Leaf Peeping with Ira
 

Hi all,

We went up to New England to view the changing of the leaves from Oct 1 - 12.

We had a lovely time, thanks to those Fodorites who helped us with our itinerary.

Here is the first part of my trip report.
..............

We flew from ATL to Burlington BVT nonstop on Delta. We traveled by car through VT, NH, a bit of ME, some of MA and a bit of NY.

Leaves were anywhere from just before to just after peak.

Accommodations ranged from pleasant to luxurious. Food from good to very good.

We drove about 1900 miles in 11 days. Gas ranged from $2.22 to $2.54 in NE. NY was about 20 cts/gal more expensive. Our car (Nissan 3) got about 30 mpg.

Hotels and B&Bs

We stayed at the Middlebury Inn (www.middleburyinn.com) in Middlebury, VT - a very pleasant, friendly and accommodating hotel on the main square. For no particular reason, I asked if they gave discounts to AARP members. Lucky us – we got 10% off the room bill.

We had a small, but pleasant and comfortable, room on the 1st floor in the main building. There is an elevator, but it is not self-service.

Breakfast was from a buffet of scrambled eggs, various freshly baked goods – scones and cinnamon rolls were VVG – cereals, fruits, jams, jellies and some odd kind of Northren grits called “oatmeal”. An outstanding part of breakfast was wild blueberries – YUM.

The Inn also serves afternoon tea (included in the price) – scones, muffins, cookies, cakes and choices of juices, teas and coffee.

The Inn has a pleasant restaurant/lounge.

One can sit in a rocker on the porch and watch the world go by.

In New Hampshire we stayed at the Bernerhof Inn in Glen (http://bernerhofinn.com). Lovely people, very friendly and helpful staff. Our room was the GoldenWood, which is the one just above the canopy on the Inn’s website. Very large, nicely appointed, with windows facing in 3 directions. We could have invited another couple to share the bed.

There is a different breakfast each morning: typically a cup of fresh fruit, a fresh baked muffin, eggs of some sort, pancakes or waffles or French toast, maple syrup, jams and jellies, juices, teas and coffee – all served at your table.

Miss June, the innkeeper, makes breakfast. She is also a very lovely person and is quite ready to help with anything that you might wish.

The Inn also has a bar, lounge and restaurant.

We chose the 1896 House - Brookside (www.1896house.com) just outside Williamstown for our MA base. This is an old motel, that has been recently refurbished. The rooms are not large, but comfy and appeal to those who like old-fashioned quaintness. It should be noted that some of the motels we saw in New England had cabins so small that my Lady Wife was sure that they had privies in the back.

Breakfast was the “large continental” buffet in the refurbished barn: three kinds of bread, bagels and English muffins for toasting – cold cereals and milk, hot cereal from packages, coffee cake or muffins, hard boiled eggs, fruit, yoghurt, coffee or tea.

The 1896 House has a babbling brook (Brookside) and a duck pond (Pondside). Both are quite pleasant and conducive to sitting quietly and letting the cares of the world fade away.

There is a family restaurant on near the Brookside (the barn) and a more upscale restaurant (Le Jardin) near the Pondside.

The last night of our visit we stayed at the Boathouse B&B (http://www.boathousebb.com) in Bolton Landing, NY. This is an old home built right on the waters of Lake George. We stayed in the Ciara room – not large, but we were very comfortable. The accommodations range from delux to very luxurious.

Breakfast is prepared fresh each day by Patti, the innkeeper, and is served family style in the Great Room. The day we were there, we had a glass of freshly squeezed juice, cup of bananas in almond cream, baked French toast (cream cheese and fruits baked in), sausages, homemade plum granita, coffee cake and tea or coffee.

Patti and Joe are both very pleasant and helpful people.

Guests are offered (for a fee) a ride on the Lake in their 33’ Hackercraft sport boat – a real treat if the weather is warm.

The Middlebury Inn had the best cost/benefit ratio. The Bernerhof Inn had the most friendly and accommodating people. The Boathouse was our luxury splurge. The 1896 House was very pleasant.

