Back to School

Today, Andy and I went and sat in on Jennifer's classroom. This year she teaches 3rd grade, still at Weems Elementary in Manassas, Virginia. We stayed the entire morning, sitting in the back of her classroom on those small, little, tiny chairs! We felt in was important to watch her and make sure she was doing "it" right. I have a real appreciation for teachers after experiencing her morning. It must be exhausting! Or at least Andy and I were exhausted. She was patient, kind, never said an inappropriate word, was encouraging and really acted like she was enjoying herself. Andy participated in her math lesson by making a Family Fact House, along with the students. Of course, you all do know what Family Fact Numbers are??? Well, we didn't. So we learned something new today. You know this new math!
Jennifer teaches in a real large school. There are 650 students in K through 4TH grade. Third grade alone has 5 classrooms. We are proud of her and the rapport and respect she has with her students. I am sure it is not easy. She has a picture of her and Andy hanging on a filing cabinet; the students thought he was her brother! (Yes, Andy's head swelled a few sizes! ) So when the kids saw him and she introduced him as her dad, they were amazed the two of them looked so much alike and commented "you look real good".
We are leaving here and going back to Baltimore to stay with Amanda and Jordan (to dog sit), but will be back in Virginia next week and are planning on attending a Washington Capitals hockey game with Jennifer and Jimmy (Jennifer's boyfriend). I am sure it will not be as exciting as the hockey game we saw Jimmy play the other night! Unfortunately, they were shut out 0-2, although Jimmy looked good.

Shenandoah Valley, Virgina

We took the day to explore some Civil War battlefields and a road trip on the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, between the Allegheny and the Blue Ridge mountains.

More Civil War battlefields are in Virginia than any other state, so we definitely needed to check some of them out. Our first battlefield was in Winchester, which had three important battles. This is where Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, commander of Confederated forces, kept the Union armies at bay, saving the Confederacy's capital. The city did change hands 70 times during the conflict; 13 times in one day! Unfortunately, there are not really any battlefields to actually visit and walk on. The entire town was built on the battlefield. Although the Winchester-Frederick County Visitor Center was very informative.

Our next stop was the Battle of Cedar Creek , which raged around an elegant Manor House of limestone mansion, Belle Grove. It was once the centerpiece of a 7500-acre plantation and remarkably, remained unscathed. Today this historic site has a reenact of the battle on the pristine fields to re-create the events of that dramatic 1864 day. It takes place the closest weekend to the anniversary date of October 19Th, which we just missed.

The last battle we visited was New Market where we actually got to walk the field, and toured the Bushong farm with two original houses still standing. This farm was in the center of the battle, while the family hide in the basement. After, the home was used as a hospital to treat the injured.

On our way to the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park, we past a small cemetery, unmarked, along the side of the road. There were many gravestones dating back to the Civil War and many unreadable, due to the elements over the years. It appeared to be many graves of the Brubaker family. Of course I couldn't resist taking those photos. The fall foliage didn't compare to the colors we saw up in Vermont and New Hampshire a few weeks ago. Although, Virginia is just past peak with many trees already losing their leaves, they also don't have the sugar maple trees they do in New England. Still, we saw some great views of the valley and the blaze of autumn color in many areas. Shenandoah is an American Indian name, meaning "Daughter of the Stars".

This was a great day to spend while Jennifer was at work. She had parent-teacher conferences today, making it a long day for her, but we had dinner waiting for her when she got home! Family dinner two nights in a row! It has been nice.

In Baltimore/DC/Virginia area

We finally made it to the Baltimore area last Wednesday. We are here earlier then we had planned on. The rainy weather along the east coast has "dampened" our plans of more sight seeing north of here.
My youngest daughter, Amanda, and her fiance were moving into a new place, so we came to help. Only two days of disorganization, and they were moved and ready for company. On Friday, my other daughter, Alyson, flew in from Tampa for a visit. This is her first time here and now they can have "sister time" and not have to worry about the move and unpacking. The girls and I spent some quality time together, talking wedding plans and catching up on life. Andy was very content watching TV on a 46" flat screen HD. It has been a while since we have had TV reception and football looks so much better on a large TV, so I am told.
On Saturday afternoon, we drove to Herndon, Virginia to visit with Jennifer, Andy's oldest daughter. We are planning on staying here for a few days then back to Baltimore. We will try to split our time between the two places. While the girls are at work, we have some day trips planned: drive through the Blue Ridge Mt's to view the colors, tour some battlefields, take the train into DC and visit the museums; the list is endless. There is so much to see and do here. We have parked our RV at a storage place for the next month, deciding it was cheaper then staying in a campground and easier this way to spend more time, one on one, with the girls.

