#love to see two old guys sit on a stage and judge long-dead politicians

[fictionadventurer]

Every time I think I'm tired of these guys and their endless rivalries, I learn about another crazy facet of the political system of the time and I get obsessed all over again.

You've got the chaos of 1840-1860, where slavery's increasingly becoming the all-important issue. The Whig Party is fracturing over it and turning into a bunch of tiny little one-issue parties that split the Northern vote. The only reason the South isn't seceding is because the chaos in the North keeps Southern-sympathizing Democratic presidents in power. By the time the 1860 election rolls around, the tiny little Northern parties have finally coalesced into the Republican Party, whose one issue is opposing slavery, and the Democrats are fracturing to back three separate presidential candidates. This allows the North to finally get a Republican in the White House, upon which the South immediately throws a tantrum and bails.

Which then transitions us to the political climate of the Civil War, where the war effort is vastly complicated by the fact that you've got to keep a jillion tiny little factions happy to prevent the country from splintering further. You've got the slave-holding border states who need to be placated so they don't decide to secede. You've got abolitionists who want to make the end of slavery the prime object of the war, which would be a great way to send all those border states straight into the arms of the Confederacy. You've got German-Americans and Irish-Americans and a bunch of different ethnic groups who all want representation among the high-ranking officers of the war. Within the Republican Party itself, you've got former Whigs and Know-Nothings and Radical Republicans and Free Soilers and anti-slavery Democrats who all agree that slavery is bad, but disagree about the best way to get rid of it, plus they all retain vastly different political beliefs from their former party associations. Plus, there are still some pro-Union Democrats you have to deal with, who also splinter among themselves into War Democrats and Peace Democrats who disagree on whether we should continue this horrific war or sue for peace.

And then there's the Confederate politics. You have Davis, the so-called President-General who'd rather be leading troops and hates politicking so much that he'll allegedly cross the street when he sees a Congressman coming rather than risk talking to him and be accused of currying political favor. He's dealing with a Congress that's essentially the Anti-Davis Party, because it's made up of a bunch of men who thought they should have been president (and I cannot explain just how hilarious that is to me). They're uniting under their belief that slavery should be preserved, and yet by the end of the war they're considering emancipation efforts in a last-ditch attempt convince France or England to help them out. They seceded because of one issue and they're willing to throw that away rather than admit defeat.

The chaos just keeps going. It's a never-ending series of high-drama rabbit holes to jump down. You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried. Politics nowadays is crazy, but Civil War politics are crazier, plus we have the distance of history that makes it fun to just sit back with a bag of popcorn and watch the insanity unfold.

[mnranger5]

“Falling” in the NorthEast, Boston, MA, Portland, ME, Boothbay, ME, Whitefield, NH,  9/27/19 – 10/1/19

More than once on this trip, we heard people say they “SUMMER” in the Boothbay, Kennebunkport and in the rolling mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont.  One older gentleman, with a sweater draped over his back, sleeves tied around his chest, explained it on our evening ocean sail, as “Summering, as a verb.”  Well, we here in the Midwest have our own term - it’s called “VACATIONING.”  And since it is no longer summer, this trip is VACATIONING IN THE FALL.  But, in the spirit of rebranding words to sound like an East Coast Hoity Toity, this blog is all about Dyan and I FALLING across the northeastern United States.  

One of our bucket list trips was an east coast roadtrip which included indulging in an obscene amount of lobster and taking in the brilliant fall foliage in the White Mountain National Forrest.  So, for Dyan’s birthday, I booked this trip for her.  This turned out to be a wonderful getaway as we wandered around the NE with no real agenda.  Having no plans really allowed us to get creative with the journey and we ended up stumbling on some very interesting locations and activities.  And the people watching on this trip was priceless.  Surely worth more laughs than the best SNL skit.

9/27/19

Like all our trips, we were up early.  Our 6:50 flight took off just after sunrise and we surfed the clouds at 35,000 feet all the way to Boston.  A quick little 2-hour flight of smooth sailing is my kind of travel!

