Let me start by saying, we love the Northeast. In fact, we love the Northeast much more than we would have ever imagined. The food is fresh, funky and always festive. The people are driven, inspired and love food and travel. And the views. Ohhh the views. They are gorgeous...fresh air, mountains, streams, lakes, and the old architecture. We had two goals on this little journey. 1) Experience Northeast Bed and Breakfasts. 2) Relax. Relax. Eat. and Eat.
Vermont
Stowe, Vermont can easily be compared to ski towns found deep inside of Colorado. Our chilly Spring arrival was just perfect - not too crowded, but enough people to make you feel like you are in a fun place. When we arrived in Stowe, we checked into our Bed and Breakfast with a view - The Brass Lantern Inn. Our innkeepers were beyond sweet and had the friendliness of a true southerner ...Maryland, of course. All Northeastern's believe that Maryland falls in the "southern bracket"... true laughs from a Texan. Either way, they made us feel right at home in our new mansion that included a variety of games, scenic views of Mt. Mansfield (even from our room!) and a delicious homemade breakfast complete with maple syrup.
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| Ahhh, Vermont! |
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| Tourist picture - check! |
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| Ben and Jerry's Flavor Graveyard |
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| The Brass Lantern Inn |
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| Breakfast at The Brass Lantern Inn |
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| Farm to table fresh tacos! |
New Hampshire
Our wonderful hosts at the Brass Lantern Inn gave us a fantastic tip...to drive through the Kancamagus Pass on our way to Maine. It was scenic, full of twists and turns but took way less time to navigate than Yellowstone. And thankfully, despite the fifteen signs, we escaped without greeting a Moose.
Maine
Portland, Maine is the east coast cousin to Portland, Oregon. Both have their own personality, following and fun culture. We loved it. In fact, we loved it so much, we spent the second half of the day walking the entire city of Portland. We stayed at the funky and unique Pomegranate Inn, nestled in an adorable neighborhood and known for its artsy decor from the original owner and three course breakfast.
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| Loved waking up to a morning breeze and reading my book in bed... |
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| Pomegranate Inn |
Bites:: We worked up quite an appetite seeing the city and were ready to jump into our first local recommendation of the lobster roll at Eventide Oyster Co. Situated in the financial district of Portland, Eventide seemed to be the only restaurant open on an early Friday night, but that by no means had an impact on the dining scene. This was my favorite lobster roll, the steamed bread fell apart in your mouth and made you jump to the next bite. To accompany my lobster roll, I tried the Walking Dead fruity cocktail and it too, was a yummy creation. Richard was on cloud 9 with the dozen oysters - all Maine specialities. Richard's drink of choice was the Old Fashioned, made just right.
Our after dinner haunt... literally::
When we arrived back at our Bed and Breakfast, there was not a sound in the house that was packed full. Given the home's uniqueness and walls flowing with art, we decided to explore...all the way up to the third floor. We breezed past the opening and found a cute game room in what looked like an attic. On our way back to the stairs, we were startled and stopped by what we could only figure out was art. A huge bowl of rocks knocked over on the ground with a rope that was wrapped around the staircase. How on earth did we miss this?? We had to pass it walking to the game room. How did we not trip over it?? Creepy... We went up later in the night to make sure we were not crazy and then the following morning. In the morning, the bowl was sitting upright again, still tied to the staircase with the rocks on the floor. We had to ask. The innkeeper believes someone knocked it over going to their room...but no one seemed to have heard anything. Hmm...
Well, hello again, New Hampshire.
Guess who's back, back again? On our way back to New York City, we stopped in the quaint and upbeat city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We enjoyed our third and final lobster roll at Old Ferry Landing on the water. Their take on the lobster roll, "backyard style", wasn't our favorite. But really, it's lobster with a view, you can't go wrong.
And that's a wrap for visiting states #46, #47 and #48. Hungry for lobster?
