posted 10/2/19
We met our group in Troy and boarded our bus early that Sunday morning. We were scheduled for a 7AM departure.
Here is our bus at one of our rest stops along the way the
first day.
We made it to our scheduled overnight stop in Syracuse, New York sometime after dinner.
After breakfast Marian and I walked around the park that was across the street from our hotel.
Here's a shot of our hotel and a fountain in the park.
Yes, the hotel definitely has a view of the park! I suppose that is why
it is called the Parkview Hotel! :-)
OK! It is a fall color tour and Marian found our
first fall leaf during our walk!
After a while the bus headed out for Killington, Vermont!
Late in the afternoon we arrived at the North Star Lodge in Killington and then attended a welcome reception.
One of the most amazing things was almost as soon as we crossed the state line into Vermont we started seeing color in the trees.
Here is a view of some fall color from one of the balconies
at the hotel.
These two trees were in front of the hotel.
We walked over the hill to a very close restaurant for dinner and I got this shot of a beautiful tree there.
They say that people come here in the winter to skate on the ice!
We had gotten a bunch of rain overnight and I caught a shot
of some mushrooms during my morning walk after breakfast.
Also, near the hotel was this incredibly large chess set!
A little while later we headed out for the Shelburne
Museum.
Here is the entrance!
This museum has over 30 different buildings spread out over what I estimated to be 20 or 25 acres! A truly incredible collection and assortment of displays!
Here's a picture of a map of the place just to give you a
feeling of how spread out things are.
Here's the round barn!
Here's a stage coach!
Here's a surrey with a fringe on top!
Here's a neat carousel!
Here's Marian riding one of the horses!
This steam engine was HUGE! Those wheels are about 6
feet tall! They say it was built in 1915.
Here are some shots of the Ticonderoga which is a 220 foot
side wheel steam boat.
There was a movie about how they moved it across land to get it here from the harbor. INCREDIBLE!
This lighthouse was originally at Colchester Reef on Lake
Champlain and built in 1871.
Here is one of the many tobacco store Indian statues they
had on display.
This covered bridge came from Cambridge, Vermont and was
built in 1845.
Here's an early morning look at the fall color from a
balcony at the hotel.
Marian and I took an after breakfast walk and found this
neat hay bale fixed up to look like a cat! Too funny!
Marian grabbed a shot of me in front of this HUGE
chair! :-)
Here's a look at our hotel from a different vantage point.
Then we went to President Calvin Coolidge's grave sight.
Yes, he was born on July 4th!
Then we went to President Calvin Coolidge's birthplace and
homestead.
His father owned and ran this cheese factory.
Marian got kind of chummy with this sheep! Not
BAAAAD! Tee hee!
Here's a shot of the Coolidge Farm Shop.
I believe this is a Model A! Hmm, maybe it is a Model
T?
Some more fall color in Vermont!
This covered bridge was in Woodstock, Vermont.
The rest of the gang had lunch there but Marian and I chose to walk around instead.
Then we went to Sugarbush Farms to learn how they make maple syrup.
Here's some more Vermont color from Sugarbush Farms!
I thought it was amazing how they tap the trees and link a
bunch of them together and drain the sap into a stainless steel barrel!
Then we went to Quechee Gorge!
Looking North!
Looking South!
After breakfast and another morning walk we headed to Bath, New Hampshire!
Here's another covered bridge! Check out the fine if
you go too fast across the bridge!
"One Dollar Fine to drive any team faster than a walk on this
bridge"
Here are some water falls beside the bridge.
Then we went to Littleton, New Hampshire.
Some fall color in Littleton, New Hampshire.
While they ate lunch Marian and I enjoyed some more walking time.
A covered bridge in town there.
Some neat fall color behind the bridge from this angle.
After lunch we went to what they call "The Old Man's Foot".
Here's a neat waterfall along the way to the Basin.
Here's the Basin!
Then we went to Loon Mountain and took the gondola ride up the mountain!
Here's a look at some of the gondola equipment from a
lookout tower.
Here's a look at a lake from another look out area on top
of the mountain!
Then we went to the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad and enjoyed our roast turkey dinner! No, I didn't get any shots of the train!
I will say that the dinner was WONDERFUL!
Here is some more fall color in the parking lot by our
hotel in Gilford, New Hampshire!
