Leaving the excess behind

The dog with the necklace sums up my impression of the Gilded Age in Newport: too much excess all around. We spent 3 days at the beautiful Samuel Durfee House in downtown Newport. we could walk to almost everything. But we did drive to the Castle Inn a mile and a half from where Jackie Bouvier grew up. The Inn is a Relais and Chateau property where rooms run more than $1000 a night. A lady at one of the mansion stores told me it was a great place to get a drink on the lawn and enjoy the view. Luckily lunch and a drink on the lawn were more in line with our budget. We had a wonderful afternoon watching the sailboats bounce around in front of us. Today we started the drive south and stopped to spend the night at an historic hotel near Lancaster PA- The Inn at Leola Village. The flying pig is their symbol so we saw them wherever we walked. Tomorrow we visit Lititz for Wilbur buds(chocolates) and a pretzel factory. Then it's home to get back to reality after 3 beautiful weeks exploring New England.

Topiaries, dahlias, zinnia, lobsta

A beautiful day in Rhode Island. We finally found a restaurant that had reasonable prices. Graziano's 501 Cafe is a neighborhood place that had 2 hot dogs and fries for 5.99 for Bob and the special lobster roll, chowder, + fries for 20.00 for me. First stop was the Green Animals Topiary garden which was fabulous. It was bursting with colors as well- its a famous dahlia garden and it did not disappoint. Most of the topiaries are from the early 1900s. In the afternoon we checked into our B&B in Newport and visited Chateau Sur Mer before it closed for the season.

UpsideDown Curtain Motel

More from Woods Hole where you know everyone you see on the street in skinny spandex shorts and bike helmet is way smarter than you. Genius idea: take a 700 lb buoy and cut away sea crestures to create a fabulous "fire ball" - so much cooler than my Solo stove. Not so genius idea: hang the curtains upside down so you dont have to do anymore sewing. We had planned to take the ferry to Martha's Vineyard to see the 1% ers but it was too choppy and drizzly for this landbubber's constitution. So we walked around town.

Gorey times

Yesterday we visited the Edward Gorey Museum. I LOVED it but Bob was a bit unsettled by the art. As the guide kept repeating "You just cannot empathize with the subjects." Anyway, Bob patiently waited in the car while I soaked in the Gorey-ness. And I came back to the hotel and entered the Gorey Hallowen Envelope Contest. This year's subject is "Beastly babies." Then we went to Herring Cove Beach to watch the sunset. Sunday morning we walked around Provincetown before the crowds came. Then we went to the beach and saw the scariest shark warning sign ever.

Beautiful fall day

The drive from Maine to Massachusetts was beautiful. The trees are turning bright colors. Eric Carle Museum was as colorful as you would expect and it explained how he created his collages by painting tissue paper with acrylic paint and adding texture by brushing on more colors with brooms or other tools. There is even an art studio where we could make art. We stopped at a nearby farm market for apple cider doughnuts which seem to be everywhere. The day ended with us sitting on the beach at Cape Cod watching the sunset. Then we returned to our teeny tiny room im Provincetown driving past lots of groups of people gathered around firepits.

Oh the places you’ll go!

Springfield Massachusetts is birthplace of Dr Seuss, home location of many industries, like the Indian Motorcycle Company. Luckily there are 5 museums to fill you in on all the details. But we stayed in Amherst, Emily Dickinson's home and location of U Mass and Amherst at a B&B with free range chickens amd fabulous breakfast.

Maine does not disappoint

On this perfect fall day Acadia National Park was a busy place. The past two days were cloudy and misty but we stayed at the beautiful Lyme Inn. Luckily today we had reservations to drive up to Cadillac Mountain Summit in Acadia. There were lines to get into the park store. All the parking spaces at Jordan Pond were taken and cars snaked around its two parking lots. Bikers, hikers, and drivers swarmed everywhere. We spent the day at the park and then had a late lunch at the same place we ate yesterday- Acadia Lobster and BBQ outside of Ellsworth. A lobster roll was $30! We dont go to fancy places but the prices to eat out are outrageously high everywhere on this trip. The chill in the air and the clear skies were perfect for taking pictures. I ended up buying a walking stick hoping it would protect me from falls and not trip me up. So far there has been one injury per day - bug bites that turn into massive itchy welts, or whacking my elbow on a hook in the ladies' room stall and thinking it might be chipped or broken. Today it was skinning my leg on a rock as I gently brushed against it while stepping down onto a trail overlooking the water. It's dangerous out there when you are a delicate but clumsy flower.

Fall in Vermont

Pumpkins, mums, & Enfield scarecrows