Moving on Down the Road

Three days after leaving PEI we are only 718 miles down the road.  But the road has been hilly, curvy, narrow, and bumpy for much of the way.  Almost all of today was spent on US 2 West and it was fairly slow going.  However, before leaving Timberland Campground I checked with the office and was relieved to discover that my lens hood had been found.  I have to find a way to tether it to the camera or strap somehow. 

The scenery today was outstanding.  We made a wrong turn and went ten miles out of the way but found a really nice vista.  You never know what you will find around the next curve.  Of course, it may not always be something good.

Carol Ann had read that the Cabot Creamery (Cabot Cheese) was just off US 2 and we decided to stop and take the tour.  When we got to the turn-off the sign said “Cabot 5 miles”.  We turned onto a very narrow and curvy country road that ran through a little valley.  It was cracked and broken and if a shoulder existed I couldn’t tell.  I began to silently question the wisdom of this side trip but we were committed because there was no possible place to turn around.  At last we saw the creamery ahead on the right, crowded between the road and a ridge behind it.  We saw a very narrow visitors’ parking lot as we drew closer.  There was a sign saying “NO BUSES.”  There was another sign with an arroww pointing past the creamery that said “BUS TURNAROUND.”  We drove slowly past the creamery desperately looking on both sides of the road for a place to park our 62-foot rig before we got to the designated turnaround.  We reached the turnaround and made a big U-turn.  It may have been the only place to do so for miles.  There was no way that I was going to continue down that road not knowing what lay ahead.  We bid farewell to the Cabot Creamery as we drove back by it and returned to US 2 West.

Now our sights were on the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream factory near Waterbury, VT.  We were hungry and hoped there would also be someplace along the way to grab a sandwich.  There were, but none had enough space to park our rig.  We finally made it to Ben & Jerry’s and before I turned in I did see an “RV Parking” sign pointing up the hill.  There was a very sharp and narrow turn at the top of the hill and people were walking around in the road like I wasn’t there but I managed to squeeze through the crowd with the help of a parking lot attendant.  The RV and bus lot was narrow with a cul-de-sac at the end for turning around.  I went around the cul-de-sac and pulled up next to a tour bus but I was longer than it and our car was still in the cul-de-sac.  The attendant asked me if I could back up.  Not unless I unhooked the car, I informed her.  She said OK and walked off.   As I mentioned, the place was crawling with people, we were tired, and we still didn’t know where we would be staying tonight.  We checked our campground directory and iPhone app, found a campground nearby, and called for a reservation.  Then we decided to just go on to the campground and come back tomorrow in the car.  We waved at the parking attendant as we left.

The campground, Golden Brook Campground, was in Stowe, VT, only about 8 miles away.  Before reaching the campground we passed a large Cabot Creamery Annex Store.  If only we had known.

We will be staying at the Golden Brook Campground for 2 nights.  We lucked out once again by getting the last campsite available.  The state fair begins this weekend in the field next door to the RV park.  After parking the RV we took about a 2-hour nap.  We’ll go to Ben & Jerry’s tomorrow

Tonight New Hampshire, Tomorrow Ben & Jerry's

It rained all night and into the morning.   We were both tired and overslept this morning.  I looked at my watch and saw it was 9:30AM so I shook Carol Ann and jumped up before she could tell me it was only 8:30AM.  I had forgotten to set my watch back one hour when we changed time zones.  Still, it was 10:30AM before we got on the road and not really knowing exactly where we were going.  We headed south on I-95 then jumped over to US 2 West a few miles below Bangor and headed towards Vermont. 

After 48 days in Canada it took a while to change mental gears.  I would see something that was common for the US but normally wouldn’t be seen in Canada and start to blurt out, “Hey, there’s a ________!” before realizing that I was not in Canada.  We were also excited about the change in fuel prices, which were over $5 per gallon in Canada and under $4 per gallon in the US.  Carol Ann got excited when she bought a gallon of milk in a convenience store for $3.69 while I was fueling the RV.  It was about $9 a gallon in Canada.  The Maritime Provinces were something to see and we are glad that we had the opportunity to visit them.  However, its good to be back to US prices.

Shortly before reaching New Hampshire the terrain began to change as we neared the White Mountains.  We crossed into New Hampshire and stopped around 4:30PM at Timberland Campground in Shelburne, NH.  We did not have reservations (remember, we didn’t really know where we were going) and were lucky to get a campsite.  We got their last vacant site.

After getting settled I grabbed my camera and headed for the “River Walk” along the Androscoggin River.  It was at least a quarter of a mile down to the river and then I walked along the river for a little ways and took some photos before heading back to the RV.  As I was huffing and puffing up an especially steep portion of the trail I heard footsteps behind me.  It startled me because I didn’t think anyone was behind me.  I turned to look just as a guy RAN past me in running shorts and shirt!  That really made me feel old and out of shape.

Back at the RV I was getting ready to take a look at the photos I had taken when I realized that I had lost the camera’s lens hood somewhere between the river and the RV.  I turned around and retraced all of those tiring my steps to the river and back with no luck.  I’m sure I will be sore tomorrow.  Before we leave in the morning I’ll check at the office to see if someone found the lens hood and turned it in.  I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Tomorrow we will continue across New Hampshire’s White Mountains and into Vermont’s Green Mountains (remember Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys in the American Revolution?).  One of our destinations will be the hometown and factory of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to see how it compares to that of Cows in Canada.