters
The next day took us back to Vermont, driving through the middle section on some more amazing twisting two-lane roads. This was the 'accidental' part of our trip since I had booked hotels in Manchester, New Hamshire instead of Manchester, Vermont. But we eventually made it to both the Manchesers! Took a quick detour in Quechee, Vermont, a beautiful area known for skiing. We spent the night in Manchester, New Hamshire at the Hampton Inn & Suites, and we were able to enjoy a dinner, a few beers and music bingo at the Backyard Brewery.
Our second to last day we drove west across the lower portion of New Hampshire, stopping in Brattleboro, then Townshend Vermont where we saw the most fantastic scene of a white steeple church set against the background of fall colors!
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| Creamery Bridge built in 1879, Brattleboro, VT |
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| First Congregational Church and Meetinghouse, Townshend, VT |
We eventually made it to Manchester, Vermont, where we found a series of trails uphill from the town, where we were able to walk around Equinox Pond, which ends up at a quaint wedding venue. The team there were setting up for a wedding later in the day, which is where we grabbed that wonderful photo at the top of this entry.
Our final stop in Vermont was the Old First Church, in Bennington, VT. What a beautiful old church with so much history! We had talked about stopping to see an old cemetary while in the area, and this was our chance. And I didn't even realize this is where Robert Frost was buried!
New York
We continued about 63 miles to Albany, New York, and took a detour to check out Rare Form Brewing in a not-so-great part of town. We eventually landed at our stop for the night, La Quinta Inn & Suites near the airport. We walked a few blocks to JJ Rafferty's where there was a live band, and our friend became their new lead singer.
Harley-Davidsons
Our friends own a Harley, and as long as we were road-tripping we stopped by any we could find along the way that was open. We stopped in at the Wilkins Harley-Davidson in Barre, VT, the Laconia Harley-Davidson in Laconia NH, and the Brunswick Harley-Davidson, in Troy NY. Scott was a happy biker.
So grateful we were able to enjoy these eight days on this 1200-mile road trip with our friends! While we had some overcast days, we never encountered any rain, and our flights home proved to be (mostly) uneventful. On to the next adventure!
Have you been to Acadia or road tripped to see the fall colors? Leave your comments below! Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.
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