We rather take to the rural scenery then the city and it was a beautiful day for a good long drive.
We took a detour when we saw a sign for a covered bridge and ended up at the Durgin Bridge, near Sandwich,NH

New Hampshire Covered Bridges

We had done some serious shopping en route in Nashua,NH at the Pheasant Lane Mall. At the end of the afternoon we arrived at North Conway; we intended to a visit to the 'Railfan Day' here on Saturday (Sep.17th) and do a ride on a steamtrain!.
The evening meal was done in a Sport's Bar & Restaurant where the food was plenty and the beer cold; the jetlag kicked in before we could enjoy the live music, unfortunately!

The next morning, after we had a rather unimpressionable stay at the Washington Valley Inn and a sober inclusive breakfast, we had plenty of time to visit some of North Conway before the commotion at the trainstation would start. Jeb's General Store was a miracle in the immense variety of items for sale; and since I was in the final pages of R.J. Ellory's wonderful 'A Quiet Belief in Angels' I bought in a nearby bookstore John Irving's 'Last Night In Twisted River' (a story situated in the New England area) and for something completely different: Liza Marklund's 'Red Wolf' - both very good books.

Then the moment arrived and we got down to business: the trains!

Is that a serious steamtrain or what!!!

Plenty of stationary trains and cars to have a wonder round; perhaps these are future projects for preservation.

They don't make'em like these any more!

 

Time to hop on board and enjoy the ride. We were in it for only an hour and a half, the brief trip to New Bartlett and back; the scenery was mainly woodlands and not very interesting, but it was a beautiful day and we just enjoyed the steam whistles and driving along. Fresh repairs to the tracks had been made since Hurricane Irene's heavy rains passed through here only weeks before.

<
The amount of finesse in the Pullman decorations are from another day & age entirely!

The wicker chairs were rather basic, but the magic was in the train ride, chugging along...

MORE PHOTOS OF THIS RAILFAN DAY SEE MY PHOTOS ON FLICKR

 

After the trainride we made tracks north again, driving on Route 16 through the White Mountain National Forests
and enjoying the sights of the small communities we passed through.

Gorham is on the north border of White Mountain Nat'l Forests; I noticed this peculiar vehicle,
don't think we have these at home yet.

I love these roadside statues! This is in Rumford,Maine on Route 2; it is next to the Chamber of Commerce
information booth, which is designed to look like a grist mill with working water wheel.
Paul Bunyan, symbolic for the logger of New England, is portrayed here; he has the blue jeans
and a red button up shirt so typical.

'Paul Bunyan is a lumberjack figure in North American folklore and tradition. One of the most famous and popular North American folklore heroes, he is usually described as a giant as well as a lumberjack of unusual skill, and is often accompanied in stories by his animal companion, Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in folktales circulated among lumberjacks in the Northeastern United States and eastern Canada.' Paul Bunyan on Wikipedia

 

With a spectacular view of Clearwater Lake and the only store between Anson and Farmington, Luker's Place in a town called Industry, has re-opened. The lakeside town's only store, The Ugly Moose, closed last October (2010) after a nine-year run, leaving residents with at least a five-mile drive for a soda or a carton of milk... Luker's Place now offers a variety of sandwiches, pizza, coffee and pastries with seating offered inside and outside; open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.and the family intends to stay open all year, although the hours may change as winter nears- such are the rural tales of Maine!
Source: http://www.sunjournal.com/franklin/story/1055487

Morning view over Wood Pond, from the small town of Jackman, way up north in Maine.
Accommodation had been sparse on Route 201 and we arrived late in Jackman, finding nice lodgings in Bishop's Motel.

Still a bit early for the rich autumn colours, but this is nice.

After our visit to the trains in North Conway, we arrived here at our 2nd distinct goal of this trip and again
vintage transportation as a subject: flightseeing over Moosehead Lake, in a vintage Cessna 195 on floats!

Roger Currier's Flying Service in Greenville Junction,ME has several seaplanes available for flightseeing and charter.

Sharing views and sympathies for vintage planes.
He does look a bit look like Donald Sutherland, doesn't he..?

We were so lucky with the fine weather; the next day a fine drizzle made the scenery look quite less enjoyable.

Roger Currier comfortable at the controls; the Cessna 195 is a fairly quiet plane so one can do without ear protection.

Breathtaking scenery around Moosehead Lake.

From the John Irving book 'Last Night At Twisted River' I learned that these parts were last to
abandon transport of logs by river, socalled logdrives. At first this had a negative safety effect on road traffic.