Hershey and Lancaster, PA

Finally....we made it out of New Jersey. And it's no longer raining!

We woke up to sunshine and the temperature reached 67 degrees! We are staying in Lancaster, in the heart of the Amish and Mennonite community, or Pennsylvania Dutch Country. The residents here are primarily of German descent, seeking freedom of worship and a simple way of living. Their beliefs are reflected in their dress (plan color clothing) and their work (no electricity and use of a horse). It is evident they bring in much of the tourism and the state looks on it very favorably. Their farms are massive and fill the rolling country side with crops. The lifestyle here has changed very little in the past two centuries.

Then at the other extreme, we have our visit to Chocolate World in Hershey. The home of the Hershey Foods Corporation. The city, and Hershey Chocolate, was founded by Milton S. Hershey, also a Mennonite. We took the chocolate tour and learned where the cocoa beans grow, how they are harvested and then transformed into milk chocolate. And of course, got to sample and BUY anything they make. It was all so tempting. We also learned that Good and Plenty, Twizzler and Jolly Ranchers are made by Hershey! I thought they only made chocolate stuff!

Tomorrow we are heading to Baltimore and Washington DC area to see those wonderful daughters! Can't wait....

Cape May, NJ

As I mentioned in yesterdays blog, the east coast was under a flood warning. We have standing water here in the campground, but really noticed the flooding when we went to Cape May and many streets were completely under water. It rained heavy all night and now it is just a constant drizzle. The other photo's I took was the appearance of the deserted beach along the Atlantic Ocean seashore.

Cape May is designated a national historic landmark with gingerbread Victorian architecture style homes. This was a favored summer retreat for Philadelphia and New York socialites in the 19Th century. Today, it was pretty much empty and not much to see. It is Sunday afternoon, rainy and cold. It is hard to compete with a warm home with football on TV, as Andy would like to be doing!

We are headed out of the Jersey coast tomorrow. No plans yet where we are going. Somewhere in the direction of Pennsylvania...or maybe not.

Atlantic City, NJ

Addendum: I forgot to mention in our NYC blog that Ellis Island is actually in New Jersey. We were reminded of that by a sign on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City today. It has been a huge dispute and the US Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that most of Ellis Island is indeed in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Went to Atlantic City today. Our first stop was the Atlantic City Historical Museum to learn more about how this seaside playground all came about. There was a film that chronicles the city's history about the Steel Piers diving horse, Miss America's Pagent and the dozens of casino-hotels developed since 1978 and exhibits with many memorabilia. We were unable to see little of it due to the museum being shut down to due high winds off the ocean, and we were asked to leave. Walked the Boardwalk (in those high winds!) and could only imagine what it is like in nice warm weather with the amusement pier and sandy beaches. The Boardwalk itself is over 4 miles long.
Atlantic City is on the north end of Absecon Island, a swath of sand separated from the mainland by a maze of bays, inlets and salt marshes. The Boardwalk came about when in 1870 the first 8-foot-wide lane of planks were laid directly on the sand to keep hotel lobbies free from sand. Now it is the foundation for casinos, stores, amusements and concessions. And people. Even in the wind and rain. Yes, it has rained all day. Again. No surprise.
Coastal flood warning has been issued.

The SNOW has arrived!!

The main reason we decided to sell our home and cars and travel the USA, was to avoid the cold and snow. So, who planned this trip???
After we arrived back to our secluded campground in north New Jersey from NYC, we realized we were on the edge of a snow storm. It was a very wet snow, making the trees around us bend, some branches even touching the ground. Worse yet, the ranger met us at the gate saying that a driver spun out and hit an electrical pole, knocking out all power. The temperature was dropping down into the mid- twenties before our eyes. We had been putting on the furnace for days, just to take the chill out of the air. But last night, it was on all night. We were afraid of pipes freezing, and US. This RV is not insulated, at all. We debated about packing up and heading further south, out of the path of the snow, but thought the roads maybe too slick pulling the RV. We stayed and waited it out.
It was actually quite warm in our down feather bed, on top of flannel sheets, flannel PJ's and covered with a down comforter. All night I could hear the clumps of wet snow drop on the top of the camper or the whistling wind pushing it into the windows. About 3:00am I heard a tree crack and fall. I never went back to sleep. after that....just waiting for one to fall on us. Andy just kept snoring. This night has landed in the top three worse nights of our entire JOURNEY. The first worse night was when the RV frame broke, and stranded us homeless. The second was sleeping in the truck because there were "no rooms in the inn". Of course, my imagination took the best of me: How were we going to die: freeze, carbon monoxide poisoning or crushed by a fallen tree.??? You must admit, they were all possibilities; at least in my mind, not Andy's.
Around 6:30am I was awaken by a chain saw outside our window. Two men were cutting up that fallen tree over the road!! But we survived.