We would stay at each of them again.

((I))

I am jealous. Leaving Boston was the right choice for me for now, but what I wouldn't give for a New England Fall.

Oh , ira, it all sounds wonderful. Thank you for posting! Welcome back too!
I love Williamstown, did you go to the Clark ? We actually considered buying a house there once, but the winters worried me. Now I sort of wish we had :)
Didn't you just love the lake views from Boltons Landing? We stayed in a small place there years ago, then later at the Sagamore, the fall is so amazing there, and the quiet .. I am now quite homesick, thank you very much ((F))

Ira,
I'm so glad the leaves cooperated with your vacation. Of course, I'm thoroughly enjoying seeing the links to the various places where you stayed - looking forward to reading more about your adventure to an area I've never explored (much less, seen leaves other than green or brown!)

Glad you had a happy time and enjoyed my part of the world. You didn't stop in Boston?

How well I know the 1896 House and how happy I am to hear it is still going strong, Ira. It sits right along route 7, and I must have passed it hundreds and hundreds of times in my treks around the county in my youth. Sigh...makes me a little homesick too Scarlett, but you were RIGHT to worry about the winters, yes indeed! Interminable.

How romantic...we would love to do this some day.

LOL, I love your title...I can just see you two standing there holding hands in (I hope) the serene quiet of a beautiful fall day. Cannot wait to hear the rest.

Ira, Welcome back! Thanks for sharing.

Our family has happily travelled through New England many times but never in the fall. The last time we visited we were surprised to discover that rates at hotels were higher during leaf changing season than during the summer!

Leaves are just starting to change colour here in Toronto and Niagara. They are unusually late this year.

Glad you enjoyed a nice trip, Ira!

"... cup of bananas in almond cream, baked French toast (cream cheese and fruits baked in), sausages, homemade plum granita..." Yum!--how could you ever leave?!? ;-)

Hi all,

Hi Scarlett,

We sort of looked around the Clark. I must admit that this was where my planning broke down, as I didn't know just how good a museum it was until we got to Bolton Landing.

It's on our must see list for next time.

Hi Cigal,

>You didn't stop in Boston?<

Nope, didn't get to that part of the State.

Hi MCG,

>I can just see you two standing there holding hands in (I hope) the serene quiet of a beautiful fall day.<

Well, not all of the time. :)

Hi Moolyn,

>..we were surprised to discover that rates at hotels were higher during leaf changing season than during the summer!<

We were told that about 550,000 people were expected to visit NH over the Columbus Day weekend - that's about 1/2 the native population. That could account for high rates.

I shall continue my report soon, and get some pix online.

((I))

PS
The car was a Mazda, not a Nissan.

So glad you enjoyed New England and the beautiful foliage - and glad to hear the Middlebury Inn still gets a good review - we spent many a night there - it is an oldie but goodie - when our daughter was at Middlebury College and keep saying we need to go back to the area, but never have...

Did you love the drive from Burlington to Middlebury? I loved that road and the scenery - did you get up to the campus at all to see the views from there? Did you see Mass Moca when in Williamstown area?

I love that downtown too, we spent some time there one summer during the theater festival.

can't wait to see the photos!

Thanks, Ira. I was fortunate enough to visit a tiny corner of western MA this past summer. I really enjoyed it and would love to visit when the leaves are changing. Can't wait to see your photos!

ira - What a nice holiday. Hope to go to this part of the world some day. Thank you for sharing all the details and including web links.

Terrific report.

Sandy

Hi all,

Foodie Report:

Dinners:

Middlebury Inn. We had two dinners there.
Crab cakes, Confit de Canard, Rabbit All very good. Nice Wines

Swift House Inn, Middlebury VT Fixed Price Menu from $28 pp.
Excellent wine list: We had the Placet Rioja Blanco 2003, which went very well with our meal.
Amuse bouche of chanterelle mushroom soup – VVG
Roberta had 2 appetizers: Bruschetta and Hummus Cakes Both VG
I had the Fall Squash Ravioli and the Sea Scallops. Ravioli was quite good.
My dessert was an Earl Grey tea flavored Crème Brulee with roasted almonds -Excellent.