The paper companies of northern Maine were formed in the 1890s by combining both private and public lands so as to effect economies of scale. Most important, the new companies replaced the small log dams with very much larger concrete and steel dams, both to make water flow consistent through the summer log drive and to provide electric power for towns and mills. Mechanization in the 1930s required the re-evaluation of the potential of the timber holdings and so led to another round of surveys and assessments. The very last log drive was down the Kennebec River here in Maine. Scott Paper Company's 1976 drive from Moosehead Lake to their Winslow mill provided this milestone. Video on: www.mpbn.net/lifelonglearning/MediaArchive/VideoViewer/TabId/942/VideoId/61/The-Last-Log-Drive.aspx

 

 

Comfortable stay in the Chalet Moosehead Motel, next door to Roger Currier's Flying Service.

What better view from the motelroom than on a few seaplanes!

Greenville Junction might have been expecting The Flood..?

Lunch at Auntie Ma's (no credit cards excepted)

Dinner at Kelly's Landing with a nice local Maine dark brew: Gearhead Red!
We went here for breakfast too, since the motel did not offer an inclusive breakfast and we were too lazy to buy groceries!

I love taking photos of abandoned gas stations, don't know why..

In Guilford,Maine: Low's Bridge
The current Low’s Bridge was rebuilt in 1987 after the original Low’s Bridge — built in 1857 — was lost in a flood.
Across the road is a motel: 'The Covered Bridge Motel', 10 rooms.

Lest we forget this is a roadtrip...

Another example of the weird and wonderful one sees driving all day!

We crossed the border into Canada and made our way to Saint John, New Brunswick.
Not to be confused with St. John's at Newfoundland!
I had misunderstood the ferry times, not realizing there is only a 12:00 crossing and one at 23:00. Thought there was a ferry every few hours. We opted to stay in Saint John, but only for the night, it did not look very attractive. During the evening we visited the Lancaster Mall and had a nice dinner; but we found prices for electronics much more expensive than in the U.S.A.

We made the crossing from Saint John to Digby, Nova Scotia on Sep.21st.
The waters here are breeding grounds for whales but a thick fog prevailed during the crossing and prevented sightings.
The crewmember had difficulty staying alert, obviously.

Full internet facilities available on board; the European companies could learn a thing or two here.

 

As soon as we had land in sight at Digby, we were once again met by clear blue skies!
We had no time to loose, we felt, with hopes of embarking on a whale trip that same afternoon.
But we found most outfits had closed for the season; so we continued to Brier Island.
To get to Brier Island we had to take a short ferry ride twice; these ferries sail every 30 minutes and we lost time waiting.

At Brier Island Lodge, a rather overpriced accommodation, we were told that whale-watching trips were performed once or twice a day, but our arrival at 17:15 was too late. So we had to await the following day for such an opportunity.
We used some of the remaining daylight for a quick drive to Seal's Cove; a painter found inspiration here too.

Ada managed to make a very nice photo when one seal was overcome by curiosity and checked us out!

The light went very fast; would one of these boats take us out for some whale watching the next day?

 

Unfortunately the weather turned bad the next day: rain and heavy winds were forecasted, so we cancelled
our intended whale watching adventure and decided to leave; with much regret as sightings here are 99% certain!
So we returned the same way we had come, driving towards Digby and enduring the two short ferry crossings.
These photos were taken at Tiverton.

The fish farms provide food with fish being fed all kind of antibiotics, not the best ingredient for consumption; also cause a major environmental disaster below the surface where uneaten food sinks and destroys the living environment for all sealife.
'The appellants include the villages of Freeport, Tiverton and Westport, as well as the Atlantic Salmon Federation. They argue that the feedlots, which would stock almost two million fish, would devastate local tourism and traditional fishing industries. They also say that the farms threaten endangered species, including the North Atlantic right whale.
Read more: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110711/nova-scotia-fish-farm-appeal-110711/#ixzz1jqDSu0Nq

 

The GMC Terrain, our rental from Alamo; over the years (since 1980s!) I've had excellent dealings with Alamao but this time they tricked me into an expensive, unwanted upgrade! When I reported at the counter in Boston I was offered an upgrade but, doing the math, I told the clerk that I found it too expensive and not needed; she got the manager and told us we'd get a good deal on an upgrade anyway, which I understood to be free because the ordered model was perhaps not available. I pencilled my initials and signature, was shown outside by the manager and was allowed to pick a model. I went for the GMC Terrain. But I hadn't looked at what I had signed! I'd gone from nightshift straight to the flight, without sleep, had not slept during the flight and suffered of jetlag. In that condition I had not noticed the mistake that was made here! A misunderstanding or a trick?! It did cost me almost 200 dollars extra. Not pleased with Alamo at all this time! The car was great though. So be on your guard, always.

