Michigan to Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and back home again!
First stop....
Bennington, Vermont
In the great cemetery tour last year, ShelleyJean and I had the good fortune to stop in Bennington on our way home. Picturesque. Cobblestone, tree-lined main residential road bordered by big houses with big histories. This main thoroughfare spanning from the big white church and graveyard up to the Bennington Tower on the hill.
This year, TaGeez, Signal the Frog, and I pulled into town after dark to see the Old First Church lit up atop the hill. This was a precursor for a lovely, magical 7 days ahead of us.
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| Old First Church |
After checking into the Paradise Inn (which, sadly, was a very er... rustic, very no-frills establishment), we grabbed our cameras and headed back out to both the Church and the Battle Monument a quarter mile away.
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| Snapping pics from the other side of the fence |
So peaceful as we parked our rental and strolled around the grounds.
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| Bennington Battle Monument |
Next morning we gratefully hopped out of bed and checked out as soon as possible. Excited to explore or just wanted to shake the hotel dust off our shoes? You decide. Back to the graveyard we headed. With dew dampening our shoes, we walked the rows of headstones.
Formally known as the First Congregational Church, the adjacent church building was completed in 1805. The Old Bennington Cemetery, also known as Old First Church Cemetery or Old First Congregational Church Cemetery, was designated by the Vermont legislature as "Vermont's Sacred Acre." [Library of Congress website]
Fascinating face, eh? These stones are quite different from their predecessors, the Puritanical stones. They are not meant to resemble the deceased but to capture their essence. So, it makes you wonder what this guy's essence was, doesn't it?
As for the rest of the cemetery.... "At one time on the land was Ethan Allen's home and also the first courthouse, which burned down. There now is a mausoleum were Ethan's home was." And, of course, Robert Frost and family's graves.
Of course, we missed our good friend, ShelleyJean, so we had to send her a virtual postcard. She is one of the few that would truly appreciate this type of greeting :)
Next stop is the Bennington Battle Memorial.
No glorious view for TaGeez to see as the elevator had been down since Saturday. They did say we could come back another day at a discount, but I think the distance may be prohibitive.
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| No elevator for us |
Time to head out to go East. We had a nice surprise at the head of the Molly Stark Trail - what a view! I can't believe ShelleyJean and I passed this by last year in the dark!
New Hampshire
Webcam time! Since we just happened to be passing we, of course, had to stop for TaGeez along the way.
Maine - Kittery to Bangor
Ok, we admit it. We're playing the tourist, and you can't go to Maine without stopping for lobster. TaGeez had the Lobster Mac 'n Cheese and I had the Lobster casserole at Warner's. Then we proceeded to loop around the same traffic circle several times until TaGeez could finally get his Welcome to Maine sign!
Turning North, we headed to one of my favorite geocaching spots in the U.S. - Yarmouth, Maine. Former home of DeLorme, Garmin has not purchased the office building but kept three of the most popular caches in Maine active.
First off - The Team Garmin Coin Vault! Signal looks like he's having a blast sitting amongst these bright and shiny treasures! Do you see the five interlocking coins to the left of him? I fell in love with the Maine beauties on my last visit and tracked the owner down for my own set. Gorgeous souvenirs to the "pine tree state".
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| Team Garmin Coin Vault GC2G1J9 |
The coin vault is housed in a table built from Herbie, the oldest American Elm tree in New England. Herbie was 217 YO when it succumbed to Dutch Elm disease in 2010. The vault sets in the DeLorme/Garmin lobby in the shadow one of one very giant object [Virtual].
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| What in the World? GC6D43 |
528 feet away is a certain bear in the woods, the keeper of a certain ammo can that now houses at least one of our Ducktales trackables.
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| Bears in the Bushes GC17MZ7 |
Before leaving, I turned one more time towards the building for a quick picture with Signal. Admittedly, I was a little emotional from the changes since my last visit. DeLorme, a Maine mainstay, has been integrated with Garmin. The DeLorme store (that fabulous store with the trackable clings on the window and Eartha geocoins) has been closed. And the field outside the building only had one wooden bear left. Feeling a little dejected, I finished snapping my Signal pictures when someone in a passing pickup shouted, "That's my frog!" and all was well again.
Although warm, the weather was pretty overcast as we headed to our final destination for the night, Bangor. After the obligatory photos outside Stephen King's house, we stopped for a couple of Italians (subs) at Amatos and retired to our hotel...
... which happened to be guarded by Paul Bunyon. Bangor claims to be the birthplace of Paul Bunyon. Any good Michigander knows this to be false - he was born in St. Ignace, but we'll let them have their statue.
So ends our second night in New England. Early to bed for an early start to Acadia National Park tomorrow.
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