Bernerhof Inn, Glen NH
One dinner was (a) the sausage appetizer (3 kinds) and Wienerschnitzel (veal, not pork) with spaetzel, (b) crab cakes. Wine was a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Our second dinner was the tasting menu (included with a 2-night package) which they printed out for us –
Cocktails in the Lounge
Sherried Lobster and Crab Bisque
Scallops in Raspberry/Grand Marnier sauce
Mixed Greens with blue cheese, apples, raisins, almonds and house vinaigrette
Intermezzo – Sorbet
Peppercorn crusted Filet Mignon with a cherry/Port reduction – Green Onion/Potatoe cakes
Chocolate Fondue with fruit and gingerbread.
A sauvignon Blanc and a Reisling for the lighter fare and a David Bruce Pinot Noir with the meat and chocolate.

Definitely up to international standards. Very well prepared, nicely presented and well served, despite the restaurant being somewhat crowded that evening.
The sorbet – plums and cranberries – and the scallops were both delightful.

The only possible complaint is that we were overfed. :)

Conway Scenic Railroad – North Conway NH (www.conwayscenic.com)
We took the Sunset ride in the Chocorua dining car. A very pleasant, well-restored Victorian car. Beautiful scenery. Friendly, efficient service. Food was acceptable.

After dinner, we retired to the Parlor car (also very well restored) for a pleasant journey back.

Both the dining and parlor cars have lights under the carriage, so that the local scenery is illuminated at night.

Our other dinners were nothing to write home about, as we did not search out any exceptional restaurants for this trip.

More later.

((I))

Great, Ira, now you're making me hungry! My gosh, all that food sounds wonderful, right up my, uh, food chain! ;-)

Hi ES,

>Did you love the drive from Burlington to Middlebury?<

South of Shelburne, yes.

>did you get up to the campus at all to see the views from there? <

Yes, we did. Middlebury's campus is almost worth the tuition.

>Did you see Mass Moca ..<

Afraid not. We only passed through N. Adams on our leaf peeping drives.

((I))

Yes, south of Shelburn is so pretty - and I am laughing you are so right, my husband and I kept telling ourselves "the view was almost worth the tuition" hehe - which is why we did take advantage and visit Middlebury as often as possible over those four years ! But truthfully, she took advantage of everything there and her four years there made the tuition seem worth it !

So interesting to hear about your meal at Swift House- we'd stayed there many times also, when we had the grandparents with us b/c it was easier for them to negoitate 'no stairs' so we'd stay in that carriage house behind the main house - but we never actually ate dinner there, which is even more of a shame now that I read your review !!

a wonderful report, thanks.

p.s. - photos Ira, we need those photos !! :)

Thanks, Ira. You have managed to make me both homesick and hungry on the same thread. ;) I can't wait to see the pictures.

Ira - that sounds amazing. The fam and I are going to be in NYC over Thanksgiving. Any suggestions for a side trip away from the big city so that we can see some nature? How far is Rhode Island? We will not have a car.

Rhode Island is about 3 hours from NYC depending on which part you want to visit. There are trains, buses, public transport or you could rent a car, but I would seek outside beauty in and near NYC unless you have a reason for wanting to visit RI, of which there are certainly many - but I wouldn't personally consider it a day trip.

But in NYC you do have some options for 'out of downtown" like the Bronx Botanical Gardens, the
Cloisters, - and in NYC there is nothing, for me, like a walk through Central Park - you will forget you are in the city.

There are vineyards in upstate ny, and lovely areas where you can see 'nature', but I am not sure of bus tours, or ways to get there besides a car - perhaps Ira or someone from NYC can help you with suggestions.

Welcome back, ira

Your trip sounds lovely, I'm glad you had a good time, and made it back safely. Your food report has made me hungry, good thing it's almost lunch time! :)

Johanna

Hi all,

Don't mean to be a tease, but I have other things happening.

More trip report:

Getting There: Sunday Oct 1.