One of the short ferry rides on Route 217, the waiting is often longer than the actual sailing.
Payment is while going down, the return trip is free.

Some photos taken along Route 217, heading for Digby.

Not sure where this one was taken, it is striking though isn't it..?

 

We decided to stop for our lunchbreak in historic Annapolis Royal. We had left the start of a drizzle behind us and
could walk these streets in dry conditions; we knew it was only a matter of time before the bad weather would catch up.

Annapolis Royal has indeed a very nice historic town centre and some nice shops.
We had a sandwich at a lunchroom which also sold secondhand books and souvenirs; suatisfaction guaranteed!

Shipping industry remains in practise here, in Annapolis Royal. But it had started to rain a little and before
long we had to run to our car and in a torrential rain we continued to Halifax, via Highway 101.

 

We enjoyed excellent lodgings in Dartmouth, in the Comfort Inn.
We never grow tired of shopping for books and visited the nearby Chapters store on MicMac Boulevard. Ada found a rare missing edition of a Jean Plaidy novel, I found two Lee Child paperbacks of which I'd seen had rave reviews.
Dinner at Steak & Stein. Here I got my first taste of Alexander Keith' 'India Pale' and LIKED it.

The atlantic coastline here has so many magical photo opportunities, one could spend weeks here!

 

The Swissair flight SWR111 monument, at Peggy's Cove.
Fortunately we'd had our moment of quiet and contemplation before that busload arrived.

PEGGY'S COVE, NOVA SCOTIA

Reading how popular a visit to this small coastal community near Halifax is, I had feared the worst...

.. but it looked anything but overrun by tourists (although, admittedly, we were certainly not the only visitors).

The lighthouse is symbolic for Peggy's Cove, but I rather enjoyed 'Peggy's Cove Downtown' the most!

Returning to Halifax and Dartmouth; in fact we did not visit Halifax at all...
Motel prices at Dartmouth were cheaper, the two aviation museums (Shearwater and at Halifax IAP) more easily reached and shopping at the MicMac Mall and the brand new Dartmouth Crossing Mall & Outlet Stores very fullfilling indeed!

Ooops..!

Next we went on the beautiful Atlantic Marine Drive, heading north on Route 7.

DON'T MISS IT If you're looking for a heron on one leg or a white egret in this water-logged parcel; you may be blind to boarded-up gas pumps, flashes of sleazy mock-up towns; though finally, a rusted roof, gaping shed or wizened trailer, may appear like strange fowl; as you snake on past dry bayous where the old jalopies flake to crust, splintering their jumping joy-juice; battered bodies, the good old boys left behind. -- From In The Next Galaxy

 

From Sheet Harbour we drove inland to Antigonish (lunch at DQ) and followed the Trans Canada Highway onto Cape Breton. The above scenery was seen from Route 4, over Bras d'Or Lake. Final destination for the day was to be North Sydney.

And the road goes on forever...

---

-On the Mountain-
Drawing its thread,
the road
stretches
to where
it is not.
How forlorn;
and yet,
to stand still,
more so.
Or walking
the other way,
fear
rushes behind,
though it is only
the wind.
'In the Next Galaxy', by Ruth Stone (2002)

 

After having stayed in New Sydney, we noticed the cloudy weather from yesterday had changed into a sunny day.
While driving out of town we noticed this submerged ship: a bit strange sinking in an inlet..?

From a distance: the spit at Jersey Cove (Route 312).

The very short ferry at Jersey Cove.

Beautiful scenery at Pleasant Bay, the west coast of Cape Breton.
We had passed through Cape Breton Highlands National Park without stopping, because I hoped for one last whale watching opportunity. The day was bright and sunny and looked ideal, but with experience of Brier Island in mind I knew there might only be one sailing at 13:00. A pity we did spent more time in the park but the choice had been made and no time to loose.

When we did get to Pleasant Bay, at 12:35, we found ourselves again out of luck:
all sailings had been cancelled due to the strong winds!

We took a quick lunch at Rusty's Anchor, a nice diner. In Pleasant Bay we'd had advise to try Cheticamp
for a last opportunity for whale watching since sailings at 15:00 were still up.

On our way to Cheticamp we followed the Cabot Trail south and had plenty of such spellbinding, mesmerizing views.

 

When we arrived at Cheticamp we found only the very last office on main street considering a tour, at 16:00.
They posted a minimum of 6 people but decided to go anyway when they had only 5 candidates. GREAT!

