Last words on Cape Cod and the drive north

Before I start blogging about our current week in Montreal, I have a few more pics to post and stories to tell...not in any particular order.

The Drive from Cape Cod to Montreal

We left Cape Cod and drove up to Montreal through New Hampshire (I-93 through Boston and NH) to the 91 just west of Littleton, NH. North to Magob Quebec and then due west on Canada 10 to Montreal. It was about 6 hours of drive time.

The drive through New Hampshire was a bit overcast but quite lovely. The White Mountains may be white underneath...but they sure looked Green to us. We drove through the Franconia Notch State Park (which used to be home to the "man in the mountain" a natural geological sculpture high on one of the mountains...but its nose slipped off a few years back and "the man" is but a memory!).

Littleton

We stopped in Littleton, NH. It is a tidy town of about 6000 people on the edge of the White Mountain. The Ammonoosuc River flows through the town and along its banks is the Littleton Grist Mill. A mill that was started in the late 17oos and is what really got the town started. It was restored just a few years ago and is in working order. They even do some milling of wheat there. It sits on the banks of the river next to another restored building that houses a cafe and further downstream is a lovely covered pedestrian bridge built in 2004.

The view from inside the Littleton Grist Mill on the Ammonoosuc River, Littleton, NH

The Mill

Littleton has more to offer in addition to historic sites. There is Chutters...a megaemporium of candy with the Guiness World Book of Record certified longest candy counter in the world. It's 3 tiers measuring 111ft 3/4 inches and supporting 800 jars of all kinds of candy (including sugar-free so Jerry wasn't left out). The Chutters Candy Counter...you should have seen all the different kinds of licorice they had!!!! And this doesn't even include the fudge counter!!!

After we each out our bags of candy, we strolled down to the Village Book Store...a wonderful independent bookstore right on Main Street. Great selections...children section too. I liked the travel section...all the books for caribbean, mexico, hawaii were in the section marked "WARM". Jerry picked up a new Robin Cook book and I got Erik Larson's new book on Marconi and a mysterious murderer (shades of The Devil and the White City).

People were very nice in town and treat pedestrian the way everyone who lives on the Main Line of Philadelphia would like to be treated. THEY STOP FOR YOU! In fact I think they have been given special radar...they know when you just start thinking about crossing the street and there they are waiting for you! Sidewalks come complete with signs and stencils "Stop, Look, Wave"...I thought at first the "wave" part was so get them to start....now I think it was to remind you to thank everyone for being so considerate.

Final Tidbits on Cape Cod

Lobster Rolls. Our last evening we went to the Raw Bar at the Popponessett Marketplace near the Popponessett Inn on Cape Cod. This place has BY FAR the LARGEST lobster rolls I have ever seen much less attempted to eat. No filler (no celery or lettuce), VERY little mayo, just great bighunks of lobster on a untoasted/unbuttered bun. It's a very casual place (we shared a table with a family and their shitzupoodle "rosie"). These rolls are at the top of our list right there with the ones at Falmouth's Clam Shack and the Seaview in Mystic Seaport. (I would have a picture but I forgot to put the memory card back in my camera!!!)

Swimming on Quamquissett Beach. I finally got to do something I'd always dreamed about. Swimming out in warm ocean water to a floating platform and laying in the sun. Having grown up on the Pacific Coast where the water is never calm enough for a swimming platform, I'd always felt cheated. On Friday, we went to a small private beach near Quissett Harbor which comes with a civilized deck (both upper and lower) for sitting and the coolest boardwalk that descends right into the water (past all the gooey stuff and rocks). The water was the warmest Peg could remember. It was delightful!!!!

Quamquissett Beach

Green Frogs: The house we stayed at has a beautiful pond down a path at the base of hill out the back door. There are at least 14 Green Frogs in residence (who are very good at hiding...they stay very, very, very, still). They entertained us with their call...if you'd like to hear it...go to this website: http://ed.fnal.gov/projects/frogs/greenfroginfo.html. We also heard them around the local ponds too. It's hard to say if there are more frogs or rabbits (since the coyotes has disappeared there seem to be more of both).

For more photos of our week in Cape Cod (with more tidbits and info) please go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/abaesel/sets/72157606529224031/