We Uber’ed over to the Courtyard Marriott hotel in downtown Boston.  This hotel is directly across the street from the TD Boston Garden, the venue for the concert we’d be attending later that night.  With the room not being ready yet, Dyan and I ventured out into downtown, in search of a lunch-time lobster roll.  We settled on Luke’s Lobster.  We ate at Luke’s on our first visit to Boston, and we both recalled it being delicious.  We ordered the lobster rolls, drizzled in warm butter and a side of clam chowder. The lobster rolls were fabulous, albeit pricey.  At $25 for a hot dog sized sandwich, it’ll leave you wanting two more.

After lunch, we walked around a bit more seeing some of the Freedom Trail sites.  We walked the entire Freedom Trail on our first visit in August of 2016, so this time we hit one main exhibit that had been closed for restoration.  Old Ironsides, also known as, the U.S.S. Constitution.  We toured the ship for nearly an hour.  An absolute highlight for me that I had been hoping I’d get to see since our trip in 2016.

For dinner, we chose Bell in the Hand Tavern, American’s oldest tavern.  This storied establishment has been around since 1795. Obviously, it’s been renovated, but the bones and stonework of the building are original.  Of course, their specialty is cold drinks and seafood. Yes please.  We got the best seat in the house, the table at the point of the restaurant.

Obviously, we ordered oysters and lobster rolls and beer.  While we ate absolutely everything on our plates, they were probably our least favorite lobster rolls of the trip, and most expensive at $28/roll.  The lobster was a bit dry, the buns weren’t griddled and the shredded lettuce under the lobster was wilted.  Complaining about having to eat lobster…first world problems.

After dinner, we walked a couple of blocks over to an establishment where everybody knows your name. And they’re always glad you came!

Yep, the original Cheers! bar.  It was here Dyan fell for unfiltered, “chunky” cider beer called DownEast Cider.

From there, it was over to the Boston Garden, home of the Boston Celtics and Bruins.  A storied facility, like its well-known brother down the street called Fenway Park.  But tonight, was not about Larry Bird’s basketball team or Bobby Orr’s hockey team. Tonight, was a different kind of birthday gift for Dyan.  Tickets to The Chainsmokers & 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) concert!  We had great seats too, sitting low on the side just off stage left.  Opening act, Lennon Stella, was underwhelming, as she played to about 5,000 fans that were in the process of filtering into the area.  Her set felt very small on the massive stage and worse, all her songs sounded the same.

The second band of the night were the Ausie Punk Rockers, 5SOS.  These guys were full of energy from the moment they hit the stage.  Easily could be headliners of their own show, they rolled out all their hits including their hard rock version of Easier, one of my favorite songs.  They did a sweet cover of Blink 182’s What’s My Name and closed their set down with an amazing rendition of Youngbloods.  5SOS was amazing, and we agreed we’d both go see them again.

The headliner was the DJ duo, The Chainsmokers.  This is one of our favorites.  While we aren’t part of the stereotypical rave or EDM crowd, we do love a good Chainsmokers remix on then Sonos while we’re cooking dinner for the kiddos! Anyway, the show was more like a spectacle.  There were more laser lights, smoke, pyrotechnics, flaming drumsticks, motorbikes, giant suspended metal globes (which the bikes rode in), and great music than any show I have ever been to.  The show was probably the best show either of us have ever been to.  They opened the set with Takeaway (with Lennon Stella) before hitting just about every hit they’ve ever made, like Paris, Something Just Like This, Don’t Let Me Down, Call You Mine, This Feeling, Who Do You Love (with 5SOS) before closing with Closer.  From 5SOS to The Chainsmokers, Dyan and I never sat in our seats. Boston got to see all my best dance moves!  It was an incredible concert.

9/28/19

By 8AM, we were checked out of the hotel, and Uber’ed back to the airport to pick up our rental car. We rented from Alamo.  Just our luck… Alamo had the ONLY line in the entire rental car reservation area.  We waited in line for about 30 minutes before reaching the counter.  Obviously, I rented as cool of car as I could get my hands on.  Afterall, this was going to be a roadtrip and we needed to drive in style!  So I selected the Mustang convertible class several months earlier.  When it was our turn to approach the counter, the attendant asked me the car class I was looking for.  I told her we reserved the standard convertible.  She shot me the most dead serious look and told me the last couple at the counter had just upgraded to the last convertible.  My jaw dropped as I searched for words.  Then she flashed her pearly whites at me and said, “Just Kidding!”

