In the fall of 2016 Anne and I traveled across the country to see an area we'd never been to, the New England states of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. What a trip! We arrived a little before the best of the fall color but it didn't deter us from enjoying the rugged coastline - some of it made the Big Sur coast look like a sandy beach - the friendly natives and, of course, the lobster. I had no idea that lobster could be eaten in so many ways. It's fun to simply tear into the thing with your bare hands but my favorite meal of all back there was the lobster mac and cheese. This takes taste to the next level and the next level beyond that. Wow!

Anne and I spent three weeks in New England staying for extended periods in Portland, and Bar Harbor, Maine and in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Day trips and harbor and river excursions took us to so many gorgeous places. Acadia National Park is a feast for the senses and is both rugged and intimate. The little out-of-the-way lobster pounds as they're called let us taste the freshest of the fresh. 

I've put up two galleries for this trip. One showing a few of the unique lighthouses we encountered and a larger gallery that shares some of the other surprises and memory treasures we found on our journey. Please enjoy. 

Beavertail Cactus Brittlebush Death Valley National Park experienced a phenomenal bloom in spring 2016, thanks to a little rain. We spent a few days there and discovered a variety of wildflowers that simply knocked our socks off. I'm sure we could easily have spent a full week exploring the valley and not seen half of what's there. 

The weather was great, too, in the mid 90s. I know what you're thinking, but you have to be there to appreciate just how comfortable that temperature is in this environment. 

A new gallery - Death Valley Super Bloom - has been added to show you some of the flowers we found. Non-flower shots taken this time will be added to the existing Death Valley gallery. Please enjoy! 

Blue Ridge Parkway Mill House - 2011I know, this isn't in New England. It's a mill house along the Blue Ridge Parkway taken during our travels in the fall of 2011. I'll put a New England shot here when I get one. ';-) We're staying a bit closer to home this year. In the fall, plans are in place to spend a few weeks exploring Vermont, New Hampshire and the Maine coast. We're hoping for some vivid color and major New England charm...if we can see any of it through the political campaign signs and the smoke from burning hair rising from frenzied mobs of the lobotomized electorate. We'll just concentrate on the natural scenery. 

Still married to a surface-crawler, Anne will cheerfully endure another stimulating cross-country road trip aboard the PG GRUVN. The passengers are witty and urbane, the accommodations are quite comfortable, the audio books are interesting and the surroundings constantly diverse. Said it before... the only way to fly. 

Neither Anne nor I have ever been to this particular neck of the woods. While living in Virginia, Anne and I, and Nora a babe in arms, spend several days in Cape Cod, but that's the extent of our north eastern travels. We're excited about discovering the area.

We will, as usual, end up in Philly for a week with Nora and the boys; always the icing on the cake for us. I'll be posting images here upon our return. 

Note: This image is not from New England. It's a shot of a mill house along the Blue Ridge Parkway taken in 2011. I'll replace it with a real New England image when I have one.