And it is still raining, although no snow here as we arrived in Atlantic City. Hoping this city will bring us some luck, one way or another.

New York City

The weather is still rainy and cold! Part of us just want to head way south and get away from this, but we need to be in Baltimore/Washington DC area for Thanksgiving. Our daughters are cooking dinner for us!! This will be the first time in 30 some years that I have NOT cooked or hosted a holiday at my house. I am real excited, although I know I will still be doing some cooking. The 80 degree temperature in Tampa is quite tempting, we could just drive and drive until we get there.

Instead, we decided to visit NYC. The real close campground in Jersey City was charging $60.00 a night....to camp! Without sewer dump! So, we found one a little further northwest of Newark, up in a county park. Very secluded, wooded setting in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains and only one hour and 15 minute train ride into Penn station.
The only problem we have is the weather....again. The weather was the absolute worse, ever! It rained all day, steady, never letting up. We had to dodge puddles and splashes from the yellow cabby's as we battled the howling wind! (Andy is dictating what I write. He has been reading too many fictional novels). We saw the Empire State Building ( no sense in going up to the observation tower with the rain and poor visibility), toured through Grand Central Station (and bought our ride-all-day-subway pass), saw the Zamboni clean the ice at Rockefeller Center (yes, it was cold enough for ice and some skaters!), amazed by Times Square and the only "ray of light" from the neon signs, then it was over to Central Park and a look at The Dakota building (Yoko Ono's home and where John Lennon was shot), the World Trade Center site (a solemn experience) and then to Battery Park to view the Statue of Liberty. As you can tell by the photo's, the weather got worse as the afternoon went on. Miss Liberty was hardly visible and we stayed long enough for a few photos then grabbed the train back to Jersey, during peak time!

When we arrived at the train station in Dover, New Jersey, we had snow to scrape off the truck, and no scrapper! Left that in Michigan along with the boots. It is only October 15th! Tampa is REALLY looking better!

Connecticut coast

After we left Cape Cod, we drove through Rhode Island, and tried not to blink! It is a very small state and nothing really to see there....so we kept on driving.

Now the coast of Connecticut is scenic. The trees are colorful, but still not at peak. We made several stops there along the Long Island Sound. The first was in Mystic, and its beautiful seaport and harbor. Your typical coastal town which depended on ship building and whaling in its earlier days. Some great, unique shops.

Next we stopped at Groton, a Naval Submarine Base. They have the world's first nuclear-powered submarine (which was commissioned in 1954), the USS Nautilus, docked there. We took a tour of the cramped living quarters, worse and much tighter then our RV, and visited the museum tracing the history and development of the US submarine force. The Nautilus was the first to go to the North Pole and the first to journey 20,000 leagues under the sea. It was very interesting (I even enjoyed it) and we both thought how much Ricardo (our grandson) would have enjoyed it, sorry he wasn't with us.

Then it was on to New Haven, home of Yale University with its Gothic revival architecture and medieval courtyards. They have graduated five presidents from here and many Supreme Court Justices and Senators. We were told a story about New Haven town green, the central square of the city where the locals would gather for meetings and business. It was such a special place that residents were requesting to be buried there and it began to turn the area into more of a morbid place (due to the headstones), so the city decided to move the graves to a nearby cemetery and return the town green into what is meant to be. But it appears New Haven did not have the money to do it and only moved the headstones...the bodies are still buried underground...and the green is said to be haunted.

New Haven invention claims: portable typewriter, sewing machine, ice-making machine, can opener, tape measure, pay phone, hamburger, lollipop, Frisbee, erector set, Polaroid camera, and color TV.

New Haven famous first: 1st public library, 1st planned city, 1st submarine launched, 1st US traitor (Benedict Arnold), 1st law school, 1st cotton gin, 1st American cookbook, 1st dictionary (Webster), 1st football game, 1st three-ring circus (PT Barnum), 1st women ever to be elected governor, and some others!

