October 2024

Fall in the Northeast

Everyone says how beautiful Vermont is in the fall and they are not wrong.  It was even better than we expected.  The scenery was idyllic and we hardly ever drove on a highway; the roads were windy and slow.  The towns we drove through were charming (as were all the covered bridges we saw), and we had never seen signs for gallons of maple syrup for $40-$60 before.  The tour of Ben & Jerry's ice cream was fun too.  Lots of people love Stowe, VT but Hailey enjoyed Woodstock, VT more.  The camping in Vermont was amazing.  Each night we stayed in a  different area of the Green Mountain National Forest, which was private, quiet, and free.  Our last night in Vermont was spent at The Robb Family Farm Sugar House.  This was a great Harvest Host spot as the owners were very generous and kind.  They provided our parking area with firewood, a firepit, a picnic table, and chairs.  We were able to get a tour of how they make maple syrup (their sugarbush has about 7,500 taps; a sugarbush is a group of maple trees) and we bought a lot of maple syrup and maple syrup goodies. 

October 12th-17th were spent in Maine.  We explored Baa ha ba (Bar Harbor), Acadia National Park, Birch Bay, Booth Bay, and a small part of Portland.  For two nights we stayed near the Schoodic Peninsula of Acadia National Park, which is a much quieter area of the park.   Corea is a nearby lobster fishing town, and we stopped at US Bells to see the craftsmanship and get an overview of how they make their bells.  Bar Harbor was neat to check out but we don't have a strong desire to return.  It's very crowded and commercialized.  However, Booth Bay has a more local and authentic feel.  We wouldn't mind spending more time in the Booth Bay area sometime.  We recommend stopping by Seawicks Candle Company - they have great scents and cute labels on their candles. 

We headed to Massachusetts after Maine.  Our Boondockers Welcome location was in North Reading, MA.  The hosts were super welcoming and were able to watch Lucky while we took public transportation into Boston for a day.  Even though we didn't even have two full days in Boston, we still saw and did a lot.  Hailey's friend Dan, who she met teaching abroad in Portugal in 2018, is a conDUCKtor on the Boston Duck Tours.  He was able to get us tickets on one of his tours, and we were allowed to drive the boat for a minute.  Some of the other things we saw and did in Boston were: 

• The Boston Public Library

• Bought a dark chocolate drinking chocolate from L.A. Burdick 

• Walked to the Cheers building

• Sam Adams pub for beer 

• Wandered around Quincy Market

• Went to I Am Books to buy a copy of Make Way for Ducklings, a book that is 80 years old and set in Boston 

• Walked around the North End neighborhood which was a really cool area 

• Explored a bit of Harvard Square

• Watched a little bit of the Head of the Charles rowing regatta

• JFK Presidential Library 

A lesson we learned about driving in Boston is to be aware of bridges.  We're a bit under 10' at around 9' 9" but the lowest bridge we encountered had a height restriction of 10'.  We didn't hear any scraping but it was a nerve-wracking moment nonetheless. 

We spent a work week in Cape Code, where we obtained an SVC (self contained vehicle) permit and were able to stay overnight on the National Seashore.  Provincetown was a lot of fun to check out.  Even the library was cool as it had an almost full-size ship inside the building, and they had a program for kids to read to dogs. 

The last weekend of October was spent in Rhode Island.  We walked around Providence and toured the Athenaeum, a beautiful old building and library.  In Newport we were impressed at the wealth and size of the old houses.  We toured The Breakers - the Vanderbilts' 70 bedroom summer cottage - and after seeing the immense size of the rooms and house, Josh stated, "I feel inadequate." 

After Rhode Island we headed to Croton-on-Hudson, where we camped at Croton Point Park for several nights.  It's a beautiful campground with great walking trails.  We went to The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze: Hudson Valley on October 30th.  It's an event that has over 7,000 carved pumpkins.  Most of the pumpkins are "funmpkins" (fake pumpkins) but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.  Halloween Day was spent in Sleepy Hollow, NY.  The first activity we did in Sleepy Hollow was to wander the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and find Washington Irving's grave.  Later in the day we explored some of the shops and walked down the main streets.  It was 79 degrees and it was so strange to be that hot late this time of year, especially when we're accustomed to the cold and wet weather of the Pacific Northwest.