The Beauty Around Us

Bennington VT to Lincoln NH

By Linda G. on August 20, 2016

On July 31 we were up, showered and dressed ready for breakfast by 6:30 am. Breakfast was included in our hotel accommodation. We had to wait, as breakfast didn’t begin until 7:00 am.

Breakfast was good, what we have come to expect when we stay at Best Western hotels…eggs, sausage, bagel and an assortment of pastries, waffles, fruit, yogurt,tea and coffee. I had an egg and sausage bagel sandwich and a banana for breakfast. Bob had eggs, sausage and a pastry for his breakfast. I brought a hot tea back to room with me. I sat outside our room on a chair on the covered corridor drinking my tea and listening to the rain drops fall. How very peaceful and relaxing!

We departed the Best Western Bennington at 8:00 am en route Cynthia (Bob’s sister) and Larry’s house. We followed VT 9 from Bennington VT to Brattleboro VT.  The Molly Stark Trail, as VT 9 is called, winds its way through low-lying valleys, historic villages, busy towns, and the beautiful Green Mountains.  This route passes through gorgeous scenery.  It is the route I enjoy most when we travel between home and Bob’s sister’s house in New Hampshire.  Had it been a sunny morning, we would have made a few photo stops along the way.  It was a rainy morning, though, and the views were not very good or nonexistent. We did make one photo stop at a covered bridge. The covered bridge was located in Brattleboro, VT. It was raining, but I got out and photographed the covered bridge anyway. Bob walked with me, holding an umbrella over my head.

Brattleboro, VT
Creamery Covered Bridge

We walked through and around the bridge.

Creamery Covered Bridge

Creamery Covered Bridge is 80 feet long and 19 feet wide.
The bridge spans the Whetstone Brook.

We arrived at Cynthia and Larry’s house in Amherst, NH shortly before 11:00 am. We spent the next 4 hours eating lunch, conversing with each other and playing with their dog Weezie. Cynthia and Larry recently converted their screened porch into a sunroom and shed. We spent the majority of our time there in the sunroom.  The sunroom was very comfortable and quite cozy.

We enjoyed a selection of appetizers before lunch which included crackers, meat, cheese, smoked trout, shrimp cocktail, an assortment of vegetables and a few other things I can’t recall.

Yummy, smoked trout!

Our lunch entree was lobster rolls, accompanied by pasta salad.

Table set for lunch
How elegant!

For dessert we split large peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes.

Lunch was exceptionally good.

The four of us and Weezie

To take this picture I used my selfie stick, which had been sitting in my camera bag unused for quite a while. My selfie stick came in handy, as I forgot my tripod at home.

Thanks for everything Cynthia and Larry.
We enjoyed our visit with you very much.

We left Cynthia and Larry’s house at 3:15 pm en route Lincoln, NH. We arrived at the Rodeway Inn a couple hours later.

Rodeway Inn – our home for 4 nights

Our hotel room was on the ground floor, Room 104, and faced Route 3.  Our room was simply furnished with two double beds, a nightstand, a table and two chairs, refrigerator, dresser and flat screen TV. There was plenty of outdoor seating, under cover. Our room was small, nothing fancy.  It was clean; the air conditioning worked; and it was quiet.  We spent 4 nights at this hotel and had only one complaint.  We were told not to use the toaster that we brought with us in our room.  We were allowed to use our electric teakettle, but not the toaster.  There was a toaster in the breakfast room that we could use.  However, the toaster was on a timer.  We were out and about in the morning before the toaster became available for use.

At dinner time we drove into North Woodstock, located about 3 miles south of our hotel.

We were welcomed in North Woodstock by the “mayor”.

We ate dinner at the Landmark II Greek Restaurant. Bob ordered a chef salad; I ordered a meatloaf dinner accompanied with mashed potatoes and a tossed salad. Our meals were excellent. Our waiter was personal and attentive. We met the owner, who was personable as well. We didn’t meet the chef but learned his name is Andre. He is a very good chef.

After dinner we returned to our hotel and went for a walk along Route 3.

During our walk, we stopped for a look at the Pemigewasset River.
The river is located on the opposite side of the road from the Rodeway Inn.
(Photo by Bob)

A very rocky Pemigewasset River!

Each evening and each morning I sat outside our door, admiring the view.

This mountain range is to the north, toward the east.
According to our brother-in-law, this is the Franconia Ridge.

This blog post concludes Day 2 of our 7-day New Hampshire vacation.