Within minutes, we were headed out to the garage.  Sitting right up front were two gorgeous Mustang convertibles.  One was bright red car under the “Standard Convertible” sign, and the other was silver under the “Premium Convertible” sign.  The silver was the 5.0L Mustang GT.  The lot attendant was a 16 year old gal who likely had no idea the difference in the cars.  She lead us over to the red car.  I asked if we could take the silver car.  She shrugged her shoulders.  We picked the silver GT and got out of the garage before anybody knew any better.

Our road trip had officially begun!  First stop, Salem, MA.  Salem is a cute little town that 100% plays to tourists coming to learn about the town’s history.  Specifically, Witches and the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 – one of the most tragic events of early American History.  

There were dozens of historical sites to see in a one-mile radius stretching from downtown Salem to the waterfront.  We only had time to hit a couple of sites, so the first site we visited is the Witch House, widely considered ground zero in Salem’s eerie history.  In 1692, the home was owned by Jonathon Corwin, a wealthy merchant and politician.  He was also the magistrate and judge in Salem who presided over the Salem Witch Trials. In short, Corwin oversaw the imprisonment of 150 people (witches, thought to be practicing witchcraft) and the death of 19 (18 of which were hung, and one pressed to death.  Our second stop of the day was at The Salem Witch Trial Memorial, just blocks from Corwin’s residence.  Each of the 19 killed in 1692 have their own granite slab indicating their demise.

Our reaction to Salem was mixed.  Interesting, yes.  Creepy, yes. Sad, yes.  It is too bad all those people had to die because a couple of kids were acting out (acting like kids when they don’t get iPad time) and their parents thought somebody was casting a spell on them.  Time for people to die.  Sheash! Obviously, the story is tragic and cruel, but the entire town plays to the story. Virtually every shop in the historic area has to do with spooky costumes, Halloween decor, dark presences and witches.  It really is a bizarre place to visit with a creepy vibe.  Doubtful we’d ever go back.

Next stop on the roadtrip was Kennebunkport.  This little gem of a coastal town is quaint, yet insanely overcrowded with tourist milling around.  The two hotspots, The Clam Shack and Arundel Wharf Seafood had very long lines, so we settled on Alisson’s Restaurant because it had immediate seating.  Talk about a sleeper!    This place gets none of the seafood hype but delivers up some fantastic lobster rolls! Dyan got the regular lobster roll, while I ordered the lobster roll trio “sliders.”  Finally a lobster meal that was filling!

Back on the road!  By 3PM, we reached Portland.  Our hotel, the Westin Harborview, sits beautiful perched up on the hill overlooking the Fore River dumping into the Atlantic Ocean.  While waiting for our room, we had a couple of drinks at Top of the East, the rooftop hotel bar.

Later that evening, we walked from the hotel to the waterfront as we evaluated all the seafood restaurants.  Obviously, we were having lobster again, but there was a lot of restaurants to choose from. The Fisherman’s Wharf had at least a dozen piers, all of which appeared to be working docks.  They all had shops, businesses, seafood markets and a few restaurants.  So many signs stating “Best Lobster Roll”, “Freshest Lobster”, “Most Lobster”, “Affordable Lobster”.  How do you choose?  We were drowning in choices.  We took a walk down Portland Pier seeing neon lights at the very end.  Must be another lobster joint…  As we got closer, the establishment’s sign came into view.  It wasn’t just any lobster joint.  Nope, this was Luke’s Lobster’s flagship location – a brand new facility that just opened in June of this year. Winner-winner-lobster-dinner!    Dyan and I got seated waterfront on the patio. We had an amazing view of the sunset at low tide.

9/29/19

It was another gorgeous autumn morning.  After a delicious breakfast at the Westin, we headed north.  With the heater blasting, and Dyan covered in our jackets, we cruised with the top down through the Maine Points.  

One of our stops was at Bath, ME.  Prior to the trip, dad gave me a tip that this is the location of Bath Iron Works (BIW), the defense contractor that builds the United States elite warships. While we really couldn’t get close to the ship, we did have a couple vantage points of the USS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118), and Arleigh Burke-class destroyer.  This destroyer is widely considered the world’s most advanced surface warship.

