Saturday, September 29, 2012
Bethel, Maine to Revere, Massachusetts
In the morning, we went to the continental breakfast served in
the inn. Our room was in the motel part of the motel/inn, so we
hadn't visited the dining room yet. It was cozy and charming and so
much like I'd always pictured New England that it seemed out of a
storybook. They even had a fire in the fireplace. The weather is
foggy and misty today, about 50 degrees.
Near the end of our meal, the proprietress came over to chat about
our stay, and I mentioned that the décor and the weather reminded
me of Christmas back home. She laughed and said that to them, it's
still summer!
Norseman
Inn
Breakfast in New
England
Mount Washington, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, is the
highest peak in the Northeastern United States, at 6,288 feet
(1,917 meters), and is famous for its dangerously erratic weather.
Until 2010, a weather observatory on the summit held the record for
the highest wind gust measured at the Earth's surface, 231 miles
per hour, on April 12, 1934.
The Mount Washington Auto Road is a 7.6-mile, steep (average grade
11.6 percent), nerve-racking, scenic toll road that leads to the
top of Mount Washington. The weather today is pretty poor for a
scenic drive. In fact, visibility is probably close to zero at the
top of the mountain. But crummy weather just goes with the
territory on Mount Washington, and you get what you get. The drive
is the experience, and we were ready to go! We checked out of our
hotel at 10:30 and were on our way.
Cool like a moose,
Gorham, New Hampshire
At 11:15 we arrived at the Auto Road, only to be turned away
because of yesterday's rain causing the dirt portion of the road
near the top to be wet and slick. And of course they can't predict
when it might reopen, but more rain and drizzle is expected today,
so it doesn't look good. Rats!
Mount Washington Auto
Road
Foggy fall
foliage
Now what? Well, just down Highway 16, in Jackson, New Hampshire, we
decided to take a gondola to the summit of Wildcat Mountain,
elevation 4,000-plus feet. So at least we got to experience the
view we would have gotten from the top of Mount Washington, which
was nothing, but it was kind of cool up there anyway. We hiked a
short ways down a trail and found a place where fairies should
live.
Wildcat Mountain
Gondola
"View" from the
top
Fairyland
We ate lunch in the parking lot at the base of Wildcat Mountain,
leftovers from last night's dinner, then drove back to the Auto
Road, just to make sure it hadn't opened in the meantime since we'd
last checked. It hadn't, so we headed south toward Boston,
following Highway 16 as far as Dover. It was a beautiful drive for
fall foliage, and we had an opportunity to meet some colorful New
Hampshirites along the way.
Autumn in New
Hampshire
At 6:00 we arrived at the Four Points by Sheraton Boston Logan
Airport Hotel, located in Revere, Massachusetts, just a mile or so
from an MBTA station that goes to Boston. We'll be here three
nights. It wasn't a bad price for a nice hotel in the Boston area,
$146. The room was huge, with a king-sized bed (finally!),
microwave, fridge, free parking, free wifi, and free breakfast.
However, if you want a 12-ounce Sam Adams in the bar, it'll set you
back 6 bucks. Ha! We walked down the road to The Dairy Mart, a
convenience store/liquor store/keno lounge and bought a six-pack
for 6 bucks instead.
We ate dinner at the Landing Cafe Lounge in the hotel, skipping the
$6 beers. We each had a cheeseburger and fries. I really enjoyed
listening to the Boston accents of the waitstaff.
|