Day 25 and 26 - Fun in North Conway then off to Vermont

 Day 25

We were at the Conway Scenic Railroad station around 11am for our lunch ride.  I was looking forward to this since we were here last year and didn't take the train because we just missed the time.  Now, we had our tickets and were waiting for the train.

Laura and I walked around a bit and toured the old engines and railroad cars being worked on in the yard.  This picture shows where will be exiting the station and traveling up the valley.  We're going through that little whole in the trees.

The ride was very pleasant from the beginning. Our car rocked back and forth a bit which felt like being back on the boat.  The conductor explained what we were passing along the way - roads, bridges, rivers, etc. plus gave us a bit of train and local history.

Shortly after leaving the station we were served a 3-course lunch.  Salad or fruit cup, I had the turkey wrap, Laura had a salad with chicken breast, then we had a bread-pudding dessert.  It was all very tasty.

Here we are in the dining car just after our lunch was served.

The valley ride had beautiful scenery along the way and riding a train made it all that much better.

About 45 minutes into the ride, the train pulled off onto a siding.  They decoupled the engine, drove it down the main track, then reconnected it to the other end of the train for our trip back.  It seemed pretty complicated but only took about 10 minutes.  Then we were pulled back down the valley and arrived back at North Conway less then 2 hours later.  A very enjoyable ride.

Here is our locomotive going around the train to hook up at the other end.

After the train ride, we decided to hike out to Diana's Baths.  It was only a short drive from the train station but, when we got there, it was packed.  Probably a 30 to 60 minute wait to enter the park with cars lined up on the main road.  We'll leave this for another time.

Here is a picture of the mountains that Laura took as we were driving back.

We relaxed at the trailer during the afternoon then showered and dressed for our evening out visiting one of our favorite Irish bands Dennis and Davey.  The website showed the group played from 7-10pm so we arrived around 5:30 thinking we would have dinner and a cocktail before they started.  Actually, they played from 7:30 - 10 so we had time to relax a bit.

Shortly after our dinner, Davey came in and started setting up.  I introduced myself as a big fan even though we had only seen them once 15 years ago.  Davey was so impressed he gave us his new CD and sat down with us on their breaks to talk about music and sailing.

By 7pm the restaurant had filled up and the music started at 7:30.  Here is a picture of the guys starting the night.  Dennis is on the left.  He has an awesome voice and plays guitar and guitar synthesizer. For example, on their first song, his guitar sounded like a banjo.  Davey is on the right and is a bundle on energy.  His feet are playing base (like an organ base), he plays guitar, extended mandolin, several flutes, sings and is also one of the best harmonica players I've heard.  Sometimes he does 3 or 4 of these things at the same time!

Here is their first song of the night that I recorded and uploaded to YouTube - Dennis and Davey

By 1/2 way though the evening, the place was packed.  We had a couple bottles of wine before, during and after dinner but I was looking for something else.  When I saw our waiter go by I stopped him and asked for "3 fingers of Patron Silver.  Then ice and lime slice on the side."  He was laughing as he walked back to the bar.  I thought it would be a small glass and 3-fingers would not be very much.  But, the glass he brought back was big.  I had a lot of fine tequila to sip away at.  Turns out this was around 9:30 (I hadn't looked at the clock) and I only had about 1/4 of the drink down before the band stopped at 10.  Oh boy. 

We talked to Dennis and Davey for awhile and several other people joined in the conversation.  One was the owner of the restaurant, Sky.  At one point he looked at me and said, "So you're the one hogging the best table all night.  I couldn't even turn it over."  I said, "Yep.  But I'm drinking Patron.  Doesn't that help?"  He laughed and we had a good time the rest of the evening.

I finished the drink a while later, we said our good-byes to everyone and Laura drove us back to the trailer.  I feel asleep as my head hit the pillow.   What a great day!

Day 26

The next morning, we were a little slow getting started.  No bad hangovers (tequila doesn't do that to me) but we were both dragging a bit.  Showers, breakfast, get the trailer ready for the road and out of the campground by 9:30am.  Not too bad.

We took Rt 112 through the White Mountain National Forest and it was very enjoyable.  The mountain scenery was excellent and the roads smooth.  Even the fairly steep hills (up and down) didn't bother me now that I've gotten used to what gear the truck needs for specific speeds up hills. Plus the downhills don't scare me now that the brakes are working great.

Near Franconia Notch on I-93 we saw this beautiful valley in front of us with the clouds streaming down off the mountains.  Laura got this great picture with her Nikon camera.  

It was a beautiful and enjoyable ride up through central Vermont to about 30 miles north of Burlington where we pulled into Maple Grove Campground.  Making reservations only a day or two ahead of time has been OK for getting a site, but they are not the best locations.  The last two nights we were right next to the path to the bathrooms (with lots of foot traffic) and the site we have tonight is about 30 feet from the bathrooms here.

But, this campground is very quiet with only 26 sites.  Last night, the campground in Conway was packed with over 100 tents and trailers.  When we came back from the restaurant around 11pm, there were adults and children everywhere.

Tomorrow we head back to Catskill - about a 5 hour drive from here.  We are both sad the trip is over but glad to get back to hour home / boat.  We are working on the final analysis of sailing versus RVing so stay tuned.

174 miles the past 2 days (mostly towing) = 3,322 total trip miles