New England: Vermont to Maine, 2019
Looking Back: Celebrating Four Years of Van Life
Third in a Series
Vermont
21 April 2019, Guilford
Barreling north, I was changing locations every night. Sleeping in places I’d never been before. Planning the route for each day’s drive included, whenever possible, at least two options to overnight.
While I was fairly flexible during the day, detouring when intrigued, those camping spots were almost set in stone. For safety’s sake.
This wasn’t so much a precaution against physical attack as much as a response to my middle-aged eyes’ weakening night vision. I miss my young eyes.
As I traveled farther north to more remote areas, I was particularly concerned about hitting wildlife. Killing an animal, even the thought of it, makes me sick. More practically, an elk or a moose would destroy the minivan. Then I’d be screwed.
While the novelty of van life was thrilling, I’d set an exhausting pace. There were days I wasn’t exploring much at all. I came to view the miles as recon for the next time I’d come north. It’d be a few more months before I learned to slow my roll, and even longer than that to truly relish the lifestyle.
The thing is, two things really; lots of wet weather and I was in a hurry to get to Canada. Of course, I was terribly excited to see Nova Scotia. After that, I planned to drive across Canada and drop back into the U.S. from Victoria BC to Washington in time to celebrate my father’s 85th birthday with family in August. I live in the United States and can travel freely. I wanted as much time as possible until then to make the most of a cross-Canada road trip.
New Hampshire
26 April 2019, Bretton Woods
The Mount Washington Cog Railway is the first mountain climbing railway of its kind. Built for no other reason than to transport riders to the top of the mountain to see New Hampshire from nearly 4000 feet (1219 meters) above sea level.
At an average grade of 25 percent, it’s the steepest railway in the world.
I can’t explain the mechanics of a funicular railway.
Instead, I urge you to take five minutes to let storyteller extraordinaire, Nate DiMeo, bring you back to 1852 when Sylvester Marsh climbed Mount Washington. Listen to The Memory Palace, episode 141, “This Story Climbed Mount Washington” and the inspiration for the railway. I fully expect you to fall for Nate DiMeo as hard as I have.
The railway was not running on the day I was there. This conveniently saved me from the dilemma of whether to wrestle my fear of heights and take a chance on having an amazing experience, or watch the train climb the mountain without my sorry self on board.
Maine
29-30 April 2019, Portland
Late April and into early May, I spent two weeks in Maine visiting quaint seaside towns, as well as Portland, Bangor, and Acadia National Park.
Primarily because I’m not ready to go gray.
My vanity as much as my wanderlust briefly rooted me in the Pine Tree State.
Before van life, I’d have my hair cut and colored every three to four weeks. It was passed time and I hated seeing my gray roots. I found a stylist on Yelp and made an appointment. Until then, I explored.
The Portland Head Light and Fort Williams Park are gorgeous in any weather. In operation since 1791, Portland Head Light is Main’s oldest lighthouse, located on the rocky shore of Fort Williams Park. It’s easily obvious why this lighthouse is the most photographed in the United States. I spent several glorious days here working, hiking, and making photos.
While I also ambled around the Portland Waterfront Historic District, I didn’t shop or stop into any restaurants. Still, I recommend that you do should you have the opportunity. I did walk the popular Back Cove Trail a few times, with Sammy in her stroller. And, I took the ferry to spend a day on Peaks Island. Sammy didn’t sail with me. Instead, she remained in the minivan with everything she needed. I parked it in a garage, walking distance from the ferry terminal, where it was shaded and cool all day.
Maine is utterly charming. Even better, having visited before Memorial Day, I’d avoided the summer season tourists.
Featured title image: Portland Head Light, Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Next: Canada, The Atlantic Provinces
Please leave questions in the comment section if there are aspects of my van life you’d like to know more about.
Become a subscriber so you don’t miss a thing.
