Canada huh? Almost made it....

Two roads diverged in a green wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made.... me late! I had hoped to make it to at LEAST Syracuse tonight, but instead I'm here in the lovely state of Vermont, just outside of Burlington. Oh well, the trip was well worth it!

I spent all morning getting the Bar Harbor story together b/c I wasted last night with my post in answer to the anonymous comment. It was nearly 1:30 before Daniel's Traveling Circus left town and headed out west. The sky was still overcast and the temperature cold, but it turned out to be a magnificent day! Within an hours time, the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and all was right with the world... This is the part where one would naturally expect the Bean to break down, yet it didn't. I took Route 2 and all its' associated roads all the way to Montpelier, and was rewarded with an excellent view of New England. While the road was bumpier than a washboard, the slow speeds made it less noticeable. Rt 2 follows valleys almost the entire way, and I spent a large portion of my time driving along babbling brooks and gently flowing rivers, as the mountains came and went by the dozens. The small towns were spread about every ten to fifteen miles, just about a days ride by horse back in the proverbial day. Often times you could tell the towns were built well before the automobile came about just by the layout of the road. So many times I found myself making a sharp turn right around the edge of somebody's house that was abutted to the road. I also took note of how closely the front of the house was to the road. In numerous places the road narrowed to not much wider than an alley, evidence of a bygone era of slower transportation.

The towns themselves were in various states of growth and decline, and the closed down shops and factories, as well as new stores and tourist type shops told the story of the town. The houses I noticed were mostly Victorian in design and one might pass a very well restored example of New England craftsmanship that was surrounded by dilapidated houses of a similar era. The ratio of well kept to rats nest houses seemed to be about even, with a great mix of just about everything in between. If one were looking to restore some beautiful architecture, this area would be a great place to start!

A town that particularly caught my attention was St. Johnsbury in the Northeastern corner of Vermont. As I came into town, the spires of a local church rose from a hilltop like a castle from the days of old. While the Garminator attempted to direct me to the more traveled road, I opted to ignore it and was rewarded with quite the sight! At the top of the hill are several churches of varying denominations, mixed in with numerous quaint old houses, mostly all in good repair. I took a few pictures here as the houses seemed to be prototypical of most of the Victorianesque structures here. The churches were all of varying design, but one looked like it was right out of Europe too, so of course I took pictures. I spent a bit more time tooling around town, and I must say, I liked it. If a person ever wanted to see a picturesque old town that wasn't a tourist trap, THIS would be the place. I must say it was what I really expected Bar Harbor to be. After my detour, I headed back out to the open road, and finally arrived here in Burlington where I'm doing a little laundry and getting ready to move out to Buffalo, NY in the morning! Hopefully I have great tales of grandeur after seeing the falls, and hopefully Rocky doesn't jump in!!