Wednesday (June 26) – Vermont was only 1-1/2 hours or so to Hartford where our hotel was so we were in Quechee pretty early. Stopped in the Visitor Center to see if there were any pamphlets or maps showing Vermont covered bridges (loved the one we had for New Hampshire) – there weren’t any. So we’ll have to wing it more or less. But Quechee did have a covered bridge and waterfall next to it. Would’ve been a lovely spot for photos early morning or late evening. The sun was so bright the falls are very washed out but it’s still a pretty place.

We had heard about Simon Pearce Glass located by the bridge so went to check that out. It’s always fun and interesting to watch glass blowers. There were about four guys downstairs from the store working and making pieces. All of the glass pieces here are clear, which I’m sure helps production. There were some amazing pieces but all were a bit out of our price range. So no souvenirs from this spot.

The next stop was the Taftsville Bridge, built in 1836.

By now we were in the middle of the little town of Woodstock and decided to grab a parking spot and see if we could get into the Mountain Creamery, recommended by they lady we talked with at the Visitor’s Center. Talk about going back in time. And it was packed! There was one table with two chairs left (right in the middle of two other couples) and the waitress pointed there for us to sit. LOL She was a trip. A woman who was used to being in charge and juggling a lot of balls at once. Bob ordered a turkey sandwich (that came with real carved turkey, no lunch meat) and I got a BLT on sour dough bread (vacation, right?). Yummmm.

Bellies satisfied we drove to Woodstock Middle Bridge just down the road. This bridge was completely in 1969, replacing a iron bridge that had been in place since 1877. Pretty cool history on this one.

Then we plugged in directions to Lincoln Bridge. Sigh. Waste of time. It looks like someone didn’t realize how tall their truck was and ran right into the thing. I thought about just walking away from this one but after what we went through to get to it I figured I may as well snap the shot – it is what it is, right?

After that disappointment we were ready to hit the local brewery, Long Trail. Bob had read about one of their IPAs he was looking forward to trying. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any on tap so he didn’t get to taste it but we did order a flight to share and then enjoyed one sitting out on their deck. It was a great spot but not my favorite brewery – all the ones we tasted had a bite to me. Of course that didn’t stop us from drinking one. LOL I loved the map they had for visitors to show where they were from by adding a pin for the location. They were out of pins so I swiped one from Miami to put in Virginia Beach. #sorrynotsorry

Since we had to backtrack to go to the hotel and went right past the Sugarbush Farm we stopped there and did the cheese and maple syrup tasting thing. It’s a pretty cool place – an old working farm that’s still a family business. We tasted all kinds of cheese (bought a couple of them but all were good) and the four maple syrups they had. It was interesting to learn about the syrup and how it’s harvested and the process of boiling the sap into syrup. Most maple syrups on grocery store shelves are cut with corn syrup and/or high fructose corn syrup. When you realize it takes about 45 gallons of sap to end up with one pint of syrup you can understand why those big companies do that to stretch the real stuff. The sap can only be harvested on days when the temps have dipped below 32 deg at night and rise to over 40 deg during the day. Like all farmers, they are totally dependent on the weather for harvesting. Some years they have more days to harvest than others. We also learned about the different colors of syrup. Early in the season the syrup is light and as the season progresses it get darker. The flavor also gets richer with the progression of the season with it being the darkest and richest at the end. Very cool stuff. We may or may not have dropped a few dollars before leaving this place.

Finally we headed to the hotel. By the time we checked in and unpacked a little it was time to look for a dinner spot. Bob found this little bistro called Thyme. It was an eclectic little place with great service and food. We were seated outside on their patio and the weather was perfect (so not looking forward to going back home to our temps and humidity).

That’s it for today!

Thursday (June 27)

By now we are already mentally gearing up for getting back to reality. This last week hasn’t been our favorite part of the trip – guess we were spoiled at Bar Harbor – and honestly, we’re just ready to get home. We lightly discussed skipping out and starting the journey home but knew we’d not get our money back on the room and there were a few things left we had planned to see, so we got in the car and drove some more.

The first bridge was 30-40 minutes away – Willard Twin Bridges – so actually two of them.

The next bridge was one we had been looking forward to, Cornish-Windsor Bridge. At 460’, it’s the longest covered bridge in the country and the longest two spans wooden bridge in the world. It also connects Vermont and New Hampshire. One end is in one state the the other end in another state. Pretty cool huh?

Upper Falls Bridge was next on our list.