Visit their website for details, www.whalecruisers.com, they are an enthusiastic bunch!

We scanned the water continuously and when I feared the trip to be in vain, we found them! Pilot Whales!

'Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus Globicephala. There are two extant species, the long-finned pilot whale (G. melas) and the short-finned pilot whale (G. macrorhynchus). The two are not readily distinguished at sea and analysis of the skulls is the best way to tell the difference between them. Between the two species, pilot whales range in waters nearly worldwide with long-finned pilot whales living in cold waters and short-finned pilot whales living in tropical and subtropical waters. Pilot whales are among the largest of the oceanic dolphins, exceeded in size only by the killer whale. They and other large members of the dolphin family are also known as blackfish.' Wikipedia, more..

 

A view on the Cabot Trail road seen from the water; the sun setting provided for some excellent views.

Though the trip was scheduled to be something like two hours, we spent more like three hours on the water,
so was the determination of the crew to find us some good sightings. The brilliant sunset was icing on the cake!

We found nice lodgings at Albert's Motel and for a meal we went to Le Gabriel Restaurant & Lounge
which had live music playing. Unfortunately I never caught the name of the artist playing;
he did some nice Acadian music as well

 

After breakfast at Restaurant Evangeline we left Cheticamp; though the vacation was drawing to a close we
were determined to enjoy the drive south. Esspecially with the fine weather continueing!
We followed the coastal Route 219, which brought me this photo, a little bit before Margaree Harbour I think.

After Inverness the Shore Road turned inland and provided for some woodland photos.

"Trash in the yards
white as early flowers
the flash of aluminum cans
in broad sweeps
spilling down the embankments
to the shelter of rusty bedsprings
and the creosote fat of old tires,
the brawl of oil drums.
Now and again, the bold spread
of a car dump fans out,
then closes with the single shell
of an orange Vega, fastened
like a mutant insect to the slope.'
-What Meets the Eye-, by Ruth Stone
(from 'In the Next Galaxy', 2002 - ISBN 1-55659-178-0)

Dutch Mill Motel would have been a nice place to stay for us, but we passed here around noon and we had quite a distance yet to cover; this was monday and our flight was to leave from Boston on friday. Also the motel seemed to be closed, but that could have been because of the time of day.
This motel can be found on Route 6, just in Wallace (NS), between Pugwash and Tatamagouche, on the northern shore of mainland Nova Scotia, north of Truro.

 

We stopped for the night in Moncton (East), New Brunswick. Near our Comfort Inn motel was a mall, Crystal Palace.
When asked for a place to eat we were suggested to go there, for McSwiggins Restaurant. Inside the mall was
a carnival-type thing, but the spooky thing was that only staff was present no one else. A Ramada Inn was also a
part of the mall. And a Chapters bookstore, but by then I had all the books I could carry. The meal was good.

We passed the New Brunswick Railway Museum at Hillsborough on Route 114; had time for only the briefest look.

Hopewell Rocks a.k.a. The Rocks Provincial Park, is worthy of a detour.
The colour of the water may remind you of chocolate and indeed the Chocolate River is just around the corner!

We were lucky as I hadn't considered how the tides effect a visit to this place!
We were just in time to walk down and spent 10 minutes on the beach, the water was quickly rising.

After a nice drive through Fundy National Park (without stopping, free for traffic passing through), we made our
way towards Fredericton and on a very local road, following our GPS, we encountered two covered bridges.

These local diners are always 'interesting'.

 

Bar Harbor, Maine, USA.
It was so over the top in a tourist sense, I'd refer to it as 'Mother of All Souvenir Cities', that it was fun to visit.
Actually I enjoyed it a lot more than the scenic drive through Acadia National Park, which did not impress me at all !

A large cruiseship was in the harbor, which explained why we heard more German around us than English!

I bought some very nice souvenirs, but also some quality art at the Native Arts Gallery. A visit recommended!

---

 

Back on the road...

There was a little time left in the day for a brief visit to the Owl's Head Transportation Museum, on the Knox County
Regional Airport (Route 73, south of Rockport).

My photos of planes in this museum HERE and more of cars HERE

---

 

The last thing we did was a visit to the vintage Starliner restoration project in Auburn,Maine.
You'll find my report HERE which includes visits & photos of this amazing and ambitious classic airliner project

 

We thank Delta Airlines for an excellent flight back home; it had been a great trip, pity Alamo was off the mark this time.

 

A FEW MORE PHOTOS OF MINE, OF THIS TRIP, ON FLICKR.COM