Since we were unable to ride the actual train, we had to check out the little Cog Railway museum while we were there. I won’t drone on about the engineering wonder it was….
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But I will draw your attention to this…
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I simply can not imagine flying down the mountainside on a small piece of wood.
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And trust me, it was small. It’s hard to tell from that picture but look closely and you’ll realize big butt people need not apply.
You find yourself in the town of Woodstock, and when you’re in Woodstock?
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You have to visit the Woodstock Inn and Brewery.
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Of course if you visit this time of year.. you can expect to search endlessly for a parking spot, be unable to sit outside due to the high crowd volume, and find that the only indoor space available are two stools at the end of the bar.
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The brewery is a funky place, filled with all kinds interesting eye candy.
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But it was extremely crowded as well as extremely loud, so we decided to have a drink and an appetizer and be on our way.
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Pomegranate margarita and some fabulous duck wontons with sweet Thai chili sauce for me.
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And a French onion soup so loaded with cheese for the husband I thought he’d never get through it.
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After our snack we headed to Franconia Notch…
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Where the fall color was a bit past peak but still impressive.
We woke up on the morning of our third day to a bit of chilly weather.
And a whole lotta windshield frost.
You can tell by the husband’s face he was not pleased with the little girlie scraper I keep in my car. But heck, he shouldn’t grumble. It beat his credit card.
There were more trees, and more fall foliage.
And of course, skulls.
And skeletal ATV passengers.
Which we saw at a local gas station.
Off roading is a huge industry in the mountains and these things are everywhere. Some towns even allow them to run the main roads. Rental places are abundant, with guides plotting out trips and trails for novices.
We even drove past an ATV Halloween parade. Bizarre doesn’t begin to describe it…. but no matter how loudly I squealed for the husband to stop so I could photograph it…. he flew right past.
Day 3 had us cruising down Route 2 through Gilead, Maine.
Blink and you’ll miss the town.
But it’s always one of my favorite scenic rides in the area.
A little farther down the road the mountains held on to some fog.
And it can be a surreal sight.
Hanging there, still and quiet….
Ethereal.
We were heading to the Polar caves in Rumney, New Hampshire and drove past numerous ski areas….
As well as Franconia Notch where there wasn’t much foliage at all.