Day 1:
Most of the first day was spent in the car. Driving from Hamlin (New York) to Burlington (Vermont). Just the time to drive there was like 6.5 hours. Stops and traffic not included. We left at like 12 PM and got there late in the evening. On our way to our first Bed and Breakfast place we drove through Vermont’s capital “Montepellier”. A small but very nice town with a bunch of restaurants. We took a short walk and as soon as it started raining we decided to get our dinner. We went for an Italian restaurant. The food was great. Probably the best Pizza I have been having during my stay in America. Afterwards we continued our ride towards our final destination, the B&B place. The problem was that we were not able to find it. It was already late and dark which made it very tough for us. The house was located in the middle of Camels Hump State Park surrounded by lots of trees and the wildlife. There was only one street and a few houses next to the road. Since we got the wrong house number and two empty phones we were not able to find that place. Subsequently we drove back to the next town that was about 10 minutes away. As I charged my phone a bit I tried to call the owner of that bed and breakfast place. He gave us a direction that fit to the house we were already standing next to, but because of that odd experience and our uncertainty we decided to look for a hotel nearby. It actually was not as easy as we expected it to be. We had to go to the 20min away Burlington (the biggest city of Vermont) to find a hotel to stay at. When we arrived it was almost midnight. That’s why we decided to go to bed quickly so that we actually could use the upcoming day to experience the surroundings. The first day already brought about a lot impressions. Good ones as well as bad ones, but I am sure that’s just the way traveling is supposed to be.
Day 2:
In the morning we planned our day while we had breakfast. The plan was to go for a hike and visit the first factory of Ben & Jerry’s. We went to Stowe, a small town who is quite popular among tourists who are interested in hiking. If you are in Vermont you either go hiking or skiing. Well, we only had the option to hike since we visited Vermont during the summer months. In Stowe we went to a tourist center to get more information and maps of that hiking trails. We decided to take a trail that was scheduled for 3 hours and would not occupy the entire day. The trail started on the center of the mountain. The trail was not too challenging and some quite nice overlooks on the way to the top.
As we reached the top we had marvelous views over Vermont’s nice scenery.
I have to admit that it was kind of monotonous though. There was one lake and apart from that you only could see trees, anywhere, wherever you would look. It’s definitely a very nice place to relax, but personally I do not know whether I could stay there for a long time. I think I would feel lonely and would get bored. Because of that and our strange experience we left Vermont headfirst and continued our road trip and drove towards New Hampshire. Before that we went to the origin of Ben Jerry’s though.
First of all we participated in a guided tour where we were able to try different samples. Afterwards we got some ice cream. Honestly it was tough to pick something since they were so many choices. It was delicious and we were very full afterwards.
Immediately after we decided to leave Vermont to get to New Hampshire before it gets dark. One the way there we got to see a lot of New Hampshire’s beautiful nature. We took the Kancamangus Highway, New Englands most scenic road/highway. It was totally worth the drive even though it’s famous for the Indian summer when the leaves start changing and not for summer.
Whatever, the weather kept getting better throughout the day. In the morning it was cloudy and in the afternoon there were some rain showers. Luckily after our hike when we were in the factory. As we were driving everything cleared up and the weather was great. In the middle of the highway was a small town where we stayed in a great hotel. It was a small family business with a nice restaurant where we got typical food and beer from the area as well as fantastic and typical American breakfast.
Day 3:
On the next day we were lucky and the weather was pretty good so we decided to go for a short hike at Franconia Notch State Park.
In the early afternoon we had to leave again to continue our ride. Our next destination was Maine’s biggest Lake, Moosehead Lake. It was 3.5 hour drive up there. Definitely not boring. The Kancamangus highway provided some magnificent overlooks. As we were getting of that highway and approaching the border of Maine we witnessed something exciting. We got to see a black bear crossing the street. 2PM in the afternoon in the exit of a village. The scary thing was that the bear went into someone’s backyard. I do not want to imagine a bear walking through my backyard while I am sitting out there. It was definitely the highlight of that day. We arrived at the Lake in the late evening and found a nice hotel right at the lake.
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