As we crossed the Kennebec River, we got a different view of BIW, and saw a different ship currently being fitted.  It was the USS Lyndon B Johnson (DDG-1002).  The Lyndon B will be the third and final Zumwalt-class destroyer. With out of controls costs, and 29 canceled orders, the total project costs were spread over the three ships at a staggering price of 7.5 billion dollars per ship.  Yikes!

On our way to Boothbay, we made a wrong turn and ended up at Knickerbocker Park, a small island on the Black River.  

What a hidden gem this little park is.  We used this pit stop to walk a bit in the sun, and warm up!  

We arrived in Boothbay around 11:00, and proceeded to shop around the small town for about an hour. Dyan picked up a new wooden lobster marker for the family room picture shelf and also booked us a three hour afternoon sail to the nearby lighthouses on the Atlantic Ocean coastline.  

But first, lobster. We needed some in our bellies.  We had it narrowed down to two options.  McSeagulls or Mine Oyster.  Both on the water, both with seafood on the menu.  However, McSeagulls had this great cover band on their patio belting out some 80’s hits.  This was my kinda place.  Mine Oyster on the other hand seemed to be known for their oyster menu – not my thing. I remained silent, hoping Dyan would succumb to the great tunes bellowing from the bar.  Dyan chose Mine Oyster.  Of course, she did.  But this is her birthday extravaganza afterall, so whatever makes mama happy makes me happy!  We were promptly seated at the patio overlooking the Boothbay Harbor.  Full disclosure, other than for breakfast, we had lobster for every single meal thus far.  We kind of wanted to try some other fresh caught seafoods.  First up, Dyan got a small order of Oysters Rockafeller (sambuca flambéed spinach, garlic, shallots, bacon, cream and Swiss cheese) – the same style of oysters her and dad fell in love with while we were in Florida Keys for Alissa’s wedding.  I tried one, but it just reaffirmed that oysters are not my thing!  Dyan on the other hand was in Heaven.  We also got an order of fresh Maine squid, fried up into delicious calamari.

But oysters and calamri weren’t very filling.  The waiter told us that if we ordered the woodfired lobster dinner, he would personally guarantee that we’d never have better lobster in our life.  EVER.  That’s a hell of a guarantee.  Obviously, there was no saying “NO” to that claim.  And so, we had lobster for lunch, again.

It was served, pre-split for us.  The shells and edge of the lobster were a bit blacked from the wood fire.  But the meat glistened with a garlic/lemon butter.  It was obvious this place knew how to prepare lobster, and from bite #1, they made good on their guarantee.  We had had some great lobster on this trip, but the smokiness of the woodfire put this lobster in an entirely different category.  There literally was no comparison to this lobster. The meat literally fell out of the shell and into your stomach…not sure if I ever chewed.  Dyan and I spent 30 minutes peeling every tiny shred of meat out of every tentacle, tail orifice and claw.  This was one of the best meals I have ever had in my life.  And the fingerling potatoes served with it would have stolen the show on any other entrée except this one.  They were roasted perfectly in a butter glaze. Crispy skin and soft creamy middle. This restaurant  This meal could easily be the ONLY reason necessary to visit Boothbay.  Just wow. We sat on the patio for two hours drinking cold beers and watching lobster boats coming and going from the harbor.

Next up, was our sail boat ride on the Schooner Eastwind.  A perfectly relaxing sail for Dyan, but a working sail for me.  Within 5 minutes of boarding, we broke dock and were out into the harbor.  The captain and 1st officer needed assistance raising the sails.  

Obviously, I volunteered.  Me and another guy hoisted the main sail to full mast. Immediately, the wind caught the sail and we were heading south out to the ocean.  The trip took us past Burnt Island Lighthouse and Cuckolds Lighthouse. 

While no whales were spotted, some on the boat claimed to see multiple porpoises.  We did see a seal swimming through our wake which was pretty cool. It was a perfect day for sailing – bluebird skies, temps in the 60’s with some decent wind.  At the midpoint of our sail, we passed Cape Island, better known as Witch Island.  This island was owned by Margret Hamilton, better known as the Wicked Witch of the East from Wizard of Oz.  Apparently, she was a lovely woman and was known in the area for the being such a kind and sweet natured person!