Martha's Vineyard, Mass

Spent the day on Martha's Vineyard today. This is a very popular resort area due to its quaint atmosphere and beaches, but also because of the proximity to Cape Cod and the East Coast. There are ferries that run year round to the island. There are six main cities, which we visited three of them....on our bikes. It was rough going (for me) with the wind coming off the open bay and we haven't been on our bikes (for long distances) in a while! But we made it back!!! The ferry didn't leave us behind, but my legs are sore.

The ferry landed at Vineyard Haven which is a picturesque community and principal commercial center; Oak Bluffs has brightly painted gingerbread cottages and the Flying Horses, the oldest continuously-working carousel in America; and Edgartown is an elegant yachting center with whaling captains stately homes lining its streets. We loved all the communities with the great end-of-the-season bargains in the shops and even the candy stores (50% off ice cream and candy...yeah!).

We went out to the far east side to Edgartown hoping to see Chappaquiddick and the famous bridge. We didn't realize that Chappaquiddick is an island in itself and the bridge is on the other side of that island....way to far to walk it! And I am sure it is JUST a bridge, like any other. And we really didn't miss anything by not seeing it!

Interesting fact: the island was discovered by British explorer Bartholomew Gosnold, which was replete with wild grapes, and he named it for his daughter, Martha.

Sad to be leaving the Cape tomorrow. Many things in this area are closing down for the season, we are getting kicked out! But the weather is also turning real cold, like most of the country, so we need to head south. Working our way down to New York City for the weekend, but no real plans where we are going to be over the next week. Just going to wake up in the morning and go!

Cranberry Harvest Time

We visited the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Sixth Annual Harvest Celebration. The harvest season runs from mid-September through early November. So we are right in the middle of the harvest of these crimson berries. We were able to take a tour of the bogs and see the actual methods of harvesting and talk with the farmers one on one. It was at the A.D. Makepeace Cranberry Bog, one of the worlds largest cranberry growers. The Harvest Celebration had wagon and pony rides, cooking demonstrations, a marketplace selling cranberry baked goods and speciality products, entertainment and a craft show. Plus a huge concession area with local food vendors selling sandwiches, sea food, ice cream, kettle corn, and more. It was a great place for lunch! All this plus some education on cranberries:

• Cranberries are one of only three commercially grown fruits native to North America. The other two are blueberries and concord grapes.
• All good cranberries bounce
• 1 barrel of cranberries weigh 100 pounds
• 4,400 berries make 1 gallon of fresh cranberry juice
• There are over 100 different varieties of cranberries

As our photos show the harvest: when the berries are ready, the farmers flood the bogs with water allowing the machines to loosen the berries from the vines and float to the surface. Then by hand they corral the berries with plastic tubing into a general location where they will be sucked onto a conveyor belt as they are washed and put into trucks for processing into juice. The fresh cranberries you buy in the stores (in bags) are picked somewhat by hand from bogs that are not flooded. We actually got to pick cranberries and brought some home.

Hopefully tomorrow is sunny and our plan is to take the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard for some bike riding around the island. We are both really enjoying our Cape Cod visit and don't want to leave!

Hyannisport, Mass

We took off in the morning and drove to the tip of the Cape to Provincetown. Very congested area, but unique stores and eateries. The town is very artsy with many galleries. We ate a bowl of award winning chowder at the famous Oyster Pot and then headed down to the National Seashore....just in time for the rain to start, again. The drive along the Bay is so beautiful.

We drove to Hyannisport with the hopes of finding the Kennedy Compound. We knew in would be a long shot. The location is not advertised anywhere, no tour signs saying "this way." But we did noticed signs saying No Tour Buses, private area. Andy was determined to find the mansion and kept driving until we decided to park and walk the beach, to look for it from the ocean. Yeah...there it was!! And about 10 other people looking also for the house and taking pictures. We had our photo taken in front, proving we were there. The house was completely closed up, windows all covered. We all decided to continue to walk further down and looked at the other homes appearing to be part of the compound. We had heard that many of the Kennedy children also have homes in the area. The home next door was also very huge and we all were then uncertain which house actually was the main home! I looked it up on the Internet and Zillow, when we got back to the RV. It appears that the second home is the main home where the whole Kennedy family spent summers and holidays. So we didn't get our photo taken in front of it, but we at least did get a shot of it!! Zillow had it listed as being sold recently for $1.00. We had read that the decision was made to turn the home into a museum.

