Our time in Cape Cod is almost over.

One last stop on our way to the bridge – the Sandwich Glass Museum is a neat museum featuring rare glass mostly from the local Sandwich Glass Co. that operated between 1825 to 1888.

We also watched a fascinating live glass blowing demonstration.

Getting off the cape on a Monday afternoon was not a problem and we cruised north along the coast after circumventing Boston (another time maybe).  Most of the parks along the coast were full, and we left Massachusetts, passed through New Hampshire, and finally found a spot in Maine at Winslow City Park – a nice surprise after a long drive .

We ended up staying for 2 nights and had a chance to finally take the inflatable kayak out for a couple of hours.  We love it.

Going for a good refreshing swim after some intense paddling can’t be beat.

We managed to go on a few hikes,

and a sunset stroll before dinner.

The next day we visited Eartha, the largest rotating globe in the world.  Eartha is located in the lobby of the DeLorme, now Garmin’s offices.  If you are in the area try and stop there.  You can just walk in during business hours and walk up to the gallery for a better look.

We’ve seen many globes, but seeing it at this scale provides a very different perspective of our planet.

A humble lobster joint by the side of the road looked promising and we had fantastic crab cakes by the river.  It’s the simple things in life…

You can’t beat a quiet evening by the fire at the end of a long day, but it was time to say goodbye to the ocean and the next day we moved on.

we were off to the mountains

First stop was Madison Boulder Natural area near Madison, New Hampshire.  The area is a National Natural Landmark mainly thanks to this giant boulder – one of the largest glacial erratics in the world at measuring 83 feet in length, 23 feet in height, and 37 feet in width. It weighs about 5,000 tons.  Just look at how tiny Tony looks next to it!

Next, we drove to the White Mountains National Forest.  The main road meanders along the river, and one can stop here and there for a breathtaking view from a lookout,

or covered bridge,

and rocky gorges like this one, aptly named Rocky Gorge,

We were so fortunate weatherwise on this trip.  The weather was amazing wherever we went (we did just miss a tornado though), so the one night that it rained while we camped at Big Rock Campground did not bother us at all.  We don’t have to go for a swim and have a fire every night.

The campgrounds at the White Mountain National Forest are basic, but well maintained, good value at $25 a night.

Look at the size of this campsite! The sites were very secluded and the campground was really quiet.

The next day, the sun was out again and we headed south to Sculptured Rocks Natural Area.  The narrow gorge with it’s curvey rocks is yet another beautiful local swimming hole.

Finally, we made it to Brattleboro to visit our friends from a long long ago.  The house is located on top of a hill at the end of a steep driveway.  According to our GPS it was 27% and that’s really steep.  There was a moment there where we thought we won’t be able to make it up, but one last push and we were up there.  What a beautiful place to live.  And look at the view from this window.  Oh, and look at the window!

There is nothing like reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.  We had a really good time catching up and going for dinner and beer at the Food Truck Roundup, a summer weekly event of food and music on the grounds of the farmers market and cheese factory.  We will come back and try the cheese!  In fact, we may do a Cheese Trek to check out the many Vermont cheese farms and creameries .

And look at the boxed water.  Isn’t this Awesome?

We left Barttleboro at sunset

and drove to Hapgood pond for the night.

Next – The Adirondacks and home!  It looks like we have a couple of milestones to share with you so stay tuned.

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