Sept 27th: Lincoln, NH - Airbnb and the Boulder Loop Trail

 

We left Portland and headed to Lincoln, New Hampshire in the White Mountains. The drive was wonderful. It is such a contrast from the mountains around San Diego. Everything was very, very green! 

I expected our Airbnb to be pretty nice. It exceeded our expectations!

Our unit was on the fourth floor of a condominium building and had a great view with a nice balcony.

The unit was very well supplied including a full kitchen.

There was even a quite large jaccuzi tub for the master bedroom and a regular sized jaccuzi tub in the second bathroom.

And, a very nice great room open to all of the guests.

Steve sitting in a hickory wood rocker in the great room

I selected this Airbnb because it was conveniently located near numerous hiking trails as well as a small tourist town, Lincoln. The area is very popular with snow skiers.

Terri on the trail 
showing a size
perspective. Wall of
rock ahead of her

Scott did a great job researching the hiking trails and finding those we would enjoy and could handle. Terri, Scott and I hiked the Boulder Loop trail. It was challenging but we've all been hiking and the elevations weren't extreme.

Steve and Scott

I got carried away with pictures as it was a beautiful day with many spectacular views. Here are some of the best pictures.

The trail followed along a huge rock wall that was awesome. The hiking was a challenge due to many rocks and tree roots in the trail.

The view looking out from the summit of our hike was incredible. Fortunately it was a very clear day.

Our weather was unusually warm for this time of year but there were some signs of Autumn leave colors that are coming soon. 

Scott on the trail

The hike on the way down was also very striking due to many huge rocks and boulders, hence the name Boulder Loop Trail.

When we drove in to the park we went across a covered bridge. It has an interesting history. 

Unfortunately, my finger blocks part of this picture but  most of the info is here

The bridge is fairly long for a covered bridge as you can see in the picture. There was a very pretty stream under the bridge. Here are some historical facts about the bridge.

Historical Remarks:

The first bridge on this site was constructed in 1857 and destroyed by a windstorm in 1858. At that time, Amzi Russell and Leandre Morton entered into an agreement with the town to build a new bridge for $1,300 minus the amount previously paid for the original bridge. The bridge has wide shallow arches and sharply raked facades. The U.S. Forest Service replace the wooden floor timbers with steel in 1981-1982. Near the bridge is a mud sill, taken from the bed of the river by the U.S. Forest Service, which probably supported the falsework or scaffolding during the construction of the span. The Albany Bridge is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Nephew Christopher and Niece Stephanie were meeting us in Lincoln at our Airbnb. They chose the extreme distance and elevation hike to do on the way while we were doing our "less strenuous" hike. We returned from our hike and waited for them to arrive. Dinner was planned at One Love Brewery, a local place that the Scotts had enjoyed on an earlier trip.

Sept 24th: Portland, Maine

We headed to the Portland Head Lighthouse our second day in Portland. The grounds were very extensive with many scenic views. The history is interesting.  Lighthouse info 

Here are some interesting plaques. Hard to read but if you enlarge them it works.

Rocks by Lighthouse

There is a large park around the lighthouse that offers a very good view of the harbor. 

The rocks around the lighthouse are very picturesque. I'm sure they are also quite dangerous for even small boats.

Entrance to the Port of Portland Maine

Well manicured grounds surrounding the lighthouse

After visiting the lighthouse we drove to the Audubon Society for a hike. It was a little off the beaten path and not at all crowded. We had just started the trail with Scott in the lead. Scott stopped to look back at us and I noticed something moving in the weeds just in front of him. I told him to stop moving. Then a porcupine walked out on to the trail in front of him. We were all working hard to get a picture. 

The porcupine didn't seem too bothered by us but wouldn't let us get too close. He just meandered down the trail. We got a very good look at it and Scott got the best pictures. None of us had seen one in the wild before so it was fun.

As soon as we got into the woods the trees were very close and young. This entire area had been cleared for timber so it was all relatively new growth as is the case in most of Vermont. 

We passed a very pretty little pond. I thought there should be some ducks, maybe a beaver, but there were none to be seen.

Most of the hike was through marshlands alongside extensive mud flats. The water rises and falls twice a day with the tides. It was hard to get a good picture through the trees of the mud flats but if you look closely you can get the idea. It was obviously low tide during our hike. We saw a few shore birds but not as many as we hoped for.

After the hike we headed to Red's Eats for what was reported to be the best lobster rolls in Vermont. They had received numerous awards for many years. Their lobster rolls boasted at least one pound of lobster meat. Red's Eats is just a small takeout place but a popular Maine attraction. We knew there was always a long wait but we wanted to experience the whole scene and lobster.  About Red's Eats 

Terri and Scott with the long awaited lobster rolls.

True to the reviews the wait was ridiculously long. But once we waited 45 minutes we had too much time invested to stop. Terri said she was staying, we could leave and come back and pick her up. I think Scott considered it but I didn't want to miss anything. We ended up waiting in line for an hour and forty-five minutes to order and then another 15 minutes to get our food. 

Red's Eats Lobster roll

Here are some fun facts about the place. Fun Facts

By the time we finished our very late lunch we headed back to our place for the night. It seemed ridiculous to wait that long but we were glad we didn't skip the Red's Eats experience. Terri gets the credit/blame!

The next day we would head to Lincoln, NH in the White Mountains. So far the weather had been wonderful.

September 20th: Birthday celebration and Trip to New England

 After Big Bear Lake, I had two weeks before heading to Burlington, Vermont to visit with my sister's family, the Scotts. I played a lot of pickleball and spent some time catching up with Matt and Wendy and hearing about their trip. 