We have been retired now for three and a half months and finally our bodies are adjusting. We both slept until 9:30; and I slept for 10 hours!!! No alarm clocks any more. Actually, no clocks in the RV. The mornings have been very cloudy, so no light shines in to wake us.

We will be here in this campground until Monday October 12th, then we are being kicked out. The campground is closing for the season. It is a great place. We even have cable TV and have been trying to catch up on the news and happenings in the outside world. But will continue to head south....especially for more sunshine!

Cape Cod, Mass

Stopped in Plymouth, Mass on our way to Cape Cod. Andy had never seen PLYMOUTH ROCK or the Mayflower (only a replica). It took 120 years after the Pilgrims landed here for it to be recognized as the actual spot! The rock is now protected by a granite shelter to prevent further vandalism. The town of Plymouth is very quaint, but has become more touristy then I remembered. It is still a typical New England looking town on the water, though.
We are in Cape Cod. Planning on spending about three or four days here, depending on the weather. Rain is predicted again, for tomorrow. But the last 2 days have been sunny with fall like temperatures, that we are thankful. The Cape has a 39-mile-long bike trail that we are hoping to ride on. Most likely not the entire trail! But it would be nice to get those bikes off the back of our camper.
For the past week, we have stayed in fairly large campgrounds (about 100 sites, or so), and we have been the only campers there. Very quiet and the great advantage of camping in the off season. But tonight, on Cape Cod, this campground is about 200 sites and they are expecting most all sites to be full (the weekend is here). This place is crowded with congested traffic, even in off seasons!
Our initial view of the area show some elaborate, huge homes, showing the prosperous fishing and whaling center from years past. Everything is very well kept, great landscaping, and no "bad" parts of town. But it does appear the Cape has become over developed and may be losing some of its charm. The trees have only begun to change their colors in Massachusetts, unlike the peak colors in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Camden, Maine

Arrived in the mid-coast area of Maine. This area at one time was very rich with ship building and has many large fishing ports. In the late 1800's this area was wealthy as shown by the hundreds of mansions built along the coast. Many of these today are Bed and Breakfast or Inns. Although the areas are still thriving with active downtown's, many people (I assume tourist) walking, shopping and eating....just like us.

Above photo is a granite breakwater extending seven-eighths of a mile across Penobscot Bay, leading to the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. Andy claims he read, there are over 730,000 tons of granite on that breakwater. We were trying to pick out our next granite slab for the kitchen. The lighthouse was built in 1888 and is still functional. We walked out there and back just as the sun was setting. We could live here! But NOT in the winter!

Our funny story for the day: went to Walmart (where else, you might ask) and decided to check out a video from those Redbox vending machines. We were excited because it only cost $1.05 for 24 hours. Got back to the camper and realized we had no electricity. We were dry camping in the Walmart parking lot that night. But decided we would be creative and went to the local laundromat to do a few loads of dirty clothes and watched it there on our laptop, until it closed and it had to be continued at McDonalds. ...we only had another 45 minutes left and had to find a plug some where! The things we've learned to do on a limited retirees budget.

Acadia National Park

This morning we could have seen that sun rise before any of you....if we had gotten up at 6:36AM. It was shining most of the day!! But we no longer get up that early. Instead, we went to the summit of Cadillac Mountain at 6:06 PM to see that sun set. Not as impressive as the sunsets on the west coast over the ocean. But still worth the journey and effort to get there.

We spent the entire day at Acadia Nat'l Park. It is located on Dessert Island, a rock-based island on the Atlantic coast. You can see the great granite cliffs undermined by the pounding surf, making it very picturesque. We did a lot of climbing on those rocks. The photo of the Bass Harbor Lighthouse, at the southernmost tip of Mount Dessert Island, can be best photographed from the rocks, since it is literally built on the rugged granite cliff! It was built in 1858 and is still fully operational. Acadia has five lighthouses off the coast, but this is the only one accessible by car. Maine has the second largest number of lighthouse. The state of Michigan has the most!!

The other photos are of us on the top of Bubble Rock. The view was fantastic and well worth the mile climb up a rocky path. This boulder was just left here from the ice sheet glacier traveling and gathering up large rocks and carrying them some distances. It looks like you could just push that boulder off the cliff...we tried! To the west of Bubble Rock we could see Jordan Lake and to the east, we had a great view of the Atlantic Ocean. And it was pure solitude. No one else there but us. We just set the self timer on the camera and instant memories.

