8-DayNew England Fall Foliage Road Trip We took an 8-Day road trip to the Northeast to observe the fall foliage. We were lucky that the fall foliage was at its peak in Vermont and New Hampshire. On top of that, we were blessed with good weather most of the time.
It was glorious, vibrant colors of crimson, red, orange, and gold that we saw just like in those famous paintings that you admire at the art gallery, except it is real.
The fresh air caressed your face, the smell of dogwoods, sugar maples, paper birch trees…etc, the spectacular multi-color of the leaves, the reflection of the mountain on a calm surface of the lake, a small colonial style cottage with trail of smoke coming out of it's chimney against the back drop of the mountain full of colorful foliage, all that gave us such a peaceful feeling in contrast to the rat race of our current election cycle with all the bickering, degrading comments from our candidates.
Day01 - Boston, MA
We started our trip in Boston, it was a bit rainy but we went ahead of walking the freedom trail in Boston. It was quite educational even though we were soaking wet.
We saw the statues of Irish immigrants in the downtown Boston area. It described the rag to rich mindset. It reminded us so much of whom we are and what our great nation is all about, the country of immigrants.
We stopped at Faneuil Hall, and walked upstairs to see the old meeting hall. It has been a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1743.
We went to Saigon Seafood restaurant in Dorchester for a sumptuous dinner in the evening. It was a great dinner with Sam Adams beer. I am glad that our founding father on the label of the beer bottle looking over us smiling with approval.
For about 25$ per person, we feasted on Cánh gà chiên nứơc mắm, Mực xào hành gừng, Cải xào tỏi, Tôm rang muối, and Lẩu đồ biển. It was quite a busy restaurant. They had two parties with live music set up. We were lucky to have a table.
Day02 - Hyannis, MA From Boston, we drove to Lexington, where the Minutemen had their first Revolutionary skirmish. We saw the Battle Green where “the shot heard around the world” signaled the start of the American Revolution. From Lexington, we drove to Concord and stopped at the Old North Bridge where the first day of battle in the American War of Independence took place. We also saw the Minuteman statue just across the bridge. The minutemen were among the first to fight in the American Revolution.
It was a misty morning. The rain seemed to let up a bit as we drove to Plymouth to see the Plymouth Rock and the replica of the Mayflower ship called “Mayflower II”. It’s a replica of the 17th-century ship Mayflower, where it was used to transport the Pilgrims to the New World.
We had lunch in Plymouth then went on to Hyannis for the night. We checked in and rested a bit then went out to see the Nauset lighthouse in Cape Cod. The lighthouse had been moved twice inland due to erosion. Along the way, we saw wild turkeys feeding on the side of the road on the way back to Hyannis.
We had dinner at Fresh Ketch restaurant. The waiter told us that Hyannis does slow down in the winter time, and some of the shops closed during the winter months for about 5 months around the late October to the first of April.
Day03 - Mystic, CT
We left the hotel in Hyannis early and drove to Woods Hole, a small village on the southern end of Cape Cod to board a ferry to Oak Bluff on Martha’s Vineyard. It was about 30-min ferry ride.
Martha’s Vineyard, named for a European sailor’s daughter, Martha, who found wild grapes growing on the island. The island is known for its laid-back, charming lifestyle.
We wandered around the town for some shopping and had lunch there. Some shops already were closed for the season. They said the whole island has about 16,000 people in the summer months, but shrunk down to a couple hundreds or so in the winter months.
We got back to Woods Hole in the early afternoon then heading to Newport, Rhode Island. Newport is known for the Gilded Age mansions lining Bellevue Avenue. We drove by some of the famous mansions including the Vanderbilt's summer home, the Breakers, an 1895 mansion patterned after a Renaissance palace. We ended up staying in Mystic, CT tonight.
Day04 - Bennington, VT
We left our hotel at around 8AM. Before leaving town, we checked out the old Mystic Seaport. We saw a few interesting old houses lining the streets near the old port.
From Mystic, we took the scenic route Hwy 44 & 7 to get to Stockbridge to visit Norman Rockwell museum. He’s my favorite American illustrator; his work typically described the political, economic, and cultural history of the United States.
We then took a spectacular scenic drive on the southern part of the Green Mountain before staying the night in Bennington, VT. We drove thru some of the most beautiful winding roads, up hill, down dale, thru a spectacular forest. We saw leaves glowing fiery red, burnt orange and mustard yellow in the crisp autumn air. We saw colorful small bushes gave a highlight to big tall trees with its tip displayed a new color as it is starting a new chapter of life cycle.
We drove thru small country roads that were dotted with small ponds full of geese, wild turkeys in trove on the edge of the forest looking for food.
Day05 - Bartlett, NH
We had a spectacular day today. The natural red, yellow and orange overlaid with the green are so beautiful just like in a painting except it was real.
We started out in Bennington, then took Hwy 100 north on the eastern side of Green Mountain toward Woodstock, the most beautiful small town in America. We had lunch there. We stopped at a look-out, by the creek, at the lake to admire the beautiful fall scenery…etc. Along the way we saw three covered bridges. One of them is the Middle Covered Bridge built over the Ottauquechee River, which flows through the center of Woodstock.
We then took Hwy 112 thru the White Mountain National Forest, also known as the Kancamagus Highway, or in short the Kanc Hwy. It is known as the most beautiful highway for fall leaves peeping. We stopped at many scenic vistas to soak in all of these prime foliage viewing. We were not disappointed.
We stayed at the ski resort in Bartlett tonight. It was a fancy resort with kitchen and frigs and stove...etc. Too bad that we only stayed there for the night.
Day06 - Bar Harbor, ME
This morning, we woke up early and enjoyed the morning walk around the resort, with a hot cup of coffee in our hands. We strolled thru the park in the crisp morning air as colorful leaves surrounding us. Along the railroad track nearby, we could see the sun trying to peak thru the fog at the far distance…what a view!
We enjoyed the last 20 miles or so of the Kanc Hwy before getting to Conway then on to Bar Harbor, ME. The weather was just perfect and we stopped along at a look-out to enjoy the view. On the way to Maine, there’re images of spectacular fall leaves color along the major highways. We stopped at Augusta for lunch then got to Bar Harbor around 3:30PM.
After freshen up, we went for a quick visit to Acadia N.P. We stopped at the “Thunder Hole”, when the right size wave rolls into the naturally formed inlet, a deep thunderous sound emanates….thus, thunder Hole. Water may splash into the air as high as 40 feet with a roar.
We drove about 27 miles, around the park’s loop road. It was a nice relaxing day.
We stopped in down town Bar Harbor for a little shopping before having dinner at the Chart Room restaurant. We all had a feast of famous Maine Lobsters. It was fresh and tasty. You got to have one when you are in Maine…heheh
Day07 - Boston, MA We started the day at around 8AM. It was another beautiful day. We drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain, at 1,523 feet, New England's only National Park to have a great view of the Atlantic and the surrounding areas. We were not disappointed. We can see for miles and with the leaves starting to change color, it was awesome.
We left Bar Harbor at around 10AM and made it to Portland around 2PM. We had lunch at Thanh Thanh 2. The restaurant owned by a very nice and friendly people.
We stopped by Kennebunkport for a quick visit. It’s a nice and richly little town.
We made it back to Boston at around 7PM to conclude our road trip.
Overall, we traveled 1,300 plus miles covering six states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, and one national park, The Acadia National Park, the eastern most national park in the US.