After our tour of Kennebunkport, Maine we got to spend some more time walking around while the rest of the gang ate lunch at places of their choosing!
I really liked the reflection on the water there!
Marian and I were really intrigued by these unusual
windmills. This is just a few of them! There were a LOT more!
Here's a neat old Ford pickup truck!
This reminded me of Fishtown in Leland, Michigan!
Then we headed to Portland, Maine.
Our first activity in Portland was a nice scenic
"Lighthouse Lovers Cruise" on the Harbor Queen.
Here's a look at Portland as we headed out.
A little bit of Maine fall color. Honestly, we did
not see a lot of fall color in Maine.
This is one of the civil war forts that protected Portland!
This is the remains of a ship that caught fire and can be
seen only during low tides.
Dinner was a baked lobster! Fantastic but a LOT of work!
The Double Tree Inn where we were staying while in
Portland.
Looking south out the window from our room! Not a lot
of fall color here!
Then we went to Bug Light Park.
Here are some civil war canons!
"Remember the Maine!"
This was recovered from "The Maine"!
Pretty flower...
Some nice fall color and a bunch of sailboats in the
background!
Here's what they call the "Bug Light"!
In the park by the Bug Light there were some really neat
kites being flown!
We are now walking around while others eat lunch.
Here's a HUGE anchor!
Here is a neat painting of a whale on the side of a
building!
A pretty neat painting on the side of this building!
Here is a narrow gauge railroad in operation!
Here is one very LARGE propeller!
Here's another large anchor!
Here is an interesting globe...
I just thought this food vendor's set up was too
cool! Ahoy Matey!
A couple of Marian's friends had told her about this special doughnut place in Portland. No, we did not eat there, but, it sounded interesting.
They use potato flour as a base for the doughnuts I
believe.
Here is one of the many street musicians we saw while
walking around.
Then we got on the bus and headed to the Portland Museum Of Art.
Here is an interesting sculpture.
This reminded me of a Sousaphone bell!
One VERY LARGE 7 out in front of the museum!
Some unusual carved birds on display.
These carved birds were on display over a staircase as we
headed down.
One thing that truly bothered me were the paintings and sculptures of naked ladies.
Yes, I know I have been taught that it is ART but it bothered me!
Then we headed to the Longfellow House!
This shot was taken by Bill - WZ1L as he was looking for me
in the group.
It turns out that Bill managed to sneak up from Amesbury, Massachusetts and surprise Marian and I!
Here's a shot Bill took of us!
AND HERE IS BILL - WZ1L! THE SURPRISE WIZARD!
When Bill heard about our trip he asked for a copy of the itinerary. So, I sent him a copy of it.
As I explained in the e-mail, the itinerary was rather intense so I doubted we would have any free time to get away and visit!
Well, Bill decided to surprise us. He made arrangements with the tour director at the Longfellow House and he hid Bill from us during our arrival!
What a GREAT surprise!
The Longfellow House was the home of Longfellow and we got to see where he lived and wrote a lot of his work!
Many thanks to Bill for surprising us!
This plant was in Longfellow's garden!
Here is sunset from our hotel!
Here is sunrise from our breakfast view from the 20th floor
of our hotel!
Then we headed toward Syracuse, New York!
Our hotel was the Crown Plaza Hotel in Syracuse, New
York. It was a short distance and by the same park that we got to walk
around on our way east!
This unusual piece of art was in the park across from our
hotel.
Now, here is the fun part of this.
When we were about 1 day away from home into our trip I discovered that I had forgotten to bring the charger for the battery in my camera.
So, I was very careful about setting up each picture through the view finder, then I turned the camera on, and took the shot.
As soon as the picture had been saved to the memory card I shut the camera off.
When I took the above shot of the artwork in the park I saw a notice that the battery was depleted.
Yes, I could have probably taken a few more shots but I didn't see anything else I needed to photo document!
We got home about 7:45 PM Monday evening.
Yes, there is a lot of stuff that did not get included here but these are the highlights as far as I am concerned!
Here are some post cards I bought while in Maine.
Here is a group photo taken at President Coolidge's grave sight provided by David Wion.
It was a great trip but I was glad to be back home!
Many thanks to the Troy Hayner Cultural Society, David Wion, Rachael Boezi and White Star Tours!
Best wishes!
73, Keith - WA8ZWJ