Also, our family was finally all together to celebrate Wendy's and Rebecca's birthdays. Rebecca agreed to drive to Encinitas for the gathering. The Dog park Beach is always a big hit for us and London and Trevi. The dogs like running around on the Dog beach with other dogs

Rebecca with London and Trevi

Someone created a dog welcoming display. It's pretty funny.

Birthday cupcakes for Linda, Rebecca and Wendy

Rebecca pointed out it was closer to Linda's birthday (September 20th) than Wendy's or Rebecca's so we celebrated her birthday also. Of course a Boston Cream cupcake was purchased in Linda's name! We all agreed that cupcakes would work well in lieu of a cake.

We played some video games and watched the new Avengers movie. It was a fun gathering.

September 14th I headed to Burlington. Wendy dropped me off at the airport and all went well. My sister picked me up in Burlington and we spent the night at her house. Early on the 15th we headed to Portland, Maine for some sightseeing and lobster roles. 

On our way to Portland we stopped at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. Rachel Carson info It is a very peaceful and secluded area. We saw a few shore birds but it was difficult to get a good picture. The salt marshes are huge and beautiful. 

It is a very peaceful and secluded area. We saw a few shore birds but it was difficult to get a good picture. The salt marshes are huge and beautiful. 

Although we didn't see a lot of birds, the salt marshes play a large role in maintaining a balance for all living things in the area.

We drove along the coast on Route 1 so we could enjoy the ocean sights on the way to Portland. Many small picturesque towns. The tourist areas were packed with people. We had intended to stop for lunch but some places were closed and others had a very long wait. We decided to just get lobster roles in Portland after we checked in.  

I had found an Airbnb in Portland for us for two night. We arrived Wednesday afternoon. It was a quite old home that had been turned into a rental property. 

It has three floors and we were on the top floor, formerly the attic. The stairs were "interesting". 

Portland Airbnb

Overall it worked out just fine other than Scott kept hitting his head on the vaulted ceilings! It reminded me of his visit to our trawler when we finally asked him if he wanted a bike helmet! Sometimes it's better to be shorter.

The first night we went in search of  lobster roles. We discovered some of the places were closed on Wednesdays! However, we found The Highroller Lobster Co. It is a great place in town and we hardly had to wait for a table. The lobster roles were wonderful!

Tomorrow morning we visit the Portland Head Lighthouse, do some hiking and look for more lobster rolls!

September 8th: Big Bear Lake

Given Craig and I could not get into Canada for a trip on Guppy, Craig, Karen and I planned a trip to Big Bear Lake California. I was not familiar with Big Bear Lake but Matt and Wendy had just spent time there and recommended it. 

Mountain Munchies

We arrived at Big Bear Lake before our lodging was ready and it was pouring down rain. A good thing for the forest. We decided to check out the restaurant Matt had suggested, Mountain Munchies. We had a great lunch and took our time to relax. We went to the store to pick up groceries and snacks, even though we had brought plenty, and spent the rest of the day enjoying our beautiful lodging.

Craig & Karen

Front porch

We stayed in Karen's niece's rental cottage which was very nice.

Living room

My bedroom

Craig & Karen's Bedroom

We arrived Monday. We knew the fires at Lake Tahoe were very bad, but that was 2 hours from us. I checked the status of the fires and saw a bulletin that all state forest trails would close Tuesday at midnight. Big Bear Lake is located in the San Bernadino State Forest. We had planned to hike to Castle Rock, a very scenic hike ending at an elevation of 7,300 ft. on Wednesday. I used the state's chat option to ask if we could still hike Tuesday. I received a response that all state forest trails were closed because all available staff personnel and firefighters were reassigned to fight the Lake Tahoe fire. There would be no staff to handle any other problems, especially another fire.

We were disappointed but we still had access to the lake and surrounding town. Tuesday morning, we headed into town to check out some of the stores. Craig ran into a couple park rangers and told them of our disappointment. After talking with them he learned we could still hike until midnight. Great! We went back to our lodging and prepared for our 2 mile hike to Castle Rock with an elevation of 7,300 feet.

Castle Rock

 Here are some pictures.

Craig by a massive tree

Craig went ahead so I could get a picture to show the immensity of everything.

Path marker

There were rectangular pillars filled with rocks marking the path. It was very helpful because it wasn't much of a path.

It was a beautiful day and the view just kept improving.

We got to the base of the final part of Castle Rock and Craig looked up and decided he'd had enough. I looked at the rocks and said I'd keep going but would stop if it felt dangerous. He volunteered to stay below and get a picture.

Steve 10 feet from
the top of Castle Rock

When I was about ten feet from the very top I was worn out, (7300 feet and no air!) and it looked dangerous to continue. Our rule was no injuries on this trip so I stopped. The view was incredible

On the way down we saw a wonderful view of the entire area. 

The boat was very comfortable and fun

The next day we took a narrated boat tour of the lake. The weather was again very cooperative and the ride and narrator were excellent.  Big Bear Lake History

Craig and Karen.
It was a little breezy!

Craig was on the ball and asked the captain which way the boat would cruise around the lake. Turned out they had the chairs all facing one direction for the best view, and we had front row seats.

The captain/narrator informed us that houses on the lake ranged $500,000 to $11 million. We saw Roy Rogers and Dale Evans House as well as Mel Blanc's. There were many other rich and famous owners pointed out.

The house built on and around the boulders are particularly incredible 

The next day we went to the Alpine Zoo. It was better than we expected. All the animals were rescued. They even had 2 snow leopards. They had some type of genetic disorder so they were removed from the natural habitat. Here is a link to the animals we saw. Alpine Zoo Animals

It was a great trip!