So, as some of you already know, I've recently come back from a New England drive-vacation.

My girl and I took the E60 on a little adventure that started off in Brooklyn, with a quick stop in New Jersey, where we stopped over at my sister's for lunch. Then it was off to Connecticut, Cape Cod, White Mountains in New Hampshire, Bar Harbor Maine and then, finally, a nice long drive back on the interstate.

Call me crazy, but I took the car to a wash the night before we left and went through some checks to be sure there aren't any problems that would get in the way of the trip.






Day 1


gassing up in JerZ


Chilling with my nephew, getting him started on cars early


... and we're on our way, starting out on local roads and sight-seeing as we go


funny exit sign "Crooked St" in "Plainville" - we thought it was pretty cute


Some good home-grown tomatoes from my girl's mother's backyard



Day 2


We start out leaving Connecticut, heading East toward the coast of Atlantic Ocean, aiming roughly for Newport, RI. But before we leave CT, we come upon this service station full of old Lincoln Continentals. Too bad it was raining and the place was closed, but I manage to take a few shots before rain intensifies:







Awesome!

Then we make it through the rain into Newport, RI, where - among other points of interest - we spot a poodle without a leash, or an owner - like, WTF How often do you just see a poodle - all trimmed and groomed - just roaming around?!?! Like, never, right?


After that we went to some coastal places of interest, where we took a few pictures, bla bla bla


Then, its off to Cape Cod, where we stop at some restaurant in some little town and have a couple of delicious stuffed lobsters

After dinner we check into our hotel. Rain continues strong.

Day 3

We were planning to take the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard and enjoy a day outdoors on this day, but instead we get rained out, most ferries are cancelled and we spend the day at the hotel's pool and spa.

We did try driving around and finding a place to take some pics, at least, but it just was not happening - all the beaches were closed, rain was coming in strong and we just sort of hung around without anything to do...


Shot of my baby and Cape Cod


And I get coerced into visiting the mall, under auspices of needing a hoodie




Day 4


Raining again. Were supposed to go to Nantucket, but weather sucks. So we decide to make an early dash toward New Hampshire and bust out of the Cape.

Stopped on the side of the road to relax and take in some New Hampshire views of the White Mountain range:


Made it to the beautiful quaint B&B in the heart of the White Mountains



Day 5


So, if you drive to New Hampshire and don't visit Mt. Washington summit, what kind of a driver are you?
Just so you know: the weather SUCKED. I did it mostly for you, people Okay, I did it for me, but it was a challenging climb and I took no pics on the way up.


See how on this next pic the mountains are not really visible in all that fog? That's just how it looks - the summit is there, some 8000 feet (3miles) above sea level, just waiting to scare the crap out of you:


Once we got to the summit, it was suddenly 45 degrees (compared to about 71 at the foot of the mountain). I compose myself after the truly scary drive and snap a couple of pics. Supposedly, behind all that thick cover of clouds, there are some of the most magnificent views in North America. All we see is clouds and all we feel is cold and wet - its raining. Still.



(return trip being planned already btw)

Going back down, I finally summon enough balls to take a few shots of the surroundings. The road is really narrow and is traveled pretty heavily by SUVs and minivans, filled with families (and mostly driven by idiots). Off to one side of you, there is always a seriously steep drop-off, so you better not mess around here. Still, coming down is easier, so I snap a few:












After the drive, we stopped by North Conway and check out some vintage railroad machinery and just walk/drive around aimlessly. After that, we drove over to Flume Gorge and hike the thing until dinnertime rolls around, and soon enough its off to bed for us back at the B&B.



Day 6


Rain is finally gone, but I notice a small shimmy in the steering wheel. Probably the bent rim in the front lost a weight and became unbalanced. Never mind that, we're leaving White Mountains for Bar Harbour, Maine today.

Before we leave, we stop by a ranch and take a couple of horses for a ride

Then, in a nearby town, I find evidence of deep dish and concave rims having been invented in agriculture - and evidently, they predated the invention of the rubber tire:

deep dish:

concave:


And back then, it was okay to have it all on the same... err... tractor - SAH-WEET!

Last stop in New Hampshire to take in some views and get ready for the drive to Maine:


When we get to Bar Harbour, we quickly find the hotel and after a quick freshening up, come down to the lounge, where we catch a bunch of old people drinking to the sound of live piano. Usually, not my scene, but somehow it is all magical and sweet, so I go with it.



Day 7


This day started out early for, because our hotel room had a balcony that was facing East and I decided to wake up in time to see the Sun rise:









After that (and a few more hours of sleep and a nice late breakfast), we drove into the town and caught a ride on Margaret Todd, a nice four-mast schooner:

(my infatuation with sailboats begins)

Then we drove through the Acadia national park and ascended another summit - this time it was the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the East Coast:

Hiked there for a few hours, taking pics and hanging out.

And that's about it. After this we basically drove straight back to New York and I was actually pretty happy to get back in the middle of the night and pass out on my own bed. All in all, even though we only went for seven days, I feel like I was away for a month. All the pics I posted here are really nothing - my girl has something like 2000 pics. We went to more places than I could ever list in a thread and saw lots of stuff - I just didn't take a lot of pics, hence my pics are mostly car-related here. Would I do it again? As a matter of fact, I am doing it again - planning a road trip in September

Thanks for watching.
V.

 

Nice pictures and story. Sucks that the weather was so horrible almost the entire time..

But it's still nice to get away.

 

I didn't mind the bad weather, to be honest - gave us the chance to check out the spa and the pool in Cape Cod. And in New Hampshire it was already much better, so basically it wasn't bad at all.

 

Great post Vlad. Thanks for sharing. So how many of those old Continentals did you pick up?

 

i like the narrating! cool pics vlad, that one with your car looking over the rocks and nothing below is sick.. i cant believe they dont have road barriers on the side of the damm mountain! yikes.lol

 

So your gf is "MY GIRL" and the car is " MY BABY". HAHAHAHA. Well, when Im around my gf, It better be the other way around, or as ProvdenceLeaf said in his signature. I would get

 

None. Yet I want to - SO bad! But a) my girl will me
and b) I've simply got no place to keep it right now.

Not to mention that those things get like 2mpg lol

But boy, are they sexy!!!

Yeah, actually, when we went into the old "hotel" they have up there, we looked at the entries in the guest book and like 9 out of 10 entries mention the "scary drive up", or "no barriers on the road - WTF", or something to that extent lol

I think I'll make that pic my sig

LOL shhhh this is between us haha