After our sail, we headed out to Spruce Point Inn, our resort for the night.  Our cabin had a front row seat to a gorgeous Boothbay/Atlantic Ocean sunset.

We had a very comical end to the night that Dyan and I just could not stop laughing about.  It was 8PM and we were famished.  We took the shuttle back into Boothbay for dinner.  There was a quaint Italian restaurant, The Ports of Italy, that seemed to be the local favorite.  We didn’t have reservations, so it was a bit of a wait. Great people watching, however. Like, better than the state fair or airport.  Lots of old money and tourists made for an entertaining dinner.  Because this restaurant is quite small, the tables are virtually on top of each other.  After being seated, a younger couple was sat directly next to us.  They kept looking over at Dyan and I, clearly judging what we were eating.  I had this GIGANTIC plate of spaghetti in front of me and Dyan an equally large portion of lobster ravioli.  We chowed like nobody’s business.  We even ordered a second basket of bread just so we could mop up the sauce left on our dishes.  Meanwhile, the other couple was eating dainty salads with their glasses of vino.  They obviously could not believe how much food we had consumed.  They didn’t disguise their non-verbals very well.  Then we ordered dessert…not one, but two!  Cheesecake and lemon cake.  Obviously, those plates didn’t last long.  And the looks from our neighbors just kept on coming.  I could have eaten another basket of bread, but I refrained.  

After dinner, we walked around town.  Most of the shops were closed.  It was cold, as temps had dropped into the 40’s.  Neither of us had brought our jackets.  There was a shop that was open a couple blocks ahead of us with people streaming in and out of.  It was an ice cream parlor, and our hope was that they’d have some hot coffee.  We walked in, stood in the long line and glanced at the menu.  No coffee. We turned around and guess who was right behind us in line.  Yep, the couple from the Italian restaurant.  They must’ve really fallen off their rockers when they saw us in line – probably thought we were ordering our second desserts.  What a riot!

9/30/19

As beautiful of a resort as Spruce Point Inn is, we didn’t stick around long in the morning.  We were headed for the hills of New Hampshire by 9AM.  We stopped for a quick breakfast-on-the-road at Dunkin Donuts which brings me to a rant about the Northeast.  I am a pop drinker.  At several locations in the NE (including this Dunkin), we stopped to get pop – Dr. pepper for Dyan and Diet Pepsi for me.  Everytime we cracked a 20oz. bottle, there was no “PSSSSST”.  The pop was perfectly flat - no fizz, no bubbles, absolutely void of any carbonation.  It was like this nearly everywhere.  

By the end of the trip, the common denominator for the carbonation-less soda was bottles with this symbol on the cap.  Bizarre and disappointing because we probably wasted at least $10 on bad pop before figuring out not to buy pop with that cap.

The drive into New Hampshire was stunning.  We drove winding mountain roads as we climbed in elevation.  The fall foliage went from early signs of fall to full blown peak colors in a matter of an hour.  Brilliant reds and oranges cascaded down the mountains.  These are the colors that people rave about on NE fall road trips!

With the top down, we cruised along New Hampshire backroads that aren’t even recognized by the GPS. Around noon, we arrived at our stately resort, Mountain View Grand Resort, perched high on a hill in the White Mountains.  

The resort, built in 1865, is a massive, sprawling compound complete with a golf course, farm (with animals), mountain trails, pools, tennis courts and axe throwing. The place is magnificent. 

We were too early to check in, so we had a great lunch in the restaurant before heading outdoors to rent mountain bikes.  Yep, we were about to go mountain biking dressed in our Sunday-best.  And for the record, we aren’t bikers.  Renting bikes had as much paperwork as buying a new car. The Activities Manager, Mike, asked us our skill level, which prompted a response like “This is our first bike ride in 30 years.”  He laughed. He was planning to send us on Trail 1. He assured us it would be easy. He built up how much fun we’d have. “It’s a nice scenic view of the White Mountains.” We were sold!  His parting words were, “Stay right on the Old Farm Road (OFR) until you see a sign for Trail 1, then take a left.”  

