USA
Lighthouses & Red Leaves Tour
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Hanover – Woodstock – Manchester – Bennington
Wednesday, 4th October, 22 °C, partly cloudy, distance 179 miles

After breakfast at the Cascade Coffee House we were on the road by 9 a.m. We took US 118 to Warren, NH, where we were surprised to see a rocket standing next to the village church! A former resident had convinced the government to donate an unused rocket to the town to put on display. We crossed the Connecticut River near Orford and via I-91 south we reached Hanover, home of Dartmouth College, one of the famous Ivy League colleges, same as Harvard and Yale. Then we left New Hampshire and entered Vermont. We stopped at the bridge across the Quechee Gorge, Vermont's Little Grand Canyon. Next we drove past a country store with plush cows and sheep on the meadow! We stopped at the wooden bridge in Taftsville and by 12:20 p.m. we had arrived in Woodstock (not the Woodstock of the music festival). Woodstock, Vermont, is a typical New England village. We had lunch with pastries and coffee from a bakery. Back on Highway 100 via Ludlow and Weston (the latter is famous for its country store) we arrived in Manchester. The foliage in the Green Mountains was not as spectacular as what we had seen in the White Mountains, probably still too early down here.

The historic Equinox Hotel in the Village of Manchester has already seen Abraham Lincoln's family spending their holidays here. We drove up the 5 miles long Mt. Equinox Skyline Drive ($10 for two) to the summit at 1170m. Unfortunately the view was greatly obstructed by trees. We did a little hike along a wet and slippery path to Lookout Rock which offered a good view of Manchester Village from above. Back at the bottom we set out to find the covered bridge in East Arlington and shortly before 5 p.m. we reached the Harwood Hill Motel in Bennington which we had booked in advance via telephone. We had a little cottage with a Queen Bed, fridge and coffee maker. The owner recommended two restaurants in the area. We chose Kevin’s at Mike’s Place in North Bennington which is frequented by the locals a lot and it was indeed very good ($31 incl. tip for pork chops and broiled flounder with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables).

Bennington – Williamstown – Mohawk Trail – Deerfield – Hartford
Thursday, 5th October, 17 °C, sunny, distance 194 miles

After a self-made breakfast in our room, we were on the road again by 9:30 a.m. It was another beautiful day. First we visited the 3 covered bridges of North Bennington, then we drove to the Bennington Battle Monument. There was a lift to the top of the obelisk ($2 each). The viewing platform offers a great view of Bennington from above and its surroundings. Afterwards we had a look at Old First Church. By now it was 11 a.m. and we left Bennington via US 7 to the south. Shortly after crossing the border to Massachusetts we reached Williamstown on US 2. Most buildings along Main Street are a part of Williams College. The highlight was a magnificent white church in typical New England style. In historic Spring Street we bought sandwiches at Subway which we ate for lunch on one of our first stops along the Mohawk Trail, a 63 miles long former Indian route through the northern Berkshires. It is also a popular foliage route. Eventually we reached Shelburne Falls with its Bridge of Flowers. Some glacial potholes can be seen here along Salmon Falls in the centre of town.

Around 2 p.m. we reached Historic Deerfield with well-preserved colonial-style buildings. Further south on I-91 we got to Hartford, capital of Connecticut. It was 4 p.m. and rush hour traffic. We had a look at the villas where Mark Twain, author of "Tom Sawyer", and Harriet Beecher-Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin", lived. After another stop at the impressive capitol with its golden dome we headed back on the motorway. Around 5:30 p.m. we reached our accommodation for the night, Motel 6 in Southington. We got a good internet rate and found the motel was really good value. It was just off the Interstate with lots of eateries all around.

Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to go on a whale-watching trip or on a moose safari. But at least we didn't hit any moose on the road by accident!

New Haven - Yale - Newark
Friday, 6th October, 13 °C, cloudy, distance 144 miles