So after being home for a couple of weeks, it was time for Mom and me to hit the road again. This time, though, our destination was the northeast. I’d always wanted to see the Fall colors of the east coast, and here finally was my chance. When working, the first break we really come upon that allows time to travel is Thanksgiving Break, and by then, the season has passed. So I was determined to make it happen during this time off. We compiled a list of places we’d always wanted to see and headed out!
First stop: Philadelphia - but only to rent our car and head northwest. We’d be coming back to Philly at the end of the trip. We drove north through Pennsylvania through some beautiful countryside before stopping just outside Scranton for the night. That’s right you Office fans - Scranton! The next morning we drove through the town, which is actually pretty cute, and looked for the “Welcome to Scranton” sign that can be seen in the opening credits for The Office. Apparently, so many people were swerving or nearly causing accidents looking for it along the road that the town moved the sign to the mall, where it is set up in its own special place.
We started driving again, heading through Elmira, NY. There is a beautiful cemetery in Elmira where Samuel Clemens is buried, so we English nerds had to go check that out! We then drove toward Niagara Falls, a place I’ve always wanted to see. We found a place to stay in town and then went down to the Falls around 6:00pm. We went out on the observation deck to take pictures. At 7:00, the Canadian side shines these red & blue lights across the river onto the Falls so they sort of glow reddish/bluish. It's pretty, and the Falls themselves are neat to look at. After that, Mom and I went over to the casino nearby and hung out there for a bit. I doubled my money...going from $5 to $10! I know, I like to take risks!
The next morning we went back to Niagara Falls and rode the Maid of the Mist, the boat that takes you out to the Falls. The sun shining on the waterfall mist/spray made a really beautiful rainbow. After the boat ride, I walked out to these areas that are right alongside & below the falls, where you just get drenched! The power of the water is quite impressive! We went back to the hotel for some dry clothes before heading out again. We drove east across New York state until we reached the Finger Lakes region. We drove down to look at one of the lakes, then decided to stop in Auburn for the night.
The next day was mainly a driving day. We went from Auburn, NY to Woodstock, VT. We saw lots of beautiful trees and leaves - red, orange, yellow, and green...just beautiful. When we first drove into Vermont, we drove through this really cute town called Bennington, then up scenic route 7A. Along the way is Robert Frost's stone house where he lived for about 9 years while writing. Again, being an English nerd and a lover of his poetry, I had to stop for a quick peek! We then ended up in this small cute town/village of Woodstock (no tie to the festival). Mom and I decided to take a load off and sat outside our room on the hotel's porch and drank wine and ate candy corn while the sun went down. We then walked to dinner before calling it a night.
The next morning we got up and drove north through Vermont up into New Hampshire. We went through the towns of Barnard, White River Junction, Lebanon, and then to Portsmouth. It started raining as we got closer to Portsmouth, which is a very cute town...it was decorated a bit for Halloween - there were these pumpkin-headed scarecrow guys hanging on the lampposts...too bad it was raining! Even so, we walked over to the local brewery for dinner.
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