Great! We were off.  OFR is a significantly long downhill  dirt road out the backside of the resort.  Within moments, Dyan and I were going WAY too fast on the loose gravel.

At this point in the story, I should mention that OFR has no clear signage.  There are several forks in the road to other dirt roads.  I recalled Mike saying “stay right”, so I called out to Dyan to take the right fork.  It led us into the resort maintenance area…a dead end.  We retraced our path uphill to the fork, walking the bikes up the steep road.  This was the first moment I regretted jeans and a sweater.

We headed back down OFR approaching another fork.  This time Dyan called out the right fork.  The road meandered into the woods and abruptly dead ended after a quarter of a mile.  Ugh, backtrack again.  This was annoying.

As Dyan walked her bike uphill, I rode my bike hard in a standing position, to get more power. SNAP!  My pedal flew out from under me as my foot slipped off causing me to nearly lose my balance.  The chain had popped off.  

Frustrating. I spent a few minutes getting the chain connected again, leaving my hands black with oil and nowhere to clean them off. After backtracking, we continued down OFR looking for Trail 1.  We came across a an unmarked trail.  Feeling like we had gone WAY TOO FAR on OFR, we decided to take it.  It turned out to be Trail 3, and Intermediate blue rout full of up/downs and rocks to dodge.  We obviously had gone the wrong way, but whow would we have known since the trails were not clearly marked.

As we huffed and puffed on Trail 3, we approached a fork in the road.  To the right was Trail 5, but straight was unmarked.  The unmarked trail turned out to be Trail 4, the most difficult trail on the mountain.  It was So steep, there were points we had to stop and walk our bikes.  My chain continued popping off, and Dyan’s bike wouldn’t shift into higher gears.  She was stuck doing uphills in very low gear settings – which made the challenging ride virtually impossible!

Trail 4 was the most challenging because it was super steep.  I swore under my breath a few times at the long meander downhill that OFR tool us on.  This was the payback.  An intense uphill with seemingly no end in sight.  After 30 minutes on Trail 4, we arrived at a junction with a sign that said, Trail 1!  Finally. Trail 1 gave us a nice easy ride out to the paved Mountain View Road where we could enjoy some of the beautiful scenery without having to worry what was over the next hill!  By this time however, Dyan was beat from her gear shifter not working, and I was a filthy mess from fixing my chain a half dozen times. When returning the bikes, Mike made a comment about how greasy my hand were.  I told him of our chain and gear shifting problems which caused him to react oddly.  He actually blamed the problems on us stating that while Dyan’s bike was gear shifting hard, it must have been user error because “it worked for him.”  He went on to tell me that I was obviously riding the bike wrong if the chain kept coming off.  He was quite defensive, so Dyan and I headed to the front desk to check in to the room – we had lots of plans this evening!

First up, we had a wine tasting in the 1865 Wine Cellar.  I can’t tell you the kinds of wine we tasted, but they were pretty tasty.  They also served cheese, crackers and fruit, which was a nice little snack before dinner.

And speaking of dinner, we had reservations at Stickney’s Steak and Chop Pub, in the iconic Omni Resort at Mt. Washington – a quick 15 minute drive from our resort.  This place is supposed to be a world-class steakhouse, but it ended up being anything but that.

We aren’t wine drinkers, but thought we might try it with our steak dinners.  We asked the waiter for a sweeter red wine.  Dyan and I chose differently based on his recommendations. Neither ended up being sweet at all. Mine tasted like jet fuel, and Dyan’s was like a glass of red vinegar (although, she didn’t complain about hers).  After one sip, I ordered a Diet Pepsi.  

For starters, we selected the crisp fried mozzarella, which was a giant brick of mozzarella with little fried coating.  We also both got the filet mignon.  I don’t know how you mess up a filet, but they surely did.  No seasoning not cooked very well and just overall a tough piece of meat.  That would be the worst $150 we spent on the trip.  Dinner was a bust, but at least we got a good laugh!

10/1/19

I had expected today to be a boring drive on the interstate back to Boston to catch a flight home. However, the drive turned out to have some really fun impromptu stops which ended up being highlights of the trip.