On the way to our next bridge (Worrall) we were very close to Rockledge Furniture. Another very cool family owned business, store located next to their home (these people don’t have to go very far to get to work). Scott (owner) showed us around and man does he have some incredible stuff. Amazingly, he said he gets 75% of his business from online – only 25% locally. There was a custom dining room table waiting to be shipped that was incredible! He has bowls, cutting boards, all kinds of tables, stools, chairs and fun stuff to choose from. We walked away with a wire cutting cheese board made from birds eye maple wood. I eyed those things when we first walked in the store – been wanting one for a while. It is gorgeous!

When we asked Scott for a lunch recommendation he suggested the little country store a ew miles up the road in Brownsville. So we detoured and drove over this gravel road and a wee little covered bridge that has seen better days to get there. Nice little store with a cafe, beers on tap and wine selection. We ordered sandwiches and got back to our bridge hunt. Priorities dontchaknow.

Going back the way we came, through the bridge and over the gravel road, we were only ten minutes or so from Worrall Bridge. I’m telling you, these roads around here are horrendous. Vermont has some major road issues and there is road work every flippin where you go. I had already been thinking before we left the hotel I was done with bridges and that feeling intensified as the morning went on. And then we saw Worrall Bridge. It’s not in as bad of shape as some we’ve seen but totally overgrown and not looking impressive at all. Since there wasn’t a spot on this side to stop and get a decent shot we drove through it (like we’ve done on a lot of them). As we came out on the other side I noticed what I thought was an abandoned house on the left. Then I saw the car in the driveway. “Someone lives there?” I said to Bob. Wooooow. He turned the car around and I wouldn’t even get out of the car to take a picture. In my mind whoever was in there had a shotgun pointed at us. I didn’t care about “composing a shot” in that moment. Told Bob to gun it and get the hell out of here. It gave me the heebie jeebies. When we got across and I jumped out to snap the picture I had to laugh because you can see the house through the bridge on the other side. Okay, officially done. Bob said, “but the other bridge on your list isn’t far.” “I don’t care. I’m done with bridges.” We headed to Harpoon Brewery. LOL

Harpoon Brewery was a great place to hang out. Damn if we didn’t earn that one! They have a nice restaurant (pretzel was really good), big patio and a yard with corn hole. Our breweries at home are so red-neck compared to the ones up north. Most of ours don’t serve food, they have food trucks. Ours generally don’t have big yards and patios to enjoy either. I guess we’re just slumming in our area when it comes to micro breweries. LOL We still have good beer though!

Back at the hotel around 3:00 we considered just packing up and getting a head start on the drive. In the end, we decided to sleep tonight and start fresh in the morning. We had dinner at 99 Restaurant which was surprisingly good. We tend to stay away from chains but there weren’t a of choices in this area. Thankfully it was a good one. Packing up and heading out in the morning. Home here we come! It’s been fun but time to get back to reality.

Until next time …

Final thoughts …

– Newport, RI was fun but we feel like we’ve checked that box. Probably won’t be back unless it’s just to pass through.

– Portland was fun. We loved the lighthouses, the harbor is still small enough to get around easily and there’s plenty to do and lots of good food to eat!

– We loved Maine. Every part of it. The scenery, the small towns on the harbors, the people, the food, the weather. Bar Harbor has a piece of our hearts. We will be back – there’s a lot more of Maine we want to explore.

– Not as impressed with the White Mountains as I thought I would be. The parks were pretty but unless you’re a hiker you don’t really see too much of them – we do love to hike but between not being prepared for longer hikes and the weather it just didn’t work out this time. So, glad we did it but we probably won’t be back.

– Vermont – we went to northern Vermont something like 25 years ago and I guess the northern part of the state is very different from the central. We weren’t overly impressed with the scenery here. Don’t get me wrong, we had fun chasing bridges but after nearly 3400 miles in three weeks, we were just done.

– The roads up north? OMG, they are simply atrocious. Leaving Vermont was a piece of cake. The rest of the drive? My car will never be the same.

Favorite things …

~ Portland Head Light

~ All the harbor towns – finding Bailey Island was a hidden gem

~ Bar Harbor – loved the town and the weather (did I mention I loved the weather?) – and the sunset cruise

~ Acadia – (our 15th National Park) incredible scenery and meeting Frank Lee Ruggles on Cadillac Mountain

~ White Mountains – Flume Gorge and Moose tour

~ Vermont – Sugarbush Farm (cheese and maple syrup)