Drive: Salisbury, VT to Bar Harbor, ME via Burlington

"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood...Make big plans, aim high in hope and work." ~Daniel H. Burnham

August 17: Today was a very long driving day. We visited with Steve, Christine, their children and David Sohigian in the morning. Dave showed me how to collect visitor statistics on this blog and my website. Dave is an old Eugene, Oregon brewer. He was the first Brewmaster at Fields Brewing Company. He's a high-tech guy in Portland, Oregon now.

After coffe and tea, Steve gifted me a mixed 6-pack of Otter Creek's beer, and we drove north toward Burlington.

We arrived at American Flatbread just in time for lunch. I showed Jon around the place because I am really into what they do with fire. The most prominent fire-feature is the primitive wood-fired oven that dominates the larger dining room. Photo below shows Jon and I with Owner/Brewmaster Paul Sayler in front of the oven. Paul treated us to salad and a big flatbread, and Jon got to try all of Paul's traditional beers. On the way out the door Paul gifted us with a 22-oz. bottle of Wheatwine brewed by Smuttynose Brewing Co. Talk about spreading the wealth!
Next was a quick stop at the Vermont Pub & Brewery so Jon could see the brewery and pub. Partner Steve Polewacyk loaded us up with Growlers so that we'd have plenty of fresh beer to drink with Jon's family in Bar Harbor.

Then it was off toward Maine. Everyone had advised us to take Hwy 89 south to Manchester, NH, and then head north. However, Jon and I decided that we couldn't really drive very fast on the freeway with the trailer anyway, so we might as well drive the more direct route across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine on Hwy 2. That's what we did.

The photo at the top of this page (rock-lined highway) was taken in Vermont. The photo below (white birch trees) was taken at a rest stop in New Hampshire.

The photos make it look like the weather was sunny and fabulous, but look carefully at the clouds in Vermont. A huge pelting rain storm caught up with us in the late afternoon and we ended up driving with the storm for the second half of our long drive.
It was a very long drive. The storm slowed us down as we had to pull over twice when we couldn't see the road anymore. We finally arrived in Bar Harbor at about 10:00 pm. Jon's brother Joel, his wife Lindsay and daughter Carolyn live outside of Bar Harbor. We stayed for four days and actually never saw Bar Harbor. I hear we mostly missed a bunch of t-shirt shops and saltwater taffy stands.

We stayed up too late and kept Carolyn up too late, but since it was Friday, we did it.