Our flight was scheduled for 11:00, so I asked for a limo pick up at 08:00. The limo dispatcher suggested that I was going to arrive much too early. The TSA website said that the security line at ATL would be only about 10 min. So I changed our pickup to 08:30.

Uneventful drive to ATL. Arrived at 09:45. Arrived sweaty and out of breath at the departure gate at 10:57. Wife arrived several minutes later. Fortunately, I had printed out our boarding passes before leaving home.

They held the plane for several other passengers who had also been delayed by security lines, which were taking at least I HOUR. Arrived BVT about 20 min late.

This mess reminded me that I had originally planned to buy the tickets last year for $260. Delta was having troubles at that time, and most people I spoke to had advised me to wait, because Delta might go out of business.

After the strike issue was settled, I got the tickets for $340.

Note to self: Stop asking other people for advice.

Picked up the car from Enterprise (they were the least expensive for that day) and drove to Middlebury, VT in light showers. Rain stopped in the late PM, but skies were overcast.

We were in time for tea at the Middlebury Inn. A very pleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon.

More to come.

((I))

Leaf Peeping: Vermont

Our first tour was a loop that started in a NE direction from Middlebury up to Waterbury, East to Montpelier, South on RT 12 to Randolph and Bethel and return to Middlebury via Rt 125. Weather was overcast and occasionally rainy, still the forests were very pretty.

The State House at Montpelier is worth a visit.

Vermont Tour 2 took us North to Burlington then East along Rt 2 to Rt 100 and up to Stowe and further North. Stowe is definitely a place to meet tourists, but the area is lovely.

We took Rt 100 up to Rt 118, West to Belvidere Junction, South through Cambridge, Underhill and Richmond, and Rte 116 down to Middlebury.

The weather was much nicer, and we got some good pix.

As we were driving along, we came to a sign directing us to Enosburg Falls – not your usual tourist destination – and we went. We were very pleasantly surprised. As Spencer Tracy once said, “There ain’t much there, but what there is is cherce”.

This is a very old mill town that has seen better days. However, a Mr Larose has taken it upon himself to landscape the old bridge across the Falls, making it a very pleasant place to stop for a while.

Our third day, we visited the Shelburne Museum (www.shelburnemuseum.org/?flash=true)

Well worth a visit. Major highlights are the steamship Ticonderoga and the Webb’s apartment. Many old buildings and fine collections of folk art and craft. Paintings by Georgia O’Keefe were on exhibit when we were there.

More to come.

((I))

Ira -- we missed each other by minutes. My husband and I were just at The Sagamore in Bolton Landing from Oct. 9 - 12th. He had a conference to attend and some of the other spouses and I enjoyed the leaves and the charms of Lake George. What a beautiful spot.

The Boathouse B&B looks so wonderful. We put it on our list of places to get to in the future.

Can't wait for your pictures.
((c))

Ira...excellent report of one of my favorite things...born and brought uyp in NE I was fortunate enough to see leaf changes every fall...did the Me, NH, VT circuit three times AFTER I left NE in '57.

Did you by chance or planning get to the famous Vermont Country Store in Weston VT? Unique, indeed. We also enjoyed the Robert Frost House in NH.

Waiting for you pix for a taste of acute homesickness. Thanks for taking the time to write your report.

Stu T.

Hi ira,

Thank you for mentioning this on the Europe board. DH and I have long wanted to take a New England trip in the autumn, perhaps adding in a jaunt to Colonial Williamsburg. Your hotel recs and descriptions are wonderfully helpful and I can't wait to see your pictures! Welcome back

Why do I somehow feel that leaf peeping is illegal? =-O

Hi all,

Continuing my report:

VT to NH

We left Middlebury via Rt 125 on a very bright and sunny day, and made our way via various back roads to Bradford.

Having carefully plotted my course and equipped with detailed printouts from Expedia, I was not concerned about getting off Rt 12A to take Braintree Mountain Rd over to Braintree.