Next we are heading down to the mid coast of Maine to see the lobster capital of the world! The price of lobster appear to be very cheap, but neither one of us likes lobster!

Bar Harbor, Maine

Again, we woke up to more RAIN.

According to weather.com the coast of Maine was under a flood watch. This makes for bad sight seeing, bad picture taking, and bad hair days! Still haven't seen the sun, but the rain did let up for a few hours this afternoon. And then the fog rolled in. The tourism board advertises that "Acadia National Park are among the first people in the US to watch the sunrise"....well that would be nice to see.

The coast of Maine is beautiful with the rugged, mountainous terrain hugging the coastline, reaching down to the ocean. Spent most of our time today walking through Bar Harbor, in and out of little shops and then walking along the harbor board walk looking at the fishing and sail boats. There were two cruise ships in port today, so many tourist walking the town. Met several other couples traveling the US just as we are. Actually, this one couple we have been running into since Vermont and met them again on the streets in Bar Harbor! He still had on his same Oregon sweatshirt. That's how we meet people....Andy wore his Michigan shirt today and people feel they need to comment. (Yes, we know U of M lost!) We decided to take to the coast line for some solitude and exploring after a short time shopping.

Tomorrow planning on going into Acadia National Park and doing some hiking and exploring the rest of Mount Desert Island. Unless the rain continues....

We are in Maine!

Well our plans for the day was ruined by the weather....again! As you can see by the pictures, more rain and fog. These are our views as we pass through the Presidential Range of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. It rained pretty heavy all night and when we woke up there was standing water all around our camper. Nothing is worse then camping in rain AND mud! We decided to just keep driving eastward to Maine.

The fall foliage is beautiful (even with the rain). The hills look like they are on fire with the autumn hues. We were told that out of every five hardwood trees, two of them are sugar maples. Now that explains all the colors.

Just across the Maine state line, we visited the information center. They have the best maps and brochures and the workers there are usually full of great knowledge. So we always try and stop at those little houses. There was this elderly women behind the desk who were approached and asked what interesting things we could see along US 2, on our way to Bar Harbor. She didn't hesitated in saying "nothing". Although she did mention that the city of Rumford (where we were at) was where Edmund Muskie was from and he was her high school history teacher!

Interesting fact about Maine: it grows 99% of all of the US blueberries.

We are about an hour west of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Headed there tomorrow for the next couple of days. The rain hopefully will be out of here and we can enjoy some outdoors. If not, we are headed south real soon.

New Hampshire

As we headed out of Vermont, we stopped at the Braggs Farm Sugarhouse to see how maple syrup is produced. It is an eighth-generation, family operated maple sugar house. The season is actually in late winter and early spring, so we didn't get to see first hand the operation. Vermont produces 1/3 of the US syrup and New England, the mid-west and southeast Canada are the ONLY place in the world to produce all maple syrup. Of course, we sampled the four grades of syrup and then had to buy a bottle. Very educational.
Arriving in New Hampshire the rolling hills dominate the terrain here. And the blazing colors bring those hills alive in the fall. We have been told the color is now at peak and some areas the trees are even beginning to drop leaves. The White Mountains begin as you cross over the state line. We traveled on SR 302 to get a real close up look at the Presidential Range and Mt Washington, the highest peak in the northeast. As you can see it is all snow covered. The summit rivals that of the Antarctica: the average annual temperature is below freezing. Also in 1934, the highest surface wind ever recorded on the planet-231 miles per hour- was clocked there! What a sight!! This is a picture of the historic Mount Washington Hotel built in 1902. (The mountain in the background). It reminds us of Mackinaw's Grand Hotel. Very pricey. We didn't feel comfortable driving up the long drive pulling our RV. Therefore, we didn't get a close look. But we can only imagine....and dream!

In late afternoon we ventured out to explore the covered bridges of the area and compare them with the mid-west and western states. New Hampshire has about 100 bridges still standing and restored. These here in the east are longer and have more architectural detail. And they are not all red! I am so fascinated by these bridges. Some of the first covered bridges were toll bridges, and very profitable for the owner. It was a great day to photograph them because it was not raining, the sun was out and the temperature was 54 degrees. We are hoping for similar weather tomorrow so we can hike. There are over 1,200 miles of hiking trails in the White Mountain National Forest. If it rains, there are almost as many outlet stores to shop at. And no sales tax.