Our New England States Trip -Part 3

Day 5- I did quite a bit of research about where to go on a whale watching cruise. Originally we were planning to go with a company out of Maine, reportedly on the Top 10 list. But I have to say, it was not encouraging- the websites are very explicit that sightings are not guaranteed and you do not get your money back if you don't see anything. Then our neighbors went to the New England States and had good sightings with Cape Ann Whale Watch in Gloucester Massachusetts. I checked out the company and learned they guarantee sightings. From what I gathered, they are located between 2 major feeding grounds so they have the option of going either direction on any given day, increasing their success rate to 99%. (They don't refund money either but you can come back and go again for free until you do see whales. That is how confident they are.) We decided to go with them.
I found a great deal on Groupon for tickets but ran into a snag. When we arrived in Gloucester, the code still hadn't come through; I mentioned it in the ticket office and they sold me tickets for the Groupon price. Yay for Cape Ann!

Aww! I love it.

 There's something so regal about schooners.

 Our first sightings were of lighthouses. Is it just me or is that gorgeous?!

 

 The crew decided to go to Stellwagen Bank. It took about an hour to get there. Before we got very far, it started to rain. It was cold and slightly miserable. Hard to imagine it was 90* back home! 

We know it's cold when Jeremy puts on a jacket.

 

 The next hour, hour and a half, were a real treat. If I'm not mistaken we saw 3 humpback whales. Not a lot of variety but lots of sightings of the same ones. There was a female named Dross, and a pair that the crew was not able to identify while we were on location.

 

 The crew did a great job of turning the boat so both sides got a chance to see the action. And the naturalist on board did a fine job of educating us about whales. 

We were so far out on the Atlantic that no land was in sight. 

We did actually bob around in the water some so I'm very thankful no one got seasick. 

 

 

 

 How can you see something like this and not worship the Creator?!

 Thar she blows! photo creds: Jeremy

The unidentified pair

 

 So cool!

At the end I quit taking pictures and just stood there soaking it in, marveling at the grace and beauty of these humongous creatures. So glad we got to do this! 

For the hour-long boat ride back to Gloucester, I went inside. I was so cold and damp I was shivering. In the warmth of the cabin, the motion sickness pills kicked in and I almost fell asleep. Either that or getting up at 6:30am (to make it to the dock on time). 

When we arrived back at the dock, it was raining in earnest. We took a quick spin down the street to the esplanade so I could hop out to snap a picture -in the rain- of the Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial "Man at the Wheel". It's a memorial to the fishermen that lost their lives at sea, but I'm intrigued by the inscription. Look close- it says "They that go down to the sea in ships". Do you recognize that as a Bible verse? Check out Psalm 107. Hint: If you read the whole section, v. 23-32, to get the context, (esp. v. 28-30) it's even more awesome.  I am loving all these scriptures on statues! 

And here is a little inside joke especially for my Stauffer family: this statue is often confused with the fisherman logo of Gorton's Seafood. Gorton's was founded in Gloucester (we went by the plant) and is credited for inventing... wait for it... FISH STICKS! 🤣🤣 So you see, I simply had to get this photo, rain or no rain. 

 We headed north along the coast, and made a short stop in Portsmouth New Hampshire so I could get a picture of the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse.  This was not as easy as it sounds. This lighthouse is located on a coast guard base, which was gated off. I was sure it was viewable or it wouldn't be listed as a tourist attraction online. My long suffering hubby took a side street that dead-ended in a no-parking zone. Mind you, we didn't park, we only stopped long enough that I was able to snap this picture. Mission accomplished.

Due to the cold miserable weather, we skipped Kennebunkport and the Nubble lighthouse. But no way was I going to miss out on the most photographed lighthouse in America- Portland Head! Cape Elizabeth, Maine here we come!  

The lighthouse and museum were closed by the time we arrived, and we had to pay to park- 2 hours was the minimum -even though it was much too cold to hang around that long. But it was totally worth it.

 

 

 Is this what you call multi-tasking? Smiling and freezing at the same time! That's my excuse [for a less than stellar photo] and I'm sticking with it. It was 50* and only half a cloud away from pouring down rain. 

I was intending to stop at a couple beaches to look for sea glass, but we scratched that due to the weather as well. Arianna was fighting off a cold when we left (believe me, she downed an awful lot of stuff, including a nasty cider vinegar concoction, trying to shake it quick) so this wasn't helping the cough none. We just headed up to Freeport Maine where we planned to stay for the night. 

When one is in Maine, one MUST eat lobster, right? But when one's spouse is seriously allergic to shellfish... a restaurant must be chosen with care. We went to Lobster Cooker in Freeport. 

Jeremy & I went with the real deal, while Richard & Arianna sprung for non-seafood/sandwiches.  

 

 Jeremy said he could take it or leave it, but I loved it! Full disclosure: I did have to google how to open it. What did we do before Google?! 

Day 6- This was the day that I had multiple options on the itinerary for the family to pick from. Considering the weather and Arianna's health, we slept longer, then discussed what we wanted to do. Going out on a lobster boat or venturing farther north in Maine for more beaches and lighthouses lost its appeal. We vetoed going on the Mount Washington Cog Railway, too. We thought we would drive up Mount Washington though (the train goes up one side and the auto road up the other), until we discovered they charge -by the person! -to drive on the auto road. It would've been a steep [no pun intended] $60 for our family. Seriously? For a 7.6 mile drive you do yourself?! No thanks, I'll pass on the souvenir "This car climbed Mt Washington" bumper sticker. I might be willing to pay a per-vehicle toll for the experience, but a per-person fee is going too far. IMO.