After searching for the road for about 30 min, I stopped at a house in the middle of the forest to ask directions. The very pleasant gentleman who helped us told me, “You are lucky you didn’t find it”. It seems that Braintree Mountain Road turns into a swamp about 2 miles up the mountain. He was kind enough to make a copy of a page from his atlas to guide us on our way.

Note to Expedia: Delete this road from the map.

Retracing our steps, somewhat, we arrived at Lincoln, NH about 1:30 hr behind schedule. Here we picked up Rt 112, the Kancamagus Hwy. Very spectacular scenery – every bit as good as advertised.

All went well until we reached Conway, where road construction and the County Fair traffic turned a 15 min drive to Glen, into a 45 min trek.

NH Tour 1

We took Rt 16 North past Mt. Washington, to Rt 2, where we headed East and turned South on Rt 113 in Main. This is a very, very pretty road. We negotiated the traffic around Freyburg and headed for Naples – Long Lake was very pretty. We then headed North via Harrison and Norway to Bethel and West on Rt 2 back to Rt 16 in NH.

NH Tour 2

From Glen, we took Rt 302 to Rt 3. Did a clockwise loop through Bethlehem and Lancaster before coming back to Rt 16 at Gorham. Franconia Notch and Pinkham Notch are both lovely. Dixville Notch is spectacular.

I have downloaded my 760 pix, and hope to have a photo or two available soon.

((I))

Hi TA,

>...a New England trip in the autumn, perhaps adding in a jaunt to Colonial Williamsburg.<

There really is nothing like NE in Oct.

I know that you Texas folk are used to open spaces, but are you aware that it is about 750 miles from Burlington, VT to Williamsburg, VA?

((I))

Hi ira,

We actually fled the Texas heat a few years ago and relocated to Colorado ;-)

Thanks for the info on the 750 miles... I knew it was quite the distance but didn't have precise numbers. We'd likely fly into either the southernmost or northernmost point, rent a car, then fly out from the opposite point from which we began our trip. If we turned it into a twelve day trip maybe we could break that one long drive up into smaller segments.

Hi tower
>Did you by chance or planning get to the famous Vermont Country Store in Weston VT?<

We didn't get that far South.

((I))

Hi Tries2PakLite
> we missed each other by minutes. My husband and I were just at The Sagamore in Bolton Landing from Oct. 9 - 12th. <

Well, Dang!

Maybe next time.

((I))

Ira -- sometimes I'm overwhelmed by how small the world is.

We could have had coffee, or tea, at Bolton Beans.
((c))

Glad you had a good trip. The area is just another one on my 'hoping' list. We live a long way from New England, which makes it tough. And yes, thanks for mentioning on the Europe board!

Scarlett, if you get to homesick for leaves, take a long walk around the Eastmoreland neighborhood.

I looked up Eastmoreland, and yes! we have to go over there right away!! Thanks.
Today we were in Washington Park, which did make me feel better. I love the trees in Oregon, they are so, so Tall. :)

I love Washington Park. Sometimes when I fly down to visit my son, we walk around up there.

Hi Ira, glad you had a great trip.
You picked a great route through Vt.
Come back and see us again!

Hi all,

NH to MA

We left Glen on a very pleasant day and headed SW toward Williamstown, MA. On the way we passed through or by Center Sandwich, Squam Lake, Meredith and Keen. Rt 9 through southern VT was very pretty.

The Berkshires were magnificent.

In MA, we found Shelburne Falls, Historic Deerfield Village, the Mohawk trail, Lenox and Housatonic well worth visiting. Stockbridge was pretty, but gridlocked. Hoosick Falls, Cambridge and Shushan were interesting.

MA to NY
We took the Taconic Trail from Williamstown to Rt 22 and headed North. Very pleasant scenery, but clouds were gathering again.

Bolton Landing is a pleasant place, and Rt 9 North toward Burlington is quite lovely, with views of Lake George and the surrounding forests.

I’ll post pix, as soon as I get them sorted.

((I))

Hi All,

Photos are at http://tinyurl.com/ybm32p

These were taken with my new Canon S3, and I haven't had much experience with it so some pix are not as good as I would wish.

I hope that you enjoy them.

((I))