Milepost 6-27-16

Having just acquired a red convertible, it seemed proper to immediately venture out on one of the road trips we have been delaying for awhile.  We took a quick glance at our calendar and saw that we could invest 7 days and 6 nights in a whirlwind tour to the northeast that would also help us check off 6 more states for a total of 49 states visited.

Driving a sports car makes for a different sort of touring experience than hauling the RV.  The miles fly by faster, and there seems to be less effort overall.

Cutting across Canada from Michigan saved 150 miles and 3 hours of road time.  Fortunately, the border crossings were hassle-free as well.

In order to catch Vermont and New Hampshire we had to leave the expressway and take to the hilly winding 2-lanes that connect the quaint little towns in the valleys.  We call it “red-lining” because the backroads are printed in red on a map.  By the second night we were on the Maine coast.

The famous Portland Head Lighthouse was rather gray-looking under a heavy sky, but beautiful nonetheless.  Heading up the coast from there, we made it to our motel near Bar Harbor in time for dinner and a leisurely stroll around the town and the wharf.  I had my first taste of blueberry soda.  Mmm.

The next day was our 45th wedding anniversary, and we picked Acadia National Park for our destination for the day.  Cadillac Mountain was socked in with fog at the top, but we stayed long enough to watch some of it drift away on the morning breeze.

We chose Bass Harbor for lunch and had a great meal of seafood on the wharf.  The neighboring docks were stacked with lobster traps.  The tide rose 2 feet in the harbor while we dined.  They said their tides can vary by as much as 12 feet.

The classic view of Bass Harbor lighthouse was reached by means of a rather strenuous climb over rugged boulders and stairways.

Wandering around the rocky coastline all afternoon, we arrived back in Bar Harbor for dinner and another perusal of the gift shops all over town.

Our return route took us down the coast to visit Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut all in one day.  By chance, we were at Mystic, CT, for lunch and had shrimp cocktail and a footlong hotdog on a patio by the harbor.  No pizza this time.

We skirted wide around New York City to miss the traffic; we had already toured the Big Apple a few years ago.  From there it was pedal down for home.

I’ll have to admit, there was an element of “git-er-done” attitude on this trip.  Not only were we tallying states visited, but we also had limited time to devote to the venture.  I am sure that we missed a lot of good stuff — but we were able to identify some favorite spots and moments anyway.  I think the anniversary lunch on the wharf at Bass Harbor was one of our most memorable.  And of course, we both have a thing for lighthouses.

I don’t know what we will do about that 50th state.  Hawaii might have to wait a while for us.