We eliminated "all of the above" options I had mapped out, and headed west toward the White Mountains in New Hampshire instead. It turned out to be a super good choice!! We got on the Kancamagus Highway and quickly fell in love with the fall scenery.

 Up to this point, the leaves really hadn't started changing color yet. Hints of color here and there but primarily green. I was disappointed, thinking we had done this trip a week or two too early. But then New Hampshire... 😍!

I was looking for Rocky Gorge Falls, but we came to Lower Falls first. Just had to stop! I was impressed that the $5 parking pass for the park was on the honor system.

  

♪♪ Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder... ♪♪

 

 

 

Downstream view of the above...

 

Next we continued on to Rocky Gorge Falls...

 

 

 Pictures just do not do justice! Go see it for yourself.

 We were looking for Sabbaday Falls as well, but missed that one. We stopped at like every single pull-off going up the mountain. lol  This is Sugar Hill Scenic Vista. 

 

 When we got to the top, we were at 2000 something feet in elevation, which is "peanuts" compared to 10,000' elevation we climbed -in a motorhome- out west, but it was still a chilly 35* up there and the foliage turned into primarily evergreens.

We knew we were running out of time so we skipped a bunch of scenic overlooks on our way down and hustled over to Franconia Notch State Park. We went in the visitor center ...and had our first -and only- moose sighting. Ha! 

We asked at the information desk if we still have enough time to do both the aerial tram and the gorge; the helpful gentleman told us to get ourselves over to Cannon Mountain Aerial Tram first because they close at 5pm, and as long as we get back and through the visitor center doors by 5 we can take our time hiking in the park because the trails are open till sundown. So that's what we did. We got on the 3:30pm tram.  (This picture doesn't really do justice to how high up the tram car goes.)

 Scenery on the way up

 

 Gettin' higher...

 At the top... 

They advertise that on a clear day you can see 5 states and even into Canada. This was NOT a clear day.  We couldn't even see back down to the bottom where we had come from.

My family wanted to hike the summit trail, which according to signs didn't sound overly far. We paid money to come up here so let's experience climbing to the very pinnacle, they said. Okay then, let's do this.

It cleared off in a spot or two that we could see 4000' down to the bottom, but we sure couldn't see out very far at all.  

The farther we went, the colder I got. It was 29* up there with a brisk 10mph wind that cut right through the jacket I had on. My adventurous spirit fizzled out about 250' into the hike. Done drained right out of my numb fingertips. You'll have to take my word for it that I climbed this lookout tower because there is no photo proof.   

 I got to the top and tried to take a photo but even my camera shutter was numb with cold and refused to snap, so I hurried back down, where I stood in the [slight] shelter of those evergreen trees until my family came ambling back down. Our co-tourist -from Israel- tried to encourage me with "Hot! it's so hot here!" when he saw me rubbing my frozen hands together. Completely missed out on the family selfie up top.

   Waiting for the tram car, to go back down. 

 

 You can't see it, but it was sleeting here. 

 

 It looked like a mighty cool [no pun intended] ski slope but if I ever go there again I want to be prepared with full winter gear.

Next we hurried back to the state park to hike to Flume Gorge. Made it with 10 minutes to spare before they closed the gate. First up on the hike was Flume Covered Bridge. Yes, please.

More gorgeous waterfalls...

Looking into Flume Gorge 

Quote from the NH state park website: The Flume was discovered in 1808 by 93-year-old  “Aunt” Jess Guernsey when she accidently came upon it while fishing. She had trouble convincing her family of the marvelous discovery, but eventually persuaded others to come and see for themselves. At that time, a huge egg-shaped boulder hung suspended between the walls. The rock was 10 feet high and 12 feet long. A heavy rainstorm in June of 1883 started a landslide that swept the boulder from its place. It has never been found. The same storm deepened the gorge and formed Avalanche Falls.

 Looking back from the top of Flume Gorge

 Avalanche Falls at Flume Gorge 

By this point of our day one member of our family decided we might have found heaven on earth.

 

 

 We came to Liberty Gorge next. It doesn't look like much from the top, but then you view it from the bottom and it's like whoa! Again, pictures don't do justice.

It was getting dark in the forest so we had to keep moving. We passed on the opportunity to crawl through Bears Den and Wolfs Den (caves). Next up along the trail is The Pool. Look for the dark spot of water roughly in the center of this photo... 

 The Pool is 40 ft deep! 

 This is the kind of scenery that makes it onto calendar pages!😍

 This is an unusual covered bridge, called Sentinel Pine Bridge. The bridge is supported by the famous tall pine tree, which blew over in the hurricane of 1938. Other trees that were blown down were used to build the bridge over the pine log in order to protect and preserve the 100 yr old log.    

 

It was after 6pm when we completed the 2 mile hike and exited the park. We drove to Lincoln NH and checked into the EconoLodge. We were pleasantly surprised when the room we had booked was actually a separate little cottage. Icing on the cake of a wonderful day! They had free hot chocolate (plus tea and coffee) in the lobby so Arianna & I fixed ourselves some to warm up from our hike. 

 We decided to try Black Mountain Burger Company there in Lincoln. Good choice. They were very busy (the best places always are, right?) but organized- we only waited 10 minutes for a table.

We ordered poutine for an appetizer. I guess we were close enough to Canada/Quebec to get the real deal. Yum! 

Jeremy ordered the smitty burger- a burger between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches!

 My parents were on a bus trip to Prince Edward Island and Novia Scotia. On this particular evening they were on the other side of the mountain from us. We didn't bump into each other anywhere but we came close to it.