Being that we were only 10 minutes away from the Bernie Sanders territory, we decided to make the trip west to the N.H./Vermont border town of Lancaster for breakfast.  Then, we crossed the state line into Vermont and made our way down highways through the sleepy towns along the Connecticut River. Just outside of Lunenburg, VT, we crossed the Mount Orne Covered Bridge.  This was our first covered bridge of the trip!

We continued south winding along the river and valleys, taking in the vibrant red and orange foliage that canvassed the mountains.  It was the most beautiful fall colors we had seen the entire trip.

We joined up with I-93 in St. Johnsbury and headed southeast toward Boston.  

It didn’t take long for us to start gaining elevation as we made out way out of Franconia and up Cannon Mountain.

Just past the very intense black diamonds of the ski area were signs for Flume Gorge.  I recall seeing the first sign for the area and turning to Dyan and saying something like, “That sounds like a cool place!” Dyan looked at me and said, “I was thinking the same thing!”  Neither of us knew what a Flume Gorge was, but we took the next exit, because we were now on an adventure to find out.  The Flume Gorge could have been a trail, an amusement park ride, a historical site, a logging mill or maybe even a hotel or restaurant.  We didn’t even know where it was.  It could have been an hour away or maybe longer?  Just off the interstate we got our first idea what and where the Flume Gorge was.  On the exit ramp was a state park sign for Flume Gorge telling indicating it was less than a mile away.  Sweet!

The parking lot was in the middle of the mountainous forest, and it was packed with cars.  Hikers were milling around in their big boots, rain gear and cold weather clothes.  Dyan and I looked like we were dressed for a summer day on the water.  Shorts and flip flops.  The cold damp weather was not going to stop us from doing or seeing whatever this Flume gorge thing is…

We approached the visitor’s center where mountaineers stood in line for tickets.  When it was our turn, we asked, “What are we standing in line to buy tickets for?”  The ranger pulled out a map with hiking trails leading to Flume Gorge.  It was deep ravine with rushing water running through it creating multiple cascading waterfalls.  It was a 2-3 hour round trip hike, but if we used the shuttle, to the base of the gorge, it was a 1.5 hour hike.  The ranger told us it would be wet, slick and muddy.  I looked down at my flip flops, and Dyan’s cute canvas shoes. Our eyes met, smiling, knowing there was no chance we were leaving that place without experiencing the Flume Gorge. We bought tickets.

Because we were pressed a bit for time (we did have a flight out of Boston in 6 hours, and were still a solid 2 hour drive from the airport), we opted to take a shuttle to the base of the gorge.  The shuttle ride is super cool because it took us across the Flume Covered Bridge – the most photographed covered bridge in all of New Hampshire.  

After a .5 mile hike up a steep trail, we reached our entrance to the gorge (which is actually the exit because it’s where the water flows out of the gorge).  The granite walls shoot straight up in the air nearly 100 feet.  The pathway through the gorge is a narrow platform that has been constructed to walk above water level.  The water flows through the gorge, which is never more than 20 feet wide. If you have claustrophobia, this is NOT the place for you.  The walkway raises alongside the gorge wall as it zig zags across the water giving visitors the best views of the waterfalls.

It took about 45 minutes to make our way through the 800-foot long gorge.  And by the end, we were way up on top of the gorge, where the creek dumps in.   This was one of the coolest stops on our trip.

By noon, we made it to the Mustang and were about to get back on the interstate, but first needed some fuel.  We were in the run down resort town of Lincoln, NH when we stopped at Irving Oil. A Gas Station that will certainly leave an impression on you.  This is ground zero to the Betty and Barney Hill alien abduction.  The gas station is full of newspaper articles, pictures and documents explaining the events that had taken place.  Complete with alien blow up dolls and visitor t-shirts this gas station was an experience that caters to the tourists.

The remainder of our drive into Boston was not nearly as eventful.  We actually arrived a few hours early, so we sat at Constitution Beach Park and watched jets land over Belle Isle Inlet.  

Around 6PM, we were wheels up en route to Minneapolis.  There were some pretty good lines of storms over the NorthEast and upper Midwest, so our flight path diverted us way north over Sault Saint Marie in Canada before finally bringing us home.  The flight was over 4 hours, which was nearly double our flight time to Boston.

This trip solidified Boston as